“Touchscreen?”
“Without needing buttons, if you press here on the screen, you can run the program you want.”
When I showed him a demonstration of pressing the screen along with a simple explanation, Rashanin showed interest and concentrated. After showing him a few demonstrations, I changed the language to English and handed the phone itself to Rashanin. Accepting it without refusal, Rashanin was absorbed in examining it from every angle like a child with a new toy.
I quietly watched Rashanin absorbed in the phone. What Rashanin was most interested in was photos. After learning the photo-taking function, he carefully pressed the button.
It was funny, but watching Rashanin now, I somewhat understood why he had people-watching as a hobby. Though I’d been stuck next to Rashanin for two weeks and seen various sides of him, this was the first time I’d seen him with his head bowed, fiddling with something.
Honestly speaking, with his arrogant look—sometimes frowning one eyebrow slightly when the touch didn’t work well, occasionally clicking his tongue—pressing the phone screen that was relatively small compared to his large hands looked cute. Thinking that far, I frowned and withdrew my gaze.
Just moments ago, I’d been cursing him as a damn vampire. But to think I found him cute—it was enough to make me tear at my hair.
After calming my mind, I turned my head again to look at Rashanin. Objectively speaking, he was undeniably a remarkable man. Not just his remarkable face but his characteristic composure was also part of his masculine charm. Enough to provoke both favorable feelings and jealousy simultaneously.
“Being able to check what you’ve taken right away is excellent.”
After fiddling with the phone for a while, Rashanin shared his impression.
“Do you like photos?”
“I do. Isn’t it a machine that eternally preserves a moment? It also grants the immortality that humans so desire.”
It was a very meaningful statement. I had to catch my breath because of Rashanin smiling so gently. Apart from my conflict about him, this sight of him absorbed in something and his gentle expression were bad for my heart.
“Is photography also your hobby?”
“No. Not now.”
“Not now?”
“I used to like it. Enough to acquire the company.”
“The company?”
A word that sparked people’s curiosity popped out, making me ask back.
“That’s right. I got tired of looking for new products every time they came out, so I just acquired the company. It gained great fame at one time, but I don’t know if it’s still operating. Sergei is capable, but 30 years have passed so many things must have changed.”
Acquiring a company because it was bothersome to look for new products. Could he have been collecting them? I couldn’t bring myself to ask, but Rashanin continued.
“That too became boring as time passed.”
The word “boring” contained tedium.
“I think observing people would be even more boring though?”
“That depends on how you enjoy it. Do you know how many interesting things people do without even realizing it?”
I just experienced it. Watching Rashanin fiddle with the phone was quite fascinating too. Still, as a hobby it could only be called terrible.
“I like it. Though touching the screen is a bit unfamiliar.”
Rashanin, who didn’t even glance at the cooling tea, didn’t seem to have any intention of returning the phone. Since Rashanin couldn’t read Korean and there were no important documents, I just left it alone and sipped my coffee.
“The era of civilian space travel?”
I was stealing glances at Rashanin who was focused on the phone when he muttered something.
“I guess civilians can travel to space these days?”
“It’s possible. Why do you ask?”
I couldn’t understand why Rashanin suddenly brought that up. Then Rashanin turned the phone to show me. The screen displayed a newspaper with an English headline saying the era of civilian space travel had arrived. What on earth did he press to get that to come up? The latest smartphone that had only been in my hands for three days was still unknown territory to me too.
“Space travel.”
“Are you interested in space travel?”
“In 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, the whole world was enthusiastic. At that time I was curious what it would be like to look at Earth from space.”
It was before I was even born. But Rashanin would have seen it directly. A great leap forward. Of course, he wouldn’t know that conspiracy theories were being raised due to Neil Armstrong’s shocking confession.
“Now if you have money, ordinary people can go to space too. It’s just my opinion, but the Earth viewed from space must be very beautiful. Instead, if Mr. Rashanin doesn’t have enough wealth, power, and health to go to space, even if you wish for it, it’s something that can’t be achieved.”
