episode_0010

After finishing at the checkout counter, pushing the cart, and heading back towards the parking lot, Kim thought of buying something since she was already at the mart and went down to the first floor.

What she wanted to buy was underwear, so she was a bit nervous.

It was still difficult to find offline stores in Korea that sell H-cup underwear. She could have gone to a big department store or an outlet, but oddly enough, one underwear brand inside this mart was selling larger sizes, so she decided to take a look.

“I should buy a sports bra in advance since I need to exercise.”

She had considered doing home workouts, but lacking knowledge about exercising, she planned to learn from experts first and then do it on her own later.

The first floor had numerous clothing brands and home appliances, and as she was heading to buy underwear, she saw a massage chair, but her shoulders were too stiff. So, she ended up sitting on it.

To try it out, she looked for an employee to call, and finding a male employee in uniform nearby, she approached him and inquired about using the massage chair, and he kindly helped.

– Buzzing sound –

“Ugh, oh. Ouch!”

The pressure enveloping her body just right, like floating in space, distributing the weight of her entire body, and the cool sensation pressing firmly yet gently on the tense spots. Above all,

“Ah, owww!”

– Thud thud thud thud.

The vibrating function pounding the core muscles at just the right intensity and a rapid speed of 3000 times per minute made her feel like she was about to lose her mind.

After about 20 minutes of the massage, as the tension in her body eased, she almost stumbled when she first stepped off the chair, but the male employee standing in front quickly supported her, preventing a disaster.

But strangely, there seemed to be more foot traffic on the first floor than before, especially male customers.

What’s going on?

Well, it’s a common rule that while wives shop, husbands kill time in the electronics section.

Struggling to move with forced strength in her muscles, she managed to make her way back to the underwear store.

After briefly parking the cart in front of the store and entering, the salesperson greeted her with a bright smile and a cheerful voice. It seemed energetic, typical for the morning.

“Welcome, may I help you find something?”

Naturally, the underwear store employee first checked her chest, looking slightly surprised, but quickly regained composure upon realizing that this store rarely sells large-sized underwear in the neighborhood.

“I’m looking for a sports bra in my size. Do you happen to have one?”

“What size are you looking for?”

“70 underbust, 97.5 bust, H cup.”

“Oh.”

As she mentioned the measurements, the salesperson couldn’t hide their surprise.

“Haha… That’s quite large, isn’t it?”

Feeling a bit apologetic for causing a stir, she accepted the reality of her size.

“Fortunately, the largest size we carry goes up to an H, but with a 27.5cm difference, it’s closer to an I… Please try it on first, and let me know if it’s uncomfortable.”

Saying so, the salesperson went to find the right size product in the warehouse.

A while later, handing her two types of sports bras, the salesperson guided her to the fitting room.

Entering the fitting room, she tried on the underwear.

Without wires, the support was weaker, but it provided a snugger feeling, and when she lightly jumped, she felt much less movement.

“Wow, interesting.”

Trying on the other product she brought in, the feeling was slightly different but similar.

After putting on the bra I brought back and trying on two items, I left the store with my purchase confirmed.

“Will you take both?”

“Yes, please give me the bra. I’ll wrap it up.”

I took out my card from my wallet along with the bra and handed it to the cashier.

The cashier went to the checkout counter, and I sat on a chair in the store’s rest area, waiting for the payment process to finish. The cashier returned with the receipt and card, offering them to me along with a paper bag. I took it and left the store.

When I slightly opened the paper bag, I noticed a box with the store’s brand logo on it.

It seemed quite amusing. Men’s underwear is usually given in plastic or paper bags, but women’s underwear is always put in a box like this.

Perhaps it’s because of the different consumer preferences based on gender. Experiencing this firsthand made me realize that it felt much more tangible than I had vaguely thought before.

Anyway, now I must have seen everything in the market, so I pushed the cart and headed towards the parking lot.

There was a box packaging station near the entrance of the parking lot. It was a self-packaging station where customers could take used boxes from the products they received at the mart. I folded a box there, packed all the things I bought today into it, and placed it in the cart.

“Ugh!”

My muscles were still relaxed, so I struggled to lift the box onto the cart almost as if I were throwing it.

