He’d only offered a handshake, yet Hyowoo had trembled and acted as if about to faint. The manager and staff might not have noticed, but how shocked must Lee Seohee, who was right in front of him, have been? Hyowoo hung his head in embarrassment and regret.
‘First an apology… No, even if I apologize, what should I say? I can’t say I panicked because I didn’t want to shake hands……’
No matter how much he racked his brain on how to handle this situation, no answer came. Unable to do this or that, Hyowoo bit his lower lip.
“We should order, shouldn’t we?”
It was Lee Seohee who first broke the awkward silence.
“I should have made the reservation for 12 o’clock. You’re hungry, right?”
Hyowoo shook his head at him asking gently.
“N-no, it’s okay. I usually eat lunch late……”
“Then that’s a relief.”
His eyes smiling, saying actually he also tended to eat a bit late, were infinitely affectionate.
Since there were only two menu options—regular course and vegetarian course—they finished ordering quickly. When only the two remained, he asked carefully.
“Are you alright?”
“Pardon?”
“Your complexion hasn’t looked good since earlier.”
As expected, Lee Seohee had noticed that Hyowoo’s condition was strange.
“Ah… yes. I’m fine……”
“You don’t look well, don’t push yourself.”
“No, I’m really okay. I just couldn’t sleep well yesterday, so I’m just sleepy……”
“Why couldn’t you sleep?”
It must have been a question asked without much meaning, but Hyowoo was agitated more than necessary.
“Ah, I… th-that… be-because of school assignments……”
It was an obviously unnatural lie to anyone listening. But he continued the conversation casually without showing it.
“I heard you major in accounting. You must be very busy preparing for the CPA exam, thank you for making time like this.”
Being thanked for making time at a blind date, not a business meeting, felt somehow unsuitable.
‘Did… Taeseo say something?’
Given Taeseo’s personality, it seemed she’d earnestly begged her cousin oppa not to keep her alpha-disliking friend for long. While it was true he had aversion to alphas, it wasn’t that he had particularly bad feelings toward Lee Seohee. He felt unnecessarily sorry.
“You’re several times busier than me, Lee Seohee-ssi. I heard you’re returning to England tomorrow morning?”
“It’s during the season. I have a game this weekend, so I have to go right back.”
When he said he must be tired, he answered that staying one or two more days would only cause problems with jet lag or his condition.
“Actually, I bothered my cousin a lot. No matter how much I asked, she flatly refused, so I thought Taeseo liked Hyowoo-ssi.”
At those words, Hyowoo let out a small laugh without realizing it.
‘Why would Taeseo want something like me……’
The same went for the man across from him.
Why would a face genius, soccer genius, third-generation chaebol Dominant Alpha want to meet an omega like him? And a male omega at that?
“Taeseo is just a friend.”
When he replied calmly, he nodded saying he knew.
“That kid has a boyfriend too.”
Not many people knew about Taeseo’s boyfriend. He’d heard even her parents didn’t know, but her cousin oppa knew. They said he was like a real sibling, and they really did seem close.
“I saw an article recently. That you’re a championship candidate this season……”
“Wow, you even read articles about me? Thank you.”
At his reaction of pure joy, Hyowoo’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Um… to be honest……”
Hyowoo, who had been hesitating while fidgeting with his hands under the table, continued as if he’d made up his mind.
“I don’t know much about soccer. I only know Lee Seohee-ssi’s position and team name, and I don’t really know about the Premier League either……”
Before meeting him, he’d searched about soccer in his own way diligently, but that was just scratching the surface.
If he continued conversation pretending to know things he didn’t know well, that would be deceiving him. He thought it would be better to honestly confess in advance.
‘He might think it’s rude, but if I make a verbal mistake, that would be even ruder……’
Thinking he might have offended him, he checked his expression. However, Lee Seohee smiled broadly instead.
“It’s fine. I don’t know accounting at all either. I’ve only done sports since graduating school, so I don’t know that much besides soccer.”
At the reaction telling him not to worry, Hyowoo was dumbfounded.
‘What does soccer have to do with accounting……’
However, at the consideration that obscured the point, he soon smiled softly.
Because he felt it wasn’t teasing or sarcasm but genuine sincerity that he didn’t mind at all, Hyowoo could relax his tension a bit.
During their conversation, the appetizers came out and the conversation paused briefly. While eating, Hyowoo, who had gained some composure, began to observe him carefully.
He’d thought he might be poor at Korean since he’d lived abroad from a young age. However, his pronunciation was accurate as if he’d never left Korea, and he used proper honorifics.
Also, his smile was pretty, and he was someone who laughed really well. Constantly smiling throughout. It wasn’t just smiling with his mouth—he had what people commonly call a ‘smiling face’ with the smile naturally imbued on his face.
Because he smiled every time their eyes met with that handsome face, he became unnecessarily embarrassed and found himself averting his gaze without realizing it.
