A Fitting Choice
Mina and Seokjun examined the interior of the clothing store left behind on the street. The long racks used like partitions, with clothes lined up in rows, looked no different from any ordinary clothing shop. She lightly parted the garments hanging on the racks, checked them, and returned them to their places. With spring slowly approaching, most of the items had a spring or autumn feel to them.
"Hmm, nothing really stands out," she murmured. It had been a long time since Mina had gone shopping in person at a clothing store, so that might have been part of it, but she was struggling to find anything that truly suited her taste. If she were looking for the latest styles, she would have been better off heading to a department store or a specialty brand rather than a shop tucked away in an alley. She had always been the type to simply order something decent online when the mood struck.
At least a pair of jeans caught her eye. She pulled them off the rack. "How do these look?" Of course, she was showing them to Seokjun. She wondered if he would like them on her.
He studied the jeans she held up, then shook his head. "If you like them, it doesn't matter, but they're not the best choice. They're durable, sure, but there are more drawbacks than benefits, aren't there?"
"I suppose you're right," she said. The design matched her taste, but she had never particularly enjoyed wearing jeans. Some people claimed they were easy to move in, yet Mina had never been able to get comfortable with them. While they accentuated her legs nicely, the stiff, unyielding fabric clung too tightly to her body, making even slight movements awkward. She had lost count of how many times that had happened.
How embarrassing.
Moreover, the way people's eyes lingered on her made it worse. Most of the jeans she had bought ended up shoved to the back of her dresser drawers. The safest options were blouses and loose-fitting dresses. She was just turning her gaze toward those when a woman who seemed to be the shop owner approached, having finished helping another customer.
"Are you looking for something in particular?"
"I was just browsing to see what's here," Mina replied, caught off guard by the sudden question. She waved her hands awkwardly, and the woman leaned in with a rather sly smile.
"He's your boyfriend, isn't he?"
"B-boyfriend?"
The word rang in Mina's head like a bell. She had considered the possibility of misunderstandings, but—
Wait. Is it really a misunderstanding?
Confusion washed over her. They were on a date, but she had no idea how to describe whatever it was they had. This was the first time anything like this had happened to her. Even as she tried not to overthink it, her face grew warm.
"It would be a shame to keep him waiting while you're only in a suit, wouldn't it?"
The owner's words struck a chord. It was the same dilemma Mina faced every time she met Seokjun. She wanted to dress up properly for him, but showing up in nothing but a suit felt like a waste. That much, at least, wasn't a lie.
Still, there was one thing that bothered her. "This is equipment," she said, adjusting her suit with an awkward expression. She figured the woman would understand. It was a broad statement, but ever since hunters had become a prominent part of society, their equipment was something everyone recognized. If the woman knew hunters rarely removed their gear, she would surely drop the subject.
Instead, the woman's eyes lit up. "I had a feeling! You're really a hunter!"
"Huh? W-well, yes, but..." Mina was taken aback by the woman's bright, enthusiastic smile.
"There aren't many hunters who go around in suits. You're with Hanshin, aren't you?"
Mina knew Hanshin was a fairly well-known guild, but she hadn't expected to be recognized so easily. She had assumed the conversation would end quickly.
"How about this one and this one? They're popular combinations these days."
Before Mina could protest, the woman—who had apparently been watching her deliberate—began pulling out the blouse Mina had been eyeing along with several other pieces. Just as she was growing more flustered, Seokjun spoke.
"It's fine. Try them on."
"Seokjun?!"
When Mina turned to him, he continued, "Even among hunters, very few wear their full set of equipment at all times like you do, Mina."
"What? Then how..."
It was the first she had heard of it. She hadn't been wearing proper equipment for long, but in case of an emergency, wasn't it better to have everything on? At that moment, a sweet, woody scent washed over her, and she froze. Seokjun had stepped right up to her.
"Excuse me for a moment."
His large hand reached out, brushing lightly against her neck and shoulder. A shiver ran down her spine. She flinched, then noticed what he was holding and came back to her senses.
"Ah—why the tie?"
