[Episode 11 – Eleanor Young (2)]
NYU,
Pullman Hall, 2F.
Sexton Lounge.
A "Wine and Cheese" event hosted by Kyle Anthony Smith LLC, a mid-sized law firm in New York.
"Hi."
"Oh, hi."
A "Wine and Cheese" is bound to be awkward.
It's only natural when most of the people there are strangers.
This isn't something only Koreans or Asians feel; Americans and Europeans are much the same.
Not many people find it natural to approach complete strangers, introduce themselves, and ask about the other person.
They're just a bit more culturally accustomed to it.
That's why they train you for it.
"Hon."
"Excuse me?"
A "Wine and Cheese" is a party, but a "Wine and Cheese" hosted by law firms for law students is a little special.
It's not simply a place where people in similar professions meet and network blindly; it's more like a job-seeking seminar reception.
To get their names out, students latch onto any lawyer and start a conversation, while the firm's recruiters try to remember the impressive ones among them.
Consequently, when the two-to-three-hour party ends, what remains are names and faces that don't easily match up.
In that regard, I had a considerable advantage.
"My name is Hon."
Did my grandfather ever imagine, when he gave his grandson a name containing the character Hon (憲), signifying law, that in a faraway land called America, that name would be used as a term of endearment between lovers?
"Oh, I thought you just called me honey and I was like 'What?'. Nice name. I will remember that name. My name is boring. Synthia. So, you go to NYU Law?"
I thanked my late grandfather once again.
Among the dozens of names the recruiter from Kyle Anthony Smith LLC had heard tonight, she would surely remember mine.
"Synthia, doesn't Kyle Anthony Smith have a lot of South American clients? Petrobras and Libre—"
"Sorry. Sorry for cutting you off, but I just have to say something about that suit. It's a truly wonderful suit. Is it bespoke by any chance?"
There was one more person I had to thank.
*
"Hon, where'd you buy that suit?"
"You were wondering too? I was wondering the same thing!"
"It's Thom Browne. Wow—Hon, you've really got the frame for clothes. Not just anyone can pull off a Thom Browne suit."
I hadn't expected the suit Sujeong gave me to attract this much attention.
"Thom Browne? Hon, where'd you get it? Was it expensive?"
"I don't know."
"Huh? You don't know?"
"It was a gift."
"A gift? From who?"
"Is that part of your interrogation?"
"No. It's just so cool. Can't you tell me? I want to ask my brother to buy me one too."
"Michael Arthur. Even in the same suit, you wouldn't have that vibe."
"Ah—why do you always do this, Dongwook hyung?"
I knew it was a nice suit, but I didn't expect every person who saw it to comment on it.
It was far more than enough to warrant a simple thank-you to the person who'd given it to me.
After wrapping up that fruitful "Wine and Cheese," as I was getting ready to leave,
"Hon."
Eleanor Young approached me.
"Hey, Eleanor."
Among common English expressions, there's one called "steal the show."
It means, in the same vein as "scene-stealer," to "steal the show," and it's used when someone shows a performance or charm deserving of much attention and praise.
The person who "stole" that day's "Wine and Cheese" was Eleanor.
Appearing in a suit perfectly pressed from the cuffs to the hems, she stood out from the moment she arrived.
Needless to say, she instantly concentrated every gaze in the room on her, and when she wasn't talking to someone, people found themselves looking around to see where she was.
Moreover, her overflowing confidence was not the face of a first-year at all, so much so that one of the male lawyers from Kyle Anthony Smith LLC even asked for her number.
"Headed home?"
"Yeah. About to."
"Then, talk with me for a bit."
"Sure."
"Not here. Want to step outside?"
"Uh... okay."
*
We left Pullman Hall, where the "Wine and Cheese" had been held, and walked toward Washington Square Park.
Since she'd approached me as if she had a bone to pick, I'd expected her to say something straight away, but she remained quiet until we reached a secluded bench.
"The weather's still a bit hot."
"Yeah."
Just when I thought she was starting a conversation, she fell silent again.
While waiting for her to speak, I ended up missing my timing too.
Strum—strum-strum—
Fortunately, someone was busking not far away, filling the potentially awkward silence.
"Can I see your phone?"
"Sure."
At Eleanor's request, I took my phone out of my inner pocket and handed it to her.
She opened the contact list right away, scrolled down carefully, and after confirming that her number was saved, returned the phone.
"You have my number."
"Yeah. You gave it to me."
"So why didn't you call?"
"Huh?"
Honestly, I was a bit flustered.
When she'd given me her number, I'd known she was somewhat interested in me. But I hadn't thought for a moment that she'd given it to me with serious intentions, or expecting a date request.
So I hadn't called.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
I had a similar experience in high school.
The captain of the cheerleading squad, who was very popular at school, had come up to my locker after math class and given me her number, asking what I was doing that weekend.
Naive as I was, I took it as a sort of date request and called her, but she'd just needed a free math tutor.
After that, I swore I'd never bark up the wrong tree again.
"Uh..."
"So you do."
"No. It's not that..."
