A Strong Person Should Carry This
The moment we arrived at the department store, Are's hand still in mine, she excused herself to the restroom and left me waiting.
I stood there taking in the surroundings.
Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've set foot somewhere like this.
Sure, I'd tagged along on shopping trips before — as those bitches' personal pack mule — but our post had always been some backwater near the border zone. Even the nearest town only had a big-box supermarket. No department stores out there.
And of course, on the rare occasions I'd come into the city alone on leave, I'd never had any reason to walk into a place like this.
A department store was the kind of place a man rarely visited by himself. For someone who'd spent years as a soldier, it might as well have been another planet.
Glittering clothes and accessories on display in every direction. Perfume and cosmetics whose fragrance seemed to reach you even from a distance. For any woman who loved shopping for clothes, jewelry, and makeup, this place was nothing short of heaven.
For me, though — a man whose idea of shopping began and ended with groceries and daily necessities — it was an alien world that left me feeling thoroughly out of place.
Well… they call it a date, but a place like this still doesn't suit me. Still… having Are here does make it feel a little different…
A quiet flutter of anticipation rose in me — nothing like the dull drudgery of hauling bags for those women. Recognizing that feeling, I found myself nursing a faintly baseless confidence that maybe, just maybe, I could get through the rest of the day's schedule without looking bored out of my mind.
Then—
"Sorry. That took a little longer than expected."
Are returned with the same slightly curt expression she always wore. Looking at her, I offered a light smile.
"No, it's fine. Shall we head up, then?"
"Yes. Let's start with fall clothes."
Together we made our way upstairs.
From the second floor onward, women's apparel claimed more than eighty percent of the entire store. Are began browsing with that same impassive face — but I could see her eyes start to sparkle.
"This one…? Or maybe this…"
She held up a black blouse, deliberating. To my eye they looked more or less the same, but from her perspective there was apparently some enormous difference between them.
Then, still sorting through the clothes, she turned to me with a surprisingly serious tone.
"Jinhyun-ssi. Which one do you think looks better?"
"M-me? I really couldn't say… Wouldn't it just be whichever one feels more comfortable for you to wear?"
"Whichever feels comfortable for me… Then shall I try them on?"
"Yes, that sounds good. Just a moment, then…"
Since I honestly couldn't tell which was better, I'd offered the most practical advice I could. Are disappeared into a fitting room to change.
A short while later—
"How is it?"
"…"
Are stepped out in the black blouse and stood before me. The moment I saw her, my expression went blank.
I hadn't noticed it while she was just holding the garment, but the difference became unmistakable the second she put it on.
They always say clothes only shine on a good hanger… Turns out that wasn't just empty talk.
The blouse suited her so perfectly it almost hurt. I spoke from the heart.
"…You look beautiful. Really."
"…I-is that so? Thank you."
At the words I'd spoken without thinking, Are's face flushed red. Watching her, I felt a twinge of embarrassment myself.
Was I too blunt…? But… she really does look beautiful.
I couldn't tear my eyes away. Are hesitated for a moment under that gaze, then slipped back into the fitting room and came out in the white outfit she'd arrived in.
"Aren't you going to try anything else?"
"No… I think this is fine. I'll take this one. This is good."
She made the decision with surprising neatness. We continued browsing other clothes after that, and for some reason the same pattern repeated several more times.
Every time she changed, some new charm seemed to surface. She was already a beauty at her base — she could wear anything and make it look deliberate — and each time I found myself genuinely admiring her.
By the time that round of shopping was over, Are's hands were full of shopping bags packed tight with the clothes she'd bought.
"I think that's nearly everything I need for myself. Thank you for your help, Jinhyun-ssi."
"No… I barely did anything."
It wasn't false modesty. I really hadn't done much of anything. I'd just watched her try things on and said what I honestly felt.
The one who'd changed clothes, the one who'd bought them, and — most critically — the one currently carrying all of it was Are herself.
Even so, basic courtesy made me offer to take at least some of the bags. What she said in response was a masterpiece.
"It's fine. Things like this should be carried by a strong person. There aren't that many, and more importantly, they're my things — so I should be the one carrying them."
It was the first time I'd ever heard that line in all the years I'd gone shopping with hunters stronger than me.
And so Are finished buying her fall clothes, leaving me with a memory that stuck for an entirely different reason than usual. Looking at her, I asked carefully,
"So… is that everything, then? We still have a little time before dinner."
"No. There's one more thing I need to buy. Would you come with me?"
"Yes, of course."
I followed her, figuring she meant cosmetics or accessories. A short while later, we arrived at—
"Isn't this… the men's suit section?"
"Yes, it is. Since you've come all this way with me, shouldn't we get you a suit as well?"
"Ah… no, I'm fine, really—"
"Don't say that. Come along now. Consider it repayment for everything you've done for me. I'll buy it for you."
There was a firmness in her voice that made refusal impossible. Under ordinary circumstances I would have declined politely, but something about her presence carried the same irresistible force I felt from Suyeong noona.
Sisters really are sisters, huh…
And just like that, I was hauled off by Are to get fitted for a suit. Until now she'd been the one on the hanger. Now the roles reversed — I was the one being dressed, and she was the one doing the evaluating.
Unlike me, though, Are was no soft judge.
"Uh… how is it…?"
"Hmm… No. The color's too loud. Would you try this one instead?"
Where I'd been satisfied with anything she put on, Are's eye was exacting. Fabric quality, color, sheen, the finest differences in overall design — she pointed out every detail and put me through outfit after outfit.
One peculiar thing: the more clothes I changed into, the happier she seemed to become.
After a long stretch of that relay, when the number of suits I'd tried on started to feel like it was threatening the count of everything she'd bought for herself, a satisfied smile finally settled on Are's lips.
"Good. I think this is the one."
She nodded as she looked me over in the suit. A deep wave of relief washed through me at the knowledge that the grueling relay was finally over, and I turned to the mirror beside me.
Just as she'd said — even to my own eye, the suit suited me rather well. Studying my reflection, I found myself smiling faintly. Then Are stepped closer to my side.
"Thank you. I'll wear it well, Are-ssi."
"Yes. You absolutely must."
She looked at me with a warm, contented smile. At some point the curt expression that had clung to her face all day had vanished, and a bright smile of my own rose to match it.
Then—
"…Jinhyun… oppa?"
"?!"
An irritating voice snagged at my ear. For a moment I didn't turn toward it — I just kept looking at Are in front of me.
But right after that—
This time from directly beside me, that same grating voice slammed into my ear.
"Oppa… right? Jinhyun oppa!"
A voice that shattered the quiet happiness I'd been feeling just seconds before.
The voice of S-class hunter Na Jiseon.
A single word printed itself automatically across my mind.
Fuck…