Where his gaze, having lost its destination, stopped was his hands. His fingers were long and straight, unbelievable for an athlete, and even his nails were neatly trimmed in a pretty shape.
‘This is too much. How can even his hands be perfect……’
At this point, it was certain that God had dumped all the advantages that should have been fairly distributed to humanity onto one person.
“Does the food suit your taste?”
Just before he fell deeply into strange thoughts alone, Lee Seohee spoke to him.
“Yes, it’s delicious.”
“That’s a relief. I wanted to treat you to something delicious, but I don’t know the restaurants here well.”
“Is this your first time at this restaurant too, Lee Seohee-ssi?”
“Yes, when I come to Korea, I mostly eat at home. If there’s something I particularly want to eat, I order delivery.”
Well, being as famous as he was, it was natural to be reluctant to eat out.
“Actually, there’s a restaurant I always stop by whenever I come to Korea. The food is delicious, so I thought about meeting there today, but Taeseo strongly opposed it.”
When he blinked asking what he meant, he said with a laugh.
“It’s a meat restaurant. She scolded me so much, saying whether I was going to flip meat and talk while wrapping lettuce on a first meeting blind date. Asking if I was planning to ruin my first impression.”
Seeing him playfully complain that he got scolded by a cousin nine years younger, Hyowoo could roughly imagine what the master of harsh words Taeseo had said.
“What do you do on weekends or days without classes?”
“These days I’m mostly just reading books preparing for exams.”
The truth without a single lie. But after saying it, it seemed like he was appealing that he was a model student, so he quickly added the next words.
“When I need to clear my head or rest, I mainly play games.”
“Games, you mean video games?”
“Yes.”
“I often play games on my days off too. What games do you like?”
“I play all kinds. Right now it’s an indie game called OO……”
“Ah, I’ve heard of it. A teammate recommended it recently saying it was fun.”
Perhaps thanks to his bright and warm impression, Lee Seohee was a person with a mysterious charm that put others at ease. He led conversations well and listened with interest to the other person’s stories. Thanks to that, even Hyowoo, who couldn’t talk well with people he was meeting for the first time, could converse comfortably.
However, the more enjoyably the conversation continued, the more unease grew in one corner.
‘Is this really this person’s true self?’
He was a professional sports player and third-generation chaebol. Having experienced all sorts of hardships in fierce environments, there was no way he was naive, no way he was simply kind. Wasn’t he wearing a false mask, pretending to be a good person for the sake of his family and corporate image?
‘If I remove that gentle mask, what’s underneath might be a cunning and vicious hypocrite.’
Hyowoo knew through experience. That in this world, there exist demons hiding ugliness behind kind smiles.
‘Right. I shouldn’t easily trust alphas… What am I trying to suffer again……’
The conversation that had been enjoyable until just moments ago now made him suspect hidden motives.
“……May I ask one thing?”
“Yes, speak comfortably.”
“Why did you ask to be introduced to me?”
“Because I liked you, Hyowoo-ssi.”
An answer came back without even one second of hesitation. But that alone wasn’t an answer to the question.
“I heard you asked to be introduced after seeing a photo… Then, did you… um… like my f-face……?”
To ask an unrealistically handsome person if he’d asked to be introduced just looking at his appearance. Even while speaking, his face burned.
“Well, is that how it is?”
So the face was the reason after all? If so, what if it had been his younger brother Gyeonwoo in the photo?
If he said ‘I’m an identical twin, and my younger brother has the exact same face as me,’ how would this person react?
‘The bright, good-natured Gyeonwoo would suit this person better than me, who’s gloomy, sensitive, and nothing but skin and bones……’
It was when he was about to become depressed by his own question.
“When I saw the photo, I thought I definitely wanted to meet you.”
“That’s… all?”
“Yes, but now that I’ve actually met you……”
Lee Seohee, who had spoken that far, paused his words for a moment. Hyowoo interpreted that appearance of seeming to choose his next words as ‘disappointment.’
‘Right. There’s no way a Dominant Alpha would be interested in an omega like me……’
Hyowoo was certain that today would be both the first and last meeting with him. It was the moment he decided he should finish eating quickly and get up.
“You’re prettier, more handsome, and cuter than I imagined, so I was surprised. You’re even kind on top of that.”
As soon as those words ended, the chopsticks dropped from Hyowoo’s hand with a thud.
‘Wh-what is this person… saying right now……’
Compared to his face, he was just ‘passerby number 247.’
But what? Pretty? Handsome? Cute? And kind? Where exactly?
He looked at him with a face beyond absurd to astounded. Whether he knew Hyowoo’s absurd feelings or not, he was smiling with an innocent expression.
‘Don’t tell me… he’s serious……?’
He was extremely bewildered about how to react to this utterly incomprehensible situation. Compared to Hyowoo, who sat blankly without even thinking to pick up the dropped chopsticks, Lee Seohee calmly started eating again.
