Became the Escort Knight That the Princesses Were Obsessed With - Chapter 331



331. Third Escort 3

Finally, we stepped inside the restaurant.

The atmosphere inside was so homey.

Sticky tables, menus plastered all over the walls.

And most of the customers were college kids in their early twenties or returning students.

There were a few female students too, but they all seemed focused more on their studies than their looks.

They’d come in hoodies, hair pulled back casually, glasses on.

“Korean restaurants are so nice. They’re so…familiar,” she said.

Amidst it all, a single British woman captivated everyone’s attention.

Irina, with her rare silver hair cascading down so beautifully – a color uncommon even in her own country.

She smiled brightly, holding chopsticks like drumsticks, one in each hand.

Watching her, I felt a sense of healing, and at the same time, relief.

It had taken Irina three years after arriving in Korea to get used to using chopsticks.

But, the way she was handling them now looked terribly clumsy.

Thanks to that, I could be certain that I was the only one who had returned from the future.

“So, shall we order? What would you like, Bail?”

“I’ll have the spicy pork stir-fry.”

Irina nodded.

With her pure white finger, she pointed at the “King-Sized” pork cutlet.

“Then, I’ll try this. How good must it be, to be called ‘King’?”

“It’s not like it’s called ‘King’ for *that* reason.”

“Okay, I’ll order here!”

“Ye-ess!!”

When I raised my hand, a middle-aged woman peeked her head out, wearing an apron.

Then, seeing the rare silver crown of my hair, her eyes blinked.

“What the, is that…”

Soon, she came out with a tray laden with King Pork Cutlet and a Spicy Pork Set.

With those generous side dishes, Irina’s fresh lips involuntarily parted.

She clapped lightly, expressing her thanks.

“Whoa— looks delicious.”

“A white girl, speaking our language so well—.”

Maybe it was her beautiful and pure appearance.

The tired-looking ajumma, worn out by the bustling customers, seemed to ease up, looking like she was staring at a Renaissance masterpiece.

“I studied hard, unnie—.”

“Oh my, ‘unnie’ she says!!”

The ajumma covered her lips with her hand and chuckled.

“Enjoy your meal. Your boyfriend is handsome too!!”

“That’s….”

I quickly tried to wave my hand first.

Then, Irina smiled sweetly, as if saying it was okay.

“It’s okay. Should we eat before the food gets cold?”

I was sure she’d be displeased, but.

Surprisingly, the CEO seemed unfazed, maintaining a relaxed smile.

“Hmm-.”

The CEO of AR Construction shifted her gaze to the enormous tonkatsu, a sight she’d never seen before.

It was bigger than her face; she didn’t even know where to begin.

So, I asked to borrow her plate for a moment.

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll cut it for you myself.”

I rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt.

And then, I took the fork and knife and began to cut the large tonkatsu.

“Thank you, this is still new to me.”

Irina slowly watched my hands move, her eyes following them.

But then…

Even after cutting the tonkatsu completely, her gaze lingered on my hands and forearms.

“CEO-nim, you can eat now.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Her eyes finally softened again.

She dipped a piece into the demi-glace sauce and took a delicious bite.

In that moment.

“It’s really… delicious…!”

Irina’s emerald eyes sparkled like jewels,

as if she’d tasted a Michelin 3-star main course.

“It seems you’re enjoying it?”

“Yes, it’s not much different from the cutlet a royal chef would make. Especially this sauce. It seems to have fruit in it?”

I quietly turned my head.

And, my eyes landed on a can of Del Monte pineapple, sitting in a corner of the kitchen.

“It seems so.”

“No wonder the flavor is so wonderful.”

Irina’s noble gaze and her comments were being heard, unknowingly, by the students.

For some reason, they all raised their hands and started ordering tonkatsu non-stop.

The ajumma’s face brightened considerably at that positive influence.

“Why don’t we try one together, too?”

“Ah, it’s alright. You should eat, CEO.”

“No, it’s too much for me, so let’s eat ‘together.’”

Perhaps because her Korean wasn’t quite fluent yet.

Irina, with a bright expression, uttered words that were very easy to misunderstand, and moved a piece of the tonkatsu to my plate.

“Here, use this fork too.”

Thank goodness she wasn’t going to feed me directly.

The CEO simply poked a piece of tonkatsu with the fork he had been using and put it in my hand.

Thanks to that, I was able to relax and put it in my mouth as is.

Our meal, like that, unfolded unexpectedly ordinary.

――――――.

Irina settled the bill herself.

She seemed to hand a check to the ajumma, who recoiled, saying she couldn’t possibly take such a large sum.

But, the director somehow managed to slip the check into her apron,

wielding a cowardly yet pure and pristine smile as her weapon.

“It’s alright, thanks to you, today was really enjoyable.”

The ajumma looked perplexed, wondering what was so enjoyable about a single donkatsu.

Still, interpreting it as a sign that her food was delicious, she eventually accepted the check.

“Haah-. I’m stuffed.”

“Thank you so much for the lunch, Director.”

I bowed politely to her in front of the shop.

Irina waved her hand, saying it was nothing, and instead, made another proposal.

