New Year’s morning… no, lunch.
Having gone to sleep past midnight, we woke up to the sun high in the sky.
It was my birthday, yet for some reason, we found ourselves staring at the computer screen in Shiyeon’s room as soon as we got up.
The homepage, thick with the scent of animation and comics, felt unfamiliar.
On the screen, Shiyeon’s mouse wandered around until it settled on the text for ticket purchase.
Click. As Shiyeon pressed the left mouse button, a message appeared on the pure white screen saying “Please log in to use.”
To log in, you need to sign up, and if you’re under 14, you’ll need parental consent…
But, lo and behold, there was someone here who had just turned 14.
“Wait a minute; let me try signing up in my name.”
Curious to see if they’d accept her as over 14, I squeezed in front of the desk where Shiyeon was to grab the keyboard.
With the recognizable first four digits of the resident registration number being 0101, I rapidly typed in the next seven digits along with the clattering sounds of the keys.
If it had been until yesterday, hitting enter here would have shown a message saying, “If under 14, parental consent is required.”
Contrary to expectations, the homepage reacted ordinarily instead of showing an error message, moving on to the next screen indifferently.
“Oh, it worked.”
Having passed the barrier of signing up as a 14-year-old on her birthday.
Realizing that the screen had moved on smoothly, Shiyeon widened her mouth in surprise, as if she had just realized it.
“That’s right, now Mary can sign up!”
Having received a virtual guardian’s resident registration number, that issue was resolved, but all the frustration of being under 14 was finally over.
It felt like a transparent shackle around my ankle had vanished.
Unconsciously, I clenched my fist in triumph.
Now I wouldn’t have to remember some virtual resident registration number that I barely recalled.
After finishing the first sign-up as someone over 14, I completed the payment for a general admission ticket costing 7,000 won each.
Now, all that was left was to wait until the day arrived.
The Comic World event spans over two days, spanning Saturday and Sunday.
I vaguely knew it was related to animation and comics, but I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of event it was.
Thus, with some leftover time, I fiddled with my phone to gather information.
[Due to the large number of participants compared to the size of the venue, there are some who camp out to secure the front row from the day before, so it’s advisable to arrive at the venue around 6 to 7 a.m. to avoid long lines.]
From what I found out, the first entry was crucial, and just a glance at a few lines in the information record called Wiki made me roughly anticipate the scale of people gathering.
The entry time was certainly stated to be around 10 a.m.
However, I had to line up between 6 and 7 a.m., and some people camped out the day before, which truly made me realize its popularity.
No, more than that… what about camping in this winter weather?
“Camping?”
I could hardly bear the thought, so I started to assess the surroundings.
Considering I had to queue from around 6 to 7, even taking the first subway would require at least an hour’s journey starting from 5 a.m.
Waking up early, forcing my sleepy eyes open, dozing off on the subway, and then standing in line before 7 a.m. while shivering from the cold?
…I absolutely despised the idea.
With the method of enduring aimlessly eliminated through process of elimination, I hurried to find accommodation near the event venue.
Searching for accommodations near the site, I was overwhelmed by precious information left by previous pioneers.
“There’s only one hotel nearby.”
According to the gathered information, the cheap motels could only be found a little far off at a different station, while the spot that was just right was a single luxurious-looking hotel.
Seeing the photos of the decent accommodation, I immediately searched for the hotel name online.
When I entered the accommodation website via mobile, there were no regular rooms available, likely due to the anticipated event.
The only available room was a royal suite.
It was more expensive than a standard room… but I was still grateful.
Making a hasty online payment of 240,000 won for one night, I started to look for a minor’s accommodation consent form online.
Unlike a motel run in a somewhat lax manner, hotels were likely to scrutinize the formalities more rigorously.
There was no way that a makeshift adult act, demanding a room over the phone like when Shiyeon went to Sokcho alone, would work.
Since I had already decided to go, I would make sure everything was done properly.
Following the Magical Girl reporting procedures, I completed the overnight stay request from Friday afternoon to Saturday night, which fell within the event’s scope.
Time flew by like my swiftly moving fingers…
It was Friday, the day to prepare for the promised Saturday of the event.
As time passed, a cold that seeped deep into my bones spread throughout Korea’s winter.
On such a winter day, it was 2:03 PM, well past lunchtime.
Before leaving home, I emptied my school bag and checked the travel items I’d packed to replace them.
“Hand warmers and hot packs.”
“Middle pocket in the bag!”
“Change of clothes.”
“At the very back!”
“Tissues and wet wipes.”
