Chapter 526: For Now, Let’s Start with a Date (2)

Seeing Sihee’s changed appearance, Do Yehee briefly crossed my mind, but I casually dismissed it, thinking there was no need to dwell on that woman. It was precious time meeting Sihee after so long, so I didn’t need to waste my concentration by thinking about another woman. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, it had been a really long time since we had a date just for the two of us, so we needed to focus more on each other.

As if signaling the start of our date, I quietly took hold of Sihee’s unsuspecting hand. It felt like recalling that fresh, youthful time when just holding hands on our first date made my heart race.

-Squeeze.

“Hngh?!”

“So, where are we going today?”

“F-First, shall we start with a simple meal…? Since it’s lunchtime, let’s just fill our hunger with something easy to eat, and then head straight to the department store afterwards.”

“The department store?”

“Last time, I only bought you summer and fall clothes, remember? Winter has almost passed, but it’s the perfect time to buy spring clothes.”

“…That doesn’t sound bad.”

Clothes shopping at the department store. The setup was reminiscent of our first date in many ways, and for some reason, thinking about the old days made a smile unintentionally escape my lips. Sihee, in her own way, seemed embarrassed as she recalled that time, avoiding my gaze and quietly mumbling to herself.

“The scent from the clothes I got for Sungchul-ssi last time is starting to fade… I need to secure new ones this time, even the underwear…”

Sihee was probably recalling those fresh memories, too. Although I couldn’t hear exactly what she was mumbling, I was sure that was the case.

The date with Sihee, coming after a long time, progressed step by step, starting with lunch as if it were all planned.

Incidentally, I plan to keep the ‘Bitch Slave Showdown’ with Do Yehee a secret until right before it happens. I didn’t really want to see Sihee unable to focus on our date because she was unnecessarily worrying about the confrontation with Do Yehee. Regardless of whether the showdown happened or not, I didn’t want our date disturbed. I had also received definite confirmation from Do Yehee regarding this matter. In the first place, she had previously stated she wouldn’t interfere with the ‘Hunter relationship’ or ‘romantic relationship’ between me and Sihee. What Do Yehee demanded I stop from the beginning was specifically the ‘sexual relationship’ between me and Sihee, and from that perspective, the conversation we had face-to-face two days ago wasn’t entirely meaningless. Especially in that I could now enjoy the date with Sihee with peace of mind.

First, we had a simple lunch of coffee and sandwiches at a cafe with a nice atmosphere, catching up on all the stories that had piled up while we were apart. Although sex occupies a high percentage of my relationship with her, that didn’t mean I intended to waste a date like this just for the two of us. Every moment like this was practically the ‘foreplay’ to sex for me.

After that suitable lunch, we immediately moved on to shopping at the department store. It might seem obvious, but on this shopping date, I started receiving all sorts of clothes as gifts from this chaebol young lady. Well, although I was getting promoted soon, I was still a B-rank Hunter, so my income hadn’t exploded either. Even for me, I didn’t have the capacity to just swipe my card thoughtlessly in the department store’s luxury section. More importantly, I had recently spent quite a lot of money gifting new weapons to Jin-ah and Seon-ah.

Well, I don’t really feel burdened about receiving things from Sihee at this point. Anyway, she lives in a different world and has a completely different sense of money than I do. It’s like a regular person worrying about celebrities, perhaps. Come to think of it, during our first shopping date back then, I mostly just received things too.

If there’s one biggest difference comparing then and now, it’s probably this blonde young lady’s reaction.

“How is it?”

“S-See, I knew knitwear would look good on you too, Sungchul-ssi! Since your fit is so good, anything you wear looks picture-perfect!”

“Is that so? Thank you for the compliment.”

“Sungchul-ssi, Sungchul-ssi! Try this one, this one on this time!”

“…Haven’t you bought quite a lot already? I’ve already changed several times…”

“Th-This is the last one! Really!”

