Work Text:
“Ahjussi!”
Despite himself, Kim turned. The street was virtually empty, he justified to himself. There was no one else that the call could’ve been directed toward.
The person who had called to him looked to be a Seolite man, dressed in blue jeans and a white button-up that was too small for him, evident in the awkward creasing around the shoulder and bicep. Office worker? Unlikely, given the working boots he was wearing, which were scuffed black in multiple places.
There was relief on his face when Kim stopped to face him. The man's chest heaved, out of breath from apparently full-on sprinting towards Kim.
“How may I help you?” Kim said while the man caught his breath.
“Ah.” The man’s eyes widened. He hesitated, before clearing his throat and saying in a confident voice, “Help me? Find my family home.”
“Of course.” Kim said. “Do you have the address name?”
The man stared at him. He frowned. “Name? Soo Jungho.”
“Ah, that’s not – it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Soo.” Kim said, extending his hand. The man grasped it and shook it firmly, giving him a slight smile. “Officer Kim Kitsuragi.”
“Oh.” The man startled. “Kitsuragi?”
Kim felt himself stiffen, despite himself. His voice though, thankfully, was level when he said, “Yes?”
The man seemed to notice his discomfort and hastened to put on a friendly face again, going to pat the side of Kim’s arm and then hastily aborting the motion. “Oh, sorry. Ah, you must be confusing, when I say ‘ahjussi.’ Sorry.”
“It’s no problem.” Kim said. The man looked less at ease with him than he did before he knew his name. “You said you were trying to find your family’s home?”
They did some troubleshooting. The man knew more Vespertine than Kim had been initially worried he would, and they managed to quickly find the address his family had presumably mailed to him . It seemed that Kim’s Suresne accent had posed more of an issue than the actual language he spoke in. It was easy to give the man directions after that, though that spawned its own problems. Mr. Soo apparently had difficulty reading the signs, his oral skills in Vespertine more advanced than his reading, and he knew virtually no Suresne. There was little chance he would make his way there on his own without having to stop and ask someone else and do this all over again, and it was evident from the frustrated expression on his face that he knew it.
Kim glanced at where the sun was beginning to set, throwing the sky red. It could be dangerous to let him walk alone in a city he was clearly unfamiliar with, and Kim was for once caught up on most of the paperwork waiting for him in the office.
Besides, even if he were to go back - well. Work is work. He joined the RCM for a reason. But he's not exactly dying to get another assignment watching for delinquents who like to steal road signs and engage in other inane thievery.
“I could escort you to your family’s home, if you would like?” Kim offered, already thinking about how to best avoid the evening traffic.
He’s surprised when Mr. Soo doesn’t immediately say yes. He looked a bit stricken, actually. His eyes flicked between Kim's face and the white patches on Kim’s jacket that he had eventually picked up on halfway through their conversation. He said, more timidly than he’s said anything else, “Ah…maybe. Do you know Dokuon market?”
Kim paused. “Dokuon?”
Mr. Soo looked stunned by the fact that Kim did not recognize the term. “Dokuo?” When that failed to spark any kind of recognition in Kim, he pointed to himself, head slightly bent, and repeated, “Dokuon?”
“Ah.” Kim realized now. He was…not particularly versed in the many sub-cultures and ethnic groups that make up Seol, as he had presumed this man was from. “I could take you to where the Seol restaurants are?”
The man smiled, but it looked pained. “Oh, Seol. Ok.”
Kim nodded, then turned to lead the way to his MC. “I can tell you how to get to your family’s home from there.”
The man followed silently.
-
Rather flatteringly, Mr. Soo whistled when he saw Kim’s MC. “Good MC.”
“Thank you.” Kim said, refusing to be flattered.
Unfortunately, his passenger was very vocal about his appreciation for the vehicle.
“Your engine,” The man said, impressed. “Sound very good.”
“I try.” Kim was unable to keep some of the pride from his voice.
The man looked at him. “You take good care of MC. I am mechanic. I know.”
