S103

Society Protocol 3

First Meeting 1

Min-hyuk tried to return to the acting academy he'd briefly attended before the semester started, but his schedule didn't quite work out.

He did extra roles on weekends and started working part-time at a café on weekdays.

It was run by a childhood friend's older sister. It wasn't far from school, and it only opened for a short time in the evenings, so

it didn't take up much of his time.

And since there are anecdotes of famous actors who gained popularity while working part-time at cafes or fast food restaurants, perhaps he felt as if he too would become one.

And since his friend's older sister was so easygoing and helpful, he decided to try it out for the experience.

Of course, Min-hyuk's appearance also seemed to attract more customers.

Moreover, he didn't think of them as customers, but as future fans,

and he tolerated everything with a smile, as if offering a service in advance.

This earned him positive reviews from customers.

When comments like "The part-timer is so handsome," appeared in the reviews, he would hold back the urge to like them.

But there was a problem. Min-hyuk had no dating experience.

Even as a child, he found it annoying that girls would line up for him, but he also found it difficult to tell the person he liked that he loved them.

And Minhyuk's mother always warned him.

"School violence, dating, photos taken while drunk. If anything like that gets posted, even if you're lucky enough to become famous, it'll be over in an instant. Got it?"

It was something his mother, always worried, as if her son would become a huge star, would say.

"At his age, shouldn't he experience dating, love, and even pain to broaden his acting spectrum? If only I had that face."

His father, who tried to dissuade his mother, never told him he was handsome, fearing he'd become arrogant.

But when he came home after a drink, he'd say all sorts of things.

He wasn't that ugly, but Min-hyuk's face was a spitting image of his mother's.

"Go on dates and meet up. You'll have a lot of friends if you go to church, so try going. If you need money for dating, I'll always invest in that."

This was something Min-hyuk's father had been saying since high school.

But after graduating, he never mentioned it again.

Min-hyuk's life seemed to be all that glitters, not all that gold.

"I've never been in a relationship. And I'm not that desperate for a woman. It's actually burdensome. But still, aren't you guys my friends? Why are you plotting a conspiracy among yourselves? You say your meeting partner is from a women's university and you're short on people. So why won't you include me? Huh?"

Min-hyuk raised his voice slightly as he watched his friends, freshmen, whispering amongst themselves about their plans for a meeting.

He had a habit of reluctantly going along whenever someone asked him to.

Seeing his friends enjoying a meeting and a date, Min-hyuk finally exploded.

"Hey, who would want to go out with you? Hey, you get out. If you really want to date, I'll give you a sign, so stand by the front gate. Looking for a lover. If you just write one sentence like this, you'll find someone who'll do it in five or ten minutes."

"No, I want to try something called a blind date. I need to know what kind of atmosphere it's like. Dating is one thing, but I want to go on a blind date. I want to go too."

In preparation for the school festival, the upperclassmen arranged meetings almost every week to gather customers at the bar.

For those in the engineering department, with few opportunities to meet women, these meetings were the only way to talk to them.

But when a handsome guy asked them to meet him, they weren't particularly happy.

They didn't think they were inferior, and walking down the street with him made them feel proud.

He was a nice guy, but when it came to relationships, he was the kind of person they didn't want to compete with.

"Okay, instead, we'll all make our own choices, liven things up, and then you'll be left out. And if the other person asks for your contact information, you'll act like you don't care. If possible, I'll let you in once."

Min-hyuk briefly imagined the future.

He saw a headline about his famous celebrity, and it read, "Min-hyuk was rude at a school meetup."

He seemed to be thinking of a title like this.

[It's quite difficult. I'm currently collecting fans one by one with great care, but if I do that at the meeting, it'll seem like I'm actually that kind of person, right?]

But wasn't Min-hyuk an aspiring actor?

He reluctantly said to his friends, looking a little annoyed by the acting.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Min-hyuk began practicing his hand gestures and gaze in front of the mirror, trying his best to imagine how he could win the hearts of women on their first date.

The day of the blind date arrived.

He didn't have any extra work scheduled, and since it was the weekend, he didn't go to the coffee shop.

They decided to meet at a cafe on Saturday afternoon. It was a 5-on-5 meeting.

The men were all friends majoring in the same field, and the women were from a women's university, majoring in the same field and in the same club.

Their club was a photography club.

They talked about working on video and broadcasting on YouTube, showing off their work.

Eugene, the most active, acted as if he were hosting.

The problem, however, was that one person hadn't yet arrived.

That made it difficult to decide on a partner.

If things continued this way, the women would have to choose, and one of the men would have to drop out.

If anyone did, it seemed likely that Eugene would be the one to do so. So he stalled for time.

"How about we start to check in on each other's feelings and have some time to talk separately?"

When a sophisticated, strong-looking female student, who seemed like the host, spoke, the women seemed slightly nervous.

Min-hyuk only said the words that were absolutely necessary and showed no signs of being proactive.

Still, the women glanced at Min-hyuk, pretending to drink coffee.

The men couldn't help but notice.

[This is the worst. If Min-hyuk comes out again, I will never come out again.]

