Chapter 47
Thinking back on pervert countermeasures, it wasn't just the apron—she'd shown a subtle fondness when I happened to wear a matching rashguard set too. Back then, we weren't even a couple, and she'd insisted it had nothing to do with couple matching. Not sure if it was the excitement of our first date making her more honest, but the unleashed Yoo Seol-ah's destructive power was no joke.
Watching her grab every single outfit she'd picked out for me, I looped back to the women's section and snagged the hoodie and pants I'd eyed earlier before heading to the counter.
But holding each other's clothes like this—doesn't it make denying we're a real couple even harder?
The owner glanced back and forth between the clothes and our faces, then smirked a little. "Whoa... you two are in that sweet phase. Even I'm getting a bit heated over here."
"...Ring us up, please."
The owner fanned herself dramatically with her hand, but Yoo Seol-ah didn't even bother clapping back anymore, just demanded the checkout.
Wait, are we paying for each other? Or should we each cover our own?
"Seol-ah, isn't that a bit cold?... Anyway, how should we settle this? Together? Or split it?"
"Everything together on this card, please."
"Hey, hold up."
She whipped out her card so naturally that I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back a bit. She turned to me with genuine confusion.
"Why?"
"No, why are you paying for everything?"
"You don't seem like the type who buys clothes often. Right?"
"That's true, but..."
"I dragged you here. And how much money does a college student even have?"
She was a college student too, saying stuff like that? Sure, Yoo Seol-ah was probably raking in more than the average working adult under her Yuki-nyang name by now, but I'd been doing part-time gigs since way before I hit twenty, so I had more financial breathing room than your typical uni kid.
"I hardly ever spend money, so I should use it on stuff like this."
"......"
Seeing her hesitate, I just turned to the owner. "Separate checks, please."
"Okay, these three items come to 149,000 won, and these two are 87,000 won. How would you like to handle it?"
The owner beamed like she was having the time of her life quoting the prices.
Cheaper than I'd expected. Mine totaled three pieces, so a bit pricier, but nothing burdensome.
"With the Seol-ah special discount and a bonus for bringing a guy in for the first time, you two figure it out and let me know~"
She vanished into the back with those parting words. Figures—as the owner, not some part-timer, she could slap on discounts at will. Perks of shopping at a friend's place.
Yoo Seol-ah spoke up in a tone that sounded oddly disappointed. "...Fine, then I'll just buy yours."
She was this insistent on paying—must mean she really wanted to get me a gift or something.
"Got it. But the price difference is almost double. You cool with that?"
I didn't plan to refuse, but it nagged at me a little. After a moment's thought, she answered with a faintly embarrassed look.
"......I don't mind. If you're so set on it, then change into it right now..."
"...Here?"
I'd scoped the place out earlier and hadn't spotted a fitting room, so I pointed at the floor in mild panic. She looked way more flustered than I did.
"No...! Do you think I'm crazy enough to tell you to strip here? There's a fitting room in the back..."
"Oh."
I'd thought she meant outdoors or something. Anyway, her telling me to change right now—and just me—meant she was dead serious about the couple look.
These outfits matched her current coord perfectly, so swapping now would complete the set. She was buying me three pieces; the least I could do was that much.
The owner reemerged shortly after, arms full of shopping bags. "Unnie, mind if I use the fitting room?"
"Go wild. Try everything on. Regulars aside, most folks don't even know it exists anyway."
If people didn't know about the fitting room, what was the point? Curiosity piqued with a hint of teasing intent, I piped up.
"I had no idea there was one."
"Online's our main gig, so this is more of a hobby spot. Ended up like this for various reasons. Business is booming anyway."
"Ah, gotcha..."
"Plus, the mirrors out front—with the lighting—make you look way better than the ones in the fitting room. Folks buy without trying on more often, and it sells."
Expert insight—fascinating. I rarely tried on anything but outerwear, so I'd never given fitting rooms much thought.
She opened a door behind the counter and pointed inside. As I headed back, Yoo Seol-ah followed and shut the door.
Wait, I was the only one changing—why come in? I shot her a dubious look, and she blurted out rapid-fire.
"There's a seat inside, that's why!... Not like I'm going into the actual fitting room, so don't get any weird ideas..."
"...You're the one who seems to have weird ideas."
"I don't!? Hurry up and change already..."
There was indeed a sofa in the back space. I'd just wondered why she came in—no dirty thoughts. Her overreaction at my mere stare? She was projecting her own imagination, foot in mouth.
Considering Yoo Seol-ah's laundry list of sexual hang-ups, totally plausible. Though doing anything in a non-soundproof fitting room was absurd anyway.
She settled on the sofa with a slight blush, and I grabbed the clothes and ducked into the fitting room at the end.
Didn't take up store space, so it felt one or two sizes bigger than your standard one. I hung my outerwear on the rack and started with the pants.
Black color aside, they looked just like my old school uniform pants at a glance. But trying them on, no restriction in movement like she'd said.
Even if slacks were dress pants tweaked for mobility, they never felt like gym wear. These? I could legit run in them.
As I stripped off my top to swap the shirt, her voice came from outside. "Tried it on? How's it look?"
"Pants are on. Doing the top now."
Even guys take time changing—why ask so soon? Right on cue, the curtain flew open, and Yoo Seol-ah barged in.
Hold up—topless here. And she'd said she wouldn't come in.
The door was shut, but I whispered just in case. "Didn't you say with your own mouth you wouldn't come in?"
"...Slipped."
What kinda nonsense? She knew it was bullshit—no acting tone even.
"What are you, the male lead from some romcom ten years ago?"
It was like she expected me to yelp and freak out. No wonder that tripping-into-the-changing-room trope vanished from modern dramas. Zero plausibility.
She was straight-up ogling my torso, even swallowing hard. Knew she was a perv, but no shame left now?
"Slipping was a joke. Just came to check if it suits you..."
"Why now, though?"
"Well... that..."
Absurd. I snatched my discarded T-shirt off the floor and slapped it over her face.
"Guh..."
She flinched a bit, but there was this weird pause before she pulled it down. No way she sniffed it, right? Chilly weather—no real scent anyway.
But with Yoo Seol-ah, it kinda fit her image lately. Her rep had tanked hard.
"Total perv, huh?"
"So what!... You're one too. Thigh fetish and all..."
"Not really a fetish."
Seriously not. Butt fetish, maybe. But guys all clock butts similarly—no fetish there; too average.
"Then what? The clothes I picked fit perfectly..."
"Just wanna see you in them. Anyone else wearing 'em? Nothing. For real."
For it to be a fetish, thighs should've grabbed my eye no matter who. So, definitely not. But saying it out loud? Realized too late—I'd basically admitted you were my fetish to defend myself.
"...Eek..."
Her ears went red first, then she bolted without a word, yanking the curtain shut.
...Mission: pervert purge—success, somehow.
I calmly slipped on the white dress shirt, then the gray vest, and checked the mirror. No surprise from someone with real fashion sense—the whole look harmonized perfectly.
But did Yoo Seol-ah have an abs fetish? Past and present, whenever my stomach showed, her eyes stuck like glue.
Made sense with some definition there. Or maybe she just couldn't shake those old memories.