Chapter 14
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 14 – Shopping Date
—–CROW—–
Walking downtown alone with a girl attracts more attention than you might think.
First, there were the melancholic glances of single people. Most of them assumed we were a couple and looked at us with envy.
Then, there were the stares from other guys.
Of course, they weren’t looking at me.
“Hey, look. A new patbingsu place opened!”
“…”
“Let’s go there next time!”
The stares were directed at this idiot, who was completely oblivious to her own attractiveness. They were the second most common type of stare after those from single people.
I understood.
Even I couldn’t help but look when a pretty girl like Han Seo-ah walked by.
She was undeniably attractive.
I just didn’t want to admit it.
I didn’t want to compliment her like a typical sibling would.
It wasn’t that I denied her attractiveness.
And, in any case, this was beyond the realm of human reason, so I could understand why others stared.
‘…Why does this bother me?’
It just made me a little uncomfortable.
How should I put it?
Like how an older brother would feel if his younger sister told him she was going out in a short skirt?
I only had an older sister, not a younger one, so I couldn’t say for sure.
But it felt similar.
Oblivious to my feelings, Han Seo-ah started muttering excitedly,
“Hmm, should we get some on the way back? I want some patbingsu.”
“I wish you’d stop eating, Seo-ah.”
“…I didn’t even eat breakfast today.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to stop eating, pig.”
“Si-woo? Could you repeat what you just said?”
“…Sorry.”
Han Seo-ah’s face contorted as soon as she heard the word “pig.”
I was just teasing her because I was a little annoyed, but it backfired.
Han Seo-ah said, still frowning,
“Why do you always do that if you’re just going to apologize right away?”
“…Isn’t it similar to you always calling me an idiot?”
“Me? When did I ever call you an idiot?”
“…”
Her blatant denial left me speechless.
I’d been called an idiot countless times just this week.
As I stared at her in disbelief, I heard her shamelessly say,
“Don’t I? Where else would you find such a nice childhood friend?”
“Isn’t that obvious? You’re my only childhood friend.”
“…That’s… true, isn’t it? Hahaha. Anyway, treat me well. You won’t find another nice childhood friend like me.”
[I’m Si-woo’s only childhood friend.]
[I already knew that… but hearing it from Si-woo directly makes my heart flutter.]
There must have been something wrong with her heart.
That statement shouldn’t have made her heart flutter.
‘…Maybe I shouldn’t be talking.’
Of course, I, whose heart started racing as soon as I saw those inner thoughts, shouldn’t be talking.
It was like the pot calling the kettle black.
There really wasn’t a single untrue old saying.
***
After a 15-minute walk, we arrived at the clothing store Han Seo-ah recommended.
“…We should have taken a bus or a taxi.”
My legs were aching from the walk, so I complained first.
“What do you think, Professor Han Seo-ah?”
“A taxi? Don’t waste your money. It wasn’t even that long of a walk.”
“15 minutes is a long walk for me.”
“That’s why you’re not growing taller, Si-woo.”
“…A personal attack now?”
I felt a little stung.
Was this how Han Seo-ah felt when I called her a pig?
As I was experiencing a moment of empathy, Han Seo-ah’s voice rang out again.
“It’s true that you haven’t grown since high school.”
“…That’s true, but…”
It was true, but I didn’t want to admit it.
Everyone had a few things they didn’t want to admit.
“Anyway, I think you need to exercise more.”
“…Is that why we walked all the way here?”
“Of course. Why else would I walk?”
[Actually, I just wanted to walk downtown alone with Si-woo.]
“…”
Why did I see that every time she said “of course”?
Were all the “of courses” I’d heard from her lies?
That would be a little creepy.
‘Jingle’
Pushing aside my sudden nervousness, we opened the door and entered the store.
“Huh? There’s no one here.”
“…Is there usually someone here?”
The store was completely empty, not even a staff member at the counter.
