Chapter 74. More Than A Dinner (5)

Translator: Aura

“Do you cook like this sometimes?”

“Very rarely.”

“And you don’t invite your friends over?”

“That…”

Lee-Seob raised his glass, tilted his head, and then shook it,

“Not that I remember, except when I studied abroad.”

‘Am I the first?’

Minkyung almost blurted out that question, but swallowed it back. Lee-Seob had answered vaguely and avoided eye contact.

“I don’t think so.”

Yes, it would be a blatant lie to say that I was the first. Still, I would appreciate it. This dinner was so surreal that it was hard to believe even while experiencing it. She was receiving careful attention from none other than the prickly Tae Lee-Seob.

Minkyung blinked slowly as she looked at the man. Another soft pop song flowed like a wave across the table, and the alcohol warmed her body.

The meticulous, perfect, and picky Tae Lee-Seob, who had prepared all this, was now picking up the dishes with his long, pretty fingers to take them to the sink. Minkyung quickly grabbed a plate.

“Sir, I’ll do it.”

“No. These are expensive dishes.”

He scolded her and took the plate from her hand.

Although he had done it with the intention that she would not make any effort, it was not an exaggeration. The dishes, with their gold rims and delicate mosaic patterns, were clearly from a well-known brand. There was no need to read the name on the back of them.

Minkyung calmly clasped her hands together, which felt numb from the alcohol, and followed Lee-Seob to the sink. When he returned to the table to pick up the dinnerware, she followed him too, and when he went to the sink, she followed again.

Lee-Seob stopped and laughed.

“You’re distracting me.”

“Ah…”

“You follow me everywhere.”

“I always follow you everywhere, sir. To fulfill…”

“Not like that. Like a puppy.”

He gently ran his hand, which was cool from the tap water, through her hair. When his fingers brushed her ear, she flinched. His cool, tidy fingers slid down her nose to take off her glasses. She took a short breath.

His lips lightly touched hers and then parted. It was a polite kiss, like a soft knock on a door. Minkyung felt a tickle on her lips, so she pressed them together and then released them. Unsure of what to say, her lips barely moved.

This dinner didn’t match at all with any of the scenarios Minkyung had imagined. Minkyung was ready to accept him. The more normal scenario she expected was to have dinner at a nice restaurant and then share a bed. She had prepared herself for various situations, even she wouldn’t have been surprised if he told her to meet him in a hotel room…

‘What’s this, Tae Lee-Seob? Why do you confuse me so much? Why do you treat me so considerately? Why do you make me excited? What you want is not a cute romance like the one symbolized by the Lisianthus, but a more trivial relationship, right?’

“Why do you look so upset?”

Lee-Seob cupped her chin to lift her gaze.

“You’ve been uncomfortable throughout dinner. What’s the problem?”

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Didn’t you dislike me?”

“Oh, that…”

It had been barely two months since he had told her he disliked her and to get lost on her first day as his secretary. Lee-Seob’s lips curved into a charming smile. Minkyung knew it was a smile he used as a mask to hide his discomfort,

“Did I say that?”

“Is that night the reason you’re doing this?”

“What night?”

“The night at the hotel lounge bar. When I dressed up like my friend, I went out in her place, got terribly drunk pretending to have a high tolerance, and ended up a mess. Not like myself.”

Even if he felt an instinctive stimulation at seeing her in that state that night, she didn’t intend to question it. At least that’s what she thought, but her heart felt otherwise.

Perhaps because her emotion-laden words sounded like a reproach, Lee-Seob asked with a stiff expression,

“What if it were?”

Minkyung stared at him quietly. Lee-Seob’s eyes blatantly fell on her chest. The thin, soft blouse subtly revealed her bra and the curves of her br*asts.