Staff Welfare Is Shin Wontae (3)
“Yes. Show me your best-seller.”
But the shop attendant had a strangely awkward air about her.
She wore a smile, yet hesitation clung to it. It was the sort of overcautious manner you would never expect from someone in service work.
Her eyes drifted over their clothes.
Baek Wontae looked down at himself and let out a silent groan.
What a pitiful outfit. Black fabric had hidden it at a glance, but up close there were patches and mended seams everywhere.
He was half a beggar.
“Well, I can’t really blame her.”
He muttered that to himself and approached the display rack, picking up one plain set of clothes and one long robe.
“How much?”
“Altogether… seven hundred mun.”
Their eyes met.
Suspicion flickered in hers. Could a man dressed like that, dragging along two servants, really afford it?
Baek Wontae caught the look and curled one corner of his mouth.
“Oh?”
And then he answered her question on the spot.
Flash—
He pulled a silver ingot from inside his robes.
The instant she saw the silver, the attendant’s expression changed.
“You take silver ingots too, right?”
“O-of course! I’ll ring that up for you right away!”
She took the ingot with both hands.
Baek Wontae waved a hand lightly.
“Keep the change. I’m buying more.”
The attendant bowed with proper decorum.
Her posture had become graceful, almost elegant. The change had happened the moment the silver appeared.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
He hooked a thumb toward the siblings.
“From now on, these two will be coming here as customers. So… treat them kindly.”
Her face broke into a bright smile.
“Of course. I’ll take the best possible care of them.”
The siblings exchanged awkward looks.
The attendant gestured toward the back of the shop.
“If you’d like to change, there’s a fitting room over there.”
Baek Wontae glanced at the siblings.
“Wait here a minute.”
Following the attendant’s guidance, he headed into the fitting room.
Riiip—
The curtain fell, and he changed his clothes.
Before long, Baek Wontae stepped back out in his new outfit.
He spread his arms and turned.
“Well?”
The siblings looked at him.
Lee Hyun nodded. “Looks fine.”
Lee Hwa added in a flat voice, “It suits you.”
Baek Wontae snorted.
“That was soul-dead.”
“W-what…!”
“It’s true.”
He laughed under his breath and rested his chin on his hand.
“I was joking. Now then, who should I fix up first…?”
At that, as he looked from one to the other, the siblings raised their hands at the same time.
“Wait, this is way too expensive.”
“There’s no need to go overboard.”
Baek Wontae shook his head at once.
“No, no. This is what money’s for.”
He pulled out another silver ingot.
“This is what you call flexing. Lee Hwa, you’re up first.”
“M-me… first?”
Lee Hwa pointed at herself and broke into a cold sweat.
Baek Wontae tilted his chin toward the attendant.
“Money’s no object. Head to toe, get her whatever fits best. You know what I mean, right?”
“Leave it to me.”
The attendant hurried over to Lee Hwa and took her arm, drawing her inside.
“I’ve actually wanted to dress you up for a while. It’s not often you see a pretty young lady like you in Hamwon. I always felt bad seeing someone with a face like that doing heavy labor…”
Lee Hwa’s cheeks turned a faint pink.
“P-pretty…?”
The attendant shoved her into the fitting room, then, without wasting a breath, swept over the racks with the eye of a professional and began choosing outfits at speed. She gathered the clothes and slipped in after her.
A moment later, the curtain opened.
The attendant led Lee Hwa out and proudly announced, “There. Finished.”
This was not the same Lee Hwa from before.
Every time the blue jeyaoyunjun swayed lightly, the white bamboo-leaf embroidery stood out against it. The white daesusam draped over her shoulders sharpened the neatness of her impression, while the jade hairpin stuck into her round braided bun exposed the line of her neck, lending her an unexpected air of maturity.
And with her sharp eyes, she looked as though she’d just placed the final dot on a dragon painting.
The attendant nodded in satisfaction. It felt as if she had created a work of art.
“What do you think? Since it’s summer, I went for something fresh and elegant.”
The moment she spoke, Baek Wontae and Lee Hyun’s eyes locked onto Lee Hwa.
Baek Wontae clapped. “Wow, clothes really do make the woman. Right?”
Lee Hyun crossed his arms. “Well… slap a pig with a human face, and it’ll still look like a person.”
Lee Hwa’s gaze shot toward him like a knife.
Lee Hyun calmly turned his head and dodged it.
“Try on a few more styles,” Baek Wontae said.
“Gladly!”
The attendant’s eyes sparkled.
And then she seized Lee Hwa’s wrist.
“Today’s your lucky day. Come on, this way!”
Lee Hwa vanished behind the curtain.
She came out again and again in completely different looks: a cute outfit with twin braids and a jade ornament belt, a mature style with a red skirt and a floral gauze jacket, a subdued yet imposing ensemble with a violet long robe embroidered in gold thread paired with an ivory jexheun-yunjun.
Every time the fitting-room curtain opened, a different person emerged.
Each time, Baek Wontae let out an admiring sound, while Lee Hyun only furrowed his brow deeper.
