Sitting Still and Getting a Windfall (2)
Sitting Still and Getting a Windfall (2)
023
A sharp bob cut, light makeup, and even a rich, sexy perfume.
Add a casual suit to that, and she gave off the vibe of an undeniably attractive adult woman—a career woman who, with the ttogak-ttogak sound of her heels, placed a laptop with a bitten-apple logo and a small voice recorder on the table before extending her hand.
"Did you wait long? I'm sorry I'm late. I'm Kang Su-yeon, an editor for Woman Power Magazine."
"Ah, yes. Hello."
The rich perfume that instantly pierced my nose... Oh my, is this the scent of an adult?
I've seen plenty of pretty women, but this is my first time seeing a career woman who gives off such an 'adult woman' vibe.
Maybe because I have no tolerance for this, my heart is pounding while shaking her hand.
Heueung... I think I have a thing for career women.
After finishing the handshake with the Reporter Noona, who was smiling brightly—a handshake that felt unusually long—I reached out to the side... but the Senior Noona's state was somehow strange.
"......? Excuse me?"
"Woman Power...? Kang Su-yeon...?"
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
The Senior Noona, who had been muttering blankly, suddenly snapped out of it and extended her hand.
While shaking hands, the Senior Noona's expression was... really sour.
By the way, Woman Power... Woman Power... I've heard that somewhere... Ah!
"The reporter from last time!"
"That's right. You remember me. Thank goodness."
The Reporter Noona, covering her mouth with an elegant hand gesture and giggling, was the same reporter who had taken tons of photos with her signature cannon-sized camera during the match against Seongsil University.
Wow~ They say women really depend on how they dress up. Of course, she was pretty back then too, but if she was just a pretty noona back then, now she's something, something... Heueung, that bulging white dress shirt is so good.
"Wow~ I almost didn't recognize you, Reporter-nim."
"Oh my. Why?"
"You've become so pretty, I was surprised."
"Ah. So you're saying I wasn't good-looking that day?"
"No, no! You were pretty that day too, but I meant you've become even prettier."
"I'm joking. Actually, I didn't wear makeup that day... so it's different from today, right?"
She giggled while lightly covering her mouth... Wakyapa~ Is this the proficiency of an adult woman!? Her charm is overflowing~~!!
"Hng. So you're a reporter from Woman Power Magazine."
...What is this?
I was having a friendly, laughing conversation with the Reporter Noona, but for some reason, the Senior Noona sitting next to me didn't look pleased at all.
"Ah, yes. I'm Kang Su-yeon, an editor for Woman Power Magazine. Here is my business card..."
The Senior Noona, who took the business card with a strangely slouchy attitude, finally gave her name.
"I'm tennis player Yoon Hee-yeon."
So Yoon-hyeok Senior's sister's name was Yoon Hee-yeon. Her name is pretty too.
I was smiling hehe next to them, but the atmosphere between the two of them was actually quite ominous.
"Nice to meet you, player Yoon Hee-yeon. You are very pretty."
"Whatever."
"......."
"Do you not know me?"
"Ah, yes? Ah... I'm sorry. I don't really know much about tennis...."
"Haang. Well... I see."
"......."
What is this atmosphere?
The interview started in a coldly frozen atmosphere.
The Reporter Noona, seemingly offended by Hee-yeon Noona's prickly attitude, asked me questions in a bright voice while using a strangely stiff voice toward Hee-yeon Noona.
"Then, player Yoon Hee-yeon, what is your favorite brand?"
"I only use Babolat."
"Ba, Babolat?"
The Reporter Noona, blinking her eyes, asked again.
"Are there any more common brands?"
"Wilson isn't bad either."
"Ah... aren't there any more universal brands that the readers would know? For example, like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Dior."
"What are you talking about? I'm talking about tennis equipment brands."
"Yes? Equipment?"
"Yes, equipment. Specifically, rackets."
