Chapter 2
I quietly let go of the straw I had been biting and straightened my back. I had discovered myself unconsciously staring at that man while chewing on the straw. Even though no one could have read my inner thoughts, I felt my face flush with heat. It’s not like I’m a starving wolf…
Tracing back my memories, the last time I had relieved sexual desire through means other than masturbation was early this year.
Moreover, after casting offers had completely dried up, I had pretended to be calm in front of my worried manager, but after three months passed, I too began to feel anxious. The increasingly intense malicious comments that had even infiltrated fan cafes were also stressful. Though I hadn’t started this work with great passion, if I couldn’t do this job anymore, what would I do next? That too was daunting.
It was literally a period of frustration, with nothing satisfying. At such a time, having that kind of… physique armed with masculinity right before my eyes, it was understandable that my sexual desire would be stimulated.
Pretending to drink my cocktail, I fiddled with the straw and sneakily glanced at that table again.
Whether the issue they had been discussing was resolved, all the group members relaxed their postures as if they had let out a sigh of relief. Light laughter could be heard. The man also straightened his torso that had been leaning forward and was just raising his head when our gazes collided.
The man stared directly at me. He narrowed his brow as if he might come over here any moment to pick a fight, asking what I was staring at. I didn’t think I had been sending flirtatious glances obvious enough to reveal my indecent thoughts…
It would seem stranger to hastily look away. I naturally averted my gaze while stirring my cocktail with the straw.
Suddenly the music volume increased a bit. Two or three staff members began carrying simple food and drinks to their table.
Should I just get up? Or should I have one more drink with something strong before going up?
“You seem to be contemplating whether to drink more. May I buy you a drink?”
“……”
I looked up at the unfamiliar voice. Someone was standing in front of me holding their own glass. It was the middle-aged man who had been sitting one table over.
“I appreciate the offer, but I was just about to leave.”
“I won’t take up much of your time. Actually, I’m someone who does this kind of… work.”
The man immediately handed over his business card. It had the flashy title of Executive Director of a TV broadcasting-related production company. The man spoke English with a strong British accent, but the company address written in tiny letters at the bottom was Shanghai, China.
“……”
I glanced over the business card perfunctorily and looked up at the man with indifferent eyes. It meant, what does this have to do with me?
“You’ve caught my eye since you walked in. I have an infallible sense for this kind of thing. You’re interested in acting work, right?”
The man began babbling about a project he claimed was newly in progress, subtly emphasizing that his company was quite a substantial business.
He appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties, with a well-maintained body without excess fat and a likable, neat, high-quality outfit. Though his face and body type were outside my preferences, objectively speaking, he wasn’t bad. However, he was definitely married.
Moreover, his approach was the worst. Did I look naive enough to be enticed by talk of being given acting work and follow him to bed to obediently take off my clothes? Whatever I looked like in the man’s eyes, I was perceptive enough to realize that what he was looking for wasn’t an aspiring actor but a victim to play with for one night.
“How about it, don’t you want to hear more details? If we talk to each other, it shouldn’t be boring. Or… we could change locations.”
I blatantly blocked his hand as he tried to set down the glass he was holding on my table. Since he seemed ready to ignore and push through if I declined indirectly, I chose to be a bit firmer.
“No, you’ve got the wrong idea. I have absolutely no interest in acting or anything like that.”
“Ha, treating me like a molester. That’s extremely rude, isn’t it?”
The middle-aged man immediately contorted his face and displayed his displeasure. I was astounded by his brazen attitude of blaming the victim.
After my debut, I had attempted one-time encounters on overseas business trips. There had been men and women who approached me first with the same purpose. But in the end, I had sent them all away every time. I had my own standards even for casual flings.
I was about to push back my chair and stand up before getting more unpleasant when I felt a presence behind me.
“Hello. I’m the hotel manager.”
I looked up to my right, in the direction the voice came from. The man from the business meeting table was standing there firmly. A gentle smile lingered on the man’s face, and he had taken off his glasses.
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I was wondering if there might be a problem. If there’s any inconvenience, I’ll resolve it immediately.”
It was English with an East Coast American accent. His tone was low and soft, pleasant to listen to.
The man was speaking politely in a roundabout way, but it was tantamount to a recommendation to refrain from excessive approaches that could make other guests uncomfortable.
The middle-aged man instead laughed pleasantly as if he had received some amusing misunderstanding.
“We were just trying to exchange some information between travelers. My family is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow. Ah, by any chance, are there good places to visit with family? My wife has already been to most places in Bangkok. I don’t know where to take her.”
Seeing his shamelessness in bringing up family talk right in front of me after trying to sleep with me just moments before, without any embarrassment, it seemed this wasn’t his first time doing this.
“I’ll introduce you to a staff member who knows the local Bangkok situation well. It’s such a rapidly changing city that even my information updates aren’t very current.”
“No, you don’t need to go to that extent. Well then… it was a pleasant conversation, actor-ssi.”
With a face that barely suppressed his displeasure, he sneered at me and returned to his seat, calling for staff. I was astounded by his retreating figure as he hurriedly finished his bill and scurried away like someone with urgent business.
“You seemed to be declining, but he didn’t seem to be backing down, so I interfered. I hope I didn’t butt in unnecessarily.”
“Not at all. I was already in a difficult situation… Thank you.”
The man leaned forward, gripping the back of the empty chair. It wasn’t exactly the very polite attitude of a hotel manager toward a guest. But it didn’t look frivolous either. Hotels in famous tourist destinations tended to prefer friendly and comfortable service rather than solemnly maintaining formalities. My mother’s hotel was the same way.
Due to his posture, the man’s face came a bit closer. Looking at him like this, he was dangerously my type.
Every line that formed his face was thick and strong. Yet it wasn’t crude. Rather, it was clear and neat, like a master’s lines drawn cleanly in one stroke without hesitation.
The man also stared intently at my face.
“……Why are you doing that?”
When I asked about the meaning of his gaze, the man slowly shook his head.
“No. It’s just… I think I understand why that person was lingering around here earlier.”
The man’s words made me laugh. The mood that had almost turned for the worst seemed to improve a little. I chuckled while scraping the bottom of my empty cocktail glass with the straw. A slight crack appeared in my heart’s rhythm.
Even if we were only one-night partners to each other, this kind of flutter was necessary.
“If you’re thinking of having another drink, I’d like to treat you.”
“You want to buy me a drink?”
At my question, the man lightly frowned and stroked his chin.
“Ah… would that make it exactly the same situation as before, just with a different person?”
He had seemed like he would be as rigid as an inorganic ornament. But talking with him, his expressions were quite varied.
Looking at his long fingers gripping the chair back, fingers without any rings, I asked.
“You’re not married, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
“What about a lover?”
“……What do you think?”
There was something subtly suggestive in his tone. The man’s face looked like he had a desired answer from me. With him constantly looking at me with such meaningful eyes, it couldn’t not be a pick-up attempt.
When I didn’t answer immediately, he chuckled and lowered his gaze. He seemed to think I had rejected his seduction. But he was mistaken.
A chance encounter while traveling, impulsive attraction and choice, a passionate one night that would blow away all worries and concerns…
I was ready to throw myself into it.
“The situation might be similar, but the person is different. I’ll drink. A cocktail.”
The man’s eyes widened for a moment. Then he smiled while biting his lower lip tightly. Instead of his closed lips, an attractive smile gathered at the corners of his eyes. With that mischievous smile, he momentarily looked much younger.
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Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
