episode_0124

***

Emma, who seemed like she would return soon, never came back.

Feeling bored, Inho continued to make meaningless observations through the cafe window while tapping his fingers on the table.

In-ho, who was twirling his wrist while holding a cup of coffee that he had already finished drinking, saw a woman running at a brisk pace in thin clothes.

Emma’s appearance overlapped with the woman’s red nose and cheeks.

“I should go to the costume room.”

Inho, remembering Emma’s cold-looking clothes before going out on the street, slowly got up from the table.

It was quite far from the cafe, but I felt like I could walk alone.

In-ho thought that he should at least give a gift to the maid who was indebted to him and would continue to be indebted to him in the future.

“If Emma comes, please tell her that you went to the dressing room.”

Inho asked the barista for a favor.

“Yes, teacher. But are you okay alone?”

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

“I can go to the costume room.”

Behind him as he opened the door, the barista greeted him. ‘Come again, sir.’

Was it because I melted down in the cafe?

When I opened the door and went out, a stronger wind than before was blowing across the street.

“Etchwi!”

In-ho sneezed, rubbed his nose with his finger and adjusted his clothes.

He slowly walked towards the dressing room.

***

“Welcome… Huh? Teacher?”

A voluptuous woman approached Inho.

“Did you leave something behind?”

The owner asked while observing Inho’s behavior.

“No. To buy more clothes.”

“Clothes? You bought it earlier.”

Didn’t the owner buy it all earlier? I looked at him with that expression.

It seemed like he was trying to check if Inho was sane.

“Haha, not the one I bought earlier. I want to look at some clothes to give to Emma.”

Inho, who realized his intention, laughed helplessly.

“Ah~ Miss Emma? Hey~ Miss Emma would be nice. The teacher bought me all my clothes. Do you have any clothes you are looking for?”

The owner skillfully returned to serving mode.

“I’m finally buying it for you. It’s late. Is there anything worth wearing in winter? Something warm.”

“Something warm? There are so many. Well, since Emma will be wearing it, I’ll make it not too heavy. Would it be okay to wear it as a maid uniform?”

“Well, that’s good too.”

He, who had never given clothes to a woman as a gift, simply nodded at his owner’s recommendation.

The owner, excited by the unexpected sales, went back and forth between the display stand and the warehouse to select clothes.

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

“Wow, it’s a cold.”

While I was sniffling, the owner came with clothes.

What she brought was a fur coat that looked like it could be worn lightly over a maid uniform.

“Ta-da! How about this? It’s not too dull and not too thin.”

“Hmm… It’s okay. Please give me that.”

If an expert were to say it, it would be like that.

“Yes, yes. This is 10 darks, but I will give you 6 darks especially.”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

“Amyo. About 6 years ago, the teacher included our costume room in his work, and sales at that time were enormous. Thanks to you, I was able to send my children to school and do everything.”

“If the article was still selling well, I could have helped you more.”

“Oh, spring will come soon, so don’t worry too much.”

When the shy Inho gave lip service, the owner burst into laughter.

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

The owner who accepted the coin wrapped the fur clothes well and gave it to him.

“Then, take a look. Is Miss Emma nearby?”

“Yes. Not far away… um?”

As Inho was about to leave the store, his eyes turned to the box in the corner of the clothing room.

There was a pile of clothes in the slightly opened box, but at a glance it didn’t appear to be winter clothes.

“Hmm? What are you looking at… Ah~ Those are spring clothes.”

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

“If you want to sell when spring comes, you need to stock up now. If you try to buy it at that time, it is either out of stock or you have to pay more to get it.”

Inho, who was listening to the owner’s explanation, pointed with his finger to the clothes placed on the box.

“Please give me that too. I like it because it’s bright.”

What he chose was a light yellow dress.

‘I think Emma would look pretty in it.’

Thinking of Emma wearing a dress, Inho took out the coin again.

– Goodbye~~

Leaving behind the owner’s grinning voice as he raised his sales, Inho came back out into the street.