“It’s nothing much. But thank you.”
The man hummed approvingly, not touching anything, but casting an appreciative gaze over the clean dashboard and custom installed radio.
They rode in silence for a little while, the sounds of the city stretching around them, preparing for nighttime rituals. Children hustled into homes; young adults woke up for the first time that day; day-workers picked up a meal with bleary eyes.
“You know, I wanted to be a mechanic once.” Kim said. He doesn’t look at his passenger.
From his peripheral, he can see the man shift in his seat to look at him. “Really?”
“Khm. I enjoy working with machines.”
“Good.” The man’s voice is filled with an understated kind of satisfaction. “More mechanics is good. MC always need fixing.” He laughed. “Like people. There is always work for doctors. Always work for mechanics.”
Kim made a considering noise.
The atmosphere warmed a little after that. If asked, Kim wouldn’t be able to say exactly how, other than that the air seemed to flow a little easier through the carriage.
At the very least, Mr. Soo no longer looked as though he was afraid Kim would suddenly stop and throw him in the back of the MC, where some loose metal from a latch rattled, clanging, all the way to their destination.
-
Kim surreptitiously watched his passenger’s face as he came closer to the heavily Seolite populated part of the city, then pulled off into a relatively unbusy area when he saw recognition light up his face.
“So, from here…” Kim started, then gave a brief summary of how to get to the address Mr. Soo had on him that the man made a convincing show of listening to, despite his eyes flicking to one particular sign outside the MC every two seconds. “Do you think you’ll be fine to find it?”
“Yes.” Mr. Soo nodded, and smiled. “Thank you, Officer Kitsuragi.”
“You’re welcome.”
As the man unbuckled his seat belt to get out, something strange tugged within Kim’s chest, and he said without thinking, “Can I ask you one thing, before you go?”
The man turned, looking surprised. “Yes?”
“What did you call me, when you first saw me?”
The man frowned, trying to parse what Kim said. To help, Kim repeated himself with more pronounced enunciation. Then, with some hesitation, he attempted to emulate the word this whole encounter had started with. "Ah-chuh-si?"
Mr. Soo’s face brightened. “Ahjussi?”
“Yes, that.” Kim said, relieved he wouldn’t have to try to mangle the word again.
The man burst out laughing. “Ah, ahjussi, it means…’sir’?”
“Khm. That makes sense. I should’ve guessed that.” Kim said, feeling a little foolish.
A thought suddenly seemed to occur to Mr. Soo. He asked with a mischievous expression, “Kitsuragi sir, what is your age?”
“I’m thirty-one.”
The man laughed uproariously. Kim watched him with bemusement. Eventually, he said between hiccups, “Sorry, sorry…I need apologize to you. Ahjussi is for,” He placed his palm face down in front of his chest and raised it higher. “Old. Older man.”
Kim cocked his head. "How old?"
The man chuckled. "Not thirty-one."
Kim thinks. “How old are you, Mr. Soo?”
This sends the man into another bout of hysterics, delighted by the fact that Kim had picked up on yet another faux pas. “Thirty-six.”
“Khm.” It was amusing. “Well, no hard feelings, Mr. Soo. It’s a nice change of pace; usually people assume I’m younger than I actually am.” Kim stopped to think. “Should I be calling you ahjussi?”
“Oh, no, no. I feel too old then.” The man said, clapping him once on the arm. He grinned. “Call me hyung. It means big brother.”
“I see.” Confusing. “Well, get home safe, hyung Soo.”
“My name is Jungho, not hyung Soo.” The man said like it made an ounce of sense, opening the door of the MC with a sly grin. He slipped out with an amused, “Bye, Kitsuragi-san.”
Kim stared after him, watching as Mr. Soo walked into the store he had been looking at since it came into view. Through the windows of the store, Kim can make out the man speaking to the shopkeeper with speed. Reassured that the man would be able to get to his destination safely, Kim leaned back and started the engine to begin his own drive home.
Without his permission, Kim felt himself frown at a lingering thought.
...san?