S104

Society Protocol 04

First Meeting 2

[Is this person a player?]

For a moment, that thought crossed her mind.

Mi-hee was someone who always agonized and struggled over the allure and danger of "bad boys" while reading romance novels.

The Min-hyuk standing before her looked exactly like the bad boys in those novels.

Min-hyuk hesitated for a moment at Mi-hee's slightly flustered expression.

Min-hyuk was surprised at himself for suggesting a drink as soon as they exchanged names.

The only time he had ever drunk with a woman was when he had champagne with his mother.

“Hey, eat up. Champagne isn’t even real alcohol. And it’s fine if you drink it with a guardian.”

“Mom, I’m a minor.”

“What do you mean, a minor? Back in my day, middle schoolers used to go to pubs for blind dates.”

In that instant, his mother covered her mouth. That image flashed through Min-hyuk’s mind.

Min-hyuk’s father, who was standing beside him, closed his eyes tightly, his expression conveying, “As expected, she was a woman with a past.”

That was Min-hyuk. But suggesting we drink as soon as we introduced ourselves?

Suddenly, a fantasy flashed through his mind of his name becoming the number one trending search term on internet portals.

[Kang Min-hyuk Asks for a Drink the Immediately After Seeing Her on a Blind Date]

In that instant, he wondered, "Should I change my name? If I change it, what should I change it to? Should I change my last name too?"

Min-hyuk was glancing nervously at Mi-hee as all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

He couldn't look her in the eye properly, his gaze darting wildly.

As she watched Min-hyuk glancing at her and looking around here and there, Mi-hee thought to herself.

[What is he staring at? Isn't he a total player and a pervert?]

However, Mi-hee thought to herself. She would not be dragged around like the women in novels.

On the contrary, if she acted confidently, the pervert might say, [You are the first woman like this I’ve ever met], and their relationship might turn into true love.

“Hmm… Sure.”

Mi-hee felt pathetic, even to herself. She should have been a bit more confident.

[Do you drink soju well?] Something like that.

Min-hyuk stared intently into her eyes. It felt like he had seen her somewhere before.

[Did I see her in a past life?]

Throughout his life, he had never taken the time to meet a woman and talk to her.

However, because he was immersed in movies and dramas, he intuitively knew how the next scene should unfold in such situations.

Before that, he had to establish his character first.

He didn't want to portray himself as a man who had never even been on a blind date, let alone dated.

Neither did he want to appear too much like a player. A dizzying reality. Chaos.

Before all things came to life, everything originated from Chaos—a primordial state of disorder.

The butterfly effect, where a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the globe causes a typhoon to arrive somewhere else.

Fractals, created by Mandelbrot using complex numbers.

Endless self-replication. Endless coastlines. Endless dotted lines composed of patterns identical to oneself, rather than straight lines.

“Aren’t you going?”

Mi-hee watched Min-hyuk rolling his eyes, waited, but could no longer hold back and blurted out.

“Let’s go. What should we have for drinks? Out of land, sea, and air?”

“Land, sea, and air?”

“Meat, seafood, and for the air, chicken?”

“Meat is too heavy, and I don’t want to show myself tearing into chicken, so let’s go for sashimi.”

“That’s a neat, good, and definite choice.”

Min-hyuk had always watched and learned that whenever Mom chose a menu item, his father would speak to her in a flattering manner.

He thought his father's behavior was somewhat unpleasant, but he ended up becoming just like that himself.

Min-hyuk had rarely eaten raw fish at a restaurant, except for when he ordered delivery at home.

He didn't even know the different types.

He only knew that there was halibut and tuna, and he did have a brief memory of occasionally eating the squid sashimi his father liked.

He didn't know what to eat.

As they left the cafe and walked down the street together, Mi-hee was taller than he had expected.

Her forehead almost touched the mouth of Min-hyuk, who is 183 cm tall.

Since her heels weren't that high, she looked like she was around 170 cm.

