Chapter 50
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50
The next place she led him to was a large department store in the middle of the city.
“Are we buying clothes as a gift?”
“Yes.”
When she answered, he looked at her. As always, she replied with an indifferent expression as she walked on.
Dokyun followed, recalling the clothes Eun-ah had worn up until now.
Loose-fitting, white-colored dresses.
They rarely deviated from that style.
He had assumed she was very interested in fashion, since every single piece looked expensive.
So it was all her doing.
Considering Eun-ah’s personality and her reluctance to go outside, it seemed more plausible that she was just wearing whatever clothes Eun-seol had gifted her.
Dokyun quickened his pace to match her stride and opened his mouth.
“Were the clothes Eun-ah wore your taste?”
“Not my taste, no.”
Eun-seol glanced at him as she spoke, then turned her gaze forward again.
“She tries not to wear them if they’re uncomfortable.”
Flinch.
Dokyun, who had been walking in step with her, came to a halt.
She tries not to wear them.
Those words painted a flesh-colored landscape in his mind.
As the thought continued, he could feel a heat rising in his gut.
As Dokyun stood frozen, Eun-seol stopped and turned toward him. Seeing his bizarre expression, she spoke, her face filled with contempt.
“You fucking animal.”
“Ahem…”
Her scathing words left him feeling sheepish.
Unsure how to respond, he scratched the back of his head. She sighed at the sight, then turned away again and muttered under her breath.
“Pace yourself. You’ll wear your bones out.”
Her tone suggested she knew everything that had happened with Eun-ah. Her words made him feel a sense of shame, but honestly, he had no excuse.
It was true they’d fallen into bed together the moment their eyes met.
Feeling needlessly embarrassed, Dokyun couldn’t answer her and simply followed behind, his lips sealed.
Even so, a thought ran through his mind.
So Eun-ah prefers being naked.
He quickly filed away the new information.
After walking for some time, Eun-seol arrived at a women’s clothing section and entered a store with familiar steps. A clerk immediately came to assist her, and she began to pick out clothes.
Dokyun stood a step back, yawning so wide his jaw could have split, and waited for her to finish her business.
The cheerful music echoing throughout the store was layered with the clerk’s sweet, explanatory tone, filling the space with sound.
“This piece just came in…”
Eun-seol, at the edge of Dokyun’s vision, gave a cursory nod to the explanation while carefully examining the clothes displayed before her.
What surprised him a little was her attitude toward the clerk.
It felt somewhat strange to see her speaking politely, asking questions with formal language, and expressing her gratitude.
Of course, using formal speech was normal, but since she had insisted on using informal speech with him, Dokyun had assumed she would be just as blunt with the clerk. He couldn’t hide his surprise at her behavior.
Then why does she treat me like that?
The thought suddenly popped into his head. Recalling her consistently condescending attitude toward him, he felt a surge of indignation and narrowed his eyes, glaring at her.
Having made her decision, she picked up an outfit, went to the counter to pay, and then turned to Dokyun as she came out.
“You pick one out, too.”
“Me?”
Dokyun pointed to himself at her sudden suggestion, and she gave a small nod in place of an answer.
In response, Dokyun scanned the store, his eyes sweeping over the displayed clothes.
Everywhere he looked, there was only women’s clothing.
“I don’t wear skirts.”
When Dokyun said this with a puzzled look, her face clouded over with contempt once more as she added an explanation.
“I meant for you to pick something for Go Eun-ah, not for yourself.”
“Ah.”
“Tsk, fucking moron.”
Her insults struck him right in the chest. Why did she have to curse him out? She could have just said that from the start.
At a loss for a comeback, Dokyun kept his mouth shut and slowly walked over to examine the displayed clothes.
Hmm…
Honestly, he had no idea what made for good clothing.
He had no interest in fashion, and until just five years ago, he had only ever worn clothes his mother bought for him, so he had no eye for it.
