Real Man

Chapter 107

I’m sure that’s how he felt.

He must be nervous because he really likes her.

What should I do?

I tried to keep a reasonable distance and only reach out when necessary.

That’s what Kang Jun-ki wanted too.

“Ah, I’m going crazy. Hoo, hoo.”

“…”

But Kang Jun-ki’s anxious eyes kept asking for help.

I wanted to leave him alone, but I couldn’t forget the past when I didn’t go to his wedding.

I should have gone to the wedding hall.

It was too late to change the past.

Well, I’ll just close my eyes and help him this once.

“Jun-ki, come here.”

“What’s up?”

“Let’s try this. It’s like this…”

I gathered my courage and gave him some instructions.

Tap tap.

Then I patted his shoulder as if he could do it.

Slap.

I lightly slapped his cheek to make him snap out of it.

“You can do it.”

“I’ll try.”

Kang Jun-ki tried to sound confident.

I quietly watched him and walked over to where Lee So-hyun was sitting.

It wasn’t just me or Kang Jun-ki who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

Most of the friends here were gathered together for the first time in a long time.

The host, Lee Yong-oh, hadn’t arrived yet.

It was natural that they were sitting in their own groups in an awkward atmosphere.

What if I suddenly joined them?

“Hi. Long time no see.”

As I pulled up a chair and sat down, the eyes of the girls’ group turned to me.

I greeted them lightly and turned my head to the side without waiting for an answer.

Then their eyes naturally shifted from me sitting down to Kang Jun-ki standing up.

Kang Jun-ki wasn’t good at dressing up, but he wasn’t ugly either.

Especially his eye smile was charming.

“Huh? You’re Jun-ki, right?”

“Yeah. Hi.”

When one of the girls asked, Kang Jun-ki answered with an eye smile.

“Nice to see you. You look great.”

“So do you. You’re so pretty.”

“Hahaha.”

As a few words were exchanged, I observed the girls’ reactions.

Eyebrow movements, eye tremors, smiles on their lips, upper body angles, hand gestures, leg directions, etc.

It wasn’t hard to get information from their body language since they had no experience hiding their feelings.

Kang Jun-ki’s first impression wasn’t bad.

Lee So-hyun even turned her head to look at him.

If you’re interested, you have to look at him. And if you look at him often, you’ll get interested.

Especially when she turned her head with some discomfort, the effect was doubled.

This was all part of my plan.

I deliberately chose a side seat instead of a front seat for Lee So-hyun.

I also chose the right side considering her habit of sweeping her hair to the left and resting her chin on her left hand.

I felt good and called Kang Jun-ki.

“Jun-ki.”

“Yeah. I’ll get some food.”

“Okay. I’ll be back later.”

When I gestured under the table, Kang Jun-ki naturally left his seat.

That’s why buffets were great.

He could take a break without being noticed when he was nervous.

In the meantime, I had something to do.

There were five girls sitting at the table.

They were still not close enough to each other, so they had some guard up against each other.

When the main event started, they wouldn’t have much time to talk like this.

It was obvious that they had to loosen up the atmosphere before that, and make Kang Jun-ki the center of it.

And I couldn’t be the one to do that myself.

Swoosh.

As I grabbed the beer bottle in the middle of the table, one of the girls next to me snatched it away.

“I’ll pour it for you.”

“Thanks, Hyun-joo.”

“Huh? You remember my name?”

“Of course.”

There’s always a center in any group.

Kim Hyun-joo was the one who led the conversation at this table.

I mentioned her name on purpose to get her attention.

Roll roll roll

Kim Hyun-joo opened her mouth with a bright voice

“It’s been a long time.”

“A little over 10 years?”

“Haha, yeah. Time flies. You said you studied in Seoul all this time. Wasn’t it hard?”

“A bit. But I think it was less hard than doing music like you?”

I guessed she played an instrument by looking at the calluses on her fingertips

From her conversation, I could tell that she went to a music academy too

“Huh? How did you know I do music?”

“I saw the calluses on your fingers. They say that’s the callus you get when you play the violin a lot.”

Kim Hyun-joo’s eyes widened at my words.

The violin was her main instrument.

And that was something she hadn’t told anyone yet.

“Wow! You’re amazing, Yoo-hyun.”

“It’s nothing.”

I just said it because I saw the violin model hanging on her phone ring, but that wasn’t important.

What mattered was that I caught Kim Hyun-joo’s attention.

“No. How did you know? Guys, Yoo-hyun is like…”

Look at that. 

He’s drawing everyone’s attention in an instant.

With a lively reaction and a cheerful gesture, he had the perfect personality for a trumpeter.

‘I remember the former T-Mobile CEO was like that.’

Thanks to him doing his job as a trumpeter well, we were able to make a decent contract with the North American telecom companies.

The situation was completely different, but the core was the same.

Let’s give Kang Jun-ki a little boost here.

“No, Jun-ki gave me a hint earlier.”

“Oh, really? Wow. Jun-ki is awesome.”

I casually brought Kang Jun-ki to the table of conversation.

Kang Jun-ki started to appear in the other girls’ interests and in my introduction.

And that wasn’t from my mouth, but from Kim Hyun-joo’s mouth.

Nothing is worse than bragging directly.

But it’s different when it’s through a friend.

What if it’s a really close friend?

