/
Yu-Seong was confident that he was completely disguised but, in front of the crosswalk, Kim Do-Jin was staring at Yu-Seong with blazing eyes.
‘Did he recognize me?’
After the light turned green, Yu-Seong got an answer. Do-Jin immediately approached Yu-Seong with big strides, directly faced him, and said, “Follow me, Choi Yu-Seong.”
“You’re sharp. How did you recognize me at once?”
“I can tell it’s you even from a kilometer away.”
“…It wasn’t such a sloppy disguise, though.”
In the first place, no one except Do-Jin recognized Yu-Seong. Even now, most of the crowds taking pictures of them were asking who the masked man beside him was. The only reason Yu-Seong could think of was that Do-Jin was the original novel’s main character.
“It’s noisy here. Why did you ask to meet me on the weekend?”
“It’s just because it was yesterday when I asked you to meet and you said yes. You also didn’t know it was the weekend, right?”
Do-Jin paused his steps, his earlobes turning red at Yu-Seong’s words.
‘This guy, he’s flustered.’
When Kim Do-Jin was flustered, the tip of his earlobes turned red. Yu-Seong was suddenly reminded of Do-Jin’s description, which mentioned this fact about three times in the original novel.
“You really didn’t know either.”
“Yes I did.”
“You’re bad at lying.”
“I just said I knew.”
“Anyway, where are we going now?” asked Yu-Seong.
“Restaurant, I made a reservation.”
“You did?”
Even in the original novel, there was no scene where Do-Jin did something like making a reservation. It was because places that needed reservations were mostly ordered by others. Come to think of it, it was likely that the reservation Do-Jin just mentioned was also ordered by someone who followed him.
“Because it’s an important meeting.”
Do-Jin turned back to Yu-Seong and smiled lightly. It wasn’t a smile of anger, but Yu-Seong flinched without realizing it.
‘…How bloody.’
The place that they arrived through the crowds was a franchise budae-jjigae [1] restaurant.
“Here?”
“Why? Don’t you like budae-jjigae?”
“…Yes, I do. Come to think of it, you really loved food such as ham.”
“Have I ever said that to you?”
Do-Jin tilted his head and climbed the stairs with an indifferent look. It was an ordinary franchise house, but there were no other customers inside. Also, the people after them were not allowed to enter.
“Did you reserve the entire budae-jjigae restaurant?”
“It’s better that way so that it’s easier to talk.”
Do-Jin talked lightly as they sat face-to-face with a round table with a burner in the center. After a while, a budae-jjigae with plenty of ham was placed on the top of the burner.
“Enjoy,” the owner said with a wide smile as she disappeared to the kitchen.
‘What should I start talking about?’ thought Yu-Seong.
“Kim Do…”
The moment Yu-Seong opened his lips after some thinking, Do-Jin interrupted him. “Choi Yu-Seong.”
“Ah, go ahead,” said Yu-Seong.
“I won’t refuse,” said Do-Jin confidently. His gaze was even more intense than the blue flame heating the boiling budae-jjigae. “Choi Yu-Seong. I’m thinking of making a guild.”
So what? Yu-Seong tried hard to filter the words that came to his mind. He took off his mask and hat, then scooped the soup of budae-jjigae for himself. His gesture signaled for Do-Jin to continue talking.
“Come into my guild. I promise to treat you the best.”
“Cough-!”
In the ensuing words, Yu-Seong had no choice but to cough up the soup roughly in front of Do-Jin. After that, he rejected Kim Do-Jin’s offer right away. Yu-Seong was a bit concerned that his rejection might offend Do-Jin, but surprisingly, Do-Jin took it lightly while he wiped the soup that splashed onto his face with a wet tissue.
“Considering your family situation, I understand that it may be a difficult offer for you to consider. I know that I say this often, but it’s just that…I quite like you. It’s to the point where I want to be with you for a very long time.”
It had changed.
Yu-Seong had thought that there would be some changes, but Do-Jin was treating Yu-Seong so differently from the original novel. He looked much more relaxed and calm. To be specific, it could be said that Do-Jin tried to look that way? If Yu-Seong was a woman, he might have thought Do-Jin was seducing him.
‘Actually, it’s true that he’s trying to seduce me.’
However, the meaning in this context was just slightly different. Anyway, due to this situation, Yu-Seong was aware that he should not continue the conversation with Do-Jin thinking of the Do-Jin he knew from the original novel.
‘He is treating me like this, despite the fact that I am a member of his enemy’s family. Then maybe it would be easier than I thought to resolve his grudge?’
Of course, Yu-Seong was aware that this was a complacent thought. Thinking a little deeper, it was highly likely that this process itself was Do-Jin’s trap from the beginning.
‘It’s because I have changed. He's trying to seduce me in a different way. Let’s not forget. For Kim Do-Jin, I’m just a bridge to Choi Woo-Jae.’
If Yu-Seong was placed within Do-Jin’s field of view in a guild, it would inevitably be comfortable for Do-Jin in many ways.
‘It’ll be easier for him to get closer to me.’
Yu-Seong’s eyes sparkled at the word that suddenly crossed his mind.
‘By the way, father told me to keep Kim Do-Jin by my side.’
This was because one should always keep their opponents close, just like the saying ‘take the bull by the horns’. From that perspective, joining Do-Jin’s guild would not be bad for Yu-Seong.
‘Since Do-Jin doesn’t know that I have knowledge of his goal.’
Of course, it was dangerous.