As he agonized over the choice, the clerk approached him and began her explanation in a sweet tone.
“Oh, my! Sir, this would look so good on you!”
The compliment came out of nowhere.
Dokyun felt a dry laugh escape him and replied curtly.
“On me?”
“Ah.”
The store clerk’s pupils trembled violently.
It seemed she had just blurted out a canned sales pitch, but this was a women’s clothing store, and he was a grown man whose large frame wouldn’t be outmatched anywhere.
“Uh…”
Her eyes darted back and forth.
Beads of sweat trickled down her face, her expression screaming distress. He let out a small laugh, and the clerk’s excuse came tumbling out.
“F-For your girlfriend!”
Girlfriend.
Is that what we look like?
Then again, it was a reasonable assumption for an adult man and woman to be seen together in a department store.
It wasn’t true, but he didn’t see the need to correct a stranger he’d never see again. Dokyun said nothing more and followed the clerk’s guidance, looking over the clothes.
After a process of elimination, two white dresses were laid out before him.
One was simple, accented only by a sky-blue ribbon. The other had a seemingly extravagant design with frills here and there.
Dokyun stared at the two dresses, groaning as he agonized over the decision. Finally, he raised a hand and pointed to the one with the sky-blue ribbon.
“Please wrap this one up.”
It was a choice born from the thought that something simple would be best.
As they say, simple is best, right?
Once Dokyun made his decision, the clerk’s face brightened as she took the dress away. Eun-seol, who had been standing far off, approached him.
“Did you pick one?”
“Yeah, well…”
I bought the most unassuming one I could find, so she probably won’t hate it.
As he nodded with that thought, she glanced at him before heading to the counter to pay.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
As he followed her out of the store, he saw the clerk in the distance give him a wink and a thumbs-up.
She might have seemed a little dim-witted, but she was clearly good at her job.
*
By the time they finished picking out the gifts and went outside, the sky was stained red, signaling the end of the day.
When Dokyun asked about the rest of their schedule, she said they would have dinner before heading back and led him to a hotel restaurant.
It seemed she wanted a proper meal. The restaurant she led him into had an atmosphere that made it clear at a glance that it wouldn’t be cheap.
“Aren’t you overdoing it a bit?”
Dokyun asked, leaning forward after being seated by the waiter.
He knew she was rich, but he couldn’t help but say something, thinking of the considerable amount of money she had spent today.
Hearing this, Eun-seol stared at Dokyun for a moment before answering his question in an indifferent tone.
“If my bank account could be dented by this much, I wouldn’t have dragged you out in the first place.”
“Wow.”
It was a statement brimming with refreshing confidence.
Her reply, which made it sound like this was nothing, once again reminded Dokyun that she was a person from a different world.
“Just enjoy it. Isn’t this your first time out in two weeks?”
Hearing her words, Dokyun finally began to understand her intentions, and a foolish sound escaped his lips.
“Ah.”
Did she bring me here for my sake?
Feeling sheepish, Dokyun quietly shut his mouth and gazed at her.
Her face, staring blankly out the window, was cloaked in its usual indifference.
She was truly an inscrutable person.
However, Dokyun started to think that she wasn’t just the dangerous person he had initially thought her to be.
Considering her attitude when she mentioned the other personalities in the garage before they left, how she had overlooked his behavior at the cafe, and the fact that she had gone out of her way to buy a gift for Eun-ah, it seemed she was a surprisingly soft-hearted person.
He didn’t know if today’s outing was a mere whim or a result of guilt for her part in his kidnapping, but he felt he should at least express his gratitude. Dokyun opened his mouth and offered a quiet thanks.
“Thank you.”
At his words, her gaze shifted to him.
“If you get it, then do your job properly.”
A blunt reply.
Finding her words somehow amusing, Dokyun let out a slight laugh. Her brow furrowed slightly, and the now-familiar rebuke followed.
“Don’t laugh. It’s annoying.”
“Whatever you say.”
