Chapter 4.5

4.5

The person who called her wasn’t Sejin. It was…

Sunghee sat up quickly and cleared her voice before answering,

“Oh, hello, Manager Min.”

“What are you doing right now? Are you busy?”

“Oh, no. I… was just resting at home.”

She couldn’t tell him she slept the morning away. If it was Sejin, she would’ve told him the truth, but this was handsome Min Seungju! She couldn’t let him think she was some lazy woman. Sunghee wanted the manager to think she had been in her elegant outfit reading a book while drinking tea.

“Have you seen the musical Mamma Mia?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Do you want to see it with me? I have two tickets and no one to go with me.”

“Did someone cancel on you last minute?”

Sunghee glanced at the clock. It was going to take her at least an hour to get ready. She still needed to shower, and do her makeup and her hair too…

“No. I wanted to see it, so I got the tickets first and called around, but all of my friends told me I should go watch it with a girl. The only woman I could think of was you, Sunghee.”

He was clearly lying. There was no way he had no one else to go with to this musical, but Sunghee wasn’t offended. She supposed his good looks made it easy for her to forgive him for anything. His pickup line was so corny, but she didn’t mind. With a quiet giggle, Sunghee asked,

“What time is the show?”

“7:30. We can meet in about three hours and have dinner before the show.”

Oh, so there was lots of time to get ready! Sunghee answered quickly,

“Okay, I’ll go. Where should I meet you?”

“I’m in Apgujung Dong 1 right now. Do you want to meet me here?”

After the call, Sunghee hurriedly headed towards the washroom. Even though she had plenty of time, she still needed to hurry. Sunghee needed to eat before she left because she didn’t want to  look like a starving bumpkin when they ate dinner together.

After the shower, Sunghee noticed a missed call on her phone. Seeing Sejin’s number, she ignored it without a thought and began to apply lotion on her face.

***

“Oh, Manager, you’re too funny!”

Seungju told her an amusing story from his previous work, making Sunghee laugh. Seungju sipped his coffee and smiled.

“I’m telling the truth. Do I look like someone who would lie about something like this?”

“Umm, no… But it sounds so fake.”

“Maybe I am lying. I mean, we’re in the ad industry after all. Our job is to make everything look good, right?”

He winked at her with a laugh. Sunghee smiled as well and drank her coffee. The sun was staying up longer nowadays. It was late afternoon already, but it felt like broad daylight. They parked nearby the theater and waited in the nearby cafe for their show.

To her surprise, Seungju seemed to enjoy shopping. Earlier, he dragged her to a department store, and they roamed the place for a long time. At the end, he picked out an outfit and a watch for himself, and he even got her to pick out a small bottle of makeup for herself. It felt strange receiving a gift from her superior, but Sunghee also felt pleased because it has been a long time since she received a gift.

“By the way, why don’t you have a girlfriend, Manager Min? You said I was the only girl you could think of to go to this musical. Did you think I would be the only girl who was available on such short notice?”

When Sunghee asked teasingly, Seungju frowned and waved a finger.

“Of course not! I just haven’t dated in a while now. I’ve gone through some painful breakups like everyone else. I also had some good relationships too, but in the end, I was left with nothing and no one. I guess it’s like this for everyone. On top of that, I studied abroad for a long time too.”

“Didn’t you think about getting married before going abroad? Many of the guys I know seemed to get married if they planned on studying in a foreign country. I guess they felt scared going alone to an unfamiliar country.”

“I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time before going abroad. Besides, if I did get married and went abroad, my wife would’ve ended up having to become a housewife unless she wanted to study too. I thought that would be unfair. So I thought I would just get married after I return, but then, it never happened.”

Seungju shrugged. The more she talked to him, the more Sunghee liked this man. She stared at him with interest. He was so hot, and she liked how considerate he was. Also, she wouldn’t have minded being a housewife to a husband like him.

Seungju smiled at her and took another sip of his coffee. His facial features were very well defined. His lips were thin but beautiful. Suddenly, Sunghee wondered if Seungju was a good kisser. He wasn’t a young man, so he had to have some experience, right? She wondered how good he was in bed. His hands… They were the same as any man’s. They were rather pale and big with thick fingers.

Then suddenly, Sunghee remembered Sejin’s hands. They were…

For some reason, she couldn’t remember them. She saw them in the women’s washroom that night, so why couldn’t she remember? But then… she could remember the teeth marks she left on his finger… When she felt her face redden, Sunghee rubbed it to hide the fact. It seemed that Seungju didn’t notice her blushing because he kept drinking his coffee quietly.

Gosh, why was she thinking about Sejin at a moment like this? What was the point of comparing these two men?

But Sunghee couldn’t help wondering what Manager Min would be like in bed. If someone like Sejin was so good, then Seungju must be… She assumed Seungju must’ve had countless girlfriends, so…

It did seem odd that a perfect man like Manager Min asked her out on a date, but Sunghee still had to take her chances with him. Perhaps she was Min Seungju’s type. It was unlikely, but some men had strange tastes in women, didn’t they? It could still happen.

Sunghee asked him,

“What’s your type, Manager Min? What kind of girls do you like?”

***