The Reporter Noona's bewildered expression and Hee-yeon Noona's dumbfounded expression met.
"You did come here to interview an athlete, right?"
"Of course. That's right."
"But what kind of questions are... Ha... I knew it would be like this."
Hee-yeon Noona clicked her tongue, crossed her arms, and sank deep into the sofa; at that rude attitude, the tip of the Reporter Noona's eyebrow twitched slightly.
'Wow. The atmosphere is killer.'
There's really no place more uncomfortable than this.
I want to go home.
"Then, may I ask player Min-jun?"
"Ah, yes! Please, ask away!"
Afterward, the Reporter Noona proceeded with the interview unilaterally with only me.
Hee-yeon Noona was sulking, buried in the sofa.
Have I ever been in such an uncomfortable seat in my life?
I feel like the shake I had this morning is going to come back up.
"My goodness. So player Min-jun doesn't drink alcohol at all."
"That's right. I haven't drunk until now, and I plan not to drink until I retire."
"Wow... that's amazing. Would it not work even if I asked you to drink?"
"Yes?"
"I'm joking. Hoho. Then, what is player Min-jun's favorite food?"
"I don't really have any preferences. I like all Korean food, I like all Western food... but seafood with a strong fishy smell is a bit..."
But the interview content is a bit... off.
It's supposed to be a soccer player interview, but somehow all the questions are trivial personal matters like favorite food, music taste, hobbies and specialties, what I do on my days off, and what kind of clothing I prefer.
Since it's my first interview ever, I'm answering sincerely, but just as the thought that this isn't right was creeping up,
"Excuse me."
Hee-yeon Noona, who had been buried in the sofa and trimming her nails as if it were none of her business, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Yes?"
"Tell me honestly. You didn't do any research at all, did you?"
"...Research?"
With an expression that said she knew it, Hee-yeon Noona extended her hand.
"Listening to you, it sounds like you're doing a follow-up interview because the reaction to the magazine he was in last month was good. Then give it here. Let me see how the last interview turned out."
"Th, the last issue?"
The Reporter Noona, looking flustered for some reason, glanced around before letting out a deep sigh and rummaging through the bag she had brought to pull out a magazine.
"He, here...."
The Reporter Noona handed over the magazine while strangely avoiding eye contact.
Oh. It's colorful and very bling-bling from the cover! As expected of a women's magazine!
"......."
"Hmm. Looks good."
On the cover, a Western man in a confident pose was sending a soulful gaze.
While wearing only his underwear.
This is the first time I've seen Hee-yeon Noona smile since the interview started. So she likes this kind of stuff.
Every time Hee-yeon Noona flipped through the magazine, a sight too scary to look at unfolded.
Kuaaaaak!! My eyes! My eyes!!
My eyes are rotting away!!
A half-naked, muscular Western man is... okay.
It doesn't feel great, but I can let it slide when it comes to half-naked photos of handsome, fit men. Well, they look cool, and it even gives me some motivation to lift weights.
But... but why on earth!!
Do I have to look at half-naked photos of women who are dirt-ugly and even fat!!
My mind and body are being devastated by this extreme visual terror that pollutes my mind.......
"Heueo... where on earth is it."
"Ah, sorry! Just a moment."
At my plea, which I couldn't hold back any longer, the Reporter Noona quickly flipped the page.
Around the middle of the magazine, a feast of my photos filled both pages. This time, my mind is being devastated in a different sense.
"It came out really, really well, right? Especially this one, the one where you're sweeping your hair back! This is a total A-class! No, an S-class shot!! Your slightly flushed cheeks right after the match and the sweat flowing down your neck... Ah, I, I was too giddy."
"No, no. Yes. It's good. Haha...."
Yeah.
She took good photos of me.
I heard somewhere that magazine companies are originally free-spirited. It must be an artist style or something like that.
"Aha~ As expected."
While I was trying hard to tell the Reporter Noona that she took them well, that they were good, and that I was thankful.
