Tell Me That You Like It Chapter 4.1 - It's not a date

The next morning.

 

While Anna bought a cheap suitcase and some necessary clothes at a store near the hostel, Lucino picked up a car from a rental car company.

 

It was not until 11:30 that they were able to depart for Segovilla, located northwest of Madrid.

 

The car ran smoothly on the open highway.

 

The view from the car window was different from Korea that Anna had been familiar with.

 

The fields continued endlessly along the highway. The white rocky mountain seen beyond the field was majestic, and the shape of the stones and color of the soil were different from those in Korea.

 

The cloudless sky was high and blue, so the light red soil seemed more special.

 

Around the highway, there were countless round-shaped trees that Anna was seeing for the first time. The trees planted at intervals seemed to have been pruned on purpose, but countless were planted.

 

The exotic and beautiful scenery naturally made exclamations flow out.

 

But it was Lucino who was driving beside her rather than the view from the car window that kept attracting her attention.

 

Anna, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at Lucino, who was driving without a word. From the front, the distinct face line, which seemed to have been carefully cut, seemed to be a work of art when viewed from the side.

 

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t get enough of it.

 

He took off his coat and scarf and put it in the back seat, wearing only a dark gray knit over him.

 

Perhaps because of his clothes, his broad shoulders and thick forearms seemed to stand out more. The hand holding the steering wheel was also large and long, so it felt like a specimen of a man’s hand.

 

Perhaps because of his big size, the space in the car felt narrow.

 

Yesterday, the late-night theft caused Anna a great mental blow, so she was weakened, and she even drank alcohol while she was tired, so she hurriedly agreed to Lucino’s words to go on a trip with him.

 

But now she didn’t want to say she was sorry or that she would cancel everything. Because as soon as she arrived in Madrid, she really didn’t want to go back to Korea.

 

Instead, Anna vowed to pay back the money she borrowed from Lucino when she returned to Korea.

 

It was Lucino who broke the awkward silence in the car first.

 

“Anna, did you sleep well last night?”

 

“Yes. What about Lucino?”

 

“I slept well, too.”

 

Then Anna’s stomach rumbled. Both of them woke up late and missed the breakfast time given by the hostel, and they were busy packing up and checking out in the morning, so they didn’t have time to eat anything.

 

“Oh, my. Are you hungry?”

 

“Not so much.”

 

“There’s a chocolate bar in my coat pocket in the backseat. Eat that at least.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

As soon as she woke up, she went around the store to buy a suitcase and clothes in a hurry, and it was already past noon, so she was very hungry.

 

Instead of Lucino driving, Anna reached out to the back seat and pulled his coat. There was only one nut chocolate bar in his pocket.

 

“Lucino, aren’t you hungry?”

 

“A little? It’s bearable.”

 

“Let’s eat together.”

 

Anna split the chocolate bar in half and put it around Lucino’s mouth, who was driving.

 

“Anna eats first.”

 

“No, I won’t . You must be having a hard time driving, so Lucino will eat first. Here, say ah.”

 

He opened his mouth at Anna’s suggestion. Anna felt something strange to see him take what he was given like a child.

 

For some reason, her heart trembled.

 

“Anna, go ahead and eat.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Anna took a bite of the chewy chocolate bar. The chocolate bar full of nuts was good because it had a rich chewing taste.

 

When Lucino finished eating everything in his mouth, she fed him more and she also poured the bit into the rest in one bite.

 

“It’s sweet and delicious.”

 

“We will arrive at Segovia in about twenty or thirty minutes, so shall we start eating as soon as we arrive?”

 

“Great.”

 

“What should I eat… Anna, do you like meat?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Have you ever heard of Cochinillo Asado?”

 

“I think I’ve heard of it. That’s probably… It was a pork dish, right?”

 

She remembered seeing it on the Internet that it was the most famous traditional dish in Castilla y León, North-central Spain.

 

“That’s right. There’s an old restaurant there, so why don’t we have lunch there?”

 

“Great! By the way, I think I saw on the internet that you don’t have to wait long if you make a reservation. I’ll call and ask if it’s possible around one o’clock.”

 

“That’s a good idea.”

 

Lucino turned his head slightly to the right, looked at Anna, and smiled. When he saw her smiling, his heart skipped a beat.

 

Anna was a little nervous about speaking English over the phone rather than face to face, but she mustered up the courage to call the restaurant. Fortunately, she was able to make a reservation for one o’clock.

 

“When you’re thirsty, take out the bottled water from my backpack and drink it.”

 

Lucino glanced at the back seat.

 

“Oh! There was water?”

 

“Yes. I packed a bottle while waiting a while ago.”

 

“Ah… I’m sorry. I bought what I needed earlier, but it took longer than I thought.”