“At the very front of the bag!”
“Wallet and transportation card.”
“In the left pocket!”
“Charger and power bank.”
“In the textbook compartment!”
Each time I asked about the location of an item, Shiyeon confidently patted the bag or pocket, wearing a proud expression as if there was nothing left out.
Even after checking several times, the travel items still felt like something was missing.
Crossing my arms, I muttered nervously.
“…I hope I didn’t forget anything.”
“Yeah!”
Shiyeon eagerly replied to my mumbling.
Though it wasn’t a question, it felt good to see her cheerful attitude regardless.
On that Friday afternoon just past lunchtime.
Since it wasn’t during the rush hour, the subway was relatively less crowded.
Though it was difficult to secure a spot close to the door, I was just lucky to find a seat further away.
I sat Shiyeon down towards the center of the remaining seats and stood in front, reaching for the dangling handrail from the ceiling…
The rail…
“Ah, got it.”
My fingertips barely caught the rail as I awkwardly stretched on tiptoe.
“I never thought grabbing this would be so difficult…”
I was surprised that my height would reveal itself in such a situation.
Of course, the bus handles are relatively closer, so I thought the subway would be fine too, but my extended hand felt embarrassed.
At this point, grabbing it or not seemed about the same since my body would sway regardless.
Should I let go… or hold on? That thought crossed my mind.
“Mary.”
“Yeah?”
A voice came from directly in front of me, from Shiyeon.
And then she lightly patted her knees twice with her palm.
The unspoken pressure of “Sit on my lap” sunk in.
Of course, no one among the other passengers was behaving as conspicuously as that.
When there’s only one seat left, it’s a typical action parents take with kindergarteners.
After hesitating for a few seconds in the face of this sudden and burdensome choice, the person next to us got up at our stop, which thankfully spared me from choosing the awkward option of sitting on her lap.
Even though we were girls, that moment felt too heavy psychologically.
It was as if I could sense a certain dignity deep within me that felt on the verge of being lost…
Ultimately, after a series of getting on and off the subway, we arrived in Seoul.
At the point where we had completely exited the station and stepped outside.
Noticing the destination pinned on the map app and alternating with my location, the hotel appeared just ten minutes into our walk.
“Wow!”
Standing tall in isolation without any obstructive large buildings around it was a rectangular hotel.
Boasting a clean overall exterior, even the streetlights were aglow in the afternoon, showing no signs of dimming.
Shiyeon looked pleased with our accommodation choice, letting out an awe-filled exclamation.
Though it didn’t compare in size to the enormous hotels I’d seen in the United States…
“That’s aside from this.”
Naturally, it was better than hotels that flaunted ridiculous accommodation fees funded by taxes from well-off uncles; this seemed perfectly fine to me.
Perhaps it was because I lived so distantly from hotels, or maybe it was because I didn’t know reasonable accommodation charges.
I wasn’t one for enjoying the so-called “hotel staycation” and couldn’t possibly have any common sense about how much is reasonable for any specific facility.
Considering this was meant to facilitate our nearby event, I didn’t feel at all regretful about the accommodation fee…
“When you see motels charging 150,000 won during the travel season…”
Reflecting on the annual atrocities of accommodations near the beach in Gangwon Province, I thought this amount was strikingly reasonable.
With so many undeserving motels establishing themselves as the status quo, a hotel costing 240,000 won per night appeared angelic.
Truly, the businesspeople of this country were fundamentally misguided.
“Let’s go check in.”
“Okay!”
Putting aside the absurd thoughts, I glanced at my smartphone’s clock.
Check-in was available from 3 PM, but it was now 4:37 PM, slightly late.
Handing over the online reservation record along with the minor’s accommodation consent form meticulously.
It seemed like the staff hadn’t seen this type of consent form very often themselves, as they looked at the paper with a bemused expression of “Is this really necessary?”
Regardless of their skepticism, I smoothly received the hotel room key card afterward.
Inserting the card into the appropriate hole and entering the room revealed a majestic bed dominating one corner.
Wide enough for two people to lay comfortably, was it king-sized?
“Bed-!”
After tossing my bag off, Shiyeon dove onto the hotel’s perfectly flat bed with no wrinkles.
With a soft thud, the blanket that had been flawlessly smooth before split like a surface of water rippling outward.
While I thought she still had a childlike side, deep inside, there was a boy in my heart shouting that I would have done the same if I were alone.
“I know that feeling.”
It was the urge to jump in and break the shallow, frozen puddle.
Noticing that, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand; I merely stayed silent.
…I wanted to do it too.
