## Chapter 37 – Seducing Julia Lee
I sat down with Julia Lee, along with Jung Se-in.
“Thank you for coming, Ms. Se-in. And your friend as well.”
Her manner of speaking was as elegant as her appearance.
She had seemed a bit stern during our first encounter, but now her expression towards me was calm. Is it strange to feel a sense of professionalism in that?
“Thank you for inviting us to such a nice place.”
“Ah, yep. Me too.”
“Have you both eaten?”
“I ate before coming.”
“I haven’t yet.”
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Should we order then?”
Professor Julia Lee subtly raised her hand.
A staff member approached, and the professor asked,
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“Yes. Our lounge’s Smoked Salmon Canapés and Mini Steak Sandwiches are quite popular. For drinks, we recommend the Mojito made with fresh fruit or the classic Old Fashioned.”
“Then I’ll have a Mojito.”
After hearing that, I whispered to Jung Se-in,
“Isn’t Mojito that thing? ‘A Mojito in the Maldives’.”
Jung Se-in’s face immediately soured at my words.
I know it’s not appropriate to bring it up in a place like this.
But I couldn’t help but say it. My mouth was itching to.
“Hey. Can you just shut up for a bit? I’m embarrassed to be with you.”
“What are you talking about? You were the one who started it.”
She was the one who brought up the dick king story first. Who is she embarrassed in front of?
“I should try that Mojito thing. I’ll have a Mojito and a Steak Sandwich.”
“I’ll have an Old Fashioned.”
Jung Se-in said, striking a pose.
“Order something else to eat too.”
“I told you I’m not hungry.”
“I’m going to eat it if you don’t.”
“You pig.”
Seeing us like that, Julia Lee gives a wry smile.
“Please bring one Smoked Salmon Canapé and one Mini Steak Sandwich as well. Two Mojitos and one Old Fashioned.”
“Yes, we’ll prepare that for you.”
After the staff member left, Julia Lee asked,
“You two seem very close.”
“We’ve been friends since we were young. Our parents have known each other for a long time too.”
“Ah, I see.”
In reality, knowing Se-in’s parents just meant my stepmother had greeted them a few times. I’ve never even met her father.
But after hearing Jung Se-in’s words, Julia Lee’s gaze towards me seemed to change somehow.
Once I got used to the atmosphere of the place, I was able to observe Julia Lee more calmly.
I thought her image was different from what I saw on TV, but upon closer inspection, it was indeed the same person.
Julia Lee doesn’t have the approachable image of an entertainer.
Rather, she was closer to a great figure. Like a mathematics Ph.D. who won the Fields Medal or a film director who won an Academy Award.
I know she’s someone who has achieved something great, but she’s a person who lives in a world far removed from ordinary people like us. If it weren’t for Jung Se-in, I probably would never have been involved with her in my life.
It was amazing to have such a person right in front of me.
Moreover, being with Jung Se-in meant… that thing, right?
It meant that we’d be doing that thing at this hotel soon, right?
Could it be that I’m doing it with this person today?
Do people like this also do that kind of thing normally?
Those kinds of things? Even those other kinds of things?
Hmm. It’s hard to imagine.
She seems like someone who has transcended the mundane world.
Besides, being a ballerina must require a lot of training, right? Especially someone at the top of the world, she wouldn’t be ordinary.
It would be on a different level from my ‘10,000 Gratitude Dick Thrusts’ or ’24-Hour Constant Kegel Exercises’.
Can I handle someone like that?
Given that Jung Se-in deliberately said she was a formidable opponent, I could almost picture a future where I’d be easily devoured and laughed at.
“…right? Don’t you think?”
“Huh…huh?”
Jung Se-in and Julia Lee were talking to each other, so I was lost in thought for a moment.
It seems the conversation had turned back to me at some point. Both of them were looking at me.
“Ugh. You were thinking about something perverted again, weren’t you?”
“Huh? No, I wasn’t?”
Even if I was thinking a little, it wouldn’t have shown on my face.
My pants wouldn’t be bulging where they were sitting either.
Just then, the food we ordered arrived.
I barely managed to swallow the words ‘Huh? That’s all?’ that almost came out.
That’s because the amount of food that came out was very small.
“Hey. If you’re not going to eat it, I’ll eat it?”
“Eat it all.”
Neither of them seemed interested in the food, so I ate it all.
The so-called canapés were like small crackers topped with smoked salmon. The mini steak sandwiches were literally small sandwiches with meat in them. Both were small enough to be held in one hand and eaten in one bite, so even if I ate both plates, it wouldn’t be enough.
“Even though I’m happy teaching children now, I sometimes miss those days. When I see the children working hard, it reminds me of the old days. It makes me wonder if there’s still something I can do.”
“Professor, you’re still young. If you had continued to be active, you would actually be at your peak right now.”