"You didn't call even though you don't have one?"
I had assumed Eleanor also gave me her number with a similar lack of romantic intention.
That is, since I'd answered Professor James Madison's question brilliantly when he'd substituted for criminal law, I thought she'd given her number to a future study buddy she could work with.
I was wrong.
My guess was off the mark.
"Am I not your type?"
She turned her head to look at me after having been facing forward.
Not my type?
She was Eleanor Young.
A woman who could capture everyone's attention at a glance with her looks alone at a Wine and Cheese packed with hundreds of people.
Moreover, one of the Pomeroy Scholars, of which only ten were selected.
"Not at all."
"Then, is this some kind of plan? If so, I'll tell you. It's working."
However, I had no intention of dating her.
"What am I going to do with you? It's not that either."
"What is it, then? So I'm not your type, but at the same time, I'm not worth calling either? If that's the case, I think that would really hurt my pride."
"Why? Because you've never been rejected before?"
"Yeah."
When she smiled, a neat row of white teeth was revealed.
"Eleanor."
"Speak, honey."
Pfft—
She wasn't a woman who charged in blindly relying on her face alone.
"I'll ask you straight out. When you gave me your number, were you expecting me to ask you out?"
"Isn't that why people usually give out their numbers? No?"
"Some women don't."
"Funny girl."
She had a sense of humor too.
"You're attractive."
"That's a relief. I was about to feel hurt thinking you might be the only one who didn't know."
"I don't know how to put this, but, hmm—I'm not in a situation where I can ask anyone out right now."
I explained as plainly as possible.
It couldn't sound pathetic, nor could it lack sincerity.
"There's such a thing? A situation where you can't ask someone out?"
Yeah, there is.
It was my second life, one I'd just started. There were things I wanted to focus on more than dating. Even if the other person was a woman as attractive as Blake Lively.
And honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn't conscious of Sujeong.
I couldn't ask someone out while wearing the suit she'd bought me. Having gently pushed her away, I couldn't very well meet another girl the very next day.
"So you're not even going to explain properly."
The smile vanished from her face, which had been bright until just moments ago.
"Sorry."
Strum—strum-strum—
The busker's guitar filled the silence again. I was grateful.
As I was about to get up, I thought I ought to take a bill out of my pocket for the busker.
But before I could...
"So this is how it feels. Getting rejected after confessing to someone. It's not a good feeling."
"Strictly speaking, it's not like you confessed, is it?"
"Then I got blocked even before I could confess?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Even if that's not what you meant, that's how it feels."
There wasn't much more I could say.
She was right. A rejection was a rejection, whether a confession was made or not.
"Fine. Then answer me one thing."
"Did you buy that suit?"
"Huh?"
"That Thom Browne suit."
"No."
"It was a gift?"
"Yeah."
"From a woman?"
"Huh?"
"It's true, isn't it? It was from a woman."
"Yeah."
"Then is it because of her? This situation where you can't ask anyone out."
"It's not really because of her..."
"Do you like her?"
"Hmm—no. It's over."
Having heard my answer, Eleanor walked over to the busker, tossed him a twenty-dollar bill, and returned to her seat.
Then she stood in front of me and asked,
"I had a feeling. You're attractive. But you didn't look like the kind of man who'd buy and wear a Thom Browne suit himself."
"..."
"That's enough."
Huh? What was enough?
"I'll give you three months. Get things sorted out and come back. I'll wait."
Housewarming (1)
"Hey, honey."
"Hello, Eleanor."
Eleanor and I had become comfortable again.
Having said she would wait, she didn't rush me like a creditor, nor did she ignore me like someone completely uninterested.
She simply made her presence known from an appropriate distance.
"So what did Eleanor say?"
"Huh? Ah. She didn't say much."
"Yesterday at the Wine and Cheese, she seemed really serious."
"Did she?"
"Yeah. She almost looked kind of angry."
"Really? It wasn't like that."
I answered Sein's question as if nothing had happened, and this time Michael asked,
"Hmm—no, I feel like you're hiding something..."
"What would I hide?"
"Mister Je, so what did you and Miss Eleanor Young talk about after leaving the party last night?"
"Why is he like this again. We didn't really talk about much."
"Aw, come on. What is it? Spill it."
"I'm serious. There wasn't much talk. There was a small misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
To the curious Michael, I vaguely glossed over it, saying she'd been a bit upset about changing her commercial law assignment partner to Dongwook hyung.
"She was upset about that?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I guess she's the type of woman who's never been rejected before. That alone would be enough to hurt her pride."
"I didn't explain it well enough."
"Sure, she could be sensitive about that. That's your mistake. How dare you to a goddess."
And just like that, it passed over.
For now...
Buzz—buzz—buzz—
[Sujeong: Hon!]
[Sujeong: How was the wine and cheese yesterday?]
[Sujeong: Did you do well?]
[Sujeong: What about the suit? How was it?]
[Sujeong: Didn't people say you looked cool? lol]
They said I looked cool.
[Sujeong: Where should we meet this weekend?]