The Thrill of Shopping and Heart-Pounding Moments
A stomach so empty that lunch sounded perfect, yet a problem loomed.
The rustle of shopping bags filled the air.
Even with the maximum compression, the volume was considerable. I ended up with three bags, while Sia had two.
I could carry them dangling without issue, but Sia seemed reluctant to lug them around.
"Sia, want me to take one?"
"Huh? It's fine!"
"They're heavy. Then I'll take one. That way we split the weight two and two."
"…No. If you don't want to carry the heavy ones, let's go into a restaurant."
"…Yeah."
We failed.
I set off to find the fastest restaurant Sia would enjoy.
Today's phone app felt sluggish.
I opened the map app quickly, scanned nearby options, and spotted a promising place.
"Sia, I found a good spot. Want to go?"
"Sure!"
Sia agreed, and we headed for the place I found.
The restaurant was on the second floor, so climbing felt a bit inconvenient, but the views of the city were worth it.
We took a seat by the window to enjoy the scenery.
"So, what kind of restaurant is this? It looks like a Western place."
"Yeah, a pasta shop."
The place I found was a pasta restaurant.
We were hunting for a normal, reliable eatery, and this one caught my eye.
Even though it was rushed, the interior was surprisingly stylish, which felt like a lucky break.
I unfolded the menu on the table. As expected for a pasta place, pasta was the star, with steaks and pizza as well.
"Sia, what do you want to eat?"
"Hmm… I'll have this… Tumbada pasta."
"Got it. I'll go for rosé pasta and… a simple Gorgonzola pizza, how's that?"
"Sounds good."
We placed our orders and sat for a while, chatting casually.
"Sia, how will you get to school?"
"I'm not sure… it's a bit tricky."
Normally the bus would get me there in ten minutes, but walking would take over twenty.
Since school started at nine, the time wasn't extremely tight, but I kept wondering if we'd always be able to go together.
"Hmm… What about we try it together first and adjust based on the situation?"
"Yeah, so we'll walk together to school first?"
"Yeah, first we need to get familiar with the route."
"That's fair."
"…Anyway, since we're in the same class, I'm not really worried."
"…Thanks for saying that."
"Hehe, no big deal."
Meanwhile.
"Your order is ready."
Our food arrived in stages.
Ordering pizza also included free drinks, so there was no worry about feeling heavy.
We ate for a while. When I was about halfway through, Sia suddenly froze.
"Whoa… it's getting heavy…"
"Hmm…"
My words made Sia blink lazily.
"Ah…"
"…Is it mine?"
"Yeah."
Sia was asking for my pasta.
I normally ate fast, but I slowed down to match Sia's pace, so my pasta had quite a bit left.
"Give it to me quick."
I couldn't refuse Sia's request and reached for a plate to portion the spaghetti.
"Feed it to me yourself."
"Right now…?"
"Yeah…"
Sia wanted me to feed her the pasta.
I glanced around the restaurant.
Even on a weekday lunch, there were quite a few customers, and the staff were busy too.
I looked back at Sia.
"…"
She stared at me with a pleading expression.
I had no choice. I rolled a bit of spaghetti onto my fork and held it to her lips.
"Here…"
"Mmm!"
Sia took it with a sweet smile.
She ate it happily, and I started eating again.
Of course, I didn't want Sia to notice how warm my face was.
We left some food behind, but we left satisfied and full.
As expected, I paid.
"Next time I'll treat."
"It's okay. Mom already said it's fine to use freely."
"Still…"
"Don't worry."
"Yeah…"
When we left the restaurant, Sia and I looked at each other.
"So, what do we do now…?"
"Yeah… We still have thirty minutes left…"
We were at a loss for how to spend the remaining time.
The ambiguous leftover time made us hesitate.
We could take the bus home, but there was no need to rush. And we couldn't eat more since we were already full.
Walking around empty-handed with all the bags felt wrong too.
Just as I thought about going to an internet cafe or manga café, a massive building came into view.
The entire building was a clothing store.
I remembered Mom mentioning she wanted to pick up some casual clothes, so I asked Sia if she wanted to look around.
"Sure!"
Sia agreed, and we went inside.
Since the whole building was a store, there were plenty of staff and customers.
We stepped in casually, and one staff member came over.
"Would you like to leave your bags here for a moment?"
Sia and I smiled gratefully and handed them over.
With our hands free, we happily started exploring the store.
Since it was still winter, everything was winter clothing.
"Hmm… What should I buy…?"
We browsed slowly, but there wasn't much that stood out.
After all, I'd be wearing thick padding anyway, so fashion wasn't a big concern.
Plus, most of the first floor was just padding, so it was hard to decide.
We already had three in the closet at home.
"Should we check the other floors too?"
"Sure!"
We climbed the stairs to the second floor, which sold underwear.
It was divided into men's and women's sections, so I asked Sia if she wanted to look separately.
"I don't need to, but I'll come with you."
We walked past a rack of thermal underwear.
It said it kept you warm, but I thought it seemed weird and passed without giving it much thought.
We finally reached the third floor where real clothes were displayed.
Sweaters and hoodies filled the racks, so I was busy scanning for something that caught my eye.
"Hey, want me to recommend some outfits for you?"
"For me?"
"Yeah, it would be better that way, right?"
"…That does make sense…"
Sia's idea was great.
I wasn't great at choosing clothes, but Sia was, so I was excited.
The worry fell on Sia.
Her fashion sense was practically zero, so she might not find anything that suited me.
"Okay, let's start!"
We set aside my worries and began choosing outfits for each other.
Sia went far away and picked my clothes.
Even from a distance, her face looked very serious.
To avoid disappointing her, I chose a brownish turtle neck sweater and brown pants.
Sia picked black slacks and a white long-sleeve shirt for me.
"Hmm… Doesn't it look a bit too plain?"
"It suits an adult like Siwoo, so it looks mature."
"…Really?"
"Yeah!"
Sia's logic made sense, so I had nothing more to say.
In the meantime, Sia examined the clothes I picked.
"Why? Don't you like them?"
"It's not that… I think there's a nicer way to style it… just wait a second."
"Ah… yeah."
I stood there blankly until Sia came back.
"Done."
Sia called me over and I turned around, speechless.
The sweater I picked stayed the same, but I was wearing a skirt instead of the pants.
It was a deep brown checkered outfit, and it looked incredibly beautiful.
Only I felt that way, but the stares from people on the same floor suddenly turned our way.
"…How is it?"
Sia asked carefully.
"It's… incredibly beautiful."
I could only say it was pretty.
My lack of vocabulary was painful.
"I'll buy it."
"No, it's fine."
"No way. Mom asked you to get clothes, so I have to."
"Ah… yeah… I should thank Mom."
We bought the clothes Sia and I chose using Mom's card.
While paying, I noticed something strange. The pants I picked weren't the ones; it was the skirt Sia had brought.
But I said nothing and handed Sia her shopping bag.
"Here, gift."
"Hehe, thank you."
"We spent thirty minutes already, so we should hurry."
"Whoa! Time's already up? Let's go fast!"
That day, after recovering Sia's school uniform from the lost-and-found, we headed straight home.
Today had been… incredibly… a heart-risking day.
******
When Lee Sia returned home, she went straight to her room.
She opened the shopping bags and pulled out the clothes. The first item was the sweater Park Siwoo had chosen.
"Hehe…"
Lee Sia jumped onto the bed holding Siwoo's sweater.
She hugged it tightly and rolled around on the bed.
"Siwoo's… chosen… outfit…"
Lee Sia's face, as she hugged the sweater on the bed, was bright red like paprika, but no one saw it.