Chapter 20
Chapter 20
After checking the price tags on other clothes, I couldn't help but be surprised to find that while some were cheaper than the one I'd just seen, there were also more expensive ones.
Of course, as someone who had worn luxury goods before, I knew that a lot was included in that price.
Especially with luxury items, perhaps the most important thing is the history that matches the name?
The problem here is...
I might know brands for things like watches and cars inside out, but I have no idea what makes a good children's clothing brand.
I tried searching online to check that.
[My Precious Child, If You're Not Going to Dress Them in Luxury Nowadays, At Least Go for the Cheapest!]
This kind of article pops up.
Who is that provoking, who are you taunting?
Is it saying that if you don't have money, you should just dress them in cheap stuff?
'I know now how stupid it is to fall for such a provocation.'
I was a proper adult now.
So what I'm doing now is...
"Since I don't know which brand is which, I'll just buy the expensive ones unconditionally."
"Oong!"
"This is what they call FLEX, ppeul-leuk-seu."
"Ppeu-reuk-seu~!"
...I'm knowingly doing it.
It's better than doing it without knowledge, right?
[Are you really okay with that?]
"This is who I am."
I, Kim Hyun-woo.
Once I made up my mind, I had to go for it to feel at ease—that was my simple personality.
[Children's Clothing Section (Girls)/River/Chil-jji/Stern Kids]
So Miho and I moved to a section that looked expensive at a glance. I thought about calling a sales clerk but stopped, because all the clerks waiting in the section had already been summoned by mothers who oozed elegance.
'Well, it can't be helped.'
If I were a clerk here, I'd also pour all my effort into the mothers who arrived wearing luxury clothes from the start.
I didn't think they'd show any courtesy to a beggar-like mother-and-daughter pair who came in just a man's t-shirt and pink slippers.
And...
"Try this on, and that looks good too. Try that one as well."
"Okay, Mom."
...I'd only heard about it, but this was my first time seeing it in person.
There were more than one or two people who tried on clothes left and right and just tossed them aside. Well, the department store staff and clerks were hired to clean up after all.
But seeing someone do that to the point that even an onlooker feels drained...
'If they just leave like that after making that mess, that would be a real legend.'
While muttering that to myself, I sharply looked around and scouted for clothes that would suit Miho.
Then my eyes landed on a really nice light pink sweatshirt and some cargo pants that looked comfortable to move in.
The moment I saw them, I thought, 'These will suit Miho perfectly.'
[399,000 Won]
[171,950 Won]
The price was really staggering, but honestly, I also thought it was good enough that the price wasn't a waste at all.
Especially when I touched the fabric myself and checked the finishing and other details.
I knew well enough that luxury goods weren't luxury for nothing, and even if there was some price inflation, they weren't expensive for no reason.
"Hey, this one..."
That was when.
"Why is this so expensive? I mean, children's clothes costing 500,000 won?! Are you looking down on customers too much?!"
「Flinch!」
I kind of thought the same, but since the word 'expensive' kept coming up around us, it seemed to have reached Miho's ears too.
[Besides, elves have sharper and more sensitive hearing than humans.]
"Hyunu, is this ex-pen-sive?"
"It is expensive."
"......How much?"
"Enough to easily buy 20 pizzas like the one you ate today?"
"......!"
Knowing she wouldn't understand if I just told her the amount, I compared it to pizza, and Miho's eyes grew wide as saucers.
Then she placed her cute little hand on the back of my hand, pressed down, and spoke in a voice more serious than ever.
"Miho is..."
Miho is?
"...She wants 20 more pizzas!"
This little pig.
Is eating always your top priority?
"......."
I stared blankly at Miho, who was still in just a t-shirt and slippers. She looked pretty because the base was so good, but still, I couldn't deny she looked like a beggar.
"Pizza is pizza, clothes are clothes. And hey you, I'm not buying this for your sake."
"Huh?"
"I'm buying it for my own sake. Excuse me!"
"......."
Miho stared at me blankly.
I forced myself to ignore that gaze and called the clerk who hadn't come even after I called.
"Excuse me!"
"......Just a moment!"
Hearing a reply asking me to wait a moment from somewhere, I quietly shut my mouth, holding two hangers in my hands, and waited obediently.
But even after a few minutes, there was no news.
'I'm really about to curse.'
How much am I supposed to understand?
Still, I thought I was showing patience with my broad tolerance, but isn't this a bit too much?
"Hoo, I'm really drained. Completely drained."
I let out a small sigh and decided to look at a few more outfits while I was waiting anyway. I wasn't just going to buy one set.
At least three sets.
And after buying clothes, I also needed to buy children's underwear. But I was already losing energy.
The size seemed about right.
"A red check pattern jacket, this is nice too. Skirts are okay, but seeing how you are, skirts might be a bit much. Let's buy two more pairs of pants."
"Miho, it's really okay..."
After a while, after we picked out a few more clothes and piled them up beside us, the clerk saw that and finally came over to us.