 

“No. The rental car was late too.”

 

They said the car that was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 didn’t arrive until after 11:00. Although this gave Anna time to go shopping, she felt sorry that she had made Lucino wait.

 

Anna, who pulled out a small bottle of water by pulling the backpack, quenched her thirst.

 

Anna admired Lucino, who was surprisingly prepared and attentive. Although she was busy in the morning, she didn’t even think about buying bottled water.

 

“Lucino?”

 

“Yes, Anna?”

 

Lucino’s voice in reply to her call was soft. The low voice pronouncing Anna’s name was as sweet as the chocolate she had just eaten. Strangely, there seemed to be a temperature difference from when a Korean called Anna by her name.

 

“Do you know what that round tree is? I’ve been seeing it since earlier.”

 

“That’s an olive tree.”

 

“Wow, I see. I’ve never seen an olive tree before. It’s cute when it’s round. It’s like a huge broccoli tree!”

 

Lucino laughed at her words.

 

“Broccoli tree… That’s an interesting expression.”

 

When Anna found out that it was an olive tree, she found that the area around the highway was an olive paradise of olives. Olive fields, olive hills, olive fields were seen again and again. No matter how much they passed, there were olives everywhere.

 

“I’ve never seen so many olive trees.”

 

“About 50 percent of the world’s olive production is produced in Spain.”

 

“Really?”

 

“But in terms of quality, Italian olives are the best.”

 

Lucino’s proud voice was full of pride. He was childish and somehow cute when he said his country’s olives were better. A smile appeared on Anna’s face.

 

“Lucino, do you know what that tree is?”

 

She pointed to a field full of short trees that were just passing by. It seemed to be a particular crop when she looked at the well-managed soil, which had run out of leaves and was thin, but had no weeds at all.

 

“That’s a vine.”

 

It was also the first time that Anna, who grew up in the city, actually saw a vine.

 

“Aha, I see. Well, maybe…”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Will you say Italian wine is the best?”

 

“Of course.”

 

He grinned at her sideways. A pleasant line crossed the mouth.

 

“Not from France? France is famous for wine.”

 

“You’ve never tried Italian wine, have you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“If you drink it, Anna will admit it. French wine is just overrated, but Italian wine tastes better. The French did a good job in marketing, but Italian wine tastes better.”

 

Anna’s face could not stop smiling because of the boastful Lucino. It’s not a big deal, but it was funny for no reason that Lucino was so proud.

 

“I hope I get a chance to drink it sometime.”

 

“Come to Italy later. I’ll show you what real wine is. There is a small farm owned by my family, and the wine produced there is really good.”

 

“Wow, a farm?”

 

“Yes. It’s not big, but it tastes good because it’s in Veneto.”

 

“Where is Veneto? Is it close to Rome?”

 

“It’s in Northeastern Italy, closer to Venice than Rome.”

 

Without much thought, he habitually said Venice in Italian pronunciation.

 

“Do you mean Venice?”

 

“Oh, yes. Venice in English.”

 

“Do all Italians have vineyards?”

 

“No. Not all of them.”

 

“That’s something great.”

 

“It’s nothing special. It’s so small. When you come, you may be disappointed because it is so small. Be sure to contact me when you come to Italy.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The invitation may be just a word, but Anna’s expectations were just as high as the words promising for the future.

 

“Do you work in a wine-related field?”

 

When she heard that it was a family-owned farm, Anna thought of a winery.

 

“It’s not like that. But I’ve tried it a lot.”

 

Lucino smiled at Anna’s question, looking at her cutely.

 

“What do you do, Lucino?”

 

“I’m a designer. What about Anna?”

 

“Just, I work for a very small advertising company.”

 

“It sounds interesting.”

 

“The job of designer sounds more interesting.”

 

“Is that so? I’m actually quite stressed out. It’s okay if the response to the design is good, but when it’s not, it always feels like my design has failed.”

 

“Ah… That’s possible.”

 

Last winter, when people’s harsh criticism of his sports car design came to mind, Lucino felt bitter.

 

He had been in a slump for a while due to criticism that it was the worst design of the 21st century.

 

If it weren’t for loyal customers, the sales rate of new cars would have hit the lowest level. If it wasn’t for the family business, maybe he’d be fired from the company.

 

Although his family sincerely comforted him, Lucino’s pride was shattered.

 

It was a trip to escape the slump to think about the inspiration for the new car design that will be released in the next year or later.

 

So Lucino was trying a completely different way from his usual travel style.

 

Instead of staying in luxury hotels, he deliberately stayed in cheap hostels and dormitories and decided to travel by meeting random but ordinary strangers. So he didn’t even plan the trip in detail.

 

He was going to travel freely to take a break with a few spots in mind.