80. A Mysterious Pickup Order at S Wine Bar
80. A Mysterious Pickup Order at S Wine Bar
***
After making plans to meet Sua at 6 p.m., I set about getting ready to go out for the first time in a while.
I started pulling out the clothes I'd bought over time, one by one, spreading them across the bed.
"Do I even have anything worth wearing..."
I fiddled with several outfits, agonizing for nearly thirty minutes over what would look good, but I couldn't settle on anything I actually liked.
Setting the clothes down again, I let out a silly little laugh for no real reason.
I was just meeting Sua for drinks, so did I really need to get this dressed up?
Still, going out was going out. I lowered my standards, figuring I just needed to look presentable enough.
It took another ten minutes or so before I finally made up my mind.
"This one, I guess."
In the end, I picked a bright red blouse and black pants from the pile, then stuffed everything else back in as if I had no intention of changing my mind, tidying up the mess I'd made.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror and held the blouse and pants up against myself.
"..."
They suited me so perfectly there wasn't a single thing to nitpick, to the point I wondered why I'd even agonized over it.
It was funny that I thought that about my own appearance. But after nearly thirty minutes of deliberation, the outfit I'd grabbed at the end just to throw something on turned out to look that good, and that put me in a good mood for no particular reason.
There I was in the mirror.
The bright red blouse, the stark contrast of the snow-white silver hair falling to my waist, the mixed-race features that made it hard to believe I was Korean, and even my body proportions all looked balanced and fine.
"But why is my body such... garbage."
Serin's lips curled into a wry, incredulous smile.
All flash on the outside.
I barely gained weight, and my body shape hardly changed at all, but maybe because of that, my stamina improved painfully slowly.
I worked out every day, and even on exhausting days I made a point of trying to build up my endurance, so the thought of how agonizingly slowly my stamina was increasing had just popped into my head.
Anyway, once I decided the outfit was fine and set down the clothes I'd been holding, my eyes landed on the snow-white silver hair more than anything else.
"What am I supposed to do with this."
The thought came to me as I toyed with the white strands.
Right now, anyone could see I looked like Another World's "Rin."
Well, no—since Rin is me, of course I'd look similar. The problem was how to hide that when going out.
If I wore a mask and a hat, sure, I could cover my face, but that snow-white silver hair stood out way too much.
Then I picked up a white hair tie to change up my hairstyle.
Swish.
By now I tied my hair back with practiced ease. A few stray strands poked out and briefly got in my eyes, but they looked like a style choice in their own way.
A hairstyle commonly called a ponytail.
It was the only way I knew how to tie my hair, anyway.
Looking in the mirror, I tied it lower rather than too high, adjusting the height of the tail.
Then I pulled out some bangs to cover my forehead entirely.
The finished look was a ponytail with bangs.
It had only taken a few minutes, just changing one hairstyle, but that alone made my image look completely different.
Even I thought I usually had a sharp, edgy impression, but with my forehead covered by bangs, I looked a bit softer.
"...Not bad."
I turned my head this way and that, examining my reflection, then gave a small nod.
But then it occurred to me that the hat I'd set out wouldn't work with this hairstyle.
'I'll just wear a mask, I guess.'
Still, I figured this was better.
"And I should probably bring something when I go over..."
The meeting spot wasn't anywhere else—it was Sua's place.
Rather than drinking somewhere noisy, I just wanted to talk comfortably with Sua. She seemed to want that too.
And since she'd completely rearranged her streaming schedule because of me, instead of not going live at all, we'd decided to do a short collab at her place on the condition that she wouldn't turn on her cam.
I figured the viewers wouldn't have much to complain about, and Sua readily agreed with my suggestion.
Me.
[Sua, is there anything you need?]
While wondering what to bring, I just asked her directly.
I figured it was better to ask and buy something she needed than to show up with a so-called gift.
Yoon Sua.
[Oh, no? There's nothing I really need. Oh, and seriously, Serin! You can just come as you are. I've been craving a drink lately too.]
Me.
[Still, I'm the one who suggested drinking, so showing up empty-handed feels wrong. And if there's really nothing you need, I'll at least bring alcohol. What kind do you like?]
Yoon Sua.
[Alcohol? Hmm. I like sweet drinks. Even when I drink bitter stuff, honestly, even getting drunk doesn't feel great. And Serin, you could just order alcohol through the app... wouldn't it be heavy to carry it over?]
Me.
[Then I'll bring wine that can't be ordered through the app.]
I'd learned just yesterday, while watching my editor's stream and browsing the app to order alcohol, that wine couldn't be delivered.
Something about the alcohol price not being allowed to exceed 50% of the order total. I'd wondered what the point of that was, but since they said it wasn't allowed, I remembered I'd had no choice but to order beer.
Yoon Sua.
[Serin, then I'll look forward to something really expensive, okay? Take your time getting here. And make sure to message me when you're near the address I gave you! I'll come out to meet you.]
I let out a small laugh at her saying she'd look forward to something expensive.
After finishing the chat, I checked the time: 4 p.m.
A really awkward time.
On top of that, the officetel Sua had given me the address for was only about a ten-minute walk away. Fifteen at most—really close.
Even if I ordered wine, picked it up, and brought it over, an hour would be more than enough time, even with a generous buffer.
"...How do I kill time."
My gaze drifted to the Another World capsule sitting in the corner of the room, but I soon shook my head.