As Min-hyuk turned his head to look for a shop, something resembling a cloth flag that looked like a Japanese restaurant caught his eye.

However, perhaps because it was still early, the door was not open.

“It looks like they aren’t open yet.”

“The fried chicken place probably isn’t open right now either. Let’s walk down the street together for a bit.”

It seemed the initiative had now passed to Mi-hee. Min-hyuk scanned the surroundings, looking for a bar that was open.

Mi-hee simply walked forward, looking only ahead.

But suddenly, she felt people's eyes on her. Especially the eyes of women.

People's gazes were focused on the man walking with her.

They weren't staring openly, but she continuously felt that characteristic female gaze—the kind that glances you get and then pretend to look away.

[Is it really that good? I'm not really sure.]

They passed Sinchon and started walking toward Hongdae.

“If you turn left, you’ll find the Sanullim Theater.”

“Do you know Sanullim?”

“I’ve been there a few times.”

Min-hyuk, who dreamed of becoming an actor, used to frequent various theaters in Daehak-ro and Hongdae to watch plays.

Of course, he did it following his mother. He had even been to a theater in Hongdae a few times.

When they arrived in front of the theater, the play was just getting ready to begin.

“It’s still too early to drink, so shall we go see a play?”

Min-hyuk mustered up the courage to speak to Mi-hee. To be honest, he had never heard of anyone going to see a play on a first date.

Still, he had brought up the idea of drinking, but where was there to go?

“Okay.”

[Did this woman agree because I asked her to go, or does she just like theater?]

He was not yet sure, but seeing Min-hyuk—who had always acted passively without ever asserting himself—gather the courage to make a suggestion and have it readily accepted, his affection for Mi-hee began to grow even stronger.

The title of the play was Waiting for Godot.

It was a piece Min-hyuk had seen once before in Daehak-ro.

When he watched it without knowing anything about the plot, he expected it to be about an airplane pilot raising his altitude or something like that, but [the word "godot" sounds the same as the Korean word for altitude].

It was simply a story about waiting endlessly for a person named Godot.

Although he watched it because it was said to be a masterpiece, compared to the energetic plays in Daehak-ro where the actors run wildly across the stage,

he hadn't found it particularly entertaining. It was probably partly because he was young.

However, watching it with Mi-hee, the atmosphere of the play felt different.

And since he had just decided to become a full-fledged actor, the acting within the play caught his eye.

Mi-hee quietly gazed at Min-hyuk, who was completely absorbed in the play and paying no attention to her.

[What's with this player? Does he really like theater?]

Min-hyuk was engrossed in watching the play when his hand brushed against Mi-hee's. At that, Min-hyuk held her hand while focusing on the performance.

[I knew he was a player. What should I do?]

However, she did not shake off his arm. Mi-hee was more concerned about Min-hyuk than the actor.

Every time the actor's appearance changed, she felt Min-hyuk's hand tightening its grip on hers.

And she could feel him immersing himself in the role, as if he were following the actor and taking their place.

Mi-hee thought that Min-hyuk's profile was truly handsome.

As the color of the lighting changed, it felt as though the angle of Min-hyuk's face was shifting.

Min-hyuk gently let go of the hand he had been holding. Mi-hee felt a slight emptiness in his hand.

She stared at Min-hyuk as if time had stopped. 'He isn't looking at me, and I am looking at him.'

[What Should I Do?]

As the play ended, the sky was gradually growing dark. Min-hyuk, having left the theater, still seemed intoxicated by something.

“Shall we go eat some sashimi now?”

“Sure.”

Min-hyuk felt quite good because she gave an immediate positive answer whenever he asked.

He felt that this woman was honest and natural, as if she didn't play games or anything like that.

Min-hyuk searched the internet and found a sashimi restaurant nearby.

He was curious because they sold aged sashimi, and since they said the portions were generous, it seemed like it wouldn't be too much of a burden.

He was also hungry because he hadn't eaten lunch. The portions were more generous than he expected, and the taste was decent.

