Seringe
The first impression of the man was that he was very quiet and aloof. Was he just over thirty, or perhaps closer to forty? It was hard to guess his age easily, and his face was mixed in with the crowd in front of the gate.
When he slightly lifted the corners of his mouth and formed a few lines of wrinkles around his eyes, he seemed surprisingly gentle and kind, but unfortunately, the man didn't smile much. He mostly maintained an expressionless face, and his lips rarely parted.
As they exited the gate, he stood out immediately among the many people surrounding the area — waiting for guests, friends, or family, or trying to solicit customers. There were a fair number of white people at the layover stop in Johannesburg three and a half hours ago, but at Julius Nyerere International Airport, it was all Black people. The lone white man standing among them was naturally conspicuous.
Inside the small airport building, which didn't look much different from an ordinary rural bus terminal despite being an international airport, the man straightened up when he saw them coming out of the gate.
"It's been a while, Rick."
There was no trace of friendliness or joy on the man's face as he extended his hand, saying it had been a while. Only after exchanging a curt, formal handshake with Ilay did the man turn his attention to Jeong Tae-ui. With a face still devoid of any hint of a smile, he extended his hand and spoke.
"Jeong Tae-ui-ssi? I heard about you from the boss. Nice to meet you. I'm Yuri Gable."
"Ah... nice to meet you. I'm Jeong Tae-ui."
Jeong Tae-ui thought it felt somehow awkward hearing his name even though it was pronounced correctly as he shook the man's hand.
He hadn't expected anyone to come meet him. He had flown all the way here with no real plan, thinking he would have to ask for a hotel at the information desk.
As he mulled over the name, Yuri Gable, Jeong Tae-ui finally remembered. He had heard it mentioned in passing. The man was someone under Kyle who had been wandering around the Middle East searching for Jeong Jae-ui's whereabouts. He had eventually found a lead.
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at Ilay. Ilay was casually looking around the airport.
"It's small."
"Is this your first time in Africa? Even international airports here are usually this small. A place like Johannesburg Airport is unusually large."
Gable spoke matter-of-factly and then turned around to start walking.
Jeong Tae-ui quickly followed, sensing that Gable wasn't going to wait for him.
"You must have waited a long time. It took longer than I thought to get the visa."
He had expected the local visa process to be quick, but the procedure was slow. As a result, he could only come out after most of the others had already left the gate. He hadn't expected anyone to wait, so he took his time.
"If I'd known someone was waiting, I would have hurried. I'm sorry."
"It's fine, Jeong Tae-ui-ssi."
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him as he responded politely. His pronunciation was clear. But when he said "Jeong Tae-ui," his speech slowed slightly, as if he was making a special effort to pronounce it correctly. Jeong Tae-ui smiled.
"You can just call me Tae. Please feel free to speak casually."
Gable nodded but didn't say much. It had been a while since he'd met such a taciturn and curt Westerner. Of course, while staying at Kyle's house, he had seen quite a few quiet guests, and it had been hard to talk with the gardener Peter until they became friendly, but this man was particularly unique.
