It's my husband.
After changing into the new outfit and neatly folding the rest of the clothes, I pulled back the curtain and called out to Yoo Seol-ah.
"Got anything to carry these clothes in?"
"I picked some up earlier. Here."
Yoo Seol-ah handed me a paper bag along with several plastic packs—the kind stores use for packaging. When did she even grab these?
Slipping the clothes one by one into the plastic packs and then into the paper bag finished the job. The bag had Roucha printed on it in white letters. It was on the sign outside too, so that must be the store name.
"Know what this name means?"
"I asked about it before. It's just 'clothes.' Heard it from unnie."
"What?"
"That's what it means—clothes."
She pointed at the letters on the bag. A clothing store literally named "Clothes"? I could feel the owner's quirky sense and pure dedication to fashion in that naming choice.
Catching my bemused expression, Yoo Seol-ah let out a wry little laugh.
"I looked it up, and yeah, it's Greek for clothes. Unnie's always naming stuff like that, but it kinda grows on you after a while..."
"I like it. Even better knowing what it means."
It's the kind of thing you chuckle at once you know, and without knowing, the vibe's not bad at all.
A moment later, her gaze started from my face and scanned me head to toe. Her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile—looks like she approved.
"Looks good?"
"Yeah. Rolled-up shirt sleeves are in these days anyway, and you're not big on fussy stuff, right?"
"...A bit."
We knew each other's quirks inside out, so no need to spell it out. She was eyeing me partly for her own tastes, but also with that serious fashion enthusiast gaze mixed in.
"The vest covers it anyway, and it's not too casual, so tuck the shirt in or not—whatever you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but today... I'd recommend tucking it in."
"Recommendation accepted."
I turned back to the mirror, tucking the shirt into my pants just enough, and Yoo Seol-ah stepped closer to neaten it up. With familiar hands, she smoothed the back first, then the front—practically hugging me while checking the lines in the mirror. I felt that soft swell against my waist, but her intentions were pure, so I held back any reaction as best I could.
Maybe because it was a dress shirt, it felt just like a wife fixing her husband's outfit before work.
Once she was done, she stepped to my side, positioning herself right next to me in front of the mirror. A perfect pair stared back—a guy and a girl side by side. Looking closely at our outfits, I instantly got why she'd suggested tucking in the shirt. Her top and bottom were a dress style, so if my shirt hung out under the vest, the couple-look vibe would weaken a bit.
Of course, even now it was just subtle enough to make you wonder, 'Is that... a couple outfit?' Plenty of deniability if anyone asked.
But these days, hardly anyone rocks obvious matching gear. This "insiders only" level was perfect.
"...Heh..."
Yoo Seol-ah couldn't hide her grin at our reflection either, beaming ear to ear. She tried covering it by pretending to fix her bangs, but too late.
...She's really cute today. Almost seriously so. Hard to believe this is the same Shara who was a human weapon just months ago. She gave off total freshman vibes now. Sure, her looks were far from ordinary, and if not for the mana pulsing near her heart, she'd seem like any normal girl.
After a bit, she finally schooled her expression back to normal.
"...All dressed? Let's go pay."
Grabbing the bag, we headed back out to the shop floor. As we both pulled out our cards, the owner looked at us standing together with a warm, pleased gaze.
"Seol-ah always gets 10% off, but today, special occasion—extra 20% event discount."
"We're good with that, but unnie, you're the owner... you sure about giving discounts like this?"
"Seol-ah looks so happy, so it's fine. And you know offline sales are just a hobby anyway."
"...Thanks. We'll wear 'em well."
"That'll be 104,300 won and 60,900 won."
This was a steal. Around 30,000 won per piece? Bargain city compared to today's prices.
As we tried handing over cards to pay for each other's clothes, the owner said in a playful tone,
"Picking outfits for each other, buying them too... Looks like Seol-ah went for couple coords on purpose. Not really boyfriend?"
"Not really..."
