It was impossible to satisfy everyone.
Despite knowing that, Woo-Jin became sensitive to people’s reactions and felt a lot of pressure after passing the audition. It wasn’t related to his self confidence, it was more like a sense of responsibility.
And to Woo-Jin, Ilya’s reaction mattered the most. Other people’s opinions weren’t as important as long as Ilya was satisfied.
Fortunately, the novelist proudly congratulated Woo-Jin as though it were his own achievement and even made an unexpected suggestion.
{I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to attend.}
Woo-Jin was invited to dinner with Ilya and Selena where she would pay for everything because she had lost the bet. However, Woo-Jin carefully declined the offer.
{Why does it matter when I’m the one inviting you? Besides, you two have met before already. We’re just having a meal together, so don’t feel too burdened about it.} Ilya said.
Woo-Jin didn’t feel burdened. However, he wondered what the three of them could possibly talk about if they sat at the same dinner table. He felt like the atmosphere would be quite awkward.
There were quite a few topics he could converse about with Ilya, especially topics concerning novels and literature. But he didn’t have anything to talk about with Selena apart from chatting about Dustin.
{The meat that restaurant serves is extremely tender and delicious. I’ve always wanted to introduce it to you someday. I won’t say anything even if your manager wants to tag along.} Ilya explained.
{Meat…}
Although Woo-Jin had gone on a diet in a hurry to prepare for the audition, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t eating any meat at all. He usually had his protein intake through boiled chicken breast and lean beef cuts.
But what Woo-Jin wanted to eat the most was fatty meat. He wanted to eat sizzling pork belly or marbled beef with a thick and delicious sauce.
Now that he passed the audition, the rushed diet was properly planned out and changed to a long-term systematic dietary control plan.
In other words, Woo-Jin would not be able to eat fatty meat for the next few months. However, it was clear that Kang Ho-Soo would never object to Woo-Jin having a meal with Ilya, no matter how fatty the meat was.
{Then I’ll tell Selena that you’ll be coming.}
{Ah, yes…}
It felt as though Ilya knew all about Woo-Jin’s circumstances even though the actor had never mentioned anything about his diet. Woo-Jin could sense Ilya’s thoughtfulness as though the writer wanted to use this opportunity to buy Woo-Jin something delicious.
{Oh, and have I told you that I’m so glad you were chosen to play Lloyd?} Ilya asked.
{This is the third time now.}
{Is that so?}
Rather than feeling embarrassed, Ilya made a relieved expression since he was glad he hadn’t forgotten to tell Woo-Jin.
Even Woo-Jin cheered up and felt more at ease after seeing how happy Ilya was from the bottom of his heart.
As far as he knew, Woo-Jin could easily count the number of times he had seen Ilya express his joy openly with both hands.
The writer was always careful and poised even when he expressed his happiness. It was quite rare to see him behave like this, and this made Woo-Jin regret not spending more time with Ilya back when he was Lansky.
Unfortunately, the two would not be able to share a lot of time together in the future either.
Woo-Jin had to return to Korea in a few days.
He had simply come to attend the audition. The filming schedule for the movie wasn’t properly planned out yet. The producers had only finished casting Lloyd and Albert, so the other roles still had no dedicated actors.
And most importantly, the script had not been completed.
It was announced that L. Dmítri was writing the script for the movie himself. In fact, the author’s distinct style could be felt in the script for the audition.
Looking at the relaxed and easygoing Ilya, it appeared as though the production was progressing smoothly for now.
But even if things continued going smoothly, they would need another few months before filming could begin so there was no reason for Woo-Jin to reside in the U.S right now.
So there was no reason for Woo-Jin to be in the U.S. right now. He was only visitng for about a week because of the interview.
In other words, Woo-Jin didn’t have much time to spend with Ilya. Even if he returned to Los Angeles later on, he would be too busy filming the movie.
Therefore, Woo-Jin was looking forward to having dinner with Ilya and Selena.
He wasn’t sure if he would ever have another opportunity like this in the future.
***
“But this isn’t what I was expecting…”
Woo-Jin looked at the people in front of him and quietly grumbled in Korean. Fortunately, Selena—the only person who somewhat understood Korean—hadn’t heard Woo-Jin since she was distracted by the unexpected guests as well.
{What brings you here, father?}
Giorgio had suddenly appeared at the dinner table which was supposed to be for Ilya and Woo-Jin only. Selena had an ambiguous, half-happy yet half-perplexed look on her face.
Unsurprisingly, Ilya frowned deeply in disgust when Giorgio appeared before them. He simply put down his fork and turned his head to the other side.