The body that had melted in the dressing room suddenly cooled.

The winter days were short.

Before we knew it, the sunset was shining behind us, and people were leaving the street one by one to have dinner.

From the end of the street, the darkness was slowly eating away the light and expanding its territory.

“Let’s go back quickly.”

Inho adjusted his clothes further and hurried his steps.

Did we get halfway? Inho collapsed on the floor without even realizing it.

The strength in my legs was gone.

“Huh?”

A sound came out of his mouth as if he couldn’t understand.

And he fell to the floor unconscious.

***

Emma was returning to the cafe in a very angry state.

And Hans was following behind her like an inseparable lump.

Emma, who dragged Hans out saying that she was going to negotiate today, had to waste 40 minutes on the street because Hans couldn’t communicate at all.

– I’m not interested in you, so get out.

Although Hans coldly refused, his head was like a flower garden.

No, the problem may have been the words of friends around him who gave him dating advice.

– They say there’s no one who doesn’t take 10 attempts, so I won’t give up.

Saying something like this.

– How can you make a decision without ever meeting him? I’m a good person. Emma, just pretend I’m being fooled once and go to the festival with me.

Or say something like this.

– I will soon take over the general store as well. Is our general store profitable?

He said something like this.

It was hard to decide whether to praise In-ho or not, but he only said things that hurt Emma’s feelings.

Emma immediately felt the urge to strangle him and hit his head with a piece of wood that had fallen in the alley, but if she did that, she would be separated from her master forever.

With superhuman patience, Emma continued her story spinning like a squirrel on a treadmill, and before she knew it, she realized she had wasted 40 minutes on the street and turned around to go back to the cafe.

Of course, Hans followed suit. I didn’t know what kind of self-esteem supported him, but Hans didn’t stop appealing to himself even while following Emma to the cafe.

– rattle

As I hurriedly opened the door to the cafe and entered, the bell rang.

Emma entered the cafe and looked around. The owner was nowhere to be seen.

She took a deep breath and tried to ask the barista about Inho.

“Ah, Miss Emma. Teacher Inho went to the dressing room.”

“The costume room?”

“I thought you were trying to buy clothes. You haven’t returned yet.”

The barista’s eyes turned to the spot where Inho was staying.

Under the table, the items purchased that afternoon were neatly placed.

Emma felt an unexplained anxiety creeping over her.

“Uh, uh, when did you leave?”

“Now that I think about it, it seems like about 30 minutes have passed, so you’re taking a long time to pick out the items… Ms. Emma?”

Before the barista could finish speaking, Emma quickly left the cafe.

“Emma! Let’s go together!”

Hans, who belatedly realized the situation, followed her with the luggage she had left behind.

***

The owner of the clothing store said that In-ho had been gone for a while and pointed to a dark street.

“Master!!”

Emma ran through the streets and called out to Inho.

Could it be that his condition worsened and he went off somewhere? Emma’s heart sank.

‘You damn bitch! Stupid bitch! Have you lost your mind again? I should have always had my eyes on the master!!!’

I reprimanded myself, but that didn’t make me feel lighter.

“Wow… master!!”

Emma ran through the streets, pulling out her hair, and Hans followed behind her.

“Emma! You must have gone home!”

“I have the key.”

“For now. Let’s go home. You could be standing in front of the door.”

Hans spoke while looking at her red nose and nape, but Emma did not listen to him.

A single tear flowed from her eye.

She ran back to the other side.

“Lord, master…! Emma… Emma is here.”

Emma, who was running down the street in tears, tripped over a protruding stone and fell.

“Sigh.”

Emma stumbled to her feet and wiped away tears.

“Hehehe… Lord, master….”

Emma takes a deep breath, calling out to Inho.

“Master!!!”

Squeezing all the strength in her body, Emma screamed loudly.

The eyes of passers-by were focused on her.

“M… Ma?”

Hans muttered in surprise, looking at her appearance that resembled that of a madman.