A Lewd Sketch Artist in a Gender-Reversed World - Chapter 106

Chapter 106 :

There’s something commonly referred to as prejudice.

It’s a biased perspective formed from societal data or an individual’s subjective thoughts.

When we judge or evaluate someone without sufficient evidence, we call it prejudice.

Like assuming someone with sharp eyes has a bad personality.

Or mistakenly thinking all engineering guys wear checkered shirts.

Prejudice tends to manifest in our daily lives more often than we think.

And I, too, had my fair share of prejudices.

No, it’s almost inevitable because prejudices are born from the brain’s common sense and preconceived notions.

They weren’t particularly grand prejudices.

Just simple ones… related to occupations.

For instance, writers must be stressed out, pot-bellied, and balding.

Or politicians are all corrupt, each with a secretary hidden under their desk.

Just these kinds of narrow, simplistic views.

Similarly, I had a prejudice about editors.

Since their job involves meeting people, persuading them, signing contracts, and keeping in regular contact, I imagined they’d mostly be friendly and approachable.

That way, they could quickly lower people’s defenses and carry on comfortable conversations.

Naturally, I assumed the person I was meeting this time would look similar… or so I mistakenly thought.

But the person standing before me, qwer1, was completely different from my prejudiced expectations.

Rather than a friendly vibe, they gave off a somewhat aloof aura… like a mix of half snake, half fox.

“Wow…”

What should I say? They seemed like an insider

Not the cheerful, bright, academic insider like Eunbyeol, but more like a polished, authoritative corporate insider who knows how to handle people.

Because of that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated. I mean, what outsider wouldn’t feel intimidated by an insider?

Awkwardness was already creeping in.

As I stared at them for a moment, they sent another message.

[qwer1: I’m here, where are you?]

They’d entered the café but hadn’t spotted me yet.

Thanks to the message, I snapped out of it and quickly replied.

[hala: I’m the one staring at you right now.]

It’s better than describing my outfit. A gaze is something you can usually sense pretty easily.

Then, they slowly started scanning the café.

Their hazel-like eyes moved slowly from the left.

At one point, our eyes met. When our gazes locked, I saw them flinch slightly.

“They’ll come over now,” I thought, sipping my coffee.

But that thought was short-lived.

Soon, qwer1’s eyes moved again, scanning the rest of the café.

After looking around, they tilted their head and messaged me again.

[qwer1: Where are you? I can’t see you.]

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head too.

“What are they talking about?”

We’d just made eye contact how could they not find me?

I sent another message.

[hala: Aren’t you the one looking around the café right now?]

[qwer1: That’s me.]

[hala: I’m the one looking at you.]

They started scanning the café again.

The café was quite spacious.

Located in the city center, and since it was around 4 p.m., it was crowded with people office workers having meetings, students chatting.

Still, finding one person shouldn’t be that hard…

[qwer1: Come on, stop messing around and tell me where you are.]

They still couldn’t find me.

They’d scanned the café at least twice by now.

We’d made eye contact two or three times, even.

But they acted like they saw nothing, quickly looking away and scanning again.

“Huh?”

That’s when I started to sense something off.

“…Could it be they didn’t expect it to be me at all?”

Exactly!

Just as I’d fallen into the prejudice that they’d be friendly, they seemed to have their own prejudice.

Statistically speaking, and by common sense in this field, there are relatively more women drawing that kind of art.

So naturally, they were looking for a woman staring at them, and I was automatically excluded from their scope.

I let out a small chuckle.

Thinking about it, there was no need to feel intimidated before the conversation even started.

[qwer1: Hurry up, I’m starting to feel awkward here ;)]

[hala: Just stay there. I’ll come to you.]

I decided to get up. If they kept looking, they’d never find me.

*Scrrch.*

The wooden chair made a small sound as it slid.

The noise was quickly drowned out by the café’s music, but it was enough to draw one person’s attention.

Their sharp eyes, which had been scanning the café, turned toward me. Their eyes widened for a moment.

“Uh, uh?”

Surprise flashed across their previously composed face.

As I walked closer, their flustered expression became clearer.

When I reached them, I smirked and teased, “Why couldn’t you find me?”

Their dumbfounded expression didn’t match their aloof face.

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“Phew… I was so surprised. You’re a guy?”

“Yup.”

After a brief introduction, we sat down.

Standing around felt awkward, so I quickly led them to my table.

Once seated, they seemed to regain their composure, their wide eyes settling.

They were calming down.

“You could’ve told me you were a guy. I was looking for so long.”

“Well, we were going to meet anyway, so I didn’t think it was necessary.”

And then—

I continued with a grin, “Plus, it wouldn’t be as fun if I told you.”

