There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Twenty-Two

Many of the booths were full. Staff members had squeezed themselves into the seats awkwardly in a bid to be involved in the most exciting conversations, and they all talked animatedly in Korean, laughing at jokes Rose didn't understand, sharing appetisers and ordering more drinks than they ought to say it was a work night and they'd all have to be back at the studios in the morning.

Lost in the sea of joviality, Rose found an empty booth away from the noise and settled into the seat. She pushed her fingers through her hair and let out a long, frustrated sigh. Again, she'd wanted to be invisible to people, and being alone was infinitely better than having fake friends clamouring around her in a bid to enjoy her wealth and influence, but that didn't mean she never wanted to talk to anyone ever again. The company of someone genuine and kind was all she desired, and it seemed as if she wasn't about to find that when she was the troublesome fake model who'd blundered in and angered the star of the show, damaged company property, and had made herself the target of Tae-won's twisted plot for revenge.

Make me fall in love with him?

Hah!

What a joke!

Rose was more likely to fall in love with a cactus than with a man like that. If he really wanted to get his own back, then he could bad mouth her to the press when the photographs were published or start an online campaign to have her removed from the project. He'd called her interesting, but she thought she was anything but. She was a girl with no direction in life, no career to speak of, no friends besides those she'd grown up with, and no life experience. The only thing that set her apart from other girls in his present company was that she'd come from another country, and that was a claim Hitomi could also make.

She was decidedly dull, and Tae-won would have had more fun picking on Jin-hee than on her.

A waiter came to her table and tried to explain something to her that she couldn't understand. Rose couldn't help but feeling she was being told off or asked to leave but had no idea what she'd done to warrant such a request. Confused, she looked around for someone to help her – to explain what it was she was supposed to have done – and at last noticed Si-woo walking in her direction. She waved him over hurriedly and, gathering that he was the best person to speak to, the waiter tried to explain the situation again to the photographer.

Si-woo listened patiently to the harried man before adopting an apologetic tone and motioning to Rose. She couldn't help but think she'd soon learn the Korean for 'I'm sorry, she's a foreigner' before anything else. Naturally, she assumed that was what everyone was saying on her behalf, explaining away her ignorance based on the fact she wasn't from their country, and therefore couldn't be expected to understand anything of their rules and customs.

Maybe she'd get the phrase printed on business cards and would hand them out to strangers.

At least it would get that awkward interaction out of the way early.

'You need to order,' Si-woo told her. 'When you sit at a booth, they expect you to order a drink and food.'

'Oh,' Rose said, feeling rather stupid. She was in a bar, it was only natural she should buy something while she was there. It wasn't like the place was a library where she could sit quietly and hope no one noticed her for the duration of the evening. 'Can you ask him for a beer and – uh – something?'

Si-woo scanned the menu quickly before placing an order with the waiter. Placated, the man left to fulfil it, and Rose sighed in relief. Noticing how she slumped her shoulders and hung her head, Si-woo sat in the seat on the opposite side of the table and smiled kindly across at her.