Chapter 16
“I wanted you to be jealous, not to be a voyeur….”
Heena, arriving about 20 minutes early to the meeting place, had ordered an iced Americano and was wetting her throat. Incredibly, Seo Yohan was sitting diagonally behind her.
Heena turned and looked at Yohan, saying,
“You said you were going to buy acacia supplements?”
“I’ll buy them on my way later.”
“Why are you here, of all places?”
“I was going to have some coffee, why? Can’t I? Is it wrong to drink coffee at a cafe?”
The way he shrugged and sipped his iced Americano through a straw was irritating.
“But why here? You know I’m having a blind date here.”
“There aren’t that many cafes in town. Don’t worry about it. I didn’t come here to watch your blind date, so don’t flatter yourself.”
It seems more like the truth than flattery.
At his tiresome “don’t flatter yourself” remark, Heena turned her back, fuming, and took large gulps of her coffee through the straw.
About 30 minutes passed. While wondering why he was so late and checking her phone for any missed messages,
“Are you Ms. Jeong Heena?”
Heena quickly raised her head. A tall, sturdy man in a suit was standing there.
“Yes, that’s right. Hello.”
“My name is Park Donghan. It’s an honor to meet such a beautiful lady.”
Haha. Heena gave a short laugh and glanced involuntarily at the seat diagonally behind her. True to his word that he wasn’t there to watch her blind date, Seo Yohan was just sipping his coffee while looking at his phone.
Park Donghan’s appearance wasn’t bad, at least at first glance. He looked a bit older, his hair seemed a little thin, and his face was tanned, but the inside is what matters.
Heena stretched the corners of her mouth, determined to maintain a polite, formal smile.
But… no matter how much the inside matters, perhaps because her ex-boyfriend was Seo Yohan, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with his appearance. Plus, he was 10 minutes late, which deducted points from his first impression.
If it weren’t for me, I wouldn’t let it slide, but if it were Seo Yohan, the stickler for punctuality, he would’ve stormed out of this cafe the moment the appointed time arrived. Or he’d be sitting with his arms crossed, lecturing on the value of time.
“I’m thirty-five, and how old are you, Ms. Heena…?”
“I’m thirty-one.”
“A four-year age gap, they say you don’t even need to check compatibility for that!”
Park Donghan clapped loudly, making the entire cafe turn their attention to them. Heena was also startled by the clapping.
“Oh, wow…. Yes, yes. I usually don’t check compatibility before meeting someone.”
Yohan was twenty-six when they broke up. She hadn’t met a man alone since then, and the first man she met after two years alone was thirty-five…
She knew it was rude to think this way, but perhaps because Seo Yohan was sitting diagonally behind her, she couldn’t help but compare him to Yohan.
“What kind of work do you do, Ms. Heena?”
“I’m a translator. Freelance.”
Park Donghan’s eyes widened.
“Freelance!”
It felt as if her blocked ear canals had suddenly opened. His voice was so loud that it felt like everyone in the cafe was learning her personal information.
“So you work from home? Wow, that’s amazing.”
Heena waved her hand and shook her head.
“It’s not amazing at all. It’s just that due to the nature of my job, I don’t really need to go to an office…”
“Then you can work from home and raise your kids later.”
“Excuse me…?”
Where would she find the time to raise kids? She was so busy with work that she barely had time to sleep.
Minus 50 points for trivializing her profession.
Of course, if she married someone she loved and had a baby, she could work from home while raising the child. But that was only if she ‘married’ someone she ‘loved’. The man in front of her now was a complete stranger.
If they were meeting with marriage in mind, she could discuss future children, but she was simply following Mr. Park’s instructions to “just meet her casually.”
“Oh, right. What’s your relationship with Mr. Park?”
“He’s my cousin.”
“Excuse me?”
Cousin? Not an uncle or uncle-in-law, but a cousin?
Heena slowly nodded, starting to slightly resent Mr. Park internally.
