Birthday
“Crowded, huh, Noona?”
A-reum nodded.
They were in a department store in the middle of a bustling shopping district. Min-hyeok had come with his older sister A-reum for the weekend—though of course they hadn’t just wandered in without a reason. Coming to a department store meant they had a purpose.
Tomorrow was Seong-min’s birthday. That was why Min-hyeok had brought A-reum here.
He glanced over at his sister. Her expression had gone a little stiff as she looked around at the throngs of people.
“Nervous because of the crowd?”
A-reum shook her head. But anyone could tell just by looking that she was tense. Min-hyeok took her hand so she wouldn’t feel so alone.
“Don’t worry, Noona. All these people came here because they’ve got something to do too. Same as us.”
A-reum nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Holding his nervous sister’s hand, Min-hyeok started walking. They browsed the men’s wallet counters. When a clerk approached and asked if they had a particular model in mind, Min-hyeok said they just wanted to look around.
He examined several wallets inside the brand shop before settling on a Beanpole piece with a simple, clean design.
“Noona, this one’s nice, right?”
A-reum looked at the wallet he held up and nodded.
“How much is this?”
“That model runs about two hundred thirteen thousand won.”
He’d expected it to be expensive, but two hundred thirteen thousand for a single wallet. That was more than a full day’s pay unloading delivery trucks, and only a little less than the two hundred fifty thousand he made in a day at the gomtang shop.
The price might have given someone pause. Min-hyeok opened his mouth anyway.
“I’ll take this one. I’m giving it as a gift, though. Can you wrap it?”
“Of course, sir. Is it a birthday present?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Understood. We’ll do gift wrapping for you. Right this way, please.”
Following the clerk’s lead, Min-hyeok watched as they nestled the wallet neatly into its case, wrapped the box with care, and tied on a ribbon before slipping everything into a shopping bag and handing it over.
“Here you are.”
Min-hyeok held out his phone and paid with mobile pay.
“Payment complete. Thank you so much!”
“Thanks for your help.”
Shopping bag in hand, he stepped out of the store and checked the time.
“Still took about thirty minutes.”
A-reum nodded.
“Now let’s pick out the present you’re going to give him.”
“Me too…?”
“We’re both meeting Seong-min hyung tomorrow. It’d be weird if only I brought a birthday gift.”
“But… the… money… it’s Min-hyeok’s… money…”
A-reum clearly felt bad about buying her own gift with his money.
“Hmm… then how about this, Noona? Today we buy the gift with my money—but you’re working now, right? You’ll be getting a paycheck. When you do, you just pay me back for the gift out of that. How’s that sound? That way it’s okay, right?”
“Pay… Min-hyeok back… for the gift…?”
“Yep! Then it’s not me buying the gift you’re giving—it’s me lending you the money so you can buy it. Strictly speaking, you’re the one giving it. Pretty good solution, right? And you won’t feel as bad.”
He grinned at A-reum as she blinked at him.
“That’s what we’re doing?”
Only then did she nod.
“Great. So let’s go buy the present you’re giving him. What do you want to get Seong-min hyung…?”
A-reum seemed to think for a moment before speaking.
“…Shoes.”
“Shoes?”
“Yeah… Seong-min… helped me… and his shoes… got dirty… I want… to get him shoes…”
“Yeah, his sneakers have been looking pretty worn out…”
Even to Min-hyeok’s eye, the sneakers Seong-min had been wearing lately looked a bit rough.
“Then you want to gift him sneakers? Something functional he can wear every day.”
A-reum nodded.
“Alright. There’s a Nike store over there—let’s head that way.”
The two of them walked on hand in hand.
The Nike store had plenty of clothes on display besides shoes, but Min-hyeok and A-reum made straight for the footwear section.
“Welcome! Looking for a particular model? As you can see, our newest releases—”
A clerk who had watched the pair come in together immediately launched into a polished sales pitch, explaining and praising various models. Min-hyeok listened while browsing, then spoke up.
“I’m looking for functional sneakers that are light and comfortable to wear… Which model would you recommend?”
“Something light and comfortable for everyday wear, is that right?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“For a gentleman?”
“That’s right.”
“Then follow me, please.”
They followed the clerk deeper into the store, where she recommended a particular pair. The materials were good, she said, the design wasn’t flashy, and it was a popular daily model among young men—easy to wear day to day, with a great fit.