Hee-yeon Noona, who was staring intently at the magazine, was smiling strangely.
"Th, thank you for your hard work."
Interview... I never want to do one again.
After a time that felt like it would give me a stomachache I didn't even have, the end of the interview finally approached.
I should go home quickly and crash.
Today, I don't need women or anything else.
Why is this more exhausting than playing a full time in both halves?
At that moment, the Reporter Noona, who had been strangely restless, asked in a subtle voice.
"Say, player Min-jun."
"Yes?"
"If you have time, maybe dinner... I'll treat you."
"Ah."
Dinner, huh.
Normally, there's no way I would refuse an after-date request from such a pretty noona, but not today. I'm too tired. I want to go home.
I was about to politely refuse, but Hee-yeon Noona suddenly cut in.
"Oh, dinner. Sounds good. Let's go, Min-jun."
"...Yes."
As the interview raced toward the end, Su-yeon became anxious.
This was an opportunity I barely managed to secure.
That bitch of an Editor-in-chief just kept bitching at me to hurry up and get the interview, threatening to take me off the desk if I failed.
The school wore tinted glasses, thinking we were a magazine company tainted by strange ideologies... or rather, they had accurately assessed us and were being prickly.
Even after barely persuading the school, there was still a problem.
I didn't want to do the feminist cosplay anymore, and since the school said there would be no interview if I didn't dress up 'properly,' I was getting dolled up for the first time in a while... but because I cut my hair too short, there weren't many styles I could do.
I had to get a bob cut I didn't like based on the hairdresser's recommendation, and since it had been years since I'd done proper makeup, I didn't have any usable cosmetics, so I had to just slap on whatever I had.
It was an interview spot that I had worked so hard to secure, to the point where I wondered if I'd ever had it this hard in my life.
The bitch who tagged along was acting crooked for some reason, and I almost exploded, but I managed to endure it and finish the interview by looking at the cute face that was my original goal.
The problem is...
'Damn it... how on earth am I supposed to take that hand-sign photo.'
That damn hand sign.
That hand-sign photo the Editor-in-chief insisted on. That's the problem.
I felt pathetic for being so anxious just to take a photo like that, but what can you do? It's the burden of an office worker to do what the boss tells you to do.
'If only that bitch wasn't there, I could figure something out.'
Where Su-yeon's gaze turned, there was a woman lying on the sofa and trimming her nails.
Flashy blonde hair, a good body toned by exercise, and a face that exuded the freshness of her 20s.
'Annoying. I shouldn't have wasted my time on things like feminism. I was popular in my 20s too! Of course, I'm still in my 20s now.'
At the age of (international) 29.
As I reach the age where a sense of crisis is slowly creeping in, I keep remembering the past when I was doing well.
The days when I was popular everywhere. But after joining a feminist company and doing feminist cosplay—cutting my hair short, going bare-faced, and ranting about Korean men—it's already been 5 years since I've had any connection with men.
I felt a sudden sense of disillusionment because the past time was so wasteful, but work must be finished.
After the interview ended, Su-yeon, who had been watching the situation, approached her sanctuary, the pretty boy, and whispered.
"Say, player Min-jun."
"Yes?"
"If you have time, maybe dinner... I'll treat you."
"Ah."
He says he doesn't drink, but kids his age are all the same.
If I seduce him from the side, he'll end up downing a drink without realizing it, and once that one drink goes down, it's over.
Seeing as he looks like he'd be a lightweight, I'll just get him to drink a little... and somehow take that one hand-sign photo... just one.
Su-yeon tried to ignore her pricking conscience and seduced Min-jun, but,
"Oh, dinner. Sounds good. Let's go, Min-jun."
That annoying bitch cut in without a hint of awareness.
No. The way she was grinning at me... it was clearly intentional sabotage.
'That bitch...!!'
If it's going to be like this, it's war.
I've held it in until now because he was an interview subject, but now I'll show her the power of an adult woman.