Going Out (1)
The next morning.
Riiing—
The alarm dragged my eyes open. For a moment I wanted to burrow back into the blankets the way I had yesterday, but today I sat up at once.
"All right. Let's give it our all again today!"
I washed up quickly in the bathroom and changed into the maid uniform. Maybe because Yujin had walked me through it again yesterday, I managed to get dressed on my own well enough this time. I tied my hair into the simplest ponytail I could manage and finished getting ready.
I already knew my first task of the day. Yujin had told me yesterday.
Wake Baek Joohyuk.
"...I even have to be that bastard's morning call."
Being a dedicated maid, it turned out, meant doing every ridiculous little job imaginable. I stepped out of my room, stopped in front of Joohyuk's door right beside mine, and knocked lightly.
Knock, knock—
"Hey. Baek Joohyuk. Get up."
No answer. I knocked again and got the same silence, so in the end I opened the door and went in.
Morning light filtered through the curtains, washing the room in a faint glow. Joohyuk was still sprawled in bed.
"...Sleeping like the dead."
I walked up beside the bed and looked down at him.
"Hey. Get up. It's morning."
"Mmm... just a little longer..."
"Haah... Get up. Otherwise Yujin's going to chew you out again."
I turned to pull the curtains open, and that was when it happened.
Whoosh—!
"Huh?"
My arm was yanked, and my body pitched forward.
By the time I came to my senses, Joohyuk's face was right in front of mine.
"On second thought, I might as well get up now."
I shook his hand off and stumbled back.
"What the hell are you doing first thing in the morning, you lunatic!"
"Puhaha! Why so jumpy?"
"...Are you even awake?"
"Guess not."
Smiling, Joohyuk sat up in bed and stretched.
"Since you're up, I'm heading to the kitchen to get breakfast ready."
"No need."
Knock, knock—
"Young Master. I've brought your meal."
"Huh? Already?"
"Yes. You asked to have it ready earlier than usual."
"What is she talking about?"
"What do you think? Sit down already. Let's eat."
I was staring at him in pure disbelief when Yujin wheeled in a cart, set the food out on the table, and quietly left the room.
"Why are there two meals?"
"Because one's yours."
I didn't even have the energy left to argue. Joohyuk dropped onto the sofa, looked at me, and tipped his chin.
What is this guy trying to pull, first thing in the morning?
"What are you standing there staring for? You not eating?"
With no other choice, I sat across from him.
"Couldn't I just eat on my own in the kitchen?"
"You sure talk a lot. You're my dedicated maid, so from now on we eat together."
"What? Why would I?"
"I just told you why. Eat first."
I was hungry anyway, so I gave up and started on the meal.
"Come out with me today."
"Where are we going?"
"Let's buy you some clothes. Be honest—the stuff in that room isn't your style, is it?"
"If you knew that, why'd you fill the closet with nothing but that junk?"
"I didn't pick the designs. Don't blame me."
"So I'm not working today?"
"Nope. Your job today is shopping with me. You coming or not?"
"I'm coming! Then I'm ditching this suffocating outfit and changing into something comfortable."
I finished eating, cleared the dishes, and headed back to my room. The closet did have clothes that looked ordinary enough to wear out, but once I actually pulled them free, most of them were skirts, or things miles from my taste.
"...It's all skirts..."
Someone knocked.
Knock, knock—
"Sia. May I come in?"
"Yes, come in!"
The one who opened the door was Yura.
"I heard from Yujin. You're going out with the Young Master today?"
"Is there some kind of precaution I should know?"
"No, no! It's not that..."
Yura flushed for a moment, then quietly stepped closer.
"If you're going out with the Young Master, how could I possibly sit still!"
"...Pardon?"
A bad feeling washed over me all at once.
"I'll dress you up beautifully! Don't worry, just leave it to me!"
Ah... my bad feelings are never wrong.
"I... I can just wear anything, though."
"Absolutely not!"
She was so firm about it, and her eyes were sparkling so brightly as she looked at me, that I had no choice but to nod.
"All right, then we start by picking an outfit, don't we?"
Only after Yura had swapped my clothes out several times was I finally set free.
"Ta-da! All done!"
"Whew... Do women really spend this long getting ready?"
"Oh, Sia. Why even ask something so obvious~!"
"Ah. Hahaha... right..."
The person looking back at me in the mirror was a complete stranger.
"Well? Do you like it?"
"It doesn't feel like me."
"See? You look incredibly pretty right now!"
"Thank you, Yura."
Knock, knock—
"Sia. The Young Master is waiting for you at the door."
"Ah. Yes! I'm coming!"
"Have a good trip!"
I hurried out and ran for the entryway. When Joohyuk saw me all done up, he stared in silence for a long moment, eyes wide with surprise.
"What are you staring a hole through me for? Are we going or not?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, we should go."
Even as we stepped out through the entryway, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Have a safe trip."
Outside, a car was waiting.
"You're taking a car? How far are we going? Isn't there a mall nearby?"
"There isn't. We'd have to drive anyway. Otherwise we'd wear ourselves out just walking."
"Ah... fair. I should've known you'd need a car just to get anywhere near this house..."
Joohyuk and I climbed in, and the car pulled away. We drove for a good while before stopping in front of a building that looked like an enormous department store.
"We're buying clothes, and you bring me somewhere this fancy...?"
"I was going to hit a shop nearby. Then I changed my mind."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Let's go in."
"Please call when you're ready to return home, Young Master."
"Yeah. I'll call you later."
