Lookism: What Am I Even Doing?

Chapter Fifty-Three Prt. 2

We exited the hotel and made our way to the garage. It was a large space with rows of cars lined up against the walls and the empty space running down the middle that split into two lates. Beyond the exit/entry way, there was a steady roar of traffic covered in the darkness of the night.

In the dim light of the parking lot, there was a sleek black car waiting for us. A large burly man with a regular black face mask stepped out. I immediately stopped in my footsteps and stared at my previous attacker.

Without the mask on, I could tell that his expressions were actually a lot kinder than I was expecting. His face was clean shaven, large rounded eyes, and a bald head. Sensing my unease, he gave me a deep bow at the front of the car. I was so taken aback by his expression that all I could do was stare at Seo-ah.

"I apologize if I hurt you that day." His voice was robotic as usual, "I was simply doing my job."

If he was expecting me to feel grateful for the apology he can forget it. He bowed for another second before raising his head then nodding towards Seo-ah. Nothing else was said for me to believe that he was expecting anything in return. What, did he say that to make himself feel good then? Or did he actually believe I deserved an apology? I guess in some way it was refreshing for someone to accept responsibility for what they did.

"Thank you, Richard. Do you mind cleaning up the room upstairs?"

"Very well, should I take the things to the Bird Garden?"
I gave them both a look. What the fuck is a bird garden and why would he take my things there? Seo-ah glanced at me from the corner of her eye. She smiled at me then shook her head at him.

"Not yet."

With that, Richard took his leave. Seo-ah pointed to the passengers seat while she made her way to the driver's. The door clicked open with a satisfying sound. When I stepped inside I was hit with a strong vanilla scent and leather. The interior of the car was more fancy than the outside.

I ran my hand over the base of the seat. Was this genuine leather? The seats seemed to be made of a dark brown material that felt smooth to the touch. All center compartments and linings were some deep yellow which I could only describe as that weird toffee cream filling that they sometimes put in bread. The dashboard was black along with everything else.

Shiny.

Seo-ah smiled at me, "Never been in a car like this before?"

"No, not really but is he a foreigner too?"

I shut the door behind me and fastened myself in, "He's from the states like you except from New York if I'm correct."

Seo-ah typed something into the small screen of the car. Oh? We were heading near to Chungmoro station? I've never been to that area of Seoul before. Though, I can't help but feel like it's familiar for some reason. Did I read about it in a Webtoon somewhere? Eh, whatever, it's probably not important.

The drive was a pretty short one, only about fifteen minutes until we reached our destination. It was a tall hotel building in the Jun-gu district. The area itself seemed to be filled with tall modern buildings. Most of them are one or two-story department stores or food services.

Even the alleyways were basked in a neon glow from the signs poking from the streets advertising their business. People walked around with drunken smiles on their faces as they walked out of the hotel. Taxi's waited in long lines to take customers home.

In the middle of the glowing, busy street, was a grand hotel. The BIRD GARDEN was written along its top in bold, golden letters that curved and swooped as they were written out in English. For a hotel this place has a lot of drunk foot traffic. You'd think it was a bar or something.

"Around four years ago, this place was a 2-star hotel called Stayrak. Jong-su bought it along with many of the buildings in the area. We finally finished our full redevelopment of the area just last year." We pulled into the arched entrance of the hotel, "As for the hotel itself, not many people stay here due to the steep prices but that doesn't really matter. Many find themselves satisfied enough attending the bar on our main floor. Besides, these people aren't our main priority anyway."

Main priority? What was she talking about?

A large round roof hung over our heads as we stepped out of the car. I shut the door behind me and stuffed my hands in the pockets of my pants. So this is what it looked like to be rich, huh? Beyond the large cascading steps there were two large revolving doors with sparkling lights above them that resembled the sign above the hotel.

From here, I could see a white main floor which turned red, following the windows to the left side. I'm guessing that was the bar. There were several long islands and counters that protected tall shelves of all sorts of alcohol. People poured over themselves with content faces. On the tables, the comfortable couches, and some even just slouching against the walls, deep in conversations with others of their caliber.

To the right, it was all white pristine floors and modern arrangements until you reached the silver elevators that probably led to the rooms above.

Seo-ah finished talking to the valet and took a stand next to me as the car drove off, "Fancy isn't it?"

I turned to look at her, "What is it that you guys want me to do in a place like this? I'm not exactly the fancy type and I'm not planning on acting like a damn princessy puff muffin."

She gave me a confused look, "A...princessy...puff muffin?"

"Don't worry about it. But why am I here?"

"Follow me. I told you, it's better if you see it for yourself."

We were greeted with boundless, overlapping chatter coming from the bar. I made a point not to look in that direction. Watching those drunk men dance around each other, with their loud booming voices, was making me feel uncomfortable. Wherever we're going, I hope it's quieter.

Seo-ah led us into the elevators. There were about thirty buttons and I waited to choose one. Instead, she reached inside of her coat then pulled out a small white wallet. From inside, she pulled out a golden badge with a weird design on it. It was three circles sitting around each other. In the middle of them are some sort of characters from a language I didn't really understand.

Strange...why does it look familiar?

She took the badge then placed it at a small rounded space at the bottom of the button panel. I gave her a weird look. What was she doing? She waited for a moment before there was a soft chime. As soon as the chime echoed from the speakers above us, she pressed at the badge.

To my surprise, the elevator started moving. Only, it started moving downwards instead of up. I held onto the supporting bars on the sides and let out a small stream of curses. Seo-ah took a step into the very center of the elevator, placing her badge back into her wallet then hiding it once again in her coat.

.

.

.

Wait, a minute...

WAIT, A DAMN MINUTE!!

"You guys are a part of Workers!"

She smiled at me.

"Took you long enough to realize it." The elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened, "Ila...welcome to the Workers sixth affiliate, the Bird Garden."

HOLY FUCKING SH-