Han Seo-ah replied with a puzzled expression,
“Yeah, the owner always greeted us when Na-yeon and I came here.”
“…Maybe it’s a holiday?”
“If it was a holiday, the door wouldn’t be open, idiot. Don’t you even know that?”
“…”
She said she didn’t call me an idiot earlier.
Why was she calling me an idiot now?
I felt incredibly wronged, but Han Seo-ah continued, seemingly unaware that she’d said it.
“Maybe they went to the restroom? There’s a note on the counter that says ‘Restroom’.”
“…So, what should we do? Just choose clothes?”
“Probably? I think they’ll be back soon.”
“Really?”
Then I should start choosing.
I was the one who would be wearing the clothes, after all.
…Or so I thought.
“Hey, try this on. This looks good.”
“…”
“Hey, hey, grab this on your way. This is pretty too.”
“…Wait a minute.”
“Hey, hey, hey, try this on last. This is the prettiest one I’ve seen.”
That was before Han Seo-ah started putting clothes in my hands, one after another, saying this and that was pretty.
What was this?
Was this some kind of dress-up game?
I was pretty sure Han Seo-ah said she found playing with dolls boring when we were kids.
Or was she taking out her childhood frustrations on me now?
Should I have forced her to play with dolls back then?
As these questions started popping up in my head, Han Seo-ah finally seemed to notice the amount of clothes in my hands.
“Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away.”
“I’m so glad you realized that.”
“But this is entirely your fault.”
“…My fault?”
“Yeah, because you never buy any clothes.”
[There are so many clothes that would look good on Si-woo, I got a little excited.]
[But what can I do? They all look good on him.]
“…Bring them here. Let me try them on.”
“Good thinking, Si-woo!”
I’d thought about it several times, but being able to see someone’s inner thoughts wasn’t always a good thing.
How could I refuse after seeing that?
That was a level of cuteness that even the god of stubbornness couldn’t refuse.
…Wait, did I just find Han Seo-ah cute again?
“…”
Young-joo was definitely wrong when he said there wouldn’t be any downsides.
Just a few weeks ago, I would have been horrified by the thought of finding Han Seo-ah cute.
The day I actually found Han Seo-ah cute had actually arrived.
Was this a dream or reality?
“…I’m going to the fitting room.”
“Okay, go ahead. I’ll look for some clothes too.”
I headed to the fitting room with the clothes in my hands, feeling my face flush.
‘Creak’
The fitting room door opened as soon as I turned the handle.
I hung the clothes I was wearing on a hanger and started changing into the clothes Han Seo-ah had chosen.
“…The size is perfect.”
The clothes fit perfectly.
As if she’d memorized my size.
No way she’d memorize someone else’s size.
I couldn’t even remember my own size properly.
“…”
A chilling thought suddenly crossed my mind, making me dizzy.
I had a feeling Han Seo-ah might actually know my size.
Considering how she usually acted annoyed, but her inner thoughts were always different, it was entirely possible.
…I decided to stop thinking about it.
“The clothes are nice.”
Fortunately, the clothes Han Seo-ah had seemingly chosen at random were quite to my liking.
That was unexpected.
She brought them so quickly, I thought she’d just grabbed anything.
I wondered if she already knew my preferences, but…
I decided to stop thinking about it.
As long as I liked the clothes, that was all that mattered.
Rationalizing like that, I walked out of the fitting room in the new clothes.
There was no special reason.
I just wanted to show Han Seo-ah the clothes she’d chosen for me.
“Hey, Han Seo-…”
“Hmm. What should I buy to look like a couple?”
“…”
“Since I recommended this style of clothing… I should wear this style, right?”
But I never imagined I’d see Han Seo-ah like ‘that’.
“Or this isn’t bad eith…”
“…Han Seo-ah?”
“…Huh?”
“What did you just say?”
“…”
Even though it was just a fleeting thought.
I could confidently say that this was the first time I’d ever seen Han Seo-ah blush so intensely.
—–CROW—–
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