I briefly considered hopping into the Another World Arena, but I wasn't in the mood for that today.
Besides, ever since I started streaming, playing Another World Arena alone had become noticeably less fun, so I didn't even feel like it.
Even when I won in the arena, without the chat reacting to every little thing, playing alone felt kind of empty.
"I'll just watch some movie reviews."
With that thought, I sat back down in front of the PC.
When I truly had nothing to do, browsing videos on NewTube made time pass quickly, and if something caught my eye—a movie or anything worth watching—I'd jot it down separately.
It was a method I'd settled on after wondering what to do on a rare day off.
This world was absolutely overflowing with movies and videos I didn't know.
......
After watching a few NewTube videos and noting down some movies that piqued my interest, the time had already slipped past 5 p.m.
After shutting down the PC, Serin got up, changed into the outfit she'd prepared, and started getting ready to head out.
Not long after.
Click.
With the sound of the door opening.
A silver-haired woman wearing a mask stepped out of the house.
***
Cheongdam-dong S Wine Bar.
Since it was before opening hours, there wasn't a single customer inside—just two women cleaning the bar.
Swish, swish.
A tall woman with a neat bob mopping the floor.
A petite woman with a cute impression tidying the tables and checking orders at the counter.
Just the two women were getting the wine bar ready before opening.
There was still plenty of time before the 8 p.m. opening, but since they occasionally had pickup orders and needed to prep the store anyway, they started getting ready at 5 p.m. like always.
A wine bar in Cheongdam-dong, famous as a wealthy neighborhood, could afford to operate like this, and the two women working there were perfectly happy with it.
The pay was the same as during opening hours, but the prep work now was much easier.
So Minah, who'd been checking the counter to see if there were any pickup orders today, suddenly doubted her own eyes.
When she saw a massive order appear out of nowhere, she couldn't believe it.
"Eunseo, did this order come in wrong?"
Worried that accepting the order carelessly might cause problems, she called out to Eunseo, who was a little ways away.
"Huh? What is it?"
"No, someone placed a pickup order for over two million won."
"...?"
Unable to make sense of Minah's words, Eunseo walked over to the counter herself.
Click-clack.
When she reached the counter and checked the order, she saw a list of expensive wines, all sweet varieties.
—Order total: 2,310,000 won.
The amount was no joke.
"...This isn't one of our usual customers."
Eunseo checked to see if the person had a previous order history with the wine bar, but that wasn't the case either.
And Eunseo had already been working at the wine bar for two years.
She had the names of regulars and main customers memorized by now.
'Han Serin?'
She repeated the name of the person who'd placed the order in her head a few times, but it was the first time she'd heard it.
"Eunseo... what do we do? Should we prepare it?"
At Minah's troubled question, Eunseo couldn't answer rashly either.
For a pickup order this size, they'd have to prepare all the packaging separately from the start.
'They're probably not a nightmare customer.'
With that thought, she recalled the wine bar's location.
Cheongdam-dong, famous even among wealthy neighborhoods, and the shop was situated in a hot spot at that.
She couldn't say there were absolutely no awful customers when it came to pickups.
But still, would someone really place an order this expensive just to mess with them?
'Right. Sometimes there are people who order big like this.'
"Minah, let's just prepare it. Who'd joke around with this kind of money?"
......
About ten minutes after Minah started preparing the ordered wines, wrapping them elegantly.
The counter chimed to signal that the pickup customer had arrived.
"Eunseo, I'll go hand these to the customer."
Normally, greeting customers inside the wine bar was standard, but given the size of the order, Minah wanted to go out and meet them at least a little.
"Take care."
Eunseo opened the door to see Minah off as she carried the packaged wines out, but her heart was thumping with anxiety.
'They're probably not a nightmare customer.'
That fancy packaging around the wines couldn't be reused, after all.
......
Minah walked for about a minute toward the spot in front of the wine bar, looking at her phone where the customer's location was marked.
Beep!
A soft alarm from her phone let her know the customer was nearby.
And then she spotted a woman.
Silver hair in a ponytail with bangs, a red blouse, and black pants. The moment she saw her, Minah's eyes were drawn to her without meaning to.
'...What the.'
Even the face visible between the mask looked like a sculpture.
'Is she a foreign model or something?'
That thought came to her before she knew it.
Her body proportions, her face, even her hair color—everything about her was unusual for a Korean.
Minah wondered if she was some famous foreign model, and at the same time thought, this really is Cheongdam-dong.
Thinking that people like that existed, Minah checked her phone again.
Then she felt something was off.
'It clearly says the customer's location is here.'
She looked around, scanning the area, but she didn't see anyone.
Well, to be precise, she did see people.
But she didn't see anyone who looked like they'd ordered over two million won worth of wine.
The only people in sight were two men in their forties.
Just as Minah was glancing around, stealing looks at the silver-haired woman without realizing it.
"Excuse me."
The silver-haired woman suddenly spoke to her, and Minah gave a small start.
"Yes?"
"Isn't that wine you're holding?"
"Oh, yes. It's wine."
"Then I think it's mine. A pickup order."
"Oh, are you... Han Serin?"
"Yes, that's right."
Minah carefully handed over the wine while taking the card from her in exchange.
Even while processing the payment, her eyes kept drifting over.
Now that they were closer, the woman's appearance was even more striking. Minah's eyes widened.
'What would that feel like?'
She couldn't help but wonder what life would be like with looks like that.