Street Walk – 2

Emma, who seemed like she would be back soon, was not returning.

Bored, Inho tapped the table with his fingers and continued his meaningless observation through the cafe window.

After finishing his coffee and twirling the empty cup in his hand, Inho noticed a woman hurrying by, clutching her thin coat.

The woman’s red nose and cheeks reminded him of Emma.

“Maybe I should go to the dress shop.”

Recalling Emma’s seemingly inadequate attire before she went out, Inho slowly rose from his table.

It was quite a distance from the cafe, but he figured he could walk there alone.

Inho thought he should get a gift for the maid he was indebted to, and would continue to be indebted to.

“If Emma comes, please tell her I went to the dress shop.”

Inho asked the barista.

“Yes, sir. But are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?”

The barista, who was tending to the coffee machine, asked, and Inho waved his hand.

“I can manage to get to the dress shop.”

As he opened the door, the barista called out behind him, “Come again, sir.”

Perhaps it was because he had warmed up inside the cafe?

As soon as he stepped outside, an even stronger gust of wind whipped through the streets.

“Achoo!”

Inho sneezed, rubbed his nose with his finger, and tightened his coat.

He slowly made his way to the dress shop.

“Welcome… Oh? Sir?”

A woman with a plump figure approached Inho.

“Did you leave something behind?”

The owner asked, scrutinizing Inho’s appearance.

“No. I’m here to buy some more clothes.”

“Clothes? But you just bought some.”

The owner looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Didn’t you buy everything already?’

She seemed to be checking if Inho was of sound mind, just in case.

“Haha, not for me. I want to get some clothes for Emma.”

Inho chuckled, realizing her suspicion.

“Ah, for Emma? Oh, Emma is so lucky. You’re buying her clothes and everything. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

The owner smoothly switched back into customer service mode.

“I’m only buying them now. It’s late, isn’t it? Do you have anything suitable for winter? Something warm.”

“Something warm? We have plenty. Hmm, since Emma will be wearing it, let’s go with something not too heavy. Would something to wear over her maid uniform be good?”

“Sure, that would be fine.”

Having little experience buying clothes for women, he simply nodded at the owner’s suggestions.

Excited by the unexpected sale, the owner bustled between the display racks and the storeroom, selecting clothes.

During the five minutes or so she spent searching for clothes, Inho sneezed repeatedly.

“Ugh, is this a cold?”

As he sniffled, the owner returned with some clothes.

She was holding a fur coat that looked light enough to wear over a maid uniform.

“Ta-da! How about this? It’s not too bulky, but not too thin either.”

“Hmm… it looks good. I’ll take it.”

If the expert says so, then it must be good.

“Okay, that’ll be 10 darc, but I’ll give it to you for 6 darc as a special price.”

“Oh? Is that alright?”

“Of course. About six years ago, you mentioned our dress shop in your work, and our sales skyrocketed back then. Thanks to you, I was able to send my children to school and everything.”

“If my writing was still selling well, I could have helped you more.”

“Oh, don’t worry too much, spring will be here soon.”

Inho, feeling awkward, offered some lip service, and the owner laughed heartily.

Inho took out six coins from his pocket and handed them to the owner.

The owner took the coins and carefully wrapped the fur coat before giving it to him.

“Well, come again. Is Emma nearby?”

“Yes. Not too far from… hmm?”

Inho, who was about to leave the shop, noticed a box in the corner of the dress shop.

The box was slightly open, revealing a pile of clothes that were clearly not for winter.

“Hmm? What are you looking at…? Ah, those are spring clothes.”

“Spring clothes? Isn’t it still winter?”

“If we want to sell them when spring comes, we have to stock up now. If you try to buy them then, there won’t be any stock, or you’ll have to pay a premium.”

As Inho listened to the owner’s explanation, he pointed to a dress on top of the box.

“I’ll take that one too. It’s nice and bright.”

He had chosen a light yellow dress.

‘Emma would look pretty in it.’

Imagining Emma wearing the dress, Inho took out more coins.