“That sounds like a provocation?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
It was true that I provoked the vampire who said nothing was fun in a “just you wait and see” manner. However, for someone with Rashanin’s level of power, there was nothing he couldn’t do. When I retorted that it was the truth, Rashanin smiled as if telling me not to lie.
“Let me ask you one thing. Do you want to go to space too?”
“As time passes it might become common, so I’d like to go once before I die.”
“Was being an astronaut your childhood dream?”
“No. A pilot… Don’t laugh.”
I answered without thinking, and Rashanin laughed with his shoulders shaking. To laugh at a childhood dream.
“Ah, excuse me. It seems to suit you. Is there anything else you like? If being a pilot was your dream, then sports cars?”
“I do like them.”
“Men like fast things.”
“What about you, Mr. Rashanin?”
I felt something subtle in Rashanin’s tone and asked back with a just-in-case feeling. Sure enough, Rashanin slightly shook his head.
“Not my taste.”
“Really?”
At the unexpected words, I widened my eyes. He was a man, and moreover, he was rich. Yet he didn’t like sports cars. I couldn’t believe it.
“Why? Why don’t you abandon the prejudice that all men in the world must be enthusiastic about sports cars.”
It was prejudice as he said, but still, how could one not like sports cars. I was suspicious. Sports cars with their graceful design, powerful power, and state-of-the-art technology condensed into beautiful and cool machines are men’s dreams. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar, Bugatti, McLaren, Audi, etc. There are so many sports cars in the world, things that should be loved and enthusiastically adored. Yet he didn’t like them? When I looked at him with eyes saying “you’re not even a man,” Rashanin slightly frowned.
“Oh my, there’s a speed fanatic here.”
“Not just speed, but power, technology, design—the pinnacle of everything.”
“I know. I know. More than that, what’s this eco energy? There are many articles about it.”
As if he didn’t want to hear praise about cars, Rashanin quickly changed the topic. I wanted to emphasize the excellence of sports cars, but what could I do when he said he didn’t like them. Even if it was something I liked, I had to understand and respect that others might not like it together. It was a wise way to build healthy human relationships.
Instead of expressing the excellence of sports cars to Rashanin, I explained that due to the depletion of oil and coal resources, many things were being developed as next-generation energy.
“An industry that lays golden eggs for the future.”
Rashanin understood simply. While doing so, his manner of pulling up articles on the phone and reading was extremely serious.
“Are you interested?”
“It is interesting.”
“Then I’d like to strongly recommend it. If you succeed in developing eco-friendly energy for humanity’s future, your name will remain in history.”
I don’t know if he finished reading the article, but the man who put down the phone looked at me with a strange expression.
“It sounds like you’re telling me to buy honor with money and power.”
“Among Korean proverbs, there’s a saying that tigers die and leave their skin, people die and leave their name. If my name becomes part of history, wouldn’t that be living forever.”
“You certainly speak well.”
Talking about eternity to an immortal vampire was tantamount to picking a fight. Still, Rashanin just laughed saying it was fun.
I felt a strange sensation. I was amazing for naturally conversing to the point where my worries and hesitation seemed futile. Still, it was much better than just worrying about being uncomfortable. And Rashanin was an excellent conversation partner.
“Really not interested? You’ll become humanity’s savior. Mr. Rashanin might not know well, but right now Earth has serious environmental pollution problems. Due to global warming, in 30 years the islands of the South Pacific will sink beneath the sea. Ah, so it would be good to travel there before that. That area has much better resorts than Korea.”
Bali, the dream island. If time and money allowed, it was the second place I wanted to visit after Turkey. I heard it was really well-developed as befitting a world-class resort. But Rashanin burst out laughing. Other than the thin smile that turned people’s insides, I think this was the first time seeing him laugh so loudly. No, it was like a few days ago too, but it was definitely the first time seeing him laugh so loudly that people around also glanced over once.
“Hahaha. You’re the first to recommend the South Pacific sea to me.”
“…?”
“You seem to have forgotten who I am.”
lollllll