“…”

They looked at me, a mix of disbelief and exasperation in their aloof eyes.

I just kept smiling.

“Your personality… seems similar to how you are online,” they said, sipping their coffee.

*Slurp, slurp.* The black coffee in their cup gradually disappeared with each pull on the straw.

How could they drink something so bitter like that? As someone who ordered a caramel macchiato, I couldn’t understand.

Is that what being a corporate worker is like?

I thought, watching them.

“Unexpected…”

It wasn’t the black coffee that was unexpected it was them.

Based on how they commissioned work, I’d assumed they’d be some shady, slightly unhinged person.

But the real qwer1 was polished and dignified.

Judging someone’s real-life self based on their anonymous online persona was, as expected, pointless.

Even Ahein and Eunbyeol had been completely different from my expectations.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence fell over the table. Awkwardness lingered faintly.

If this were about a commission, I’d have spoken first, but since it wasn’t, I didn’t know how to start.

I suddenly remembered my first meeting with Ahrin.

Back then, she absorbed all my awkwardness, making it easy to talk. But now, both of us were feeling the awkwardness.

In the end, I’m just a relative outsider to someone.

“I miss you, Ahrin…”

As I was lost in my thoughts—

“Let me introduce myself first,” they said, bowing slightly.

A faint smile appeared on their aloof face.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Song Hara, a team leader at Top Entertainment. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh, uh, yes. Nice to meet you too.”

I awkwardly bowed back, returning the greeting.

So qwer1’s name was Song Hara. It suited their appearance quite well.

As I looked up, I thought to myself—

Honestly, the strongest feeling I had right now was disappointment.

“They’re not that flustered…”

I’d expected them to be more shocked.

I was hoping for a reaction like Ahrin’s, completely thrown off. Even if not that extreme, I thought they’d at least stutter or act more awkwardly.

But as expected of a seasoned corporate worker, Song Hara was smoothly taking control of the situation.

“Hmph…”

“Still, it’s nice to meet like this. Was the trip here okay?”

Whether I was sulking or not, the conversation continued slowly. It wasn’t anything significant.

Wasn’t it hot today? Was the distance far? Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule.

Just formalities exchanged before diving into the main topic.

These kinds of conversations help ease the tension.

Despite her seemingly prickly face, she was surprisingly kind. Typical corporate charm.

During the conversation, a question popped into my mind.

“Oh, by the way.”

Braving potential rudeness, I asked, “You mentioned in our chats that you were kind of like an editor… What did you mean by that?”

From her current demeanor, she seemed like a textbook editor.

But since she specifically said “kind of,” there must be something more. I was quite curious.

When I asked, she gave a subtle smile and spoke.

“Well, the thing is…”

She began explaining.

Turns out, she’s the daughter of a major shareholder in the company.

She’s currently working here to gain some corporate experience.

And since it suited her, she’d risen to the position of team leader.

So, while she’s an editor, her actual authority is higher than that.

Hearing this, I let out a small gasp.

“Oh…”

And then I thought—

“A golden spoon.”

No wonder she had an air of elegance from the moment she walked in. She was born into a wealthy family.

It makes sense someone spending 300,000 won per illustration isn’t your average person.

Though I felt a slight pang of envy knowing she started life on easy mode, I gave a polite reaction.

“That’s impressive.”

“Not really. It’s not like I earned it myself.”

“No, I mean, you probably don’t need to work, but you’re here diligently doing your job. That’s admirable.”

It sounded a bit like flattery, but I meant it.

In my mind, golden spoons were mostly people who lazed around all day.

Seeing someone work so hard on a hot day like this was worthy of respect.

“…Thank you.”

A faint smile appeared on her face. She seemed pleased with my words.

Nice, sweet-talker Sewon. Hanging out with women must’ve taught me how to score points instinctively.

But then, a thought struck me.

“Did she really need to mention she’s a golden spoon?”

Even if she’d just said she was an editor in our chats, I’d have let it slide since her job seemed similar enough.

But she specifically used “kind of” to imply something different.

Now that I thought about it, she had a slightly smug expression when she revealed her status.

As I was pondering this—

“Shall we get back to business? Oh, but first…”

She spoke again, casually placing her arm on the table.

Then, she unfastened the watch on her wrist and placed it prominently on the table.

It was a luxurious silver RolX watch.

A completely unnecessary item for daily life, even the cheapest of which costs nearly 2 million won a symbol of extravagance.

“Ah~ This watch is so heavy. My arm’s getting sore.”

It was as if she was saying, “Look at this.” She was awkwardly showing off.

“…”

I stared at her silently.

Now I understood why women found guys who flaunt their wealth so tacky.

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