As Kang Jun-ki’s story came up repeatedly, Lee So-hyun’s eyebrows started to react.

It wasn’t a bad start.

When Kang Jun-ki came back with food, the atmosphere had changed a lot.

“Hohoho.”

“Hahaha.”

It was like they were friends who met often.

“Jun-ki, come and sit down.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Even the kids who hadn’t greeted properly called his name and gestured to him.

“Huh? Jun-ki, you’re having salad too?”

“Just. I like vegetables.”

They even showed interest in his plate.

Then he turned his head slightly and met Lee So-hyun’s eyes.

Did she notice that I picked up the same thing on purpose?

Thump thump thump.

My heart is pounding.

What should I say?

I feel like my head is blank.

Then a girl with a quick tongue opened her mouth.

“Jun-ki, you’re an engineer?”

What was her name… Kim Hyun-joo?

“Yeah. Uh.”

“Do you make things like phones?”

Phones? It’s similar to mockups.

“Something like that.”

Wow, you’re amazing. Yoo-hyun said his company couldn’t work without yours.”

“…That’s not true.”

I turned my head and saw Yoo-hyun giving me a thumbs up.

What a nice guy.

I finally understood the situation.

Yoo-hyun had set the stage.

Did he do some magic in five minutes?

I wondered how he did it. The atmosphere had changed so strangely.

It was as if I was the protagonist of this place. Questions poured out at me.

“By the way, weren’t you and So Hyun flirting?”

There was even a question that hit the nail on the head.

It was a playful question, so I tried to brush it off.

“Ah, no…”

Then I felt a tap on my toe from the side.

That answer was a sign of no.

I felt So Hyun’s gaze.

-Don’t miss any opportunity to say something, even as a joke. But don’t overdo it. Just be honest.

Did Yoo-hyun predict this situation?

I put some playfulness into my trembling voice.

“I just liked her.”

“Ooh, really? What about you, So Hyun?”

“Hyun Joo, stop it.”

“…”

I thought it was a rejection.

But Yoo-hyun nodded his head next to me.

That was a sign that things were going well.

Following Yoo-hyun’s sign, I felt much more relaxed.

The words flowed smoothly and I gained confidence.

As I chatted away, I found myself sitting next to So Hyun.

Drrrrr.

She was the one who poured me drinks.

“So you live near here?”

“Yeah. It’s close.”

She was the one who asked questions.

She looked at me with a curious gaze.

It was a very friendly look.

Thump thump.

My heart calmed down pleasantly and I smiled with my eyes.

Huh? Was So Hyun smiling with her eyes too?

Clang.

Our glasses clinked.

She said with her doll-like lips.

“One shot. I like cool guys.”

“My nickname is Kang Si Won.”

“Really.”

“Want to see?”

I gulped down the drink.

“Ah, refreshing!”

The start was good.

But the problem was the useless jokes that popped up once in a while.

Fortunately, So Hyun didn’t lose interest.

Her legs were still facing me.

The distance of the conversation was appropriate.

We must have clicked well, right?

At this point, Yoo-hyun had done his part.

Then Kim Hyun Joo, who was next to me, asked me with flushed cheeks.

“What are you thinking?”

“Nothing, just.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“I have someone I like.”

“Who is it?”

She must have had too much to drink before the meeting even started.

Yoo-hyun just chuckled and said nothing.

That’s when it happened.

The door opened and a man came in.

He wore a flashy watch and a sharp suit like a swallow.

He greeted us with a loud voice like a late-arriving protagonist.

“Nice to meet you, friends!”

“Huh? Yong Oh!”

“Wow, you look great.”

The whole room echoed with his confident voice and the mood shifted to the entrance in an instant.

More than 30 kids who were awkwardly playing separately all looked at the same place.

Yong Oh waved his hand at the waiter near the entrance.

Then he gave him a few ten thousand won bills as a tip.

“Set up two bottles of wine for each table here.”

“Thank you. We’ll serve you well.”

Then the waiter bowed at 90 degrees as if he was serving royalty.

Tap tap.

He shrugged his shoulders and fidgeted. He wasn’t new to this skill.

“Yong Oh, did you hit it big?”

“You must be doing well. That bag is from Bali. It was on a drama.”

“That suit looks expensive too.”

“That’s awesome. What do you do?”

The kids were excited by his appearance.

They were mostly rookies who hadn’t even started their social lives properly yet.

Even if they had some work experience, they weren’t used to ordering wine and giving tips.

Yong Oh walked around the tables with a relaxed expression and handed out his business cards to the kids.

-Miracle Invest Assistant Manager Lee Yong Oh

“Oh, Yong Oh, you’re an Assistant Manager?”

“It’s just a title, what’s the big deal?”

Yong Oh acted like it was nothing.

The one who added fuel to the fire was the guy who followed him.

“Hey, I came here in Yong Oh’s car today. Do you know what it is? It’s a BMW.”

“Oooh.”

“You can drive that car too, you know?”

“Really? How?”

“You just have to invest in good places.”

He was good at luring them in softly.

He arranged the place and the meeting.

I predicted that he would organize not only the middle school reunion, but also the elementary school and high school reunions.

Why?

Yoo-hyun, who had analyzed him in a short time, whispered to me.

“He’s a scammer.”

“Really?”

I asked in surprise.