“Don’t mention it. Shall we have a cup of coffee for dessert?”

“Coffee sounds great. I’ll treat.”

Of course, the coffee she drank would be expensive.

She’d probably have a barista coffee from a hotel at the very least.

“Thank you, then shall we head this way?”

Still, it would be much cheaper than fine dining, so I was willing to cover that.

However, my thoughts were completely invalidated by the café Irina pointed to – it was out of the ordinary.

“This cafe, a coffee is only 1500 won!!”

“……?”

Because the place she pointed to was Paik’s Coffee, across from the tonkatsu place.

“Are you really sure about getting coffee here…?”

“Of course, did you think your CEO only drinks 5-star hotel coffee?”

I silently blinked my fox-like, slender eyes.

Because the time she used to enjoy only the Supremo espresso her secretary brought suddenly came to mind.

“At the company, it was just annoying so I only drank whatever they brought me.”

“Ah, is that so.”

A small suspicion quickly fading away.

Thanks to that, we were able to walk lightly straight to the cheap coffee shop and order.

However, Irina just stared blankly at the menu board, as if it was the first time she’d ever been to such a cafe.

“I’ll have an iced americano, and this lady will have an espresso, please.”

“……!”

The CEO of AR Construction stared up at me, having her favorite menu item chosen, which wasn’t even on the menu.

Then, as if it was nothing, I answered with a very natural expression.

“I heard that they drink espresso more often than americano in Europe.”

“Thank you for the consideration, Ms. Han.”

Irina, with her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly and gave a faint eye-smile.

Then, after seeing my pitch-black drink that was served first, she raised her index finger.

“But, I really want to try this thing called an Iced Americano, too?”

“Are you sure…? I heard it’s practically an insult to coffee in Europe.”

“It’s fine, when in Seoul, you follow the Seoul rules.”

The silver-haired woman waved her hand and received her own hefty 500ml of black coffee.

Then, holding it with both hands, she took a big gulp.

“……!”

The combination of cool water and coffee made her feminine and long eyes widen in surprise.

Like a startled she-wolf.

“How is it, Director?”

I asked tentatively, with a worried expression.

Then, Irina, with trembling lips pulling into a wide smile, answered confidently.

“It’s really… so refreshing!! It feels like it’s woken up my whole head!!”

Yeah, she still seems to have some trouble with the Iced Americano, after all.

Still, it’s admirable how she’s trying to understand Korean culture like this.

It’s enough to make you forget, for a moment, the fact that we faced a sad end together.

“Now that we’ve had coffee, it’s time to say goodbye.”

“Yes, thank you so much for lunch today.”

As I bowed again, she shook her head.

“No, it was thanks to you, Han-ssi, that I learned so much today.”

Director Irina, saying it worked out perfectly, took out her phone from her handbag.

And then, just like that, she tossed out a suggestion.

“We’re going to have to see each other again for evaluations tomorrow anyway, so how about we just exchange numbers now?”

“Oh, is that alright?”

Usually, these kinds of work matters were handled through a secretary.

But somehow, I ended up getting her direct line.

“Of course, here’s my number. Would you mind giving me yours as well, Mr. Bae?”

“Yes, I’ll call you right now.”

I immediately dialed her number.

Irina just stared at the incoming call screen on her phone for a moment, blankly.

“Got it, thank you.”

Then, she nodded with a sly smile.

Like a predator confirming the location of its prey.

「――――――」

And with that, I finished Irina’s short, intense security detail and headed home.

I was lost in thought the entire time I showered.

‘This is strange.’

Irina was definitely a complete stranger at this time.

How did we end up spending such a friendly time together?

Of course, I dismissed my suspicions after seeing how bad she was with chopsticks.

But even so, the strange, innate sense of familiarity didn’t easily fade away.

Still, I can’t deny I was seriously into Korean culture around this time.

If I think of today as part of that whole deal, then everything kinda lines up.

So, for now, I’m just gonna focus on getting accepted into the planning department.

“Whew…”

I finished my shower and grabbed my phone.

Checking if any work texts had come through.

Then I saw it. A text from the AR Construction CEO’s number, the one I’d swapped at lunch.

「Han-ssi – Sorry, but could you maybe recommend a Korean movie? Gonna watch it with a friend.」

She wanted me to pick one of the three movies she’d chosen.

The second I saw what those movies were.

I knew, right then and there, she wasn’t a regressor.

Movies chosen by someone who went through higher education…

「Girl Cops.」

「Yeonryeok.」

Just the list itself was enough to make my chest feel tight and small.

「CEO-nim, instead of those two, I’d recommend this one.」

I texted back ‘Gukji Market’, a movie that encapsulates the whole of Korean history.

Then Irina replied with a super awkward emoticon, expressing her thanks.

「Thank you. See you tomorrow. *^^*」

‘Still, if I build up some goodwill like this, it’ll probably help my evaluation score, right?’

I tossed my phone onto the bedside table with a sigh of relief.

And, I drifted to sleep, anticipating tomorrow’s final placement evaluation.

Dreaming of a sweet gig in the planning department, lounging in a comfy chair.