{I came by to say hi. I was on my way out after having dinner with Amanda when the manager told me you were here. But I didn’t know you were with someone so unpleasant.}
Giorgio was happily holding a blonde woman who looked to be in her thirties by her waist, when he glanced around the table and frowned at Ilya’s presence.
He had heard that his daughter was at the restaurant as well, but hadn’t heard who she was having dinner with.
But even if he knew Ilya was here, Giorgio would still have walked over to their table confidently. Either way, nothing would have changed.
{When did you arrive in L.A?} Selena asked.
{Today.}
{You’ve been coming here quite often recently.}
{Seems like it.}
Giorgio gestured to Amanda with his chin. The reason he was coming to L.A. so often recently seemed to be because of his lover.
He was quite the romantic, since he was coming all the way to L.A. for a date to please his girlfriend despite hating it so much here.
{Long time no see, Selena. You look prettier every time I see you.}
Although this was only their second time meeting each other, Amanda greeted Selena as if they had known each other for years while gracefully waving her hand.
Amanda looked gorgeous but exuded an air of ignorance. In fact, she truly was an ignorant and naive beauty who couldn’t read the room.
Still, she wasn’t stupid. As the lover of Selena’s father, she enjoyed everything Giorgio had to offer, but did not cross the line or step over the limits of her position.
She was different from Giorgio’s previous girlfriends, who behaved as though they had already become the mistresses of the Consccia family.
Thus, Selena was conflicted on whether she should be wary of Amanda or if she should act more comfortably and carefree around her.
But in the end, it didn’t change the fact that Amanda was just her father’s lover. She was simply one of the many lovers Selena had met throughout the years.
{I hope we’re not disturbing you.}
Amanda blinked her eyes innocently as she watched Ilya who had completely turned his body away, and Woo-Jin who was awkwardly sitting still.
{I’m fine, but we haven’t finished eating yet, so you might be somewhat uncomfortable.}
Selena turned her gaze to her father, secretly telling him to leave and continue his date now that he had seen his daughter.
Giorgio had indeed come here to check on his daughter. Ilya aside, seeing how there was a third person with them, they seemed to have met up for work. So Giorgio didn’t intend to bother them for too long.
{Oh my! Are you Genie by any chance?}
But Amanda suddenly exclaimed as she recognized Woo-Jin. She made a fuss and tugged on Giorgio’s arm.
{He played the protagonist of the movie we saw a while ago.}
Amanda was talking about The Red.
Giorgio wasn’t really impressed by Amanda’s explanation as he had already recognized the actor as soon as he saw his face. But since Woo-Jin was going to play the protagonist of the movie his daughter was investing in, Giorgio planned on treating the actor with an appropriate amount of respect.
{I heard you passed the audition. Congratulations.}
Giorgio discreetly glanced at Ilya while talking about the audition. It appeared as if he knew Ilya was the author of Confession of White.
But knowing his daughter was putting her heart and soul into making the film, he behaved respectfully towards Woo-Jin despite hating the original author.
Woo-Jin shook Giorgio’s outstretched hand and casually greeted him. The only excited and cheerful person among the five people was Amanda.
{It would be a pity to leave right away without getting his autograph. It’s also been a while since you’ve seen Selena, so let’s chat for a bit before leaving, Darling.}
Without giving anyone time to object, Amanda called a server and asked for two extra chairs and a piece of paper to get the actor’s autograph. The server then immediately brought in two chairs from outside the room as if he had already predicted this outcome and placed them at the table.
As soon as their seats were prepared, Amanda quickly sat down and tapped the seat next to her with a dense and ignorant expression.
{Sit over here, Darling!}
The two chairs were placed between Woo-Jin and Selena.
Amanda blinked innocently and wore a charming smile as she sat next to Woo-Jin and told her boyfriend to sit next to his daughter.
{Just take a seat.}
Selena quickly offered the seat to her father to ease the atmosphere as Giorgio’s expression was unsettling.
The cold air Giorgio exuded as he sat down made it feel like the room’s temperature had dropped by a few degrees.
The sudden change from his gentlemanly and friendly smile to his current state was not new to the people who knew him.
One of the reasons why Giorgio’s lovers never stayed with him for long was because they couldn’t handle his ever-changing temper.
He was whimsical. He would be gentle and kind at one moment, but could change instantly if something annoyed him for even the slightest bit. Furthermore, his powerful and pressuring aura was something that ordinary people had a hard time handling.
Although there was no way for the temperature to literally drop, it was a fact that he could cool down the surrounding air with the aura he exuded.
