The Most Expensive Gift Ever
Jang Namhun's last visit to the Apple Store had been eight years ago, before he retired from singing.
It was right when the Apple Phone first launched in South Korea.
In the meantime, the Apple Store had changed a lot.
“What kind of item are you looking for?”
The staff member approached, and Jang Namhun said,
“The most expensive Apple Phone, please.”
“Ah… You’re looking for the Max?”
“Yes. That one.”
Yoo Sera’s eyes widened in surprise at his blunt remark.
“You’re really going to buy it for me?”
“Would I buy you a fake?”
The staff led them to the display area where the Apple Phones were shown.
“There are four color options.”
“Pick a color you like.”
“…You’re really going to buy it?”
“Yep. I’ll get you the largest capacity one.”
“One terabyte is 2.5 million won.”
Yoo Sera was stunned by the huge amount.
“Yes. I’ll take that.”
“Hey! Are you really buying that?”
“Of course. You know this chance doesn’t come easily.”
At Jang Namhun’s words, Yoo Sera bit the bait.
“Hmm. Yeah. Honestly, I think someone like me deserves such a gift.”
“So pick a color quickly.”
Yoo Sera still preferred smartphones over luxury handbags.
She seemed deeply lost in thought.
“Um… I’ll go with gold.”
Jang Namhun had expected silver.
She liked gold more.
He nodded.
It was good that he came with her after all.
“Two in gold color, please.”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
The staff left briefly, and Yoo Sera asked carefully,
“Why two? Are you… buying couple phones?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Her gaze shifted to the phone in his hand.
It was a five-year-old basic model iPhone.
She had long since needed to replace it.
“You don’t have AirPods either?”
“Are you buying those too?”
“Might as well get everything while we’re at it.”
“…What? Really. He’s gone crazy.”
The staff brought two Max Gold packages, and Jang Namhun added two more AirPods.
Yoo Sera watched in silence with a complicated expression.
Then something felt off.
Jang Namhun had sensitive hearing genetically and poor ear health because of it.
Ever since, he had never used earphones.
When playing music, he preferred headphones.
“Hey, Jang Nam. You never use earphones.”
“Huh? No, I don’t.”
“Then why buy two?”
“For Yuyeon. She’s not as sensitive as I am. And she needs earphones for listening to the performance pieces.”
“…What? This was Yuyeon’s phone?”
“Yeah. Our tastes match. I thought you’d pick silver, but you went for gold.”
Because of lessons, Yuyeon had spent more time with Yoo Sera than with Jang Namhun.
For her, he was the teacher, role model, and big sister.
Naturally, she became attached, and their tastes grew almost identical.
Even their fashion choices.
At that, veins popped on Yoo Sera’s forehead.
“So… you brought me because you don’t know what color Yuyeon likes… Is this what you mean?”
“What kind of meaning? I thought Yuyeon should have the phone. It just so happens your opinion matches mine. You’ve been carrying that cracked screen for a year now.”
Her heart softened a little.
One year ago, he remembered dropping his phone while drunk and cracking the screen.
A humiliating memory he tried to forget.
“Still, he was worried about me.”
A faint smile formed on Yoo Sera’s lips.
“Haa. Yeah, I was the fool for thinking that.”
“Huh?”
“No. Actually, I don’t need the Max 1TB. 256GB is enough.”
“Really?”
“Yep. You don’t know much about these things. I’ll be grateful for the gift… but it’s too much. Sorry, but could you give me 256GB instead?”
“Yes, of course. Just a moment.”
The staff left, and Yoo Sera smiled at Jang Namhun,
“Wait here a sec. I’ll go to the restroom.”
Yoo Sera quickly left to find the staff.
She had been given the cold shoulder, but she couldn’t let it go.
That was the loyalty of the best friend.
“Is there anything else you’d like to change?”
“No. Right now, only for celebrations and requests.”
“Oh, yes. Should I prepare a celebration?”
“Yes. It’s a gift for her first love.”
The staff’s mind raced.
Man and woman.
A secret celebration request.
And the word “first love.”
“Ah…”
With that combination of information, what exactly were they to each other?
“Lovers!”
The staff smiled confidently.
“Don’t worry. I can proudly say that the celebration service at this branch is the best.”
Jang Namhun had used “first love” instead of “sister” to prank her, but the staff thought the person was him.
She sensed the shift and felt strangely unsettled.
Still, one thought crossed her mind.
“Me and him?”
Thinking about it, Jang Namhun had been the only man in her life.
Unless she counted him as one.
That was the only reason.
How could anyone else approach someone who was always glued to such a perfect person…?
Only after going abroad did she realize she was quite attractive.
Studying abroad had changed many things for her.
She received offers to become a fusion violinist and even considered switching paths.
She also realized how much she had relied on Jang Namhun.
He was the most reliable colleague and the best competitor who motivated her music career.
That was why she ultimately chose to return home.
“What am I thinking now?”
We’re just friends.
We grew up together without ever seeing each other’s ugly sides.
Yoo Sera erased the ridiculous thought from her head.
But being misunderstood for a moment was fine.
As long as she could pull one over on him, it was okay.
Yoo Sera showed a brazen smile.
“I’ll be filming from behind. Please make sure it’s done properly.”
“Leave it to me!”
* * *
While Yoo Sera planned from behind,
Jang Namhun waited alone in the store, muttering to himself.
“Seriously, two smartphones, two AirPods, and accessories… over 3 million won?”
He paid in six months because it was too much for a lump sum.
“This month, I need to tighten my belt.”
He had 1 million won from Jo Wonhyeong for the wedding gift.
Another 1 million from returning a condolence gift.
And 1 million from the long-term narration contract.
But he had spent more than that in one go.
