Chapter 251: Getting Them Back (1)

Kang Jin-Ho had to ask again just to make sure he hadn't heard wrongly. “As a man, you say?”

“Yes, as a man,” Choi Yeon-Ha replied with a cool nod. And that rendered Kang Jin-Ho speechless once more, unable to think of an appropriate response. Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head. “What's the matter? Acting like a naive idiot and all?”

“No,

uh,?

well...” Kang Jin-Ho frowned, wondering what she wanted to hear from him. He couldn't remember the last time he was this lost for words.

Choi Yeon-Ha burst into laughter at how flustered Kang Jin-Ho looked. “Mister Jin-Ho, what's gotten into you?”

“No, well...”

“You're acting like I confessed to you or something. Don't worry; it's not like that.”

“...?”

“It's as I said. I'm interested in you. Simply put... You're better than I thought? Something like that?”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded, inwardly thanking Choi Yeon-Ha for retreating like this for his sake. Even if the odds of him misunderstanding her right now was pretty high, he still felt relieved that she selflessly created some breathing room for him.

Choi Yeon-Ha continued to explain, “All I'm saying is that hanging out with you, again and again, might not be a bad idea. I hope you understand what I mean.”

“

Oh, uh,

yes...”

Choi Yeon-Ha's eyes opened wide in surprise when she saw the still-flustered Kang Jin-Ho.

'This guy... Why is he such an innocent little dummy?'

With his looks, never mind some measly confessions, Kang Jin-Ho had to be constantly surrounded by gorgeous women his entire life. But the way he was reacting right now was reminiscent of someone who had never ever been confessed to.

Choi Yeon-Ha grinned softly.

'This is fun.'

Seeing that flustered expression on his face only made her eager to tease him some more. So, she decided to do just that. “I have to say, this kind of hurts my pride, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“I'm sorry?”

“Am I not pretty?”

“...No, you are pretty.”

“In that case, I shouldn't be the one asking you for another date, don't you agree? It should be the other way around, yes?”

Kang Jin-Ho stared back at her in stupefaction.

'Wait a minute...'

He figured this 'meeting' was to discuss his casting in that film, but Choi Yeon-Ha didn't bring that up even once during the day. No, all she did was—enjoy food, go on a drive, and have a chat with Kang Jin-Ho. That was all.

'It really was a date...'

Kang Jin-Ho belatedly realized the 'date' Choi Yeon-Ha had mentioned wasn't a pretext for something else. And that helped him to quickly understand what he had done.

Choi Yeon-Ha continued speaking, “I may not look it, Mister Jin-Ho, but as far as popularity in Korea is concerned, I should rank in the top five.”

“I'm sure that's the case.”

“Then, why should I have to ask first about when we will have another date again?”

“...”

“You shouldn't behave like this even if I were an ugly and unpopular person, Mister Jin-Ho. A man should fundamentally have manners toward women, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against the back of the chair and stared soullessly at the ceiling.

Choi Yeon-Ha was puzzled by his deflated response. “What's the matter?”

“No, well... I was thinking about how I have been getting constantly nagged recently by people around me.”

“Goodness, nagging? Me?”

“N-no, that's not what...”

Choi Yeon-Ha grinned brightly. “That can only mean you're doing many things wrong in your life, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Most likely…” Kang Jin-Ho sighed at length, then sat up properly to stare straight at Choi Yeon-Ha. His gaze failed to faze her because Choi Yeon-Ha asked him another question, “So? When are we going on a date again?”

“Before that…” Kang Jin-Ho firmly cut Choi Yeon-Ha off first. “I'm not a fan of leaving things hanging and unresolved, so I'd like to make myself crystal clear first.”

“I see. Please speak your mind, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“I'm not going into acting, Miss Choi.”

“Yes, you told me that.”

“Even if you come out this way, I won't change my mind.”

Choi Yeon-Ha began stirring her drink with a straw and took her time before breaking the silence with a certain level of languidness in her attitude. “I'm fairly good at judging people, Mister Jin-Ho. And I know that someone like you won't do it if you have already put your foot down. We have already cast the actor for the role of the male protagonist, anyway.”

Kang Jin-Ho's expression stiffened a little. If that was true, why did Choi Yeon-Ha ask him for a date?

“Stop looking at me weirdly like that. Is it so strange that we had dinner and went on a nice drive?”