Kim Do-Jin was quick-witted and skilled at getting things done, so he would quickly establish the evidence and circumstances and if any doubts were raised about Yu-Seong’s actions. Then he would slash his throat at once. Wasn’t that the reason he initially tried to keep his distance from Kim Do-Jin?
‘It’s a high-risk high return sort of situation.’
Although he intended to consider it, Yu-Seong refused Do-Jin’s offer for now.
After they finished their meal at the budae-jjigae restaurant, the two went out for a drink. In fact, Yu-Seong had been the one to invite Do-Jin to drink together, and also it was necessary for him to have more time to feel out Do-Jin. He also asked Do-Yoon, who had come nearby, to keep an appropriate distance.
‘If Jin Do-Yoon is too close, I think this guy will try to hide his true feelings even more.’
Do-Jin and Yu-Seong roamed the Itaewon streets for a longer time than they expected. Fortunately, it was late and the number of people chasing Do-Jin had decreased a lot, so they did not feel like the environment was too disruptive.
Originally, it was said that there was a bar that Do-Jin had picked just like the eating place. However, Yu-Seong firmly refused after he saw the sign of the name of the lounge bar, Luna.
‘Out of all the other bars, how could he choose the very bar that Choi Mi-Na owns.’
Mi-Na had never appeared in public, so the general public did not know her face properly. Thanks to this, she quite actively acted as the lounge bar’s owner and roamed around the store. What if she and Yu-Seong accidentally bumped into each other in the store? A fairly difficult situation could have occurred.
“I don’t get why you disliked that store.”
“I just don’t feel good.”
Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“I’ve already paid 500,000 won[ref] about $400 in usd [\ref] to reserve.”
Even though it was a weekend, how could it cost as much as 500,000 won to rent a normal bar room overnight?
Originally, Yu-Seong was an ordinary citizen so he smiled bitterly inwardly.
‘How could the business be that prosperous and there are still many customers who are willing to pay that much?’
Of course, Yu-Seong now belonged to a conglomerate family. Like what had been shown, he could easily spend much more money than that as long as it was meaningful.
“Give up. I’ll give you that money. Don’t be grumpy and let’s go anywhere except there.”
“I think your celebrity disease[ref] a condition in which the celebrity becomes too aware of their fame and status that they start taking it for granted[ref] will be quite a problem if we just go anywhere, though?”
Do-Jin snorted as he stared at Yu-Seong who was wearing a mask, a hat, and even sunglasses.
“Hey, it’s not a celebrity disease. It’s because a lot of people recognize me, seriously.”
“It’s usually called celebrity disease. And even if it’s not you, the eyes will still be drawn because of me anyway.”
Kim Do-Jin pointed behind them with his index finger. Although it had decreased, there were still crowds chasing after the two. However, the crowd rarely came close enough to bother them.
“So can’t you also cover your face?”
“Why should I? I didn’t commit any crime or anything. They are all adults who know manners. Rather, you’re the one who’s too sensitive.” Do-Jin shrugged.
“You want to befriend me, right?”
“I’m behaving like this because I want to befriend you. I don’t pretend in front of my friends.”
“So that’s why you’re so generous when you’re on a magazine or TV.”
“Because it’s not in front of my friends. Again, I like you quite a lot, Choi Yu-Seong.”
Do-Jin smiled at Yu-Seong. Many people would exclaim or scream at that handsome magnificent smile, but Yu-Seong always thought his smile was indeed bloody.
“Don’t smile. It’s scary.”
“Why? Afraid to get attached?”
“No way.”
In the end, Yu-Seong sighed and took off his uncomfortable hat, sunglasses, and mask. At that moment, the number of surrounding gazes doubled.
“Wow…”
“He is crazily handsome. Who is that?”
“Seems like Kim Do-Jin.”
“No no. Look at the person next to him. Wow…”
“Choi Yu-Seong? It’s Choi Yu-Seong!”
It was a moment where the confusion and questions turned into conviction. A burst of exclamation mixed with lamentation came from here and there. Also, there were voices of people who immediately picked up their phones and made calls.
“Hey, Kim Do-Jin and Choi Yu-Seong couple appeared in Itaewon!”
“Seriously, this view is a masterpiece, I mean it. I don’t think I’ll have any regrets if I die today.”
“My gosh. I’ll sleep without washing my eyes today.”
Yu-Seong being next to Do-Jin, whose handsome appearance stood out even when he was alone, was truly eye-catching for people around them. Amid the fuss, a smile bloomed on Yu-Seong as he checked the skill window with his expectations.
“Oh my, flowers just bloomed!”
“He’s crazy. Choi Yu-Seong is truly so handsome”.
“Hey hey, I’ll hang up, so hurry up and come here. If you miss seeing them, you’ll regret it.”
On the other hand, Yu-Seong could not even hear the people’s voices.
『Special Skill: Star Factor E
The more people pay attention to the holder, the faster his growth level accelerates. Additional ability unlocked once the level of attention exceeds a certain number (35→48/100).
Current acceleration rate +50% → +70%』
It was because of the explosive growth of Star Factor skill, which had been slow for a while.
“Now that you look more comfortable and it’s much better to see.”
At Do-Jin’s words, Yu-Seong nodded without hesitation. In other words, Yu-Seong was an attention seeker himself. He rather suppressed his instinct by thinking too much.
“Let’s just go to the nearest pub.”
Being more relaxed, Yu-Seong led Do-Jin.
1. Spicy sausage stew that is a type of Korean jjigae (stew), made with ham, sausage, Spam, baked beans, kimchi, instant noodles, and gochujang. It is also associated with the army as it was created after the Korean War, a Korean stew made with American ingredients. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/budae-jjigae ☜