Even to Min-hyeok, the design looked clean and properly Nike without being cluttered.
“How much are these?”
One hundred forty-nine thousand won, the clerk said. Add a thousand and it was basically a hundred fifty thousand.
“Noona, how about these? They look pretty nice.”
A-reum nodded.
“We’ll take these.”
“Certainly. And the shoe size…?”
“Two seventy-five, please.”
Shoe sizes had come up once while he was doing delivery work. He’d overheard Seong-min’s size then, so luckily he didn’t have to scramble. Min-hyeok wore a 275 himself, which made it easy to remember.
They packed the shoes carefully into a box, slipped the box into a shopping bag, and Min-hyeok paid again with mobile pay.
“Hope they sell well.”
“Thank you so much!”
Outside the shoe store, Min-hyeok held the bag out to A-reum.
“Here, Noona. This is the gift you’re giving Seong-min hyung.”
She accepted it carefully.
“And just to say it again—this isn’t me buying it for you. You’re borrowing the money from me to buy it. So don’t think of it as my gift, okay? On payday you just pay me back for the shoes.”
A-reum nodded.
“Good. Then—”
“Min-hyeok… are we… going home… now…?”
At her question, Min-hyeok flashed a grin.
“Follow me, Noona. We’re not done shopping yet.”
“…Where…?”
“You’ll see when we get there~!”
He led A-reum toward the elevators.
Fifth floor.
The doors opened with the announcement. Min-hyeok stepped out with A-reum.
“Any idea where we are?”
A-reum looked around.
“Women’s… clothes…”
“Oh~ you got it! So why do you think I brought you up here~?”
“Um…”
She pressed a finger to her lips, thinking hard.
“Want a hint?”
A-reum nodded.
“I’m a guy, right? So I don’t need women’s clothes.”
“Then… you’re… buying… clothes for me…?”
“Bingo~! Wow… our Noona’s so smart~! One little hint and you nail it right away~!”
“I… don’t have… money for clothes… right now…?”
“Noona, of course I’m trying to buy you something pretty as a gift.”
“Min-hyeok… for me…?”
“Yep! Tomorrow’s Seong-min hyung’s birthday, right? So you’ve got to go out looking cute~! You want hyung to see you looking plain?”
A-reum shook her head rapidly.
“Heh…!”
Min-hyeok burst out laughing.
“Min-hyeok… why… are you laughing…?”
“Noona, you shook your head super fast again.”
“……”
“Hahaha!”
Watching his sister go speechless with both cheeks turning bright red was endlessly entertaining.
“Tomorrow’s Seong-min hyung’s birthday and we’re celebrating, so you should dress up nice. Don’t you think I’m right?”
A-reum nodded.
“Great~! Then today, as a special treat, I’ll pick out something pretty just for you~!”
Taking his sister’s hand, Min-hyeok headed into the women’s wear section.
Summer was right around the corner, so most of the clothes on display were short-sleeved tops, short skirts, mini skirts, or denim shorts.
“Welcome~ Looking for anything in particular?”
A female clerk greeted Min-hyeok and A-reum with a bright smile as they walked in.
“Yes, I’d like to look at some clothes for my sister.”
“Take your time browsing~ We’ve got lots of pretty pieces from this summer’s new arrivals~”
They examined things one by one, asking the clerk questions and choosing carefully. Eventually Min-hyeok found a white blouse.
“This one looks good.”
“Ah~ that one? It’s really popular with women in their twenties right now~! As you can see, it has a subtle heart-neck design that follows the collarbone line, so it gives off this fresh, youthful vibe~ And your sister is already so pretty, with such clear eyes—this kind of design will look wonderful on her~”
“What do you think, Noona? Nice, right?”
“It’ll definitely suit her~”
A-reum studied it quietly, then nodded.
“I think we should look for a skirt to go with it too… Anything you’d recommend?”
“If you’re looking for a skirt recommendation~ pairing it with this check-patterned mini skirt with a pleated line would give it a bright, fresh feel that works really well together~ What do you think? I think it would look amazing on her~~”
Held up against the heart-neck blouse, the combination really did look crisp and youthful. Even Min-hyeok thought it would suit his sister perfectly.
“Doesn’t it look even better like this, Noona?”
A-reum gazed at it for a moment, then nodded.
