Overdoing It
"Um... oppa. Should we head upstairs, then?"
"Sure. It's not my turn again, is it?"
"...There's an underwear shop."
At Hyunji's words, Hwang Jiyoung choked on her coffee. She clearly understood exactly what that meant. I studied Hyunji for a moment, then leaned in and murmured.
"You liked it that much last time, huh?"
"...Yes. I want to show you..."
"I'd love that."
Of course, we probably couldn't take it all the way like we had at the outlet. The place was packed. So much for the economy being in a slump—that had been a complete lie. Still, my eyes were going to have plenty to enjoy, so I was more than happy to go along. What Hyunji said next, though, left me momentarily speechless.
"And... could you look at Jiyoung's too...?"
"Ah..."
Jiyoung shot Hyunji a frantic look, then failed to get a word out and only managed a small sound. Embarrassed, she dropped her gaze, fidgeted with her pants, and stole a glance at me. The two of them had already settled this between themselves. When I looked back at Hyunji, the shy smile in her eyes told me my guess was right. I turned to the blushing Jiyoung and asked quietly.
"...Are you sure you're all right with that?"
"...Yes... I... I prepared myself..."
"More than preparing yourself, I'd rather you didn't force something you don't want."
"...I want to. Oppa—no. The things you like, Shinwoo... I want to wear them..."
"You do know what that means, don't you?"
"...I... I know..."
"...All right."
I took another sip of coffee, grinned, and spoke to the two of them as if sharing a secret.
"Then it's my turn now?"
"...Ah..."
"...I'll wear everything you want to see, oppa."
"Mm. Good. Finish up. Let's go."
Energy surged through me all at once. It felt like someone had poured caffeine straight into my soul, and I grinned. The faces of Hyunji and Hwang Jiyoung, sitting across from me, had of course gone scarlet. Once the coffee was gone and we climbed to the floor above, half the level turned out to be nothing but women's innerwear and lingerie brands.
"All right. Let's have a look."
"...I-isn't this more embarrassing than I thought...?"
"...Y-yeah... now that we're actually up here, I'm nervous..."
They'd had no trouble tormenting me downstairs, yet the moment we reached the innerwear shop they hung back behind me, shy as anything, and it was honestly cute. I was a little embarrassed myself, but I couldn't very well show it. I reached out and took both their hands at once.
"...Ah."
"Don't like it?"
"N-no... I like it..."
"Oppa's hand is warm, isn't it?"
"Yeah... b-but doing this here makes it even more embarrassing..."
Hyunji smiled, pleased, and hugged my arm. Jiyoung, though, was so flustered just holding hands that she didn't know what to do with herself.
"All right, then. Any brand you prefer?"
"Mm, that one for me. The bralette over there is pretty."
"I know. That one's nice. Jiyoung?"
"...I... I don't really have one..."
"Then we'll go in order. Mm, sizes..."
I let my eyes rest on Jiyoung's chest, and she turned her face away, flushing. Come to think of it, she and I had never so much as touched. Everything that had happened until now felt stranger than this did, and the thought made me laugh under my breath—but she seemed to take it the wrong way and hurried to answer.
"S-seventy B..."
"Same size as Hyunji?"
She was taller than Hyunji, so I'd half expected something closer to a seventy-five. Maybe she just liked them a little snug.
"Yes... I'm broad, so it pinches a little, but a seventy-five is way too loose..."
"Broad, my foot. Mm. I like things that fit just right, too."
"...Th-that's a relief."
"Then how about something a little flashy, like you?"
"...I'd like that..."
"Come on, come on."
I was starting to enjoy myself. Underwear shopping with two women—something I'd never even imagined. The shopping I'd done with Hyunji had been my first, after all. I led them into the first shop in high spirits. The staff and the customers startled, but I browsed as naturally as I could, then picked up a piece whose lace caught my eye and held it up in front of Jiyoung.
"Ah..."
She was so embarrassed her fingers kept fidgeting, but I was busy looking back and forth between the lingerie and her. Of course I was doing it on purpose, partly so I could take in that flustered look as well.
"Mm. How about this?"
"...I-it's nice..."
"Don't just say that. Really look at it."
"Oppa. I'll pick yours out, too."
"Go ahead. You know the size?"
"Yes."
Hyunji had been through this once already, so she looked a little more used to it. Not that she wasn't embarrassed. She was enduring it, doing her best not to let it show. Shy Hyunji was cute, but the care she was taking was lovelier still. I could feel her making room so Jiyoung and I could have this time. Then Jiyoung leaned in and whispered, as if she couldn't bear it any longer.
"...This is too embarrassing..."
"Getting a sense of how I felt downstairs?"
"Ah, th-that was different..."
"Hold still. Mm. Is this one too flashy?"
Set against Jiyoung's already glamorous looks, the loud color only felt busy. Better, then, to look at something bold in the design rather than a mix of colors.
"Th-then... what about something like this...?"
I'd been looking over the pieces on the rack when her whisper pulled my eyes around, and I flinched before I could help it.
"...This?"
"...Y-yes... is it too sexy...?"
What she was pointing at wasn't underwear. It was lingerie—a sweet chocolate brown, rich as the candy itself. Sheer lace wrapped the neck instead of the shoulders, and more lace bared the stomach and the sides, bra and slip cut as one. Was it even lingerie? I didn't know what to call it, but anyone could tell it was built to finish the job.
"Do you like it?"
"...D-do you, Shinwoo...?"
"I think it'd look beautiful. Must be the color—it feels expensive. It'll suit you."
"...Yes."
"And... if you like that, what about this?"
