The Second Time Around
The first meeting had taken place in Professor Lee Na-eun’s office.
Kim Namhu had treated her with effortless ease.
A host was fundamentally a service that required conversation and conversation alone.
You could drink excessively, party all night, or perform impossibly well in bed and still fail as a host if you couldn’t hold a conversation. But if you spoke well, success came easily—women relaxed and let you in.
Professor Lee Na-eun had been openly warm toward him, acting the part of the courteous educator.
There was only one thing every woman like her secretly craved: to appear brilliant and solve every problem for the student who struggled.
Kim Namhu began by speaking of the common worry that plagued every young person in this era: the choice of first job.
He even opened up about the difficult family situation at home.
By planting lies that seemed completely true, Professor Lee Na-eun soon looked at him with deep sympathy, tears welling in her eyes as she reached out and took his hand.
“It must have been so hard… But choosing your first job is important. If you study diligently, get good grades, and let me know which company you like, I’ll write you an excellent recommendation letter.”
It was a rather shallow piece of advice, yet Kim Namhu reacted as though it were worth its weight in gold.
“Thank you, Professor. Thank you for listening to me so carefully and even offering help. I’m so grateful.”
Once Professor Lee Na-eun accepted him, her mood lifted noticeably.
Nothing felt better than having one’s efforts recognized.
With her spirits high, she chattered on about this and that, no longer needing any prompting.
Kim Namhu casually glanced at his watch.
It was already past six o’clock.
He spoke to her with regret, even though he was the one who had started the conversation.
“I’m sorry, Professor. I didn’t realize the time had gotten so late. You must be heading home soon.”
“Oh… Has it really gotten that late?”
Even though her face had been animated moments ago, a shadow passed over it.
She preferred consulting with university students to walking back into a house where her husband—someone who had no affection left for her—waited.
Her stomach gave a loud growl.
Kim Namhu’s empty stomach had been rumbling since he deliberately skipped lunch to arrive here on time.
Professor Lee Na-eun, who was already reluctant to go home, felt her heart soften when she saw how clearly the young student was hungry.
“I’m so sorry—I kept you waiting until dinner time.”
“No, not at all. I was so happy just to hear your story, Professor.”
“Then why don’t I treat you to dinner? Or do you have a dinner date already? You’re a student, so you probably have friends waiting.”
Kim Namhu smiled brightly.
“I’d be delighted to eat dinner with you, Professor. If I had other plans, I’d cancel them in a heartbeat. But I don’t have anything tonight.”
Professor Lee Na-eun looked at him with stars in her eyes.
“You’re just like a graduate student! You’re amazing.”
They stepped out of the university gates together.
Kim Namhu got into Professor Lee Na-eun’s car.
Near the university there were countless cheap restaurants and bars where students could eat well, but Professor Lee Na-eun had no intention of taking him to any of them.
She had one special place in mind—the Italian restaurant she occasionally treated herself to when she felt like spoiling herself.
Kim Namhu, who had already visited every high-end restaurant during his successful host days, felt nothing special about a small one like this.
But he acted the part perfectly, eyes wide in genuine surprise as if he had never seen anything like it before.
Even giving a small gift could be made to feel precious if the reaction was just right.
A man would be far more pleased if you showed disappointment with a small diamond ring than if you acted like you had already seen everything and dismissed even a grand one.
And a woman in her first real love would beam with joy at even a cheap ring, then feel so happy she would buy you something even better next time.
Professor Lee Na-eun enjoyed his reaction and smiled.
“This place has good food, but the portions are a little small. You’re still young, so you must eat a lot, right? Order as many dishes as you want and enjoy yourself.”
“I’ve never been to a place like this, Professor. I’ll eat whatever you recommend.”
Professor Lee Na-eun ordered a variety of dishes especially for him.
Kim Namhu took one bite of the rich pasta and made a face as though he had never tasted anything so delicious in his life.
“Is it really that good?”
“Yes! This is the first time I’ve ever had anything this delicious! If I eat it with beer…”
“Oh, sorry.”
Kim Namhu quickly poured himself a drink.
