Pygmalion

7.3

Should she tell her that she’s 20? But no one would believe that, would they? Meanwhile, Sungwoo was watching her from nearby. If she told the girl the truth, Sukyung didn’t know what Sungwoo might do. 

Sukyung murmured,

“Umm… Well… I don’t get to see him often.”

The girl replied, 

“Come over here. I’ll introduce you to my friends. How old did you say you were? I’m 19. I just graduated from high school. Are you older than me? I think you must be. You sound pretty mature. Are you a university student?” 

Sukyung answered, 

“No, it’s just… Well…” 

Sukyung hesitated for a moment before continuing, 

“I’m trying to become an actress with help from my uncle.”

“That’s great! I’m taking some dance lessons myself. Do you sing or dance too? I’ll have to attend university next year though. My mom said she’ll kill me if I don’t. Anyway, come with me. Hurry!” 

Sukyung turned to look at Sungwoo worriedly, but all he did was wave at her to go. In the end, Sukyung carried her plate of food as the girl dragged her away to a group of kids.

***

“What? Sukyung, you really didn’t know? Seriously?”

When one of the young girls asked, Sukyung replied in shock,

“No! I didn’t! Are you sure? He’s really gay?”

“Totally! Everyone knows! Why else would we be talking about it so openly here?” 

Sukyung gasped and replied,

“Oh my god. I had no idea. I mean… Isn’t he too manly looking?”

When Sukyung giggled, the young girls around her laughed and asked, 

“You’re so naive for your age! By the way, are your parents really strict? Is that why you aren’t allowed to come to places like this?” 

One of the boys suddenly interrupted,

“Hey, hey! Stop asking Sukyung so many questions. You’re gonna overwhelm her. And Sukyung, you should stop drinking. You said this is the first time you’ve been to a place like this, right? If your uncle tells your parents that you drank too much, they are going to get mad, aren’t they?”

Sukyung couldn’t remember the boy’s name. The boy took away her cup and handed her a glass of water. After accepting the glass, Sukyung looked up at the boy and laughed quietly. It has been a very long time since anyone told her to stop drinking. The last time it happened was when she first attended a company dinner. The male coworkers seemed to want to act gentlemanly at the time as they told her she shouldn’t drink too much.  But that was many years ago. 

Sukyung found it surprising that the kids here accepted her so easily. It was true that she was wearing youthful clothes and acting more open than usual, but still… Either way, Sukyung was having a lot of fun. 

Sukyung replied,

“I’m fine. I only had a few. I don’t feel drunk at all, so I’ll just have one more.” 

When she raised her finger and smiled, the boy frowned a little bit before shrugging. He offered, 

“Alright. I’ll get you just one more, but that’s it.”

“Thanks!” 

When the boy left, Sukyung leaned forward to look for Sungwoo. He was nowhere to be seen, and Sukyung began to wonder if he left her. 

Well… What if he did? She could just have fun with these kids and call a cab. She wasn’t a little kid. She could get home fine on her own. At the moment, she was having a lot more fun chatting with these kids. 

One of the girls exclaimed,

“Jaejim must like you! He’s so hot, isn’t he? You’re so lucky, Sukyung!” 

With a shrug, Sukyung asked,

“You think so?”

“Of course! Jaejim is usually cold to other girls. Today is your lucky day!”

Sukyung shook her head and replied,

“Haha, no, it’s not like that! You’re mistaken!”

“I’m not! Don’t be so coy! You gotta flirt with him!”

Sukyung smiled at the girl as the boy returned. She accepted the cup from him, and noticed that Jaejim sat down very close to her. Sukyung glanced at him secretly. Jaejim was pretty tall and good looking. He was 20 and he was trying to be a model or an actor. He said he was in contact with several model agencies, so Sukyung wondered if she would get to see him on TV soon. Maybe he was going to be famous. If he did, this was going to be a very memorable night for her. 

For some reason, Sukyung felt comfortable here. Having a guy much younger than her showing interest… Chatting and laughing with much younger girls… These were all strangers, yet Sukyung was having a lot of fun. 

Just then, Jaejim leaned toward her and whispered, 

“Hey, give me your phone number. I’ll call you later.”

When Sukyung blinked and looked at him in confusion, he explained,

“I’m asking for your cell phone number.”

“Oh, my number?”

“Yup. There is no way you don’t have a cell phone, right?”

When Jaejim looked shocked, Sukyung giggled and replied,

“No, I have one. But I had to send it away for repair.”

***