Chapter 66: A Sensual Cocktail
The reason Choi Mi-hwa was startled was because of Seo Juhwan's transformed appearance.
From what she remembered, Seo Juhwan was shorter and had a rounder figure. But when a stylish man suddenly appeared before her, how could she not be surprised?
'Actually, I haven't lost that much weight.'
His actual weight had only decreased by about 5kg compared to the day he first met Choi Mi-hwa.
But that was only comparing the numbers on a scale. His visible physique had changed so dramatically that he could be mistaken for a different person. Beyond simply losing fat, his height and muscles had developed significantly, creating a substantial transformation.
Seo Juhwan greeted the wide-eyed Choi Mi-hwa with a grin. She snapped back to attention and returned his greeting.
'A woman like this is a porn addict with a profanity fetish.'
Choi Mi-hwa's appearance was that of an intellectual career woman.
A toned-down navy blouse and white skirt. And round silver-rimmed glasses completed the intelligent look. The wavy short hair suited her image perfectly.
Her appearance gave absolutely no indication that she would have such a fetish.
After composing herself, Choi Mi-hwa spoke.
"Author, is there anything special you'd like to eat?"
"No, nothing comes to mind right now..."
"Any foods you can't eat?"
"I eat pretty much anything."
"Then let me show you the way."
Choi Mi-hwa nodded contentedly and led the way.
Seo Juhwan watched her back and felt a twinge of regret.
'Ah, I should have scouted out a restaurant too.'
He had only focused on his external appearance and hadn't thought at all about restaurant elements. Before changes in appearance or personality, he simply lacked practical experience being with a woman.
Whether Seo Juhwan regretted it or not, Choi Mi-hwa didn't care. From her perspective, this wasn't a date but a work outing, so it was only natural. In fact, she wanted to treat her benefactor Seo Juhwan to a nice meal directly.
"Gopchang?"
The restaurant Choi Mi-hwa guided him to was an unexpected choice. He had assumed she'd naturally take him to a pasta restaurant because she was a woman—a moment that revealed Seo Juhwan's pure bias.
The two entered the bustling gopchang restaurant.
Once seated, Choi Mi-hwa spoke.
"The food here is really delicious. I come here alone to eat sometimes, you know?"
"Really? If the PD recommends it, I'm looking forward to it."
"You can expect great things."
Choi Mi-hwa boldly ordered a large serving of gopchang.
Sizzle, sizzle.
Seo Juhwan reached for the tongs, but she grabbed them, saying she'd grill it herself. The more you looked at her actions, the less they matched her appearance.
"Go ahead, try some."
Seo Juhwan followed her instructions and dipped a piece in garlic sauce before taking a bite.
Despite looking quite greasy, it wasn't as heavy as expected. The garlic sauce seemed to cut through the richness in his mouth. And the unique chewy texture of gopchang felt just right to his taste.
Seo Juhwan expressed his genuine admiration without pretense.
"Wow, this is really delicious?"
"Right? I told you it was good."
"Actually, this is my first time eating gopchang."
"Really? How have you never eaten gopchang before?"
Choi Mi-hwa looked at Seo Juhwan with a sorrowful expression, as if he'd committed some terrible offense.
Was it really something to look so sad about?
Regardless, since it was genuinely delicious, Seo Juhwan busily ate more gopchang.
"Author, do you drink by any chance?"
"Drink? I quite enjoy it, actually."
In fact, he was quite fond of drinking and had even enjoyed solitary drinking sessions before his regression. To be more honest, he drank alone because he had no one to drink with.
Choi Mi-hwa spoke as if things had worked out perfectly.
"Then would you like a drink? Gopchang tastes best when eaten with alcohol. Oh, but do you have to write today and can't drink?"
Now it was amusing how she was the one recommending drinks. Despite her seemingly cold-headed appearance, her manner of speaking and actions showed she was a frank, candid woman.
Seo Juhwan shook his head to reassure her.
"No, it's fine. I already have today's quota scheduled in advance. And I have quite a stockpile saved up."
At his words, Choi Mi-hwa's eyes widened.
Behind her silver-rimmed glasses, her pupils gleamed with excitement.
"A stockpile?! Really? How many episodes?"
Choi Mi-hwa leaned forward with great excitement.
A stockpile of the novel she'd been seriously into recently?!
As someone with a bibliophilia addiction, she couldn't easily overlook such a statement. Her wide-open eyes urged Seo Juhwan to speak up quickly.
Seo Juhwan stammered a bit at the sudden attention.
"T-twenty episodes or so?"
"Twenty episodes?! That many?!"
"Ah, yes. I write at a fairly fast pace."
"B-but why haven't they been posted on Geuljoah yet...?"
Choi Mi-hwa's voice trailed off.
It seemed like she was asking why he wasn't uploading them faster.
Seo Juhwan scratched the corner of his eye and answered.
"Because it's still free. Once it converts to paid, I was planning to release them gradually. In the meantime, I wanted to build up my stockpile more solidly."
"Ah, that's right. It was still free. For a popular work, quite a lot of episodes have already been released..."
Choi Mi-hwa nodded in understanding.
Seo Juhwan's 'A Possessed Martial Arts Master is a Wanted Criminal' had already accumulated a substantial number of episodes.
The number of free episodes uploaded was a full 45 episodes.
Considering that popular works typically convert to paid at around 30-35 episodes, this was quite late.
'If I hadn't accidentally failed to delete that private message, I would have already converted to paid.'
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