“As soon as money comes, it leaves.”
Still, he had to spend it.
He hadn’t paid enough attention to Yuyeon or Sera lately.
Waiting, the staff suddenly approached with a solemn expression.
“What’s this?”
Jang Namhun looked curious.
The staff stood beside him and suddenly shouted loudly,
“Everyone!!!”
The customers’ eyes sparkled.
“Yes!!!”
“The customer Jang Namhun is saying he will gift an Apple Phone Pro Max 1TB and AirPods to his first love!”
“Waaah!!!”
“???”
Jang Namhun was utterly bewildered by the sudden situation.
“Please give your full applause so that Jang Namhun can win the heart of his first love!”
“Woaahaaa! A man! A man!”
“Amazing!”
“Oppa! So cool!”
When he finally noticed Yoo Sera filming him secretly and smirking,
Jang Namhun clutched his head.
“Sera, what is this really?”
But just as he forgot his anger, something even more shocking happened.
[Performance – Apple Store Celebration]
[Comprehension – 96]
[Proficiency – 98]
[Immersion – 94]
[Digestibility – 96]
[Condition – 87]
[Audience Reaction – 100]
[Overall Score – 97.1]
Jang Namhun muttered in disbelief.
“…What is this?”
Did the ability activate for things like this too?
Jang Namhun pondered deeply.
He had thought the ability only showed during his own singing.
But he remembered it appeared when he heard Hayul’s song too.
However, it didn’t show when listening to regular songs.
“Hmm… Yeah. It activates in situations related to me.”
Jang Namhun now understood the precise conditions.
But there was one more strange thing.
What exactly was “Performance”?
* * *
In the car, Jang Namhun shook his head.
“Seriously. Among the women—and people—I know, you’re the craziest.”
“What? I prepared a gift for Yuyeon too. She’ll be so happy when she sees the video.”
“It’ll be fun, but… first love? I thought you’d be embarrassed to death.”
“I only said the facts. Yuyeon is your first love, right?”
“What?”
“Forever only you. The lyrics say the protagonist is Yuyeon?”
“…Huh? How did you know?”
“How? Wonhyeong told me.”
Yoo Sera’s blunt expression left him with nothing to say.
“That’s correct… but Haa. Good.”
He had prepared an expensive gift with big plans, but why was she suddenly so low-key?
“Today, I’m staying at your house.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Yuyeon is trying her first smartphone. You haven’t used an Apple Phone in a long time.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“I’ll set it up and teach you how to use it. You’ll need to carry it from tomorrow.”
“Yeah, Apple Phones have complex initial settings. I’ll need to set up the cloud too.”
“So let’s stop by the market.”
“The market? We were going to buy groceries anyway.”
At the market, Yoo Sera bought a lot of beer.
“…What are you doing?”
“Let’s drink together after a long time. You said you quit your night warehouse job, right?”
Since he worked with Wonhyeong, night shifts were hard.
Seeing her uneasy face, Jang Namhun nodded helplessly.
“There must have been some hard time.”
Of course, when she came to his house, her mood was often low.
“Okay. But bring some snacks too. Alcohol on an empty stomach isn’t good.”
That night,
Jang Namhun stayed up until dawn, exhausted by the two excited girls—both drunk on their first smartphones.
* * *
It felt strange.
It was the brightest expression he had seen on Yuyeon in 14 years.
Her eyes were glued to the phone, hitting her favorite egg roll again and again.
Seeing the innocent child from the old days mixed with the present one, a smile naturally formed.
“You like it that much?”
Yuyeon snapped back to reality when she noticed his expression.
“Yeah. Oppa, thank you so much.”
“Sorry. When you were little, I couldn’t pay attention because of your twin sisters.”
“No. Yesol and Yejun were sick, so… I understand.”
Fourteen-year-olds understanding everything.
His chest hurt.
Yuyeon was still young.
Even younger back then.
How much had she sacrificed for her younger siblings?
Yet she never once complained.
“But… this thing is supposedly really expensive.”
“Don’t worry. From now on, if you want anything, I’ll buy it. Just say the word.”
“Boyfriends?”
At Yuyeon’s words, Jang Namhun had to correct her.
“What? That’s not allowed!”
Yuyeon giggled.
“Wait. So right now, there’s no boyfriend?”
“No. I only go home, to practice, and home.”
That was true. Tonight was Yuyeon’s turn to watch the younger siblings.
“Hmm. What to do about this…”
He couldn’t leave Yuyeon with the kids forever.
“Ah.”
He remembered what Sera had said on the wedding day.
“By the way, is Yuyeon sending a proposal soon?”
“Recently, her interest has dropped a bit. She doesn’t seem to enjoy practice much.”
He had asked before but forgot because there was too much going on.
No good chance had come up.
But now Yuyeon was in a good mood.
He could ask subtly.
“Is practice good these days? Not too hard?”
Yuyeon answered immediately.
“Huh? It’s fine. Unnie teaches me almost every day. If I can’t, I’m stupid. Etudes are… I just get bored, but I have to practice anyway because the time is there.”
It was a casual answer, but Jang Namhun felt uneasy.
But he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.
“…Really?”
“But studying is hard. English aside…”
Jang Namhun’s parents had passed away when he was 21.
Yuyeon was in kindergarten then.
English had been taught from a very young age.
Since both his parents and he spoke four languages, Yuyeon could still speak English to some extent.
But after that, she didn’t care about English, so her grades in other subjects suffered.
That made Jang Namhun start worrying too.
While talent was important for admission, academic scores mattered a lot.
“English, huh. I should talk to Sera about this too.”
At Jang Namhun’s nod, Yuyeon’s eyes automatically went to his old phone.
“Oppa. Our house… doesn’t have money, right?”