What I pointed to was a little more extreme. The color was a quiet charcoal gray, but the lace was ornate enough that it wasn't plain at all, and the way it hinted at skin—together with panties that opened at the bottom—turned Jiyoung's face so red it looked ready to burst. Even so, she gave a small nod.
"I think I get it. Calm colors, bold designs. That what you like?"
"...B-because you're the one who'll be looking, Shinwoo..."
"Different from what you usually wear?"
"...O-of course..."
"Let's see, then. Show me."
My shameless request made her flinch, flustered, but I didn't look away. Glancing around at the people nearby, she undid the buttons of her blouse one by one with trembling fingers and slowly parted the fabric over her chest. Even the way she avoided my eyes was perfectly to my taste.
"...What. You prefer something completely plain."
What appeared was an ordinary beige bra. So that was why it hadn't shown through the blouse. And yet it looked far too new.
"Th-that's because I changed in a hurry..."
"Ah, right. Was it something else before?"
"It was similar... I-I don't really like sheer things... Do you happen to like them...?"
"Mm, sometimes? Try one on sometime later. No—show me whenever you feel like wearing one. I'll wait."
At the promise of a next time, her eyes lit up, and then she answered in a voice that seemed to crawl back into her throat.
"...Yes..."
"But you and Hyunji both look good in just about anything. Hard to choose."
I kept my face even despite how embarrassed she looked and held piece after piece up against her, and little by little her breathing grew rough.
"Is this hard?"
"...Ah, I-I'm s-sorry..."
"Sorry for what. If it's too much, say so."
"...N-no, it's not... It's just—gulp—too stimulating..."
I smiled at that and slowly bent toward her ear. She went rigid and looked at me. I put my mouth close and murmured, low.
"Are you wet?"
"...Ah..."
She bit her lip at the question. I watched her, then reached out and eased that bitten lip free. When I only stared at her scarlet face in silence, she swallowed, her eyes trembling, and I whispered again.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"...A... a little..."
"Then we'll have to get you changed before we leave."
"...Yes..."
"I still have to pick Hyunji's, though. You can hold out until the next shop, right?"
"...Yes."
Now that it was just the two of us and the mood had settled, the way she turned a little passive felt strangely new. The awkwardness she felt around the tension between a man and a woman came off her in waves. Maybe yesterday had pushed her further into it. I'd see, in time.
"Nothing that feels like the one."
After that I went through them slowly, one set at a time, but nothing in this shop struck me as exactly right. I gathered only the chocolate lingerie and the charcoal-gray innerwear set and headed for the register.
"Ah! I-I'll pay..."
"This is my gift. You said you'd wear it for me, didn't you?"
"...E-even so..."
She caught my hand in a rush, but the amount wasn't anything that burdened me.
"Or you can buy mine. That's fine, too."
"...R-really...?"
"Yeah. Hyunji did the same. Want the matching set?"
She'd been staring as if she couldn't believe me, and then her eyes went soft and hazy. I smiled at the small nod she gave and turned to the clerk at the counter.
"Please wrap these two, and match a men's set to each of them."
"Yes. What size should I get?"
"Large, please."
"Yes. One moment."
The clerk, who'd been watching us with a fond look, moved quickly, fetched two sets of mine in no time, and finished the wrapping. Hyunji, who'd been browsing, came over.
"What? Nothing you liked?"
"Right. You said you liked bralettes."
"Because they suit you. Other things are fine, too. I'm curious about your taste as well."
"...I'm happier seeing you like something..."
She smiled shyly at that, peered into the shopping bag, and whispered.
"I want to see Jiyoung's."
"Want to look?"
"Yes."
She came in and wrapped her arms around my waist. The clerk's eyes went round, but I paid it no mind and opened the bag to show her.
"Wow, this looks expensive. Is this the one that was on the mannequin?"
"Yeah. Jiyoung's taste is sexier than you'd think, huh?"
"Really? Eek."
"Ah—no! It's not like that..."
Jiyoung waved her hands in a panic, and for a second she overlapped with Ra-hee so cleanly that a laugh slipped out of me. Hyunji caught what I was doing and played along at once, which was thoroughly entertaining.
...She'll probably get along with Ra-hee, too.
I had a feeling the two of them would. We moved on to the next shop, and then the one after that, and somewhere along the way Jiyoung either grew used to the situation or was drawn along by Hyunji at her side, because she began to settle back into her usual, more forward self.
"...How about this?"
"Mm, it's nice. A little lacking."
"Ah, right. Yellow and pink don't really suit me."
"Not that they don't suit you—they're too mature. You're glamorous, but there's something fresh about you. Is that why you wear simple things?"
"...Ah, yes... th-then this...?"
"That one's good."
"Yes. I'll take this."
"Oppa. What about this?"
"Oh, that's exactly it. That's my taste."
"I thought so. I'll try this on."
Watching Jiyoung and Hyunji take turns holding set after set up against themselves cleared my head completely. This was heaven. Every bit of stress came undone. Then, while I was watching Jiyoung choose, Hyunji edged closer and whispered.
"...Um, oppa."
"Yeah. About time to try them on?"
"Yes. You'll look, right...?"
"...You know we can't go all the way like last time, right?"
Far more eyes were on us than there had been at the outlet. The clerks watching us warmly, the way a mother watches her children, were one thing, but I could feel the customers' attention gathering on us from every direction. Even the next shop over had been stealing glances.
"...Yes. I just... want to make it a little easier on Jiyoung."
"I know. I can feel it. You're working really hard, Hyunji."
I knew perfectly well that the ease she was showing was her pushing herself. All of it was an effort to make things comfortable for Jiyoung and for me. This wasn't the Hyunji I usually saw.