“I think I heard that phrase a few times earlier…”

…She didn’t show such an active reaction on our first date, I think. She didn’t really make me change clothes or anything; I remember she just forced a few items on me as gifts from the clothes on display. Although she did make me change into one of them right then and there, perhaps due to a dress code or something. Back then, we weren’t at a stage where we knew each other that well, and her level of affection for me wasn’t as high as it is now. Since it was a date with the young lady who has reached the highest level of affection for me, there was bound to be a significant difference compared to back then. In that she wanted me to change clothes one by one and meticulously check my appearance in each outfit with her own eyes.

‘Well, it’s understandable.’ For my part, I’d surely enjoy it too if the woman I liked changed into various outfits right in front of my eyes.

After receiving her confirmation that it was the last time, while checking the clothes I received from Sihee, I identified one suspicious item among them. Wondering if it was mistakenly mixed in, I knocked to call Sihee, who was waiting outside the fitting room.

Knock knock.

“Sihee-ssi, are you right there?”

“Yes, I am.”

“One item among the clothes you gave me seems to be mixed in incorrectly. Could you check it?”

“…What do you mean, mixed in incorrectly? Are you perhaps referring to shoes?”

“The shoes aren’t really the issue, but for some reason, it seems like a pair of underwear is mixed in.”

“……”

A new pair of boxer briefs, still unopened in its plastic packaging, no less. Even for me, changing into underwear labeled ‘Calvin Klein’ in a department store fitting room made me hesitate a bit, so I checked with Sihee before changing. For some reason, her answer from outside the fitting room was taking a long time to come.

“Sihee-ssi?”

“Yes, yes!”

“This, the underwear, you put it in by mistake, right? Even so, there’s no need to try on underwear here…”

“Oh, no! That’s clothing you need to change into too!”

“What?”

“Th-The clothes I gave you this time are meant to be worn to the extreme to look their best! So to wear them properly, you need to start by changing your underwear properly!”

“Is that so? But even so, changing into new underwear still in its packaging is a bit…”

“You’re going to buy them anyway, so it doesn’t matter! S-So, wear them with peace of mind, Sungchul-ssi!”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Although I felt a bit uneasy, I still changed into the clothes she gave me without much thought, including the ‘Calvin Klein’ underwear. Well, when it comes to fashion, Sihee, the chaebol young lady, probably knows better than me. Besides, being in a position to receive gifts, being picky about what to wear seemed somewhat strange, and I didn’t feel any particular resistance anyway.

Thus, during the final try-on, I changed completely from head to toe in the clothes she handed me. As soon as I came out of the fitting room, she once again praised my outfit with an enthusiastic reaction.

“…I thought leather pants might be a bit difficult for you to pull off, but since you have such a great build, they look great on you too.”

“Thank you.”

“Give me the clothes you changed out of. I’ll make sure to ‘launder’ them like last time and return them.”

“…Even the underwear?”

“It’s obvious, why are you asking?”

…Is it obvious? Is this normal among rich people? I don’t know. The only chaebol women I know, including Sihee, are just three people, and Sihee is the only one I’ve actually had dates like this with. Even so, entrusting underwear before changing felt strange, but seeing her so confident, I started thinking maybe it was normal after all.

“Understood. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, Sungchul-ssi. Then, I’ll mention the laundry service to the staff member, so please wait a moment.”

“Okay.”

With that, Sihee approached the staff, carrying the clothes I was originally wearing. I quietly recalled the memories of our first date, waiting for her conversation with the department store staff to end. Comparing our date now, which seemed similar in many ways but was distinctly different from back then.

“These items here should be sealed individually… Ah, and this one should be purchased newly as the same brand product… and delivered separately later to the mansion at this address…”

Do Sihee was talking in a low voice with the department store employee, glancing towards me intermittently for some reason. When our eyes met for a moment, I waved slightly in greeting, and she startled and avoided my gaze, which was quite cute in many ways. Seeing the innocent blonde young lady, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a while, a smile slowly formed on my lips too.