"...Then what, husband?"
"That's right."
The owner's face froze at Yoo Seol-ah's deadpan reply. Eyes wide, mouth agape. And yeah, I was probably mirroring her shock.
Never expected her to say it out loud.
"I'm kidding. Why so surprised..."
Yoo Seol-ah, the only one whose color hadn't changed much, just chuckled it off.
"...You scared me. Thought you two sped things up or something."
"We don't do that!"
...Though a tiny pang of conscience hit at denying it. We'd married first, slept together twice already, and now we were on a date. Speeding? More like we'd reversed course. Yeah, not speeding then. Contraception was solid with her magic anyway.
"Alright, then. Time sometime? Let's grab a meal—the three of us. For real this time. Hubby okay with that?"
Her teasing lilt was infectious; even without knowing Yoo Seol-ah well, she came off as genuinely likable.
"Sounds good to me."
"Cool, we'll sync schedules later."
"Yeah, I'm curious why Seol-ah's so smitten anyway."
"...It's not that bad!"
Denying it that much implied it was a little true, right? The owner smirked, picking up on it, and gave her final send-off.
"Got it. Come back anytime. Even solo, hubby gets discount—visit often."
"Will do. Thanks."
With that, we left the store. It wasn't long, but we'd scored big: multiple cute Yoo Seol-ah moments, a good connection with her family, and cheap new clothes. One stone, three birds didn't even cover it.
Outside, I walked beside her, destination unknown. I asked, but she hadn't planned ahead.
"Where to now?"
"High school friends spots... Cafe's fine, or board game cafe, comic cafe? Something like that."
"Comic cafe? What would we even read there?"
"...Binge?"
We already lived the otaku life plenty, so best skip. She pondered more, then added,
"Board games aren't bad... Escape room maybe?"
I'd done escape rooms a few times in middle/high school with friends—fun enough, if pricey.
But,
"Think it'd be fun now? Escape rooms."
"Huh?"
"We've cleared stuff dozens of times harder."
"Oh..."
"With combat."
"......"
She sighed weakly, rubbing her temple. Escape rooms thrived on thrills, puzzles, and themed scares—but we'd outleveled that. Unforeseen side effect.
"...We'll eat and drink later, right?"
"Nothing else planned, so I'm free."
"Then we need something for an hour or two..."
After a moment's thought, she left it to me.
"Cafe or board games—pick one."
"Board games?"
"Yeah, that works better for me too."
With her competitive streak, it fit. We could chat over drinks later.
Near the department store in a bustling area, three board game cafes caught my eye. We picked one with solid reviews and went in, starting with mandatory drinks.
"What're you having?"
"Peach iced tea."
"Same."
"Copycat?"
"......"
Where'd that cute Yoo Seol-ah go? Competition mode flipped her back to smack-talk central.
"Iced tea's cheapest. Not craving coffee anyway."
"...Fine. I'll allow it."
Part of me wanted to flick her forehead... We ordered via panel, then in the downtime, I asked what'd been bugging me.
"Your family's all older sisters?"
"Among the ones I'm close to, yeah—I'm the maknae. All unnies and oppa. I want a dongsaeng... especially a little sister."
Figures she seemed comfy being doted on earlier.
But as someone with a sister, wanting one was intriguing.
"Why a little sister?"
"They're cute? Fun to hang out with."
True—sisters vs. siblings differed. Girls usually bonded tighter.
"My little sis would love you."
"Sia, right? Why?"
"She goes nuts for pretty people. Super outgoing, unlike me."
Instant scream, then SNS handle demand—I could picture it with their personalities.
But Yoo Seol-ah had her head down.
"What's up?"
"......Don't you dare say that stuff to anyone else..."
"......"
Her flushed face explained it as she mumbled. Old new-employee party memories flashed, sending a shiver I barely hid.
"...But yeah, I'd love to meet your sister sometime."
She smiled despite it all—not mad, at least. Honest or not...