Chapter 59: The Smoking Booth Encounter
Seo Juhui, succumbing to the promise of money, began actively tidying up the room. Following her lead, Han Soo-ah also moved her small hands to organize things. Every time she moved, her ponytail shook like a puppy's tail.
Thanks to the two of them, cleaning the studio apartment was completed quickly. The heavy items had already been organized the previous day, so the cleaning went smoothly.
"Let's go eat."
"Are you paying?"
"Yeah, you worked hard. I should at least feed you."
"Yay!"
"Hehe. Thanks, oppa."
After cleaning was done, they chatted for a bit before taking his younger sisters to a fairly nice restaurant and treating them to a meal.
"Brother Juhwan, then we should get going now. Stay in touch!"
"Yeah, I'll contact you often. Be careful getting in."
"Stop by the house sometimes. Mom's already feeling lonely without you."
"Did you get indigestion from dinner earlier? You're acting all grown up suddenly."
"Ugh, seriously!"
"Ah, I know. Just kidding, so be careful on your way in."
Seo Juhwan walked his two younger sisters to the bus stop and then headed back to his studio apartment.
It had been a lively day thanks to his younger sisters. Perhaps because of that, the night streets on the way home felt even more desolate than yesterday.
'Should I have a cigarette before going in?'
There happened to be a smoking booth nearby. The advantage of this neighborhood was that there were smoking areas scattered throughout the downtown.
"Oh, no one's here. Nice."
He preferred to avoid the booths when there were many people. The thick smoke would make him uncomfortable. He suspected this was the common hypocrisy most smokers possessed.
Thinking this way, he lit a cigarette, but then a woman with long straight hair entered the booth.
'She's really beautiful. Is she a model?'
The woman's appearance was impressive enough to warrant that thought. Her height, which seemed to slightly exceed 170 cm, was notable, but her limbs were proportioned so elegantly for an Asian that she resembled a model. Her distinct facial features and long, extended eyelashes had a somewhat Western quality to them.
However, her expression seemed so cold that it was intimidating, making it difficult to approach her. Yet strangely, Seo Juhwan felt as though he had seen her somewhere before.
Had he been staring too long?
The woman with the cigarette in her mouth turned her head to look at him. Their eyes met directly, and Seo Juhwan felt inwardly flustered, but the woman simply glanced at him once and turned her gaze away.
'Whoa, that startled me.'
Seo Juhwan tried to calm his racing heart. She was so stunningly beautiful that the moment their eyes met, he froze completely.
[A strong stroke of luck regarding matters of sexuality is intervening!]
Suddenly, a message he hadn't seen in a long time appeared.
What was this? Was it telling him to seduce this woman?
Just then, frustrated words came from the woman's mouth.
"Ah, damn."
Click. Click.
It seemed her lighter had run out of fuel.
There were only two people in the smoking booth—Seo Juhwan and the woman. The woman looked at him again.
Before she could say anything, Seo Juhwan extended his lighter to her.
"Use this."
"Oh, thank you."
Unlike her cold impression, the woman slightly bowed her head.
"It's nothing. Smokers have to help each other out."
For some reason, the woman let out a small laugh at his words and took the lighter. She lit her cigarette and extended the lighter back to him.
Seo Juhwan took it and felt a sense of déjà vu again. Unable to hold back, he finally spoke.
"Um, excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Haven't we met somewhere before?"
"No, I don't think so. This is the first time."
"Then, do you perhaps do YouTube or appear on broadcasts? I feel like I've seen you somewhere…."
Even as he spoke, Seo Juhwan felt regretful. He sounded like he was prying too much.
As expected, the woman's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She then let out a small laugh and spoke.
"Are you hitting on me right now?"
"What?"
"I'm sorry, but I prefer tall men."
Seo Juhwan's height had recently reached 175 cm.
Above average height.
But the woman's height was clearly over 170 cm by his estimation, so the height difference wasn't significant.
'Oh… that's quite presumptuous.'
He hadn't been trying to seduce her, but being rejected felt awkward. The woman's overflowing confidence felt somewhat unpleasant.
However, it was an understandable misunderstanding, and the woman was attractive enough that her presumptuousness didn't matter much.
Seo Juhwan smiled somewhat wryly and spoke.
"Well, I wasn't trying to do that. I think I made a mistake."
At his words, the woman stopped smoking and blinked, then spoke in a slightly flustered tone.
"Oh… you weren't hitting on me?"
"I wasn't."
"Ah, how embarrassing…. I'm sorry."
She seemed quite ashamed, as her white skin flushed red.
Seo Juhwan flicked the ash from his cigarette and replied.
"It's nothing. I was rejected anyway, so I'll head back first."
"Umm… thank you for your time."
"You too."
He gave a casual farewell and headed back to his apartment.
As he walked down the street, the situation from moments before came back to him, and laughter quietly escaped between his teeth.
"Ah, that's funny."
The previous situation was amusing and peculiar.
Was it because he had died once and returned to life? Or had his courage grown due to recent life-or-death experiences?
In the past, he would have been too timid to even talk to a woman like her, but now he had calmly conversed with her and even teased her in return. It was entertaining.
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