Ch.5454. Shopping

“What’s this? What are you two doing first~”

Seoeun, dressed in a flowy white dress as if she were out for a stroll, had arrived. Her destination was the café where the two were reportedly together.

“I was about to cut his hair but stopped.”

“When you say it like that, I sound like some kind of puppy.”

At Hana’s response, Suhyeok muttered with a slightly offended tone.

“Wow, but Suhyeok looks much better with his hair swept back! You should style it like that normally too.”

While Suhyeok was pleased with Seoeun’s compliment, he was concerned about having to wake up 15 minutes earlier every morning to achieve this look.

“Juyeon didn’t come with you?”

“Ah, yeah. But I just checked, and she said she’s almost here.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Juyeon entered the café, clutching her phone tightly.

With eyes like a ferret scanning for predators, she surveyed the surroundings before spotting her group and breaking into a bright smile.

She was like a Chihuahua that had found its owner.

“…Hi.”

She greeted them with a slight tilt of her head.

Suhyeok smiled and returned the greeting.

“Hi.”

After returning their trays, the Spirit crew finally headed outside!

Their first destination was the Young Plaza attached to the department store.

“Wow, this is pretty, unni.”

“Right? How much is it?”

“Let’s see… Whoa, no way. It says 57,000 won?”

“Search online. I bet it’s at least 10,000 won cheaper elsewhere.”

Hana and Seoeun were engrossed in looking at accessories from the first floor.

Suhyeok was being forced to experience what it might have been like to be born into a house full of older sisters. Having never gone anywhere with just female peers his age before, he found these moments both unfamiliar and somewhat alienating.

Juyeon, seemingly uninterested in accessories, stuck close to Suhyeok’s side, watching the others from a distance.

“…Aren’t you going to look around?”

“Umm… no.”

Clothes would be one thing, but Juyeon hardly ever wore accessories.

She couldn’t really see the necessity of them.

Why should she wear them?

People often called them “point items,” but she wasn’t sure who was giving points to whom. It’s not like collecting more points would earn her coupons from anyone.

Since standing around idly felt awkward, Suhyeok aimlessly led Juyeon around the display counters.

Suhyeok stopped and picked up a straw hat.

While it seemed like it would suit Seoeun best among the members, Suhyeok placed it on Juyeon’s head, who had been blankly watching him.

“…What are you doing?”

Juyeon tried to return the hat as if telling him to stop.

“It suits you well though?”

“…R-really?”

“Yeah. You look like a rural housewife.”

It was nothing serious, but she felt oddly irritated.

Juyeon lightly chopped Suhyeok’s forehead with the side of her hand.

“Stop joking around.”

Suhyeok chuckled after being hit on his rarely exposed hitbox.

He felt strangely comfortable around Juyeon.

It wasn’t that Hana or the other members made him uncomfortable; Juyeon just felt special somehow.

Whether “special because of her lack of distinctive traits” was the right expression, he wasn’t sure, but at least now he could easily engage in such simple teasing with her.

“Lee Suhyeok!”

Hana’s voice called from a distance.

Moving toward the source, he found Hana holding up two earrings in front of him.

“Which one do you think would look better?”

They were clearly different shapes, not at all similar.

But Suhyeok truly had no idea which was better.

The best answer he’d seen men give in such situations came to mind.

“Hana, I think… you’d look good in either…?”

“Ah, don’t be like that. Just look and tell me which one feels right.”

“Since your face is pretty, I think… everything… suits you…”

Though she was about to complain about his indecision, Hana was quite pleased with Suhyeok’s answer and slightly covered her mouth with her palm.

“Geez… you’re no help… Juyeon, what do you think?”

This time, Juyeon was the target.

“I like this one.”

Juyeon picked up the second earring.

“Really? This one suits me better?”

“Yeah. This one is prettier in terms of design.”

“I see. Then I’ll go pay for it now.”

Hana rushed to the counter and was handed a beige paper bag.

“Now let’s go look at clothes!”

After Seoeun finished purchasing her bracelet, the members headed up to the fourth floor.

Inside the large boutique store.

Clothes that Suhyeok would never even glance at if he were alone hung everywhere.

Humans are designed to seek stability rather than adventure by default.

In that context, this place was a jungle to Suhyeok.

He was feeling considerable anxiety.

“Hmm…”

Noticing Suhyeok’s expression, Hana grabbed his wrist.

“I’ll pick for you. I’m a fashion expert, you know.”

“Would you really?”

Rather than picking something strange and being criticized, it seemed better to let Hana choose for him.

“Yeah. Before looking at mine, let’s pick yours first.”

As if on a double date, Juyeon went with Seoeun.

Suhyeok was dragged along by Hana to begin a fitting show.

“Hmm… not bad.”

