As soon as they entered the nightclub, the pounding music hit Lee Hyun-woo and Oh Min-woo’s eardrums.
It was so loud that it seemed like all they could hear was thumping.
Next, there was an enormous crowd.
Even at a rough estimate, there were more than hundreds of people.
Well, considering this place can accommodate up to a thousand people, they might lose each other if they weren’t careful.
So he called out.
“Hyung! Hyung! Hyun-woo hyung!”
Fortunately, they were close enough that Hyun-woo seemed to hear Min-woo’s voice and stopped to look back.
“Huh?”
“This way. The waiter will guide us!”
“Oh, okay! Got it!”
They had to shout to each other to be understood.
After sitting at a table following the waiter’s guidance, Min-woo began to explore.
“Hyung, if you see any good ones, check them out!”
“Oh, okay! Got it!”
Although he responded to Min-woo, Hyun-woo’s main goal today wasn’t booking but figuring out how to have fun at the nightclub.
First, he thought he should improve the awkward dance moves he showed last time.
So he asked.
“Hey, can you dance well?”
“What?”
“Dance! Can you dance well?”
“Oh… dance? I can dance a bit! Here, you just need to move your body to the music!”
“Really? Got it.”
“But you should drink a bit! It’s hard to do it sober!”
Just then, soju and beer arrived.
Hyun-woo had ordered them earlier,
‘Does he like mixing drinks?’
Min-woo saw Hyun-woo mixing beer and soju and handing it over.
Since Hyun-woo had already said he couldn’t do it sober, Min-woo took it and downed it.
After doing that twice, he already felt the alcohol kicking in.
‘No, I need to stay sharp!’
He had messed up many times before by getting drunk and slurring his words to women.
He thought he shouldn’t do that today.
Min-woo was determined to succeed in booking with the king of charm, Hyun-woo.
But should it be said that the effect already showed?
A waiter came over.
“Hyungnims, they want to join us over there. How about it?”
He pointed to a spot.
Two women, who stood out under the lighting, were looking at them with interest.
Min-woo quickly nodded.
“Sure, should we go over?”
“If you agree to join, they’ll come over.”
“Okay, got it.”
Min-woo’s face lit up with joy.
‘It was worth bringing the king of charm.’
He gratefully said to Hyun-woo.
“For the first time in my nightclub life, I’ve been booked. It’s all thanks to you, hyung.”
“Oh, really? Congrats.”
By now, they had adjusted to the loud music enough to have a conversation without issue.
So they could tell that the voices of the two women who joined them later were quite attractive.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“Welcome.”
“Thank you.”
But after the initial greetings, what should they talk about?
While Min-woo was pondering this, the women thankfully started talking first.
“Do you come here often?”
“Me? I come often.”
“What about you?”
Min-woo quickly answered but realized the women were asking Hyun-woo.
Hyun-woo shook his head and replied in his characteristic deep voice.
“No.”
“Oh, is it your first time?”
“Yes. By the way, can you dance well?”
At Hyun-woo’s question, the two women giggled.
It wasn’t funny at all, so what point were they laughing at?
“We can just match the vibe. She’s really good at dancing.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You dance well.”
“No, really.”
“Shall we go dance?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Hyun-woo made all three of them silent like they had honey in their mouths.
Naturally, Min-woo looked like he had failed.
They hadn’t exchanged many words, but now he wanted to go dance?
‘What is this? Is he showing his inexperience?’
Just as Min-woo was thinking he should have briefed him in advance, the women stood up.
He felt a sudden fear.
It felt like a signal that they were going back to where they were.
However, Min-woo’s prediction was wrong.
“Sure.”
“Actually, I wanted to move my body a bit too.”
“Then, I’m not good at dancing, can you teach me?”
“Sure.”
“I will.”
What was this?
These women’s reactions?
‘If it were me, the atmosphere would have been ruined immediately.’
Maybe being good-looking means anything is forgiven?
There was no other answer.
Considering this, Min-woo thought he should face reality.
Right now, Hyun-woo was Lee Mong-ryong, and he was Bang-ja.
‘But there are only two Choonyangs and no Hyang-dani here.’
Both women were equally attractive.
The same was true when they danced.
Their movements were light yet beautiful.
Sometimes they would show Hyun-woo some moves.
Even their addresses changed quickly, and they boldly made physical contact.
“Oppa, not like that. Match it to the beat like this.”
If the exciting music continued, they would have gotten closer, but unfortunately, it was blues time.
As soon as they returned to the table and sat down, the two women giggled again.
“Oppa, you really seem like you haven’t been here before. Your dancing is a bit clumsy.”
“But why does your face look so familiar?”
“Are you a celebrity? Have you been in a movie?”
“I think I’ve seen you on TV too.”
“He’s not a celebrity, but he’s been on TV once. For an interview.”
“An interview?”
“Yes, right?”
“Yeah.”