The chauffeur drove off, and we headed inside. True to the grandeur of the building, it had everything—a shopping mall, a movie theater, a luxury wing, and more.
"Whoa... are we really buying clothes here? One outfit looks like it'd eat half my paycheck..."
"Pick whatever you want. Don't worry about the price."
Easy for him to say. I've never even set foot in a place like this...
That was when a casual-wear shop caught my eye.
"Then let's go there!"
"Figures that'd be your taste."
"Hurry up. This outfit is insanely uncomfortable!"
"Got it. Let's go."
Joohyuk let out a short laugh and headed into the shop with me, pretending he was only giving in.
Yes. This is it!
Giddy, I started grabbing whatever caught my eye—pants, hoodies, and the rest of the casual rack.
"Hey! You're really grabbing stuff without even looking at the prices?"
"Yeah. Pick freely. Just don't ask me to buy the whole store."
"Are you insane? Even I don't have that kind of nerve."
"Sure, sure. Hurry and choose. I saw an arcade over there—we should check it out."
"Oh, for real? There's an arcade? Then I'm grabbing a few more!"
I didn't so much as glance at the price tags. If the design looked good, it went in the pile.
"I'm done!"
Joohyuk looked over what I'd picked and asked, faintly puzzled.
"That's all? You acted like you were going to clean the place out. You barely chose anything."
At the register the total climbed like it had lost its mind, and I startled all over again.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait...! Let's put some back!"
"Hm? Why now?"
"Are you crazy?! What kind of prices are those!"
"Ah. It's fine. I'll handle it, so wait outside."
"What? No. Hey!"
At his word, a staff member led me toward the shop entrance.
No way... he's actually buying them? Why do a few outfits cost that much?
"Ugh... I should've known the second he brought me somewhere like this... damn it!"
"Hey. Take these. It's paid for."
Joohyuk held the shopping bags out from behind me.
"...Let's say I pay it back little by little out of my salary..."
"No need. I brought you out to buy what you need. What's the problem?"
"No... even so, this is way too expensive!"
"If you're going to split hairs, that dress you're wearing right now probably costs more."
I went rigid.
"What?! Are you actually insane?!"
"It looks good on you. That's enough. You're pretty."
"..."
I hadn't expected words like that out of his mouth. A chill ran straight down my spine.
"That gives me the creeps, so don't say stuff like that from now on..."
"Puhaha! Got it. Your face is a treat, though."
"Haah... anyway, where's the arcade?"
"You're not going to change?"
"Yura went to all that trouble dressing me up... it'd feel weird to change right away..."
He says this costs more than the clothes we just bought. How am I supposed to change out of it? What if I snag it... yeesh.
"That's so you. The arcade's that way."
We rode the escalator up a floor. A short walk later the arcade came into view, and I broke into a run, thrilled to see one after so long.
"Hey! Joohyuk. What do you want to do first?"
"You go first. Whatever you want."
"Then claw machines?"
The machines around us were stuffed with dolls that were anything but ordinary.
"Hey... don't tell me these dolls..."
"Yeah. Some of them are designer."
Of course...
"Don't tell me—how much is one try?"
"Ten dollars."
"...You're joking."
"Just this machine."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Then let's find another one."
I looked over the other machines until I found an ordinary claw machine. It was packed with cat plushies, and among them a black cat shoved into the corner caught my eye.
"I want that one."
"Of course you pick the one in the hardest spot."
"It has to look hard, or winning doesn't feel good. You don't even know that?"
"Don't blow all your money and then beg me to win it for you."
"Who said I was going to beg you?"
I fed the machine with plenty of confidence, but it wasn't as easy as I'd thought. The claw didn't so much as brush the doll. Twice already it had only scraped empty air.
Joohyuk, watching from beside me, finally burst out laughing.
"Hey, you are trying to grab the doll, right? Not just clawing at thin air?"
"Shut up. I've got the feel of it."
"Didn't you say that a minute ago?"
"This time I mean it."
A few more misses, and my pride kicked in. It was only one doll, but quitting here would feel like losing to Baek Joohyuk for no reason at all. I was reaching for my wallet again when Joohyuk caught my hand.
"Stop. I'll just buy you one."
"No. I've come this far. How am I supposed to quit?"
"You've already spent more than the doll is worth."
"That's exactly why I can't stop!"
"That's what gambling addicts say."
"Since when is a claw machine a gambling addiction, you lunatic."
We went back and forth for a while, and when I finally won the doll I'd wanted, I threw both arms up before I even realized it.
"Yes! You see that?!"
"I saw. I also saw how much you burned just to win one doll."
"The result's what matters. Who cares about the process?"
I pulled the doll free and turned to Joohyuk, and the bastard was smiling again.
"Why are you grinning like that?"
"Because you're so happy you can barely stand it. It's funny."
"When was I so happy I could barely stand it..."
Even as I said it, I didn't let go of the doll in my hand.
"Puhaha!"
"...Ah, seriously. What are you laughing at!"
"I didn't do anything. Why are you getting defensive all by yourself?"
"Your face is annoying."
"Then don't look."
"Fine. I won't."
I turned to walk off and nearly collided with someone coming the other way.
"Whoa, shit. Almost ran right into them."
"Watch where you're going."
"You keep talking at me from behind."
"And somehow it's my fault."
The moment I spotted a basketball game nearby, I challenged him without a second thought.
"Hey, let's do that! Loser buys the drinks!"
"Out of nowhere?"
"Scared?"
"Just don't complain after you lose to me."
In the end the two of us stood side by side in front of the machine.