Opening the trunk of the car, I tried to lift the box with all my might…!

-Thunk!

“It’s… heavy!”

It must be around 15kg? It didn’t seem like much, but due to the aftermath of the massage chair, I couldn’t lift it.

“Ugh!”

-Thunk!

“Huff!”

-Thunk!

“Heeyaah!”

-Thunk!

“Haa, haa, haa…”

No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn’t do it.

What should I do? Looking at my current state, it seemed difficult to even carry this home.

There are solutions. I could request a delivery service to bring it to my house right now, but I’d have to wait at home to receive it, which would disrupt my usual routine of going to the cafe. Alternatively, I could buy two garbage bags, divide the items, and carry them with both hands. However, the former required waiting at home to receive the items, while the latter meant making two trips back and forth.

As I pondered what to do, someone suddenly spoke.

“Need help? Wow, you’ve bought a lot of stuff.”

They swiftly lifted the box from the cart and placed it in the trunk.

“Oh, thank you.”

As I turned to thank them, I recognized the person.

“Oh, Mr. Kim Taehyun?”

He was our team’s youngest member, Kim Taehyun.

-Pat, pat.

With a smile often referred to as the “Nice Guy Smile,” he proudly flexed his muscles.

“What’s going on? Where is Manager Kwon? How did your work go?”

Although he helped me, Kim Taehyun, who already had a bad impression of me, seemed a bit embarrassed by my somewhat cold response.

“Well, Manager Kwon asked me to come here. We met at the store earlier. He said you looked like you had a lot to carry and it would be difficult for a woman alone, so he asked me to help you… Since he helps out even during his leave, I don’t think the company will say anything even if I help someone on leave. Manager Kwon said he would take care of things here.”

How competent are my subordinates? I am truly grateful. Silently thanking Manager Kwon, I asked Kim Taehyun.

“But can you leave your workplace here now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… How am I supposed to carry this to my house? Weren’t you supposed to help me carry it home?”

As I rolled my eyes, he realized.

“Oh… right? That’s true. Haha. Well, I guess I have to go then, right?”

Saying that, he closed the trunk and headed to the passenger seat.

Oh, whether it’s sociable or arrogant. It’s a person who can’t be distinguished at all.

So I was trying to get into the driver’s seat, and there was a man in his thirties getting out of the car next to me and a woman who somehow seemed familiar.

Sharp impression. And a familiar smirk.

Both she and I. Recognizing each other.

“Oh!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

She must have been surprised to see me too, as she was one of the group of cafe regulars I had just tutored before.

But more than that, at this hour, riding the same car with a man who doesn’t seem like a husband at the mart?

It sounds like a scenario I’ve heard before.

Yes, the episode I heard from Manager Song of Development Team 2.

“Hey~ These days, married women are really skillful at cheating.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I heard it from my younger brother. Married women these days don’t meet at cafes or motels.”

“Then?”

“At the mart, at the mart. They pretend to go shopping there, park their cars there, and then move on as if they were running errands, you know.”

“What? No, what…?”

At first, I thought it was an unbelievable story. Until I caught my ex-wife in the act using that method.

So I knew.

That scene was similar to that scene.

Damn it.

As memories flooded back, I rolled my eyes fiercely, and she mumbled something vaguely while avoiding my gaze.

“Tsk, tsk! You’re also cheating.”

“Huh?”

“No, aren’t you cheating with a kid right now? Why are you looking at me like that when you have nothing special yourself?”

Ah, I could see how it might appear to others.

A young man in his late twenties and an attractive woman who looks like she’s in her late twenties even though she’s 39. Riding in the same car.

Yes, it was inevitable that it would look like that.

But I felt unjustly accused.

No way. This isn’t it!

“This is…!”

“Hmph, you’re quite capable. Well, your sister must be half-and-half in terms of looks, and her body must be completely non-Korean. That’s how you live according to your abilities, right? Good luck.”

Then she turned to her partner.

“Hey, where are you looking! Anyway, men are like that.”

And before I could retort, she got into the car and zoomed away.

What’s going on? Did I just get played?

I was so dazed that I couldn’t move from that spot for a while.