They were men exchanging silent glances with each other.

"I don't think one person has arrived yet."

"Mihee will be here soon. She's on her way now."

"This isn't some matchmaking agency party. Let's just hang out together until she arrives, okay?"

Then Minhyuk raised his hand.

"What? Just say it."

"I'll partner with the person who comes later."

A moment of silence passed.

A chill began to settle among the women who had been smiling and trying to decide on partners.

At first glance, it might seem like they were being considerate of those arriving later, or perhaps even their friends,

but what it meant was that they were openly declaring that they didn't like a single person present.

Of course, the men were completely oblivious to this, and they simply felt like Min-hyuk was doing his duty,

a man of loyalty who kept his promises. But the women were different.

In an instant, all the affection they had for Min-hyuk turned to hostility.

“Okay, then. Let’s do it with those who are there, excluding that person.”

The fierce-looking female leader, who had initially had a cute, cat-like expression, immediately turned away.

From then on, she didn't even turn her head toward Min-hyuk. The other women were the same.

[He thinks he's great]

The girls spent a while talking about how they were badmouthing Min-hyuk in the bathroom, then began deciding on second and third place.

Once their partners were chosen, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

[I'm going to be traumatized by my first blind date]

Min-hyuk felt uncomfortable with the women's stares and felt like he'd said something unnecessary.

And the woman who was supposed to be coming, Mihee or something, showed no sign of coming.

The women had called a few times, but she stopped answering.

"I guess she doesn't want to come. What's going on? She's the one who used to sing Blind Date."

"Let's wait a little longer."

"She'll come, and I'm sure someone here will be waiting for her, right?"

Min-hyuk felt uncomfortable with the gaze. He simply nodded slightly.

"So, you're coming. I see. Then, shall we go out with our new teams?"

Just as they were about to leave and gather their bags, a woman rushed in.

She was tall, wearing a black dress and black stockings. Her hair was long.

"Why are you here now? Why aren't you answering your phone?"

"Oh, sorry. I fell asleep on the subway. It was on silent, so I didn't notice. Sorry."

The men's eyes were drawn to the newcomer.

All the women on the blind date were pretty, but the newcomer was especially attractive.

"Now that we've decided on a partner, let's talk about something else. Let's get back to each other later."

"Huh? Huh? Okay, I understand."

The men stood up with a heavy heart,

and the women, with a hint of anger toward Min-hyuk, stood up.

Min-hyuk had never shown much interest in women,

but the woman standing before him captivated him, making his heart pound a little.

As the sweaty woman sat down and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand,

Min-hyuk suddenly remembered something and pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket.

The woman, startled, took the handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from her face.

"You carry a handkerchief."

"Yes, my father said it's good for a man to have at least one."

The woman was startled when she noticed her makeup staining his handkerchief.

She usually didn't wear makeup, so she hadn't even considered wiping sweat off her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What should I do with this?"

"I can just wash it."

The woman's hands trembled slightly as she folded the handkerchief and handed it back to Minhyuk.

She hadn't noticed it in the panic, but Min-hyuk was quite attractive.

"Shall we go out?"

"You just got here. Why don't you cool off before you go? I'll have another one, too. What would you like? I'll go down and get it."

"No, but I will."

Minhyuk waved his hand slightly,

"Go cool off. I think you might need a handkerchief, so I'll leave it here.

I'll take my time. How about an iced coffee?"

"A caramel macchiato."

"Oh, okay. I understand. Just a moment."

Min-hyuk, back to his part-time job serving at the coffee shop, went down to the first floor as if it were his usual routine.

The woman considered going to the bathroom, but decided it was a bit awkward to leave the space empty, so she pulled out a mirror and started touching up her makeup.

She was already awkward with makeup, and her hands were shaking with nervousness.

[If I had known this would happen, I should have learned how to apply makeup a long time ago]

She spent all of high school locked in the study room, studying for exams.

It wasn't until she entered college that she first tried makeup.

Of course, out of curiosity, she'd tried her mother's cosmetics,

but it wasn't long before she started using her own.

At first, she was traumatized by her mother teasing her by saying she looked like a young woman just coming from the countryside because she wore too much makeup.

She went on her first blind date, but she couldn't sleep the night before and fell asleep on the subway.

She considered just going home,

but she felt it was a waste, since she'd bought clothes, done her hair, and bought black stockings just for that day.

But there was a really good man waiting for her.

It was as if all her bad luck had been set up for this day.

Before Min-hyuk came up, she had touched up her makeup and sat there as if nothing had happened.

Of course, most of the women sitting in the cafe knew what she had done.

So they were looking at her over their laptops with considerable curiosity.

Min-hyuk returned to his seat, holding a takeout cup of coffee and iced tea.

"Hello. My name is Kang Minhyuk."

"Hello. My name is Kim Mihee."

An awkward silence hung over them for a moment.

Min-hyuk had only ever encountered aggressive women approaching him, but this was the first time he'd encountered such a shy and reserved woman.

So Min-hyuk, always passive, felt a sudden urge to take the lead.

“Maybe we could grab a beer, if you'd like.”