In the end, a host’s success was measured by how much he could make the customer spend. Getting a woman to buy you alcohol was shockingly easy.
Professor Lee Na-eun’s mood had already reached its peak, and buying her a drink was no trouble at all.
“Wine would pair better with this dish. Would you like to try some?”
“Yes, thank you! I’d love to.”
There was a reason people said you should never refuse a drink from someone who loves alcohol.
Alcohol was love’s secret weapon.
When you were drunk, your self-control weakened and your desires grew stronger.
On a drinking night, countless relationships had been born.
“I’m actually grateful she chose wine instead of beer.”
The wine arrived, and Kim Namhu drank it with the exact elegance of a man who appeared on luxury commercials.
“Wow! This is really delicious!”
Anyone who knew wine would naturally feel the same.
Professor Lee Na-eun had to swallow hard to keep from drooling.
“Professor, don’t you drink?”
“Oh, I brought my own car.”
“Then why don’t you call a driver? It would be a shame for only me to drink.”
“That’s true. Then how about we have just one more drink?”
Professor Lee Na-eun had not enjoyed a drink like this in a long time.
Drinking with Kim Namhu felt far more comfortable than drinking with her fellow professors or even her own husband.
Of course it did.
Unlike anyone else, Kim Namhu had carefully created a mood that made it easy for her to relax.
Two bottles of wine were emptied, and most of them had been drunk by Professor Lee Na-eun herself.
A good host never drank too much himself, because it would ruin his ability to work. Instead, he had learned to let the other person drink a little more so they wouldn’t notice.
Now Professor Lee Na-eun was complaining about the hardest thing in her life: her husband’s lack of interest in her.
“That’s right… Before marriage he was fine, but now he doesn’t even look at me anymore.”
Her eyes were already half-lidded, her tongue slightly tangled.
Taking advantage of a woman in this state was easier than eating a free meal.
Kim Namhu listened patiently, letting her wine-induced babble run its course.
Of course he could have taken her somewhere private and satisfied his desire, but that would have been too easy.
Women, strangely, had an instinct to push away anyone who seemed to want to “defile” them.
Apparently that instinct was already wired into raising their own value.
After dinner and drinks, they stepped out of the restaurant together.
They sat side by side in the back seat of the car.
Professor Lee Na-eun had barely managed to call the driver before she lost the battle with the alcohol and closed her eyes, breathing heavily.
Soon the driver would arrive, and tonight’s events would be over.
They could never go back to being lovers.
She knew that too.
The fact that she had opened up after drinking showed she wanted to give him a chance.
But Kim Namhu had skillfully refused her advances, letting her body burn without being touched.
When Professor Lee Na-eun finally reached the peak of frustration, Kim Namhu spoke as if in passing.
“If I had been your husband, I would never have let you get to this point.”
“Mmm…”
“A woman as sexy as you wouldn’t be able to resist.”
Kim Namhu watched her closely.
Professor Lee Na-eun was still pretending to be completely drunk, eyes shut tight, swaying slightly.
But he knew the truth.
She was not drunk at all.
It was the same act a woman who had gotten drunk with her boyfriend, then quickly fixed her makeup in the bathroom while he went to the restroom.
Professor Lee Na-eun leaned her head against his shoulder.
It was yet another of her attempts to seduce him.
“Even in the past, she’s been like this.”
Kim Namhu had seduced many women in his days as a successful host.
He also knew a few facts about Korean women.
One of the most effective methods was to pretend the feelings were mutual and play along with the game, rather than simply asking for sex.
Because of the lingering influence of Confucianism, many women felt guilt and shame about sex.
Once they finally gave in, they were far more enthusiastic than anyone, but they still pretended to be pure virgins until the very end.
To sleep with a woman like that, foreplay was far more effective than straightforward advances.
“Just like now, with the alcohol as an excuse.”
Kim Namhu reached out and gently took her chin in his hand.
Feigning drunkenness himself, he brought his lips to hers.
Professor Lee Na-eun was clearly not drunk.
Her tongue moved first, slipping into his mouth.