"Well, these pearls of wisdom coming down from the saints who had lived a long time ago are still with us for a reason. We'd better think about it."
"Sir, do we still have a concubine these days? It's hard enough to find even one woman in my life."
"Hmmm. Is that so?"
"I gave up marrying someone. Who would want to marry a man like me considering the tough field that I am in?"
"Don't say that. I'm sure you will meet someone."
Gun-Ho didn't want to stay in an office in his building that day. He went up to the rooftop. It had been a while since he went there. There were some office workers smoking and some mid-aged women, who were talking with their friends while having a cup of coffee at the café.
Jae-Sik's wife was there working. Gun-Ho entered the book café and said hello to her, "Hello, ma'am. How have you been?"
"Oh, hi."
It seemed to be the first time Jae-Sik's wife actually talked to Gun-Ho. Gun-Ho looked at her face. She looked vibrant that day.
"How is the work? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No. Everything is good here."
"Jae-Sik is doing great in running the transportation company in Seonghwan Town."
"I feel so grateful that you gave a good opportunity to him, sir."
"If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know."
"Thank you."
When Gun-Ho was talking with Jae-Sik's wife, President Jeong-Sook Shin came to the book café. She was loading some books in a foldable hand cart to arrange them in the book café. Gun-Ho quickly went to President Shin and helped her put the books in a bookshelf. The books looked heavy.
"Sir, you are here."
President Shin asked, "Are you meeting Young-Eun soon again?"
"No, we haven't talked about our next meeting yet."
"You should be more aggressive with making every chance to get close to her, sir. Young-Eun is really a decent girl. I am a woman, but if I was a man, I would have married her."
"Do you know what she thinks about me?"
"Well, she said you seemed to be a good person. It's just that you sometimes act like an old man."
"Really?"
"Oh, next week, I'm hosting a sculpture exhibition. Rookie artists will participate."
"Oh, I see."
Gun-Ho came back to his office on the eighteenth floor. He was thinking while having a cup of tea.
'I act like an old man?'
Gun-Ho looked at himself in the mirror in his office.
"I'm only six years older than her. Do I look that old? I had no problem with kissing Seol-Bing and Mori Aikko. They are very young too."
Gun-Ho let out a deep sigh.
"Honestly, I do look old. I will turn 37 next year. I didn't realize that I'm getting close to 40 now."
Gun-Ho sent a text message to Young-Eun Kim.
[I would like to take a walk around the Fortress Wall of Seoul this Sunday. I will wait for you at the Starbucks in front of Hasung University Station at 10 am.]
Gun-Ho felt nervous after sending the text to her.
"What if she doesn't show up?"
Gun-Ho wanted to look younger for his meeting with Young-Eun.
He had been surrounded by mostly old people who were in their 50s at work. Gun-Ho was their boss, and maybe he acted like an old man to live up to their expectations as their boss without realizing it.
Gun-Ho went to the subway station without letting Chan-Ho know. He took a subway at the Sinsa Station heading to Rodeo Street in Apgujeong Town, which was known to be a fashion mecca in Seoul. He wanted to buy jeans, t-shirts, shoes, etc. He stopped by the Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong Town as well.
Gun-Ho purchased a few name-brand jeans, t-shirts, a hat, and also expensive hiking boots.
Gun-Ho still felt anxious about the meeting that he unilaterally set by sending a text message. He was worried that she would just ignore Gun-Ho's text and not show up at the place in which Gun-Ho asked her to come.
"What should I do if she doesn't show up at all?"
Chapter end
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