At Dokyun’s snide remark, she furrowed her brow even more, then turned her head back to the window and stared blankly outside.
Though her attitude was high-handed, the way she let his playful behavior slide for the most part made her seem somewhat human.
A short while later, the prepared dishes began to arrive at the table one by one.
From the appetizer to the main course and dessert, the meal that followed wasn’t bad at all.
It was delicious. The reason it wasn’t “the best” was that Dokyun, who had spent his life pouring every penny he earned into novels, had never eaten such high-class cuisine before.
He couldn’t appreciate the subtle balance of flavors or the aroma of the spices in the dishes.
It just tastes expensive.
That was the extent of his impression.
After finishing the meal, they left the restaurant. Dokyun got behind the wheel again and, before leaving the garage, checked the car’s condition one more time.
Nothing.
There wasn’t a single scratch.
“Phew…”
A sigh of relief escaped him.
As an ordinary citizen, he couldn’t have handled the consequences of scratching that car.
After thoroughly inspecting the car, he exited the garage, lowered the shutter, and returned to the house. A sensation rose within him, and he let out a wry laugh.
Why the hell does it feel so comfortable?
An awkwardness washed over him at the realization that the first emotion he felt upon returning to the space that confined him was comfort.
The expression “a frog in boiling water” was a perfect fit.
He was just like that frog, forgetting his own predicament and growing so accustomed to this space that he felt a sense of welcome.
As he was lost in this strange sensation, her voice came from beside him.
“I’m showering first.”
Without waiting for a reply, she went into the shower.
Later, after Dokyun had changed his clothes and quickly washed up, he went to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. She, having finished her shower, entered the bedroom, saw him, and frowned.
A moment later, she approached the bed, lifted her leg, and kicked him in the side, pushing him to the corner.
“Gck…!”
“Move over. It’s cramped.”
As Dokyun curled up from the pain in his side, she watched him indifferently before lying down on the bed herself.
“You could have just said so.”
“Sorry. Your face just pissed me off.”
Throb.
A surge of anger welled up in Dokyun. He was about to snap back, And you think you’re so great?
But when he looked at her, the words died in his throat.
She was great.
Fuck, I’m so pathetic…
His eyes grew moist.
Why didn’t my parents make me more handsome?
As he wallowed in this absurd resentment, she spoke again.
“Are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.”
Silence followed.
After a moment, she spoke again, her voice low as she offered words of comfort.
“…Hang in there.”
He didn’t know what he was supposed to be hanging in there for, but he wished she knew that clumsy consolation only made things hurt more.
“I’ll manage.”
“Good, then.”
After her indifferent reply, she closed her eyes as if to sleep, then uttered one more thing to Dokyun.
“A different one will be out tomorrow.”
Flinch.
Dokyun’s body trembled at the sudden news, and she added an explanation.
“She wasn’t in a state to come out for a while. Some of the others are getting restless.”
“Ah.”
She had said that Eun-ah had been on the verge of being consumed by Go Eun-chae.
As he processed this, she continued.
“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to come out often from now on, so I have to let them blow off some steam when I can.”
Hearing this, a certain person came to Dokyun’s mind, and he asked a question.
“Is it the owner of that car?”
The owner of the sports car. The person who had made him tremble all day.
“You can find out for yourself.”
Her answer was neither a confirmation nor a denial. Dokyun tried to ask another question, but she closed her eyes again as if she wouldn’t take any more, and tried to sleep.
Would it kill you to just tell me?
Her sudden announcement filled him with anxiety.
Please, let it be a normal person…!
If another crazy bitch like Go Eun-chae popped out, he wasn’t confident he could handle it.
*
Dokyun stared at the woman before him.
She was dressed in a flamboyant, frilly red dress. Her arms were crossed, and she was looking at him with coy eyes.
After staring at him for a moment, she finally opened her small mouth and spoke.
“Princess coffee.”
His head began to throb.