“Ah, this one’s not good.”

“Damn… if the pants are like that, we need to change the top too.”

“Again!”

“Okay! This time, just try wearing this top and come out.”

This was already the fifth attempt.

Suhyeok’s fatigue was rapidly building as he entered the fitting room.

Suhyeok buttoned up the khaki shirt Hana had given him and came out.

Just then, Juyeon had also finished her fitting, and the two scanned each other in their new outfits.

Clothing redefines a previously faint presence.

Both of their outfits were clearly well-coordinated.

-Clap clap clap clap clap clap

“That’s it, unni.”

“Right! Hana, this is it~ This is the one!”

The two coordinators stood up and began applauding with emotion.

The two models harmonized well both individually and as a group.

When performing as a band, individual clothing choices are free.

But obviously, having some basic unity looks better.

If one person wore a suit-like black and white Monami look while another wore a street style with dangling accessories, they would hardly look like they belonged to the same team.

“I-is it over now?”

Suhyeok and Juyeon’s thoughts aligned.

‘I want to rest now.’

‘I don’t want to try on any more clothes.’

“Yes! You two can go sit somewhere now!”

“Unni! I saw something perfect earlier! I think it’ll go well with them too! Let’s go go go go go!”

Seoeun and Hana quickly disappeared into the store.

It created a scene like shopping parents and children, but Suhyeok didn’t mind.

“This is tiring…”

“Yeah…”

Still, Suhyeok was quite pleased with the clothes Hana had chosen for him.

He twisted his body this way and that in front of the mirror.

With the new hairstyle and clothes, he definitely didn’t look like his usual self.

It was like something out of an Instagram daily look post?

Setting aside his face, at least the clothes gave that impression.

“Nice clothes.”

Suhyeok complimented Juyeon’s outfit chosen by Seoeun.

He found the printing on the lower left of the shirt particularly appealing.

“You’re joking again.”

“No, that’s not something you chose.”

“Are you saying what I choose is weird?”

“I’m saying Seoeun noona has excellent taste.”

“Says the guy who always wears the same gray hoodie…”

Surprisingly, Juyeon was the first to point out the habit that Hana had been trying to fix.

“That’s a cost-effective item.”

“…Lame.”

“I won’t help with your broadcasts anymore.”

-Zap

The gazes of the two loners met in mid-air.

To the other members, it was like comparing acorns, but both had the strange pride that ‘I’m still better than them.’

“That won’t do.”

In the end, Juyeon was the first to back down.

She still wanted Suhyeok’s help.

In fact, since Suhyeok had gotten involved with her broadcasts, her viewership had increased significantly. Though she had barely managed one stream a week due to exams and festival preparations, she planned to do at least two per week starting the week after next.

Suhyeok and Juyeon found chairs to sit on.

Juyeon leaned her head against the wall and began to doze off.

Suhyeok just fiddled with his phone, browsing internet news.

A few minutes passed like this.

“Lee Suhyeok.”

It was Hana’s voice.

The drowsiness that had been washing over him following Juyeon’s lead suddenly vanished.

A short skirt that came up to her knees.

A thin leather belt with an incomprehensible structure formed two layers, adding a point of interest.

Her smooth and slender waist line was clearly visible.

The crop shirt was a devastating item that could melt men’s hearts.

Suhyeok, being a healthy 21-year-old man, couldn’t help but feel his heart race.

“…How is it?”

Hana already knew the coordination was successful.

After all, Suhyeok wasn’t skilled at hiding his expressions.

His clueless look appeared quite cute to her.

“Y-you look pretty. I guess.”

Look at him stutter.

“Hey, look properly and tell me.”

“…You are properly beautiful?”

Her beauty was too dazzling for a room-dwelling loner to handle.

And with the amount of exposed skin, Suhyeok felt awkward about where to look.

“Hmm. That’ll do. I guess that’s good enough.”

Hana smiled broadly.

After Seoeun finished her payments as well, the members’ hands were full of shopping bags.

“Ah~ This is great! Should we take a group photo somewhere before the rehearsal on the performance day?”

The president was confident that this summer’s performance outfits would be the best ever.

“Sounds good. Let’s take it in front of the Arts Center.”

“I just hope Kang-i doesn’t wear something too weird.”

“Last year he showed up wearing that skull thing.”

In his first year’s performance, Choi Kang-i had refused to reveal his outfit until the last moment, only to appear on stage wearing a tank top with a skull print.

“So are we going home now?”

Juyeon yawned and blinked her eyes.

“No, we need to finish the homework we’ve been postponing.”

Seoeun pulled out a B5-sized notebook from her bag.

“Today we’re finalizing the lyrics and title.”

The 23rd generation’s first original song.

It was time to put on the final touches.