In his hand was her blue tie, held loosely so it wouldn't choke her.
"Even at Hanshin, they process monster materials to make things like this tie."
Only then did Mina understand what he meant.
"Even small accessories count as equipment, so..."
"Exactly. You're not breaking any company rules, and you can wear whatever clothes you like."
She was impressed for a moment, then worry crept in. "But if Hanshin finds out, won't that be a problem?" It felt like exploiting a loophole in the law for something shady.
Seokjun let out a short laugh at her concern. "I wondered why you always wore the suit. So that's the reason."
"W-what's wrong with that!"
His laughter felt like teasing, and her face flushed. His next words followed smoothly.
"Even at a guild like Hanshin that recommends uniforms, no one goes around wearing every piece of equipment at all times the way you do."
"What?"
If they required that, no one would have wanted to join Hanshin in the first place. The realization left her speechless.
"If that were the case, why would they bother engraving the Hanshin logo and name on something as small as a tie or tie pin?"
Seokjun removed her tie, folded it, and tucked it into his coat pocket like a handkerchief, letting just a hint of blue and silver peek out. Mina felt her ears grow hotter. His beige trench coat didn't exactly match the blue tie and silver pin, but she was certain it would look good if he were wearing a dress shirt instead.
"I'll wear it! I'll try it on, so give the tie back!!"
She raised her voice to hide her embarrassment, but Seokjun casually returned the tie and pin from his pocket.
"Oh my, oh my."
The shop owner, who had been watching them with both hands covering her face—though the gaps between her fingers made the gesture pointless—quickly composed herself when Mina asked where the fitting room was.
"Ah! This way, please."
Mina followed her into the narrow fitting room.
"I don't know what to do!"
She crouched down, pressing her burning face into her hands to cool it. She had thought she was following company rules diligently, never realizing she was the only one taking it so seriously.
"Ugh, I should just change first."
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she looked at the clothes the owner had handed her. There was the white blouse shirt she had been eyeing and a beige pleated skirt with crisp, eye-catching folds. But the most striking piece was—
"A... net?"
It was a see-through sweater made of thick white yarn knitted with large, open holes. The gaps were so big it barely qualified as a sweater at all. It looked more like someone had turned a fishing net into clothing. Still, she decided to try everything on. It was her first date in a long time, and she hadn't worn anything but her suit in ages.
She stripped down to her underwear, hung the clothes up, and was about to put on the blouse shirt when she realized the problem.
"Excuse me..."
"Is something wrong?"
Mina opened the fitting room door just a crack and called out. When the owner approached, she opened it a little wider and explained.
"I can't wear this..."
The woman peered through the gap, took one look at Mina's chest, and stared blankly as if she had just realized something. Mina felt her face grow even hotter instead of cooling down. The owner stepped inside, measured her with a tape, and shook her head.
"I'm sorry. We don't have anything in your size."
In the end, Mina had no choice but to change while leaving the blouse behind.
"D-does it look okay?"
"The suit suited you as well, but... hmm?"
She stepped out in the new outfit and asked Seokjun for his opinion. He nodded at first, then his gaze landed on her clothes with a puzzled look. Mina tensed without meaning to.
"You didn't wear the blouse?"
As expected, Seokjun had noticed the dress shirt peeking through the large gaps in the net-like see-through sweater. She had tucked the tie and pin into the front pocket the way he had shown her, and the shirt's shape was similar enough to the blouse that she had hoped it might pass unnoticed. Apparently not.
"Ah, well..."
Mina glanced around, confirmed that only the shop owner was there—busy packing her original clothes into a shopping bag—and hurried over to Seokjun, whispering near his ear.
"They said they didn't have anything in my size."
"Ah."
Seokjun looked down at her with sudden understanding. Mina quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
"W-where are you looking?!"
"Hmm. Nowhere in particular."
He turned his head as if he hadn't seen anything, but Mina knew he had clearly looked. She spent quite a bit of effort trying to cool her burning cheeks while avoiding his gaze until the shop owner brought her clothes over.