Chapter 72. More Than A Dinner (3)

Translator: Aura

Minkyung looked at Lee-Seob stunned.

“Let’s go up to dinner.”

He gently wrapped the hand on her neck around her shoulders.

***

The evening light filtered obliquely through the kitchen, which had a subtle smell of food. Once she stepped further into the studio apartment, she saw the pretty scenery beyond the wide windows. As well as the light green leaves and small flowers of the trees in the building’s garden.

The table placed near the windows was neatly set with dinnerware for two, and in the center was a small vase with a few beautiful flowers, each with multiple layers of petals.

“Hold on a moment.”

Lee-Seob offered Minkyung a seat, took her blazer, hung it up, and took off his own. Underneath he had a short-sleeved, round-neck shirt.

“Do you like pasta?”

He then washed his hands in the sink, turned on the stove, and grabbed the frying pan he had placed there. Minkyung was surprised and approached him. In a deep pot, next to the pan where the sauce was boiling, were the boiled noodles inside the strainer.

“Are, are you making pasta?”

She stammered, taken aback.

“I prepared a simple dish. Spaghetti aglio e olio.”

Lee-Seob looked at Minkyung and explained further.

“Steak, too.”

In the oven below, a piece of meat was actually cooking.

“Why…?”

Why are you cooking?

Minkyung was speechless, so she couldn’t finish the question.

“It’s going to be delicious. I’m good at this.”

Lee-Seob said, as he poured the cooked noodles into the pan and stirred them.

“Do you usually cook?”

“When I was studying abroad. At least it was easy to make pasta.”

Lee-Seob answered, holding the frying pan and shaking it lightly so that the sauce would soak into the noodles. Minkyung looked at him intently. It wasn’t her intention, but all her attention was drawn to the movement of the muscles under his shirt and the muscles of his arms under his sleeves.

Lee-Seob was so focused that he didn’t notice the subtle blush on Minkyung’s cheeks. Once he took out the pasta and put it in a bowl, he said,

“Go sit down.”

Minkyung shook her head nervously.

“I’ll help you.”

She spoke hurriedly. As she carried the bowl, she heard Lee-Seob’s chuckle behind her. She looked back and said with a smile,

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes.”

Lee-Seob chuckled once more, opened the wine fridge, and pulled out a bottle of red wine. Immediately afterward, the sound of a cork being pulled out was heard. When Minkyung looked up, he walked over to the table and asked,

“Do you like wine?”

“… Yes.”

“It is the same wine that the Chairman of M&P gave me. I bought another one.”

This was the wine that she couldn’t even take a sip of and only smelled the aroma.

‘Could it be that he bought it with me in mind?’

She had such a delusion. Lee-Seob motioned for Minkyung, whose eyes were wide open to avoid falling into her delusions, to take a seat. When she was in front of the chair, he moved it back slightly. She made eye contact with him for a moment, and then sat down.

“I have incredibly good manners.”

“I see.”

Lee-Seob stood next to her with the bottle of red wine and poured it into her glass. She didn’t know much about how to properly serve someone wine, but the way he held the bottle, the angle of his left hand close to his body, and the posture of his upper body made him look perfect.

‘How can he be so perfect?’

Minkyung bit her lower lip.

When he finished, he took a seat across from her and raised his wine glass. They clinked wine glasses and took a sip. The heavy, sweet aroma of wine did not soon disappear from her mouth.

She found this instant pleasurable.