While Lee Hwa suffered through what was basically live doll dress-up, Baek Wontae leaned toward Lee Hyun.
“You should pick something too.”
Lee Hyun shook his head. “No. This is fine. Clothes are clothes.”
“Hmm… but it’d be a shame to leave here empty-handed.”
Then, suddenly, he snapped his fingers.
“Ah, Lady Im Huiseon!”
At that unexpected name, Lee Hyun’s shoulders jerked.
“W-why are you bringing her up…?”
“You two look pretty close on a personal level, don’t you? Or am I wrong?”
“She’s… helped with day-to-day things a lot.”
“Then that settles it! How about a hairpin or a comb? As a thank-you.”
At that, the tips of Lee Hyun’s ears turned red.
“...Do you know what that kind of thing means?”
Baek Wontae curved his mouth with a wicked little smile.
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
“……”
Lee Hyun let out a long sigh.
* * *
Before long, Lee Hwa’s round of doll dress-up was over.
Back in ordinary martial garb, she looked dazed, as if she had just woken from a dream.
Baek Wontae smiled and asked, “So, which one did you like best?”
“Uh…”
Lee Hwa only moved her lips.
She had never dressed herself up in her life, never once chosen clothes because she liked them. She didn’t even know what she preferred.
While she hesitated, Baek Wontae reached into his robes and pulled out a bundle of silver ingots.
“Fine, I’ll just buy everything—”
“T-the very first one I wore.”
Lee Hwa blurted it out in alarm.
She was grateful, truly, but it still felt like too much. It was the habit of someone who had spent her whole life saving and saving, never daring to waste a thing.
“You can buy it all, you know.”
The attendant’s behavior changed instantly.
She snapped her head around, smoothed her hair, straightened her clothes, and cleared her throat.
“Thank you very much, young master.”
Her voice turned sweet and honeyed as she accepted the silver, deliberately letting her fingertips brush his in the process.
“...?”
Baek Wontae nodded, a little dazed, then turned toward the door with the bundle in his hands.
The attendant called softly to Lee Hwa, who was just about to follow him.
“Um… that gentleman. Who is he?”
Lee Hwa was briefly startled, but answered calmly. “He’s our employer. He does business.”
“Oh? Then… does he have a sweetheart?”
Lee Hwa’s insides went cold.
Her mouth moved before she could stop it.
“H-he does.”
The attendant clicked her tongue.
“Really? What a pity…. Still, a good man like that can’t possibly be single. I was thinking I might make myself look a little more presentable.”
Lee Hwa dropped her gaze.
She couldn’t lift her head, not with the guilt of having lied sitting on her chest.
Then—
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Baek Wontae’s voice came from the doorway.
Lee Hwa jerked and looked up.
“R-right…”
She hurried over to him and stared at the bundle in his hands.
“Give me the bundle. I’ll carry it.”
Baek Wontae looked at her. “I can carry it just fine.”
Lee Hwa shook her head stubbornly.
He shrugged. “Fine, whatever.”
She accepted the bundle carefully.
* * *
Outside, it was dark.
Lanterns were lighting one by one.
Baek Wontae glanced at Lee Hwa and asked, “You like it?”
Lee Hwa nodded a little.
The clothes bundle was pressed tight against her chest, handled like treasure.
“You should’ve tried it on. Why didn’t you wear it out?”
“Because it’s expensive… I wanted to save it for when I really needed it.”
Baek Wontae burst out laughing.
“You’re not supposed to worship clothes. Wear them. I’ll buy you more.”
He tossed the words out casually, but the kindness of them made her face heat up.
At the same time, her thoughts tangled into knots.
Why did I say that?
She knew it was something she shouldn’t have said, and yet the words had leapt out before she could stop them.
Y-yes, he does.
That answer kept echoing in her ears.
They were only in a working relationship, nothing more.
But ever since he had saved her from the Dang family, she’d felt this way every time she looked at him.
What was it, exactly?
Gratitude?
Admiration?
Her face was hot, and her heart thudded strangely, as if it had gotten tangled on its own beat. Her insides tingled.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t had the leisure to learn what that feeling was, and no one had ever taught her how to name it, much less how to show it.
For a while, she would just have to keep wrestling with it alone.
Baek Wontae turned to Lee Hyun.
“Anyway, aren’t you going to buy anything? You should at least get Lady Huiseon a gift.”
“W-wait—!”
Lee Hyun flinched and glared at him.
Lee Hwa narrowed her eyes.
“Why are you the one buying a gift for Huiseon unnie?”
Lee Hyun looked away, caught off guard.
Baek Wontae went on, “You said she helped you a lot. It’s only polite to return the favor.”
He gave Lee Hyun a light tap on the back.
“So I guess the eldest son will deliver it on behalf of the family, right?”
Lee Hyun nodded awkwardly.
“Ah… yeah. Right.”
Baek Wontae immediately asked, “So, Lee Hwa. Can you recommend something a girl would like?”
Lee Hwa thought for a moment, then answered with great seriousness.
“Hmm, a dagger?”
“...No.”