"so... let me guess." seulgi begins, "are you a music producer? a talent scout? an agent from one of those managerial companies?"
"...neither...?" jaebeom answers, confused.
"then... what brings you here?"
"i just wanted a drink." he admits, a light chuckle bubbling from his throat at her surprise, "i had a rough day at work, and stumbled upon this place on my way home, so i figured i would stop by. i didn't know it was a lounge like this."
"well...did you at least enjoy the performance?"
"yes, you are quite the performer."
"thank you!" she states with genuine joy, or at least, it seemed like it. her smile reached her eyes. "i'm sorry for coming over and... accusing you of... it's just-- nevermind."
"you can tell me, it's okay."
"a lot of guys have been coming in pretending to be a combination of those types, in hopes that they can get closer to us and use us or something." she frowns, "i'm so sorry... i'm just unleashing this all on you."
"it's fine, i don't mind."
"... we should start over. hi, i'm seulgi."
"jaebeom. nice to meet you...again."
despite the awkward first meeting, seulgi invited him to come again, or stay longer for another performance. he agreed to come again the following day, claiming that he had to call it a night since he was expected at work early the next morning. to say he was looking forward to seeing her again was an understatement. he enjoyed her genuineness, and how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. he was a bit curious on why she was so cautious of the possibility of him being someone in the music industry... but then again she did say men of that kind were lurking around. he wondered if there was something that he was missing.
were they trying to sign her and use her like she believes? were they just interested in her because she was a pretty face with an equally pretty voice? were they just expecting something else from her because she sung at a gentleman's lounge?
he will admit to himself that he was immediately attracted to her, but that being said, he wasn't looking for a quick hook-up. it had been a while since he last dated anyone, and even longer since he last shared a bed with another woman... but he wasn't ready to just jump in with the first attractive lady he saw.
the following night, he sat at the same seat near the bar, and wendy brought over his glass of crown royale without him having to order it. he thanked her, and took a small, slow sip. "she's nervous about her performance tonight." wendy tells him, "because it's something new that she's been experimenting with. she's going to ask your opinion on it."
"why mine? isn't yours enough?"
"seulgi considers you a friend already." wendy laughs, "she's innocent like that."
"then i'll make sure to pay close attention then." jaebeom laughs.