However, he didn't know what to say.

“Is school fun?”

It was the kind of question a mother would ask her son.

“It’s fun because it’s an all-girls university and there are only women.”

“Oh, that sounds really fun. It’s not fun for us because there are too many men.”

The conversation didn't flow, and it wasn't fun.

"If you drink this, you're dating me." He couldn't even say something like that.

In reality, the things done in movies or dramas were difficult to portray in real life.

“Do you happen to have a religion?”

Mi-hee asked, taking a gulp of soju.

“No. I used to go to church when I was young, but it’s been a few years since I last went.”

“Really? Your parents don’t go either?”

“My parents go, but I just ended up not going.”

“I see.”

Mi-hee picked up a piece of salmon sashimi, ate it, and spoke with a look of delight.

“What is your religion, Mi-hee?”

“Let’s just call me by my name now. I go to church.”

“I see. You still go these days?”

“Yes. I was born into the faith.”

Mi-hee answered, taking another gulp of soju.

She burst into laughter, as if realizing something was off about what she had said.

“Actually, I’m not that devout. My mom is so sanctified. She goes to early morning prayer, Wednesday services, and Friday all-night prayer meetings, volunteers on Saturdays, and goes on Sundays too—she practically lives at the church.”

“Ah, I see. You come from a Christian family. Does your father go often, too?”

Mi-hee stopped her chopsticks, which had been reaching for the sashimi, for a moment. Then she picked up the salmon sashimi again and chewed it.

“My parents divorced when I was in high school. That’s why I barely managed to get into college. I think about it this way: I wonder if I could have gone to a slightly better school.”

From the first meeting to the play and the drinking—he thought that drinking might be acceptable, but

He wondered if asking about her family life was even remotely right.

Min-hyuk wanted to ask more, but he thought he should change the subject.

However, he didn't know what topic to change the subject to.

“How was the play earlier?”

Mi-hee looked at Min-hyuk while taking a gulp of soju.

“It was fun. Actually, I went to middle school in Canada. My father was a ‘goose dad’ (a father who lives separately from his family).

My mom, my older brother, and I lived in Canada together.

My brother went to college in Canada, and I came back to Korea during high school.

The timing was a bit awkward for applying for things like the special overseas admissions program.

I was good at English, but subjects like Korean and math were all unfamiliar to me. It was hard to keep up.”

Although she wanted to change the subject, Mi-hee continued her story.

“It seems like you’re drinking a bit fast.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone in my family has a high tolerance for alcohol. Even my mom, who goes to church, drinks a lot; she just isn’t drinking these days.”

He thought that Mi-hee looked pretty in the light, slightly intoxicated.

Her cheeks, flushed with a rosy hue, were pretty, and her forehead, glistening in the light, was pretty too.

Her lips were plump and pretty, and the tone of her voice was beautiful.

Even the fingers holding the soju glass looked pretty, as they were slender and long.

“Min-hyuk, you’re a player, aren’t you?”

Feeling Min-hyuk’s gaze scanning her, Mi-hee lowered her head slightly and spoke to him in a low voice.

“What are you thinking right now?”

“I was thinking you’re pretty.”

Mi-hee leaned back as if her chair might tip over and laughed loudly, loud enough to make the people around them stare.

“You really are a player. You jerk. If you mess with me, you’re going to hell. So stop looking at me.”

[Is this something you should be saying, considering you did everything I said, drank whatever I suggested, watched a play when I said to, and stayed quiet when I held your hand?]

The words were rising right up to his throat, but he swallowed them back.

“If I touch you, will you report me?”

Min-hyuk doubted himself, wondering what on earth he was thinking when he said such a thing.

From the very beginning, he hadn't had even a shred of such an intention.

He could swear on his most cherished game console.

He was just rambling on because a line resembling a movie dialogue he had seen somewhere popped into his head.

“No.”

Mi-hee looked at him as if amused.

“It’s not me, God will do it.”