"Who's this?" The young man asked, his tone going up a notch.
Seo-Jun noted that the young man sounded a little more defensively than needed.
Just like certain animals could sense other's outstanding genes with a single sniff, so did this young man get a strong feeling of superiority coming from that man's appearance. With just one glance, he could tell that the person Yeon-Ah had brought with her wasn't someone ordinary. As such, he instinctively straightened his back and pulled his shoulders back, trying to look taller.
Seeing this, an eyebrow slowly arched on Seo-Jun's smooth forehead, giving him an expression of contempt. In response, he merely gave the young man a tight smile, choosing to remain silent, while Yeon-Ah explained his identity to the other man.
"This person is Mr. Kim Seo-Jun. He is the Deputy Director for the team I'm working on. You know, at Kangji Tourism."
After saying that, she naturally turned towards Seo-Jun in order to introduce the other person to him.
"Deputy Director Kim, this is Han Dal-Gi. Although he may look a little rough around the edges, he is actually a very nice person. He is the cafe owners' son, also a former school colleague of mine and a good friend."
Being intimidated by Seo-Jun's expression, as well as his posture and appearance, the young man called Han Dal-Gi didn't dare stretch his hand out. Instead, he gave the other person a curt nod, then shifted his eyes away from the man.
Seo-Jun's handsome features, together with his tall stature, soon attracted the attention of other people as well. Both staff and clientele, whether they were women or men, they all turned their heads towards the entrance. Everyone was watching the new arrival with keen interest, whispering amongst each other and wondering who that attractive man was.
Blushing in embarrassment, Yeon-Ah avoided looking in Seo-Jun's direction. Instead, she gripped her little brother's hand tighter, before pushing him towards Han Dal-Gi.
"Yeong-Cheol, you stay here with brother Dal-Gi, while I go and change, alright?"
"Mn." The boy nodded obediently.
However, a second later, he seemed to have suddenly thought of something and turned to point at Seo-Jun's face.
"What about him?"
Yeon-Ah felt momentarily stumped. She honestly didn't know how to reply to Yeong-Cheol's question.
After coming back to the cafe she would have to work, so there was no way for her to keep the man company. But she couldn't just turn her back on him and act as if they were strangers either.
'Should I ask Dal-Gi to stay with him or would Deputy Director Kim mind that? But the alternative would be to stay alone and that wouldn't be any better. So what to do?'
Yeon-Ah shifted from one foot to the other, thinking hard over the matter as though it was an unsolvable mathematical problem.
As though he could guess her difficulty, Seo-Jun hurried to smooth things over.
"It's alright. You should go back to work, Miss Lee. I will stay with your brother and wait for your shift to end."
"Are you sure that's alright?" Yeon-Ah bit her lower lip in mortification. "You really don't have to..."
Seeing her hemming and hawing like that, Seo-Jun wanted to laugh.
'I bet she doesn't even realize just how cute and adorable she looks right now.'
As he thought that, Seo-Jun didn't even realize his expression softening and his voice borrowing a warmer tone.
"Miss Lee, don't worry about me and focus on your work. I'll be looking around the café, see if I can find something interesting to read." he stopped to give the woman a charming smile. "I'm sure your little brother wouldn't mind keeping me company."
Here, Seo-Jun stopped yet again and gestured towards Dal-Gi.
"And I'm sure your friend here can recommend something to drink and show me the best books they have here. Considering his relationship with the owner, I'm sure he knows them like the back of his hand, right?"
In the face of Seo-Jun's smile, even Dal-Gi was left in a daze.
However, the moment the other man's words sunk in, his speechlessness became one of irritation. He suddenly understood what that person meant by what he said and he didn't like it one bit. Nevertheless, he couldn't be so reckless as to return the favor in front of Yeon-Ah or the other customers for that matter. As such, Dal-Gi could only swallow his retorts and show Seo-Jun a professional smile.
"Of course, it would be my pleasure to assist Mr. Kim and show him around the café."
Turning to Yeon-Ah, Dal-Gi's smile became much more natural and infinitely friendlier.
"You go ahead and change. I'll take care of things here for you."
"Alright, I'll leave them both in your care then." Yeon-Ah smiled gratefully at her friend. She touched his arm, giving him a light squeeze. "Thank you, Dal-Gi."
With that, she turned on her heels and started walking towards the staff room.
In the end, after being shown the entire place, Seo-Jun was taken to a window table. The view of the street was good from there and he also had easy access to one of the bookshelves.
For the next few hours, Seo-Jun effectively became the center of attention on both sides of the window.
Inside the café, the entire palace buzzed with whispers regarding him, while outside, women would sometimes even stop dead in their tracks just to steal a few more glances at the handsome man.
Seo-Jun was holding a book in one hand, his slender fingers moving slowly and elegantly whenever he turned the pages. In those moments he would pinch the corner, then allowing his fingertips to graze the surface of the page. His movements were slow, his gestures almost alluring, as though each page he turned was a woman's delicate hand he was caressing.
From time to time he would bring a small cup of coffee to his lips, drinking from it slowly. That simple gesture made people hold their breaths, watching as if mesmerized while his mouth touched the rim of the cup lightly, before slowly pulling away.
No matter how one looked at it, Seo-Jun looked very pleasing to the eye and he had the air of someone who knew that. Just like an exquisite painting sitting inside a gallery that was especially made for it, Seo-Jun enjoyed each and every one of the gazes people gave him.
The aura of self-satisfaction sparkled around his persona, giving the impression of a halo.