“Yes, it is strange,” said Kang Jin-Ho without any hesitation.

“How come?”

“Because you are an actress…”

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled a little. “Is there a rule that says actresses have to hang out with second-gen chaebols only? Don't worry, Mister Jin-Ho. I'm quite well-off, thank you very much. And I'm not interested in men who try to throw their weight around, thinking that they’re some kind of hot stuff.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. That was his own preference, so why was it being thrown back in his face? He couldn't quite figure it out.

“However, that doesn't mean I've completely given up, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“What do you mean?”

“I fully understand all the reasons why you don't want to become an actor, Mister Jin-Ho. However, I think that's because you have only been exposed to the negative aspects of being an actor. Once you learn more about the 'charms' of this profession, I believe our situation will change.”

“

Mm...?

”

“If being an actor is as bad as you think, why would Miss Se-Ah enjoy filming the TV show so much? That wouldn't make sense, right? Since she seems to be the type to get easily sick and tired of some things?”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded after figuring out what Choi Yeon-Ha wanted to say. However, he was still not interested. “Let me say this ahead of time: what you are thinking about won't happen.”

“Wow. You're such an immovable wall, aren't you?” Choi Yeon-Ha groaned before scratching her head. “By any chance, have you dated a girl before?”

“I have...”

“Did you date her for a long time?”

“...Not exactly.”

“Well, that's a relief. I can already imagine how much pain in the neck you had to have been to her.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly sipped his coffee. He couldn't help but recall Han Se-Yeon while talking about the subject of his girlfriend. What was… she doing these days?

Although he didn't consciously go out and search for her... They hadn't been in contact since that day. So much time had passed since his discharge from the military, so she had to have heard some news about him from their acquaintances...

Even if she was no longer his 'girlfriend,’ didn't she say they should remain friends...?

“Stop. No more reminiscing, please,” Choi Yeon-Ha abruptly called him out.

“

...Oh.

”

"It's uncool to think about another woman in front of your date, Mister Jin-Ho."

“I'm sorry.”

“You really are an honest man, aren't you?” Choi Yeon-Ha involuntarily burst into another round of laughter. The more she hung out with him, the stranger Kang Jin-Ho seemed to her eyes. Not just in the way he didn't even bother to hide his annoyance at Choi Yeon-Ha's presence but also in how he would draw a clear line on the things he had an opinion about. Even though he sometimes acted like a wishy-washy man with no backbone whatsoever!

Choi Yeon-Ha sipped on her coffee and asked, “How is your pizzeria?”

“We're taking a break for today.”

“Not that. I meant, how is the business going these days?”

“It's the same, more or less.”

Choi Yeon-Ha smirked softly. “Your situation will drastically change come tomorrow, probably, so you better prepare yourself, Mister Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “You've been saying that since the last time, but I still don't understand. What are you talking about?”

“You don't have to understand it now. You'll soon experience it by yourself, anyway.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head, unconvinced.

Choi Yeon-Ha just chuckled at him before glancing at her watch. “I guess it's time to part ways.”

“I see.”

“Do you want me to give you a ride?”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “I can't inconvenience you like that.”

“

Hmm...

Well, that's fine. It's our first date, after all. If I give you a ride home so soon, it won't look good for either of us. I gotta think about maintaining at least a minimum level of pride for myself.”

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced a little, thinking that talking to this woman would often render him speechless. Maybe it was because Choi Yeon-Ha didn't beat around the bush as much as others and liked throwing a direct punch all the time.

“Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes, Miss Choi?”

“You don't like me very much, do you?”

“No, that's not true.”

“Your expression says otherwise, though? You find me quite annoying, don't you?” Choi Yeon-Ha narrowed her eyes, prompting Kang Jin-Ho to keep mum and look away. She could only chuckle hollowly at that response. “Wow, so it's really true? This guy...!”

She wasn't expecting to see Kang Jin-Ho behave like a love-struck teenager, but wasn't she none other than Choi Yeon-Ha? So, shouldn't he at least show some level of interest in her way? To think he would be annoyed by her instead!

'Wait, am I really gonna end up in that pathetic state, too?'

She had always found the repertoire of 'I've never met a man who treats me this way before!' as such a boring cliché. However, to think that she would get to experience such a thing not as a character in a TV show but in reality!

'No, wait. That's not it, is it?'