“Goodbye~~”

Leaving behind the owner’s cheerful voice, who was beaming with the increased sales, Inho stepped back out onto the street.

His body, which had warmed up in the dress shop, was suddenly chilled.

The winter days were short.

The sunset was already painting the sky behind him, and people were gradually leaving the streets to have dinner.

Darkness was slowly encroaching from the end of the street, consuming the light and expanding its territory.

“I should get back quickly.”

Inho tightened his coat and quickened his pace.

About halfway there, Inho collapsed onto the ground without even realizing it.

His legs had given out.

“Huh?”

He uttered the sound as if he couldn’t understand what was happening.

And then, he lost consciousness and fell face down on the ground.

Emma was returning to the cafe in a foul mood.

And trailing behind her like an inseparable shadow was Hans.

Emma, who had dragged Hans out with the intention of settling things once and for all, had wasted a full 40 minutes on the street thanks to Hans, who simply wouldn’t listen.

“I’m not interested in you, so get lost.”

She had coldly rejected him, but Hans was living in a fantasy world.

Or perhaps it was the fault of his friends, who had given him dating advice.

“There’s no one who won’t fall for you if you try ten times. I won’t give up.”

He would say things like that.

“How can you decide without even going on a date? I’m a good person. Emma, just trust me once and go to the festival with me.”

He would say things like that.

“I’m inheriting the general store soon. Our general store makes a pretty good profit, you know?”

He would say things like that.

She might have been able to tolerate him if he had praised Inho, but he only said things that grated on Emma’s nerves.

Emma felt the urge to strangle him right then and there, and bash his head in with a piece of wood she found in the alley, but doing so would mean a permanent separation from her master.

With superhuman patience, Emma continued to repeat the same story over and over, and before she knew it, she had wasted 40 minutes on the street. Realizing this, she turned around and headed back to the cafe.

Of course, Hans followed her. She didn’t know what kind of self-esteem was supporting him, but even as he followed Emma to the cafe, Hans didn’t stop trying to appeal to her.

-Clang

The bell rang as she burst into the cafe.

Emma entered the cafe and looked around. She couldn’t see her master.

She tried to catch her breath and ask the barista about Inho.

“Ah, Emma. Inho went to the dress shop.”

“The dress shop?”

“He seemed to be going to buy some clothes. He hasn’t come back yet.”

The barista’s gaze turned to the seat where Inho had been sitting.

The items he had bought in the afternoon were neatly placed under the table.

Emma felt an inexplicable sense of unease creeping over her.

“Wh-when did he leave?”

“Come to think of it, it’s been about 30 minutes. It takes him a long time to pick things out… Emma?”

Before the barista could finish speaking, Emma dashed out of the cafe.

“Emma! Let’s go together!”

Hans, belatedly realizing the situation, picked up the luggage she had left behind and chased after her.

The dress shop owner said that Inho had left a while ago, and pointed to the dimly lit street.

“Master!!”

Emma ran through the streets, calling out for Inho.

What if his illness had worsened and he had suddenly wandered off somewhere? Emma’s heart sank.

‘You wretched girl! You stupid girl! Why did you let your guard down again? You should have always kept your master in sight!!!’

She berated herself, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

“Hic… Master!!”

Emma tore at her hair and ran through the streets, with Hans following close behind.

“Emma! He must have gone home!”

“I have the key.”

“L-let’s go home for now. He might be standing in front of the door.”

Hans said, looking at her red nose and neck, but Emma didn’t listen to him.

A tear streamed down her face.

She ran back in the opposite direction.

“M-Master…! Emma… Emma is here.”

Emma, sobbing, stumbled over a protruding stone as she ran through the streets.

“Hic.”

Emma staggered to her feet and wiped away her tears.

“Sniff… M-Master….”

Calling out for Inho, Emma took a deep breath.

“Master!!!”

Squeezing all the strength from her body, Emma screamed at the top of her lungs.

The eyes of passersby were drawn to her.

“Em… ma?”

Hans muttered in surprise, looking at her, who resembled a madwoman.