“You must have a pretty big family. There seems to be quite an age gap…”
“It’s a big family, and I’m the youngest.”
The youngest…!
“The elders and older siblings take good care of me. Today, they wanted me to invite you over to see your face, but I barely managed to talk them out of it.”
Inviting someone over on the first meeting…!
At least he talked them out of it, which meant he probably thought it wasn’t a good idea.
Heena occasionally glanced back, pretending to look around. Seo Yohan was resting his chin on the table, looking out the window, looking at his phone, or crunching on ice.
Why won’t he leave?
“What kind of work do you do, Mr. Donghan? Mr. Park said you’ll be moving up to Seoul soon.”
“Well, I’m planning to take over the family business. We have a huuuuuuge orchard, and I need to go to Seoul to find more suppliers and secure contracts.”
“Ah, so sales.”
“Well, yes, if you put it grandly.”
She wanted to ask what he had been doing until now, but Heena kept her mouth shut. She didn’t feel the need to get to know him better, as she didn’t think they’d meet again. He seemed like a simple and kind person as they talked, but it wasn’t as fun or as witty as talking to Seo Yohan.
Thinking about it, Heena felt discouraged. She didn’t know why she kept comparing him to Seo Yohan.
“Is this bag real?”
Park Donghan suddenly pointed to Heena’s bag on the chair next to her and asked.
“Yes. I bought it myself at the department store.”
“Oh my…. You probably don’t make much as a translator….”
Hmm? What do you mean? Heena tilted her head, maintaining her smile.
“I don’t like it when women carry around luxury bags.”
“Oh, I see. But why?”
“I don’t understand spending that much money on a bag. I guess you’re not like that, Ms. Heena?”
This time, she tilted her head the other way.
“Well… if you have the money, you can buy it, right? You can buy a nice car, nice shoes, nice clothes, and a nice bag.”
Park Donghan clicked his tongue and frowned.
“I don’t like that kind of showing off….”
Oh, his words are getting shorter?
“You must have a car too, Mr. Donghan. What kind of car do you drive?”
“A tractor.”
…Frugal.
Looking down at her precious bag, Heena wasn’t bothered at all. So what if it’s showing off? It’s her money, and she’s carrying it.
Heena sensed it was time to leave. She wasn’t disappointed at all, but she put on a disappointed expression and said,
“Shall we get going? It’s almost dinner time.”
Then Park Donghan chuckled and wiped his mouth.
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
What is he saying?
“Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll decide whether to have dinner with you, Ms. Heena, based on the menu.”
Who are you to decide?
Heena was the type of person who went crazy if she couldn’t say what she wanted. Therefore, she couldn’t leave this place without saying what she wanted to say.
“I didn’t mean let’s have dinner together.”
“Excuse me?”
“I meant let’s go our separate ways.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s not a date request, and Mr. Park Donghan, you don’t have the option of having dinner with me. Do you understand what I mean?”
Park Donghan’s face turned red and blue. He looked embarrassed and at a loss for what to do. She felt sorry, but she had to tell him the truth. Mr. Park’s face flashed before her eyes, but she couldn’t just pretend to be nice.
“I, I don’t like you either!”
“Oh, really? Me neither.”
“Blinded by luxury goods!”
“Better than being blinded by a tractor.”
“You were probably going to choose pasta or steak for dinner, weren’t you? So predictable!”
“Do you have a lot of time? I’m busy. Then I’ll excuse myself.”
Her mood was ruined, but it was a clean ending.
Heena left the cafe confidently with her luxury bag, fanning herself to cool down and heading toward the bus stop. She was fuming inside, but she was glad she said everything she wanted to say.
Then, once again, a familiar sedan stopped next to her. Heena looked at the emblem on the hood. It was a luxury sedan that would make Park Donghan green with envy!
The window whirred down, and the same command came down.
“Hey, get in.”
This time, without any retort, she quickly got into the passenger seat.
I love luxury!