Somehow, he felt like he was playing the role of Bang-ja faithfully.
Since he was answering for Hyun-woo.
But Min-woo didn’t mind.
‘Today is a record.’
There was never a time when women stayed at the table this long when he came.
Today, his words flowed more naturally.
Probably because he was talking about Hyun-woo’s story rather than his own.
In the past, he worried about how to entertain the women.
But later he realized it was all awkward and contrived.
So he thought he could practice now.
Not trying to be funny artificially but practicing creating a natural conversation.
Fortunately, he had many stories about Hyun-woo he heard from his friend Lee Jung-woo.
“Actually, this hyung is amazing. You know Clones, right? He predicted that group would be big.”
“Really?”
“How did he?”
“Now that I think about it, it’s a bit much to reveal his identity without his permission, isn’t it?”
“Oh, come on, tell us.”
“We’re curious. Tell us, oppa? It’s okay, right?”
The second woman openly flirted with Hyun-woo.
Though he didn’t look like he was falling for it, Hyun-woo nodded as if to say it was no problem.
‘Will they know if I tell them?’
Hyun-woo didn’t think everyone in the world knew 【Jungle】.
So when Min-woo revealed Hyun-woo’s identity with a drumroll,
“He’s the CEO of 【Jungle】.”
“Oh… I see.”
“Ah, yes.”
From their soulless responses, he realized these women didn’t know.
Considering they likely won’t see each other again after tonight, was there a need to explain?
Just then,
Ring-ring!
Hyun-woo’s phone rang.
Thinking it might be a work-related call, he quickly answered it.
“Hello?”
(Hello?)
“Oh? Ah-young?”
It was Kim Ah-young.
Since she was someone between work and friendship, he thought he should hear her out.
(It’s after work hours, so it’s okay, right?)
“Of course.”
Kim Ah-young seemed to have clearly grasped the distinction between work and personal time.
So this call probably wasn’t work-related.
(Great. You bought me soju last time.)
“Huh?”
(Now it’s my turn to repay you.)
If Hyun-woo didn’t have any special plans, he would have agreed immediately.
‘Actually, buying soju last time was my way of repaying.’
Kim Ah-young might not know, but thanks to her brother Kim Tae-hyun pushing for home appliance ads, 【Jungle】’s banner ads were now fully booked.
These days, there’s even a waiting list for ads.
Although he thought the soju last time was enough of a repayment, it seemed it wasn’t enough for her.
But this time, she wanted to repay with soju again.
Hyun-woo diagnosed it this way.
“You’re bored, aren’t you?”
(Frankly, yes.)
Was the call too long?
He heard someone’s voice from the side.
“Hyung, it’s not polite to take long calls during a booking at a nightclub.”
“Oh, really? Got it.”
Then he had to keep it short.
“I’ll sacrifice myself to relieve your boredom. How about the nightclub instead of drinks today?”
From today’s experience, he felt that nightclubs were definitely the best for boredom.
The reply came immediately.
(What? Nightclub?)
“Yeah, nightclub.”
(Now that I think about it, with loud music playing, are you at a nightclub?)
“Yeah. By the way, the atmosphere here is great. You won’t be bored. But just to let you know, I’m not good at dancing.”
That was true.
But he meant ‘I’m not good at dancing, so don’t worry and come.’
Kim Ah-young readily agreed.
(Okay. Tell me the place, and I’ll head over.)
“Everyone knows Julian in Gangnam.”
(Really? Then I’ll ask around and head there.)
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
When he hung up, the women in front of him didn’t look pleased.
It was understandable.
The man they were interested in called a woman named Ah-young to the nightclub?
‘I had no choice.’
Unless he was a fool, he knew the women were interested in him.
But today, Hyun-woo had another goal besides enjoying the nightclub.
It was to help Oh Min-woo succeed in booking.
In other words, Min-woo should be the main character today, but the women kept focusing on him.
‘Now they’ll talk to him more, right?’
To ensure that, Hyun-woo whispered in Min-woo’s ear.
“Hey, I’ll step aside. Work on whichever one you like and succeed.”
“What? But did you do it on purpose…?”
“Shh!”
Seeing Min-woo’s voice getting louder, Hyun-woo quickly hushed him.
Then he said.
“I saw you dancing earlier. Show off your charm on the stage.”
The blues time had just ended.
So at Hyun-woo’s encouragement, Min-woo seemed to gather his courage and stood up, speaking to the two women.
“Shall we dance?”
“……”
“……”
It was a tense moment.
The women didn’t answer right away.
Fortunately, though they looked a bit deflated, they reluctantly nodded, unable to end the session ambiguously.
“Sure, let’s go.”
“We should shake it off and relieve some stress.”
Maybe they intended to shift the drink bill to this side.
Thus, leaving Hyun-woo behind, the three of them got up and moved to the dance floor.
Watching them, Hyun-woo smiled.
‘Alright, now he’ll handle it.’