Choi Yeon-Ha quickly corrected herself. It felt like she had gotten the order of things wrong. It wasn't the case of Kang Jin-Ho not caring about her due to his lack of interest, but more like he simply had no interest since he didn't care about her in the first place.

'Hmm, can't I use this in a drama later down the line?'

This could be a defining moment of reinterpreting the time-worn storyline. Choi Yeon-Ha made up her mind, then spoke, “Well, it's fine either way. I will stop expecting you to treat me well just because of who I am.”

“...”

“However!” Choi Yeon-Ha smacked the table rather cutely. “Next time we meet, you must not have the mindset of someone trying to finish a job. No, you should come here with the mind of someone meeting a woman on a date. And work on not wounding my pride so often, too!”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded in acceptance. Even he knew that the mindset he had today was unbecoming and rude.

Choi Yeon-Ha's lips quivered as if she had more things to say, but she sucked in a deep breath instead. “Now listen, Mister Jin-Ho. This is a declaration of war.”

“I'm sorry?”

Choi Yeon-Ha stared at Kang Jin-Ho as a meaningful grin floated up on her face. “Starting now, I'm going to seduce you, Mister Jin-Ho.”

***

“Isn't he late?” Kang Eun-Yeong gnashed her teeth as flames burned in her eyes. “His little sister is recovering at home, yet the orabi hasn't even bothered to come home, even though it’s already this late! How dare he!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong glanced at her daughter while unpeeling the fruits. “...Don't you have a filming commitment or something, Eun-Yeong?”

“Mom?!” Kang Eun-Yeong unhappily yelled.

But Baek Hyeon-Jeong simply sighed. “Do you know how worried I was when you were out and about, shooting TV shows and putting on concerts?”

“...I didn't know, Mom.”

“Now that you're at home like this...”

Kang Eun-Yeong gripped her own hands tightly and stared at her mother. She had been chasing after her dream and achieved some level of success, but her guilt toward her parents had always been there in the back of her mind.

“...What a relief it is that you've become an artist like this, Eun-Yeong. Otherwise, you would have been lounging around in the living room like this the whole day.”

“...!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong continued speaking, “Whenever my friends whined about their daughters doing nothing with their lives and acting like parasites at home, I always thought, at least you get to see your children all the time. But now, it seems I owe them an apology. I didn't know that too much of a good thing would be this bad.”

Kang Eun-Yeong's jaw fell slightly. “

Heol,

Mom... Did you just diss me?”

“Well, I'm just saying…”

“Mom! How can you say stuff like that to your own daughter?! I'm shocked!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong sighed deeply while staring at her daughter theatrically losing her mind.

'Who'd want to marry a girl like her?'

She suddenly grew worried about Kang Eun-Yeong's colleagues learning about this noisy girl's true nature. Whether they knew the truth or not... Both of those options seemed rather concerning to her!

“Mom! Your son is still not home yet from his date, you know! Why aren't you more worried about that?!”

“Listen, Eun-Yeong.”

“

Ng?

”

“I might worry about you, but not your brother. The most unnecessary thing to do in this world is to worry about your oppa.”

“Mom, you're taking it too easy! What if orabi comes home one day with a grandchild in tow?! A man and a woman are on a date this late at night, don't you get that?!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong openly smirked back at her own daughter. “Child, that is one of my wishes.”

“...!”

“Do you honestly think your oppa will get married while living his current lifestyle? Even with his looks, he’s still single, Eun-Yeong. That's what your brother is like. If he keeps going like this... I always get heartburn whenever I imagine your unmarried brother in his forties still hanging out in a PC Room with Yu-Min!”

“Yup, the possibility is definitely there.” Kang Eun-Yeong stiffly nodded in agreement. Without special circumstances forcing his hand, Kang Jin-Ho would definitely not go out of his way to meet a woman. And those special circumstances would be...

"You must look up at the sky first if you want to pluck the stars. Your brother spends all his time hanging out with his friends, so just when would he go out and meet women?"

“Y-you're right, Mom.” Even Kang Eun-Yeong could sense her mother’s worries creeping into her heart.

Although she didn't like the idea of her orabi getting a girlfriend, the possibility of him turning into a stinky old bachelor didn't appeal to her either.

'Dang it, I can't make up my mind...'

Kang Eun-Yeong was about to tear her hair out from the plague of indecision, but then...

The front door's lock came undone, and Kang Jin-Ho stepped inside the Kang family residence.

“I'm home.”