But Amanda was strangely unaffected by it. She pretended not to know anything, and smiled brightly in response.
Selena thought that Amanda would last far longer than any of her father’s past girlfriends. But now, she hurriedly turned to Woo-Jin to check on him.
Although Ilya and Giorgio had a bad relationship, they weren’t uncomfortable around each other because they had known each other for a long time. They simply hated the other, but that was it.
However, it was Woo-Jin’s first time meeting Giorgio. Thus, the actor would most definitely be uncomfortable and nervous with this situation, so she planned on apologizing to him.
But Chae Woo-Jin wasn’t paying any attention to the cold aura which Giorgio was emitting just now. He simply took a pen out of his shirt pocket to sign the paper which the server had just brought in.
{You are so much more handsome in person!}
Selena wondered why Amanda was making such a fuss. While she agreed that Woo-Jin was good-looking, she didn’t think he was that handsome. But Selena was unaware of the fact that her beauty standards were skewed as they were based around Dustin.
As she watched Amanda closely, Selena noticed what the woman was aiming for. Making one’s partner jealous was a powerful and efficient technique that transcended time and generations.
{She’s doing something futile.} Selena muttered.
{That’s part of her charm.}
Giorgio indifferently replied to his daughter’s mutters.
Amanda seemed to have misunderstood that Giorgio was rushing to leave after meeting his daughter because he didn’t want the young and handsome Chae Woo-Jin around them.
And she had judged that Giorgio was so irritated by Amanda’s tactless behavior earlier because she was showing interest in Woo-Jin.
{What does she plan to do if you end up punishing an innocent man because of her?}
As far as Selena knew, her father wasn’t one to punish or mistreat someone out of jealousy.
However, if such a thing were to actually happen one day, an innocent man would end up being sacrificed. If Giorgio were to actually express his jealousy, he wasn’t the type to harass his adversary a tiny bit. He would go all out and ruin the man’s life.
{Someone with a conscience could never date me.}
Giorgio made fun of his lover with a languid voice. It seemed his anger had been somewhat subdued. Although he had whispered to his daughter, it was loud enough to be heard by Amanda—who was sitting right next to him.
Her face instantly contorted, even though she had been frivolously expressing her fangirling side to Woo-Jin moments ago.
Meanwhile, Woo-Jin was silently writing a message under his autograph as per Amanda’s instructions. He was watching this entire scene unfold next to him but pretended not to notice anything.
{Come to think of it, who is this?} Amanda asked.
She received the paper from Woo-Jin and unenthusiastically folded it and put it away in her clutch bag. She then belatedly showed interest in Ilya. Having failed to take advantage of Woo-Jin, her eyes could finally see Ilya.
{This is Ilya Turner, a novelist.}
Although Ilya tried to stay mysterious and didn’t reveal much about himself to the public, he didn’t keep his identity a complete secret like his L. Dmítri counterpart. So Selena didn’t hesitate and introduced Ilya to Amanda.
{Oh! I’ve heard of that name quite a lot. He must be quite famous then?}
Amanda said in amazement, insinuating that everyone she had heard of was famous. Ilya then muttered openly as he found her pathetic.
{This little…}
{People like him always get pissed when someone doesn’t recognize them.} Giorgio remarked.
He didn’t necessarily want to side with his lover, but he didn’t mind doing so if it was to make fun of Ilya. Rather, the fact that Amanda only knew of Ilya’s name and didn’t know anything else about the writer was quite satisfying for him.
In his case, Amanda had recognized Giorgio and proactively approached him before even hearing his name.
Putting aside her purpose and intentions, if the two men were to be judged according to their values and worth, then Giorgio was the clear victor.
{Can’t you behave in a more respectable manner now that you’re older?}
As Giorgio giggled to himself, Ilya took the opportunity to lecture him on having class and acting more refined.
{How can you write novels when you’re so old-fashioned, Mr. Turner?} Giorgio struck back.
{I’m writing perfectly well with elegance and class, no need for you to worry.}
{I wasn’t worried, I was mocking you. But it seems mister novelist here couldn’t even understand that.}
The two men’s gazes were sharp and serious as they jabbed at each other verbally. It was obvious that they held grudges against each other. Woo-Jin was somewhat surprised to see their attitudes towards each other.
Lansky knew that the two men looked down on each other while he was alive, but he thought that it was simply because they were both awkward with words and had nothing in common.
He had expected them to have a hard time getting along since they had very different personalities, but Lansky never knew that they were on such bad terms. Perhaps Giorgio and Ilya tried not to make it obvious to Lansky in the past, but they were now growling at each other in plain sight.