“Hehe. It’s not quite that, but I do feel a bit regretful. Because there are still dreams I haven’t fulfilled.”
I stuffed my face with food, eavesdropping on their conversation.
It seems like they’re not talking about the main topic and just testing the waters. Is it just my imagination?
The Mojito was a drink with green limes and something that looked like weeds floating in it.
The alcohol content was weaker than soju, but it looked similar to an ade, so it would be a disaster if kids drank it by mistake.
“So, there’s something I wanted to ask Ms. Se-in.”
“Me? I don’t think there’s anything I can do for you.”
Oh. Are we finally getting to the main point?
I don’t know why women have to live so exhaustingly.
Can’t they just say ‘Do this’, ‘Okay’, or ‘No’?
Thanks to that, I’m getting to eat this expensive food though. Slurp.
“I know that the Assemblyman is very interested in the cultural arts.”
“Yeah, well, it seems like he is. That’s how my mother met him too.”
“Would it be possible for you to arrange a meeting?”
“Hmm.”
Jung Se-in pretends to think.
She knew all along, so why is she stalling?
“Hey. What do you think?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Jung Se-in asks me.
“Well, isn’t it something you can at least talk about?”
“Hmm.”
Suddenly, Jung Se-in gently steps on my foot.
It seems like she wants me to answer properly.
It hurts. She could have just said it, why step so hard?
“You know, I haven’t been on good terms with my dad lately.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s right. But that’s because you’re always causing trouble.”
“We fought a few days ago and we’re not even talking now. So I think it’ll be difficult.”
“Is that so? How about taking this opportunity to talk and resolve things?”
Julia Lee subtly stirs things up.
Her expression is smiling, but it doesn’t look like a real smile.
Women are scary after all.
But that didn’t work on Jung Se-in at all.
“My dad doesn’t really like it when I talk about those things.”
She lightly brushes off Julia Lee’s words again.
Tap tap. She steps on my foot.
It seems like a signal to jump in quickly.
“Then should I talk to your father instead?”
Honestly, who am I? I don’t even know Jung Se-in’s father.
But the truth isn’t important here.
The reason Jung Se-in called me to this place.
That’s to somehow, in some way, create a situation where I can do it with Julia Lee.
Even if it’s mixed with a bit of bluffing and lies, it doesn’t matter.
In the end, Jung Se-in will talk to her father, and he’ll arrange the meeting himself.
I just have to ride along and reap the rewards.
“Would you? My dad listens to you more than me.”
“Is that so? Excuse me, but what is your relationship?”
Julia Lee asks, surprised by the unexpected story.
I was also surprised. Jung Se-in’s father listens to me more than his own daughter, whom I don’t even know.
“My dad and her father are practically sworn brothers. They even say they’re going to marry me off to him later. I don’t know what’s so good about a guy like this.”
“Ah.”
…Was it just my imagination, or did Julia Lee’s ‘Ah’ sound like it was filled with pity?
It was an ‘Ah’ that encapsulated the meaning of ‘To be engaged to a guy who looks like this. How pitiful.’
“But honestly, I’m a bit reluctant too. Once I get caught by her father, I have to be his drinking buddy all night. Even though he almost always grants my requests when I do, I get tired of dealing with adults all night.”
“I see….”
She subtly emphasizes that they’re close enough to drink together all night.
In reality, I don’t even know his face. Jung Se-in was holding back her laughter next to me.
What kind of image does Julia Lee have of me right now? Actually a hidden powerhouse? She must be quite confused.
“So I’m also a bit….”
“Hey hey, just tell him yourself. Even if I say it, he’ll say ‘Women shouldn’t get involved in national affairs!’ According to my dad’s personality, those things only work when men talk to each other.”
“Ugh~ I don’t want to drink with your father. I have to listen to political talk all night.”
“Hehe. Good luck. Dick King. You can do it, right?”
Jung Se-in patted me on the shoulder to cheer me on, then got up from her seat.
“Well, it seems like I’m not needed here. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now. You two can continue talking.”
“Huh? You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. Good luck. Fighting.”
Honestly, it was unexpected.
I thought she would definitely do it together. Because she had always done it together with Jung Se-in’s friends until now.
“Ms. Se-in. Thank you for today.”
“Don’t mention it. You can thank this bastard instead.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I’d do it yet.”
“Get lost. You should reduce your perverted thoughts a bit.”
And just as Jung Se-in was about to leave.
“Oh, right.”
She came back and whispered in my ear.
Not to me, but to Julia Lee.
“……”
“Hehe. Then I’ll be going.”
Well, I think I know what they’re talking about even without hearing it.
She probably said something like ‘That guy will do anything if you give him some’.
Julia Lee’s gaze towards me also changed somehow.
“Hoo. I’m feeling a bit tipsy. Shall we continue the rest of the conversation in my room?”
Julia Lee, who looked perfectly sober at a glance, said.
See?