Wow, I thought it was finally my turn.
"How can you rummage through the clothes like that when you're not even going to buy them?!"
At that moment, I almost swung a fist that I had never swung in my life—and not at a man, but at a woman.
What hurt and upset me more was that Miho was seeing this.
I was worried she might be shocked or frightened.
Because she was such a fragile child that even being surrounded by people turned her face pale and made her tremble like an aspen leaf.
But she wasn't as weak as I thought.
"You said you'd buy it!"
"......!"
"Hyunu, Hyunu said he'd flex it all, he said so! Ppeu-rek-seu! You don't know anything, hueoeeeong, hueong...!"
Sometimes a child can be more mature than an adult.
This was a bit like that.
The child I thought was only fragile suddenly seemed so mature, and it made my anger subside and a chuckle escape me without realizing.
She wasn't completely clueless just because she was young.
"I understand you're flustered and sensitive, but as a section staff member, is it okay to say things that could offend someone without knowing anything?"
"That is..."
"Please guide us to the fitting room first. It looks like a spot is empty now. I'll definitely buy the clothes unless I really dislike them, so don't worry too much."
"......Yes."
At my words, the clerk silently bowed her head and led us to the fitting room.
There, besides this clerk, other clerks and other mother-daughter or mother-son duos who came to buy clothes were gathered in a crowd.
Under the stinging gazes, I handed Miho the clothes I had personally picked and said.
"Go change inside and come out."
"Okay! Got it!"
Click.
Miho, who had gone into the fitting room, called out to me.
"Hyunu, are you there?"
"I'm here."
"Yeah, hehe... I'm almost dressed!"
A moment later, Miho emerged from the fitting room, carefully poking her face out first, holding my t-shirt and boxer shorts in both hands.
At that moment, the surroundings became dead silent.
Seeing Miho, who was instead flustered by this, lower her head and not know what to do, I chuckled and placed my hand on her head.
"It suits you well."
"......!"
At that, Miho flinched and lifted her head, then gave the prettiest smile I had ever seen and nodded.
"Yes!"
They say the word 'Elf' means 'fairy'.
"I'll wear this one as is, so please ring up the rest including this. In one lump sum. Miho, what do you call this?"
At my question, Miho answered in a cheerful voice in front of everyone.
"Ppu-rek-cheu~!"
This child really was a fairy.
By the way...
「Bbeek bbeek!」
[Web Message]
From Strawberry Bank, Kim *-woo
2,090,450 Won Approved One-time Payment
05/31 11:41
Dotte Department Store Co., Ltd.
...It really is expensive, hahaha.
But I didn't feel it was a waste at all.
[Let's dress our children in luxury for the parents' satisfaction rather than the child's.]
I clearly understood the meaning of that phrase.
I vaguely felt like I understood why parents work so hard for their children. And how they can smile every time even after sacrificing so much for their child.
At the same time, I felt sorry to my parents.
Compared to Miho, I was a really disappointing child.
"Hyunu."
"Huh?"
"Then, Miho is wearing how many pizzas right now?"
"Well... about 100 pizzas?"
At my words, Miho jumped in place, then carefully stroked the clothes she was wearing and said.
"...Should I go return them?"
I kind of felt like doing that too, but.
"No, you look good in them, so it's fine."
"Okay!"
I guess I'll have to work harder from now on.
After that, I also stopped by the underwear section and finished buying Miho's underwear, and then my eyes caught a hospital located inside the mart.
[Dotte Children's Hospital]
There's even a hospital inside the department store—what a nice world.
[Reception]
"Welcome, what brings you here?"
"Uh... the child keeps speaking with a lisp, so I was wondering if we could get a check-up."
"You'll need to wait about 10 minutes, is that okay?"
"Yes."
Given that Miho could speak Korean, there was no reason for her to have a lisp. Yet the fact that she did meant there might be a problem, so it was necessary to get a check-up. If the test showed no issues, that was fine, and if there was a problem, I thought modern medicine could fix it.
"Miho-nim, please go to examination room 1."
"Yes."
I took Miho's hand and entered the examination room we were directed to.
"What brings you here?"
"The child keeps speaking with a lisp. I want to check if there's a problem, and if there is, I'd like to treat it."
"Okay, let's take a look inside your mouth."
「Flinch!」
When the doctor-nim reached out his hand, Miho flinched reflexively and grabbed my hand. Then, when I nodded, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth.
Meanwhile, the doctor-nim shone a light into Miho's mouth, examined here and there, and then his expression hardened.
"Hmm, this is..."
His expression was so serious that even I felt my breath catch.
"Could I borrow your ear for a moment?"
The doctor-nim requested that of me, as if he didn't want Miho to hear, and I cautiously nodded and approached him.
And what I heard was nothing short of shocking.
"...There is a large wound on her tongue. More precisely, marks from being bitten hard. Whether someone bit it or she bit it herself... If I had to choose one, probably..."
My expression hardened.
"She bit her own tongue."