INTIMIDATION MELTS AWAY : When the CEO-PROFESSOR falls in love (JenLisa)

2: [ THINK ABOUT IT ]

JENNIE POV

I watched as Rosé swiftly ordered a bunch of food without even asking if I was willing to pay for her meal. I just ignore her, and sliced into the steak I had ordered earlier.

"I won't pay for your food," I said firmly.

"You will when I say so," she replied, taking a bite of the sliced meat.

"You've ordered more than enough for yourself, Rosie. Why would you eat mine?" I complained, my voice still icy.

"If I didn't know you for so long, I wouldn't have expected you to whine like a baby instead of trying to murder me," she remarked, taking another bite.

I shook my head, acknowledging the truth in her words. Despite my attempts to appear less intimidating, it didn't always work. As our food arrived, she continued to eat while I sipped my wine, observing her.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"Miyeon," she simply replied. Of course, it had to be my cousin. Tsk tsk. I watched her eat and decided to order a smoothie milk ice cream for myself.

"Oh, right. I have a second agenda for coming here," she said, swallowing her food.

"Your first agenda was to bankrupt me," I deadpanned, leaning back in my chair.

"Shut up, and you won't, even if you fed me for your whole life," she said, glaring at me.

"I could if it came to that," I said, looking at her.

"Aish. Listen, okay?" she paused, wiping her mouth with a tissue. "I'm here to tell you to accept Auntie and Uncle's proposal," she said, smiling widely.

Wow, how did that news travel so fast?

"I'm giving it some thought, but based on my calculations, I can't agree to it," I said, causing her mouth to drop open.

"Oh, come on! It's a tremendous opportunity, Frosty! Can't you see the benefits? You could discover the best architects by mentoring them yourself!" she exclaimed, opening her arms wide as if emphasizing the magnitude of the opportunity.

"I can't be meeting with students every day and lecturing them on how everything is done when I can simply critique their work at my company," I argued.

"Exactly! You always criticize them without explaining what they've done wrong," she pointed out, as if urging me to accept the job. I stared at her intently. It was the first time she had pushed me so strongly about something and seemed genuinely concerned about it.

"What's the real hidden motive behind this second agenda of yours?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

"None, really. Just accept the job. It's only for the second semester, not for your entire life," she replied, avoiding my gaze.

"There's definitely something more to it, Rosie. I know you," I said, carefully observing her every move and pondering deeply why she was pushing me towards something unrelated to her. Then, it struck me. Ahh, the truth.

"I knew it," I exclaimed, throwing a tissue paper at her. "You're pushing this so much just so you can shamelessly visit Professor Jisoo Kim through me, aren't you?" I said, and her cheeks flushed. Jisoo Kim is a professor and the principal at my mother's school. Rosie and I met her at a family dinner where she happened to be my mother's cousin, making her my auntie despite us being around the same age.

"N-no. I'm pushing it for your own sake," she stammered, taking a sip of water.

"For my own sake. Tsk," I scoffed, reaching out to flick her forehead.