“Can she try these on…? I think we’ll buy them.”
“Of course~ What size are you?”
A-reum told them the size she usually wore. After listening to the rough description, the clerk brought back a size she judged would fit.
“Right this way, miss.”
She guided A-reum to the fitting room.
While his sister changed, Min-hyeok waited. And then, a short while later—
A-reum stepped out wearing the blouse and the pleated check mini skirt.
“Oh my~ It looks absolutely wonderful on you~!”
The clerk clasped her hands together with a little gasp of delight.
“Whoa…”
Min-hyeok was just as impressed. He’d never seen A-reum dressed in a style like this before. All he could do was stare in admiration.
“Min-hyeok… is it okay…?”
She asked shyly. He nodded hard.
“It’s perfect for you, Noona! The best—seriously the best! It looks freaking amazing~!”
“And I’m not just saying this because I work here—it really does suit you so well~! You’re so lovely~~”
At the clerk’s praise, A-reum’s cheeks flushed even deeper with embarrassment.
“We’ll take these.”
Min-hyeok’s mind was made up on the spot. These clothes were made for his sister.
“Wonderful~! Just change back out and I’ll wrap them up nicely for you.”
A-reum returned to the fitting room and changed back into her original pants and T-shirt. They took the heart-neck blouse and pleated check mini skirt, had them carefully wrapped, and put them in a shopping bag.
“Here. One payment, please.”
“One payment, coming right up~”
He paid cleanly in full with mobile pay. Altogether it came to about a hundred sixty thousand won.
“Hope business is good.”
“Thank you so much!”
Outside the store, Min-hyeok held out the shopping bag.
“Here, Noona. This one’s a gift for you.”
“Min-hyeok… is this okay…?”
“Of course it is~ You know how hard I’ve been working and saving. This much is no problem~!”
And that still wasn’t the end. He took her to a shoe store and bought a pair of low-heeled beige pumps to go with the outfit. Only then did they finish shopping, grab a simple lunch at the first-floor food court, and leave the department store.
On the way home, both Min-hyeok and A-reum had shopping bags hanging from their hands.
The next day.
Min-hyeok waited in the larger bedroom. A moment later the door to the smaller room opened and A-reum stepped out.
“Oh~ You look beautiful!”
She had changed into the clothes they’d bought yesterday. The white heart-neck blouse that subtly showed her collarbones, the pleated check mini skirt that just brushed her thighs—both suited her perfectly.
“Noona, you look so pretty~!!!”
Min-hyeok’s exclamation made A-reum bashful. On top of that, her face had been done up with light, simple makeup.
It wasn’t as if Min-hyeok had any talent for makeup himself. Before she washed up and changed, he had taken her to the neighborhood beauty salon. They’d gotten her hair trimmed fresh and clean, and he’d asked the stylist to do her makeup as well.
“You look really gorgeous today, Noona… Seong-min hyung’s definitely going to be shocked, don’t you think?”
At the mention of Seong-min, A-reum’s cheeks flushed even shyer.
They left the house right on time.
“Noona, you packed the gift for Seong-min hyung, right?”
A-reum held up her shopping bag.
“I’ve got mine too. Good. Let’s head to the meeting spot.”
Min-hyeok and A-reum went out to the road, caught a taxi, and rode toward Gangnam Station.
“Thanks~”
After paying the fare and getting out with his sister, Min-hyeok walked toward the meeting place. A glance at the time showed it was already almost ten.
“Hope hyung isn’t there first…”
Fortunately, when they reached the spot in front of the famous bakery, Seong-min was nowhere in sight.
“We got here first, Noona.”
“…Yeah…”
“He’ll be here soon.”
So Min-hyeok waited with A-reum.
“Nervous?”
He asked the sister standing beside him. A-reum didn’t answer out loud, but she gave a tiny nod.
“It’s okay, Noona… Anyone can see how pretty you look today. So don’t be nervous—just be brave.”
A-reum nodded again.
How much time passed after that?
“Hyung~!”
There he was—Seong-min walking toward them.
“Sorry about that. Traffic was a little rough.”
“No worries. We only got here right around ten ourselves. And I brought Noona with me.”
“It’s been a while~ A-reum noo—”
Seong-min turned to greet her—and his eyes went wide.
He had been caught completely off guard by A-reum’s fresh, beautifully dressed-up appearance.