Pygmalion

4.8

Sukyung looked down with a sad expression. Finishing his sorbet, Sungwoo waved his hand encouragingly. He asked, 

“Keep going. Did you say your parents died from a car accident?”

“Yeah. It was when I was 19 and when my brother was 17. It happened so suddenly that we didn’t know what to do. We weren’t prepared for it at all.”

The only thing Sukyung knew at the time was that she needed to protect her brother. There was no way she could part from Jaewon. Although they weren’t related by blood, he was her only family.

Jaewon was  the only one she loved. This was why she worked so hard to live with him. Just thinking about those days made her sigh. Except for the fact that Jaewon was with her, it was such a hard time for her. Some people like to say they miss the old days when they were younger even if it wasn’t a happy time. Not Sukyung. She didn’t miss those days at all.

Sungwoo asked, 

“And how did he get into hair design?”

Sukyung answered easily to all of Sungwoo’s questions. When Jaewon was in middle school, there was a career day and a hair designer dropped by his school to talk about his job. Jaewon fell in love with the idea and decided to go for it. His parents were against the idea because Jaewon wanted to quit school completely and go to beauty school. In the end, Sukyung created a compromise. Jaewon ended up finishing high school, but he was allowed to intern at a beauty salon in the evenings. 

When their parents suddenly passed away, Jaewon was in high school. He focused on the hair design internship while Sukyung began working full time. Sukyung was chatting about how hard it was for Jaewon when he first began working. Suddenly, Sungwoo frowned. He asked,

“Do you like your brother that much?”

Sukyung’s face turned bright red. Tapping the table leisurely, Sungwoo continued, 

“I mean, he’s your only family, so I understand you treasure him. But if you’re so close to your brother like that, your man won’t appreciate it.”

Sukyung couldn’t tell Sungwoo that there was no man. He was going to be suspicious of her. And she certainly couldn’t tell him it was her brother who she liked. She would look like an idiot. In the end, she replied,

“Well, that man… He doesn’t know how I feel about him yet, so… it’s okay for now.”

“If you need to choose between your brother and that man, who will you pick?”

When Sungwoo glanced at her as he cut into his juicy steak, Sukyung bit her lips. She never really expected Jaewon to return her feelings, but what if he did…? What if Jaewon was willing to date her…

If Jaewon touched her and kissed her like Sungwoo did…

Sukyung’s face turned even redder. She touched her cheeks and shook her head. This felt wrong. It felt… too strange. She couldn’t even imagine kissing Jaewon. He had grown up so much within the last few years, so she did see Jaewon as a man, but still… She couldn’t imagine herself doing anything like that with Jaewon.

When she looked up at Sungwoo, he was munching on his steak and looking at her knowingly. Shaking her head hurriedly, Sukyung tried to explain,

“No, it’s not like that… It’s just…”

“Never mind.”

They ate the rest of the course in silence. Sukyung was very full, but she still finished all of her dishes. She knew that if she didn’t, she would regret it later. If she had to pay for it, she better eat everything. Besides, the food tasted really good as well. It would’ve been even better if Sungwoo didn’t look so annoyed, but it couldn’t be helped. 

After the meal, Sukyung looked around to find the cashier. Ignoring her, Sungwoo raised his hand to call for the waitress. When the waitress arrived, he handed her his credit card. 

“Charge it here.”

“Umm, I… I’ll pay. It will be my treat. I really should.”

Sukyung quickly rummaged through her purse, but when Sungwoo glared at her sharply, she hesitated. After the waitress left with his credit card, he announced, 

“I brought you here, so I’ll buy.”

“But you don’t have to…”

“Shut up.”

Sukyung stopped talking. She knew by now that there was no winning against Sungwoo. This was one lesson she learned very quickly from their lessons. 

When they left the restaurant, it was pretty chilly outside. Sukyung rubbed her bare arms as she looked around. The young man who valet parked Sungwoo’s car earlier ran to get it. Sukyung watched in awe. It seemed that the young man knew which car to get even though he wasn’t told. But then, Sungwoo did drive an amazing foreign car, but it was very easy to remember. 

When Sukyung looked up at Sungwoo, he announced,

“You can go home by yourself, right? I have a meeting with someone, so I need to go now. And don’t be late for your next lesson.”

***