Department Store (2)
Yeonhee picked out a few outfits as we wandered from one clothing store to the next. Of course, I was the one lugging every last bag around.
We found a bench and sat down together to rest.
I'm exhausted.
I'd heard the rumors about how long women take when they go shopping — everyone talks about it — but hearing it and living it were two entirely different things.
"Alright, shall we hit the next spot?"
There's more...?
"...Where are we going this time?"
"The cosmetics floor!"
...
Today was shaping up to run a lot longer than I'd bargained for.
We took the elevator up to the cosmetics floor. I followed Yeonhee as she led the way, and we came to a stop in front of a shelf packed with every kind of lip balm imaginable. She grabbed my wrist, dragged me over, and planted me in front of the display.
"Which scent would be good?"
"...Does that even matter?"
"Of course it matters!"
"For example?"
"For example? Hmm... well."
Yeonhee pondered for a moment, then put on a seductive smile, pressing her index finger to her lips as she went on.
"Like when we kiss?"
"I see."
"What's with that boring reaction?"
It's not like it has anything to do with me. Why would I react?
"So which scent looks good to you?"
"That one."
I pointed casually at a lip balm with a peach drawn on it.
"Hmm~ So Juyeong likes peach. Noted."
...What are you even going to do with that information.
After I'd more or less picked a lip balm for her, she grabbed a few more things from a shelf a few rows down, paid, and we left the cosmetics section for the hair-care aisle.
"I tried this one last time and it wasn't great..."
Yeonhee examined each product one by one, deliberating with complete seriousness. I was standing next to her, zoning out, when she turned to me with a bottle of shampoo in each hand.
"What shampoo do you use?"
"Just whatever's on sale at the supermarket."
"Don't you think that's a little too slapdash...?"
"Isn't all shampoo pretty much the same?"
At least, that was how it seemed to me.
"You really are..."
"Hah... never mind. How about you switch shampoos while we're at it?"
"I don't really..."
"Come on, what about this one?"
Yeonhee held out a bottle labeled as anti-hair-loss shampoo.
"...Are you serious?"
"Nobody knows what the future holds, right?"
"I don't need it."
"Hehe."
The fact that she could say something like that without so much as blinking was terrifying.
"Anyway, good hair needs good shampoo."
As she said it and turned away, her hair fanned out behind her, stunningly beautiful.
"Now let's go get some treatment and conditioner."
It took several more rounds of the same before we finally managed to escape the hair-care section.
"And for the last stop..."
...What is this.
I'd been walking along behind Yeonhee after we left the hair-care store, her hand in mine. When I came back to my senses, I was standing in front of a women's lingerie shop.
"..."
"Alright, shall we go in?"
"...Me too?"
"Well of course you have to come in. You want me to go in alone?"
"I don't really need to go in, do I?"
Shopping itself was already unfamiliar enough. And now a lingerie store? I had no idea what she'd been thinking, dragging me here.
"When a girlfriend goes in, her boyfriend goes in with her. That's how it works."
"I'm not your boyfriend..."
"You'll come with me, right?"
Fine. Just please don't smile at me like that... it's scary...
"I'm only going in..."
"Great!"
The moment I showed any sign of agreement, her expression snapped right back to normal. I drew a deep breath, steeled myself, and stepped inside.
The store was packed with women's underwear of every kind.
...There's nowhere safe to look.
I beat a quick retreat to a corner and stared at my phone — at which point our chronically indecisive (fake) girlfriend appeared in front of me and held something out.
Two large bras were thrust into my face.
"What do you think?"
"..."
"I'm not leaving until you answer."
Was this her plan all along...?
I may have been about as expressive as a block of wood, but that didn't mean I had no feelings. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sight of something I'd never seen in my life, but she really had no intention of budging until I answered. She just stood there, planted in front of me.
Cold sweat slid down my cheek.
Is there... really no way out of this...
"...This one."
"Heeh..."
I pointed at random with my eyes still closed, and she made a meaningful little sound before turning away.
Haa... I felt like half my lifespan had just been shaved off.
I'd arrived thirty minutes earlier than the time we'd agreed on.
Did I get here too early?
Still, better early than late.
After I'd been waiting a while, the number of people around me gradually increased. As the crowd grew, so did the number of eyes turning my way.
...These stares again.
Sticky, leering gazes that lingered on certain parts of my body. And I'd deliberately dressed down, gone light on the makeup, too.
I'm so tired of this... when will I ever be free of looks like these...
I was doing my best to ignore them when a reasonably good-looking guy walked up to me.
"Excuse me, could I get your number?"
"I have a boyfriend."
This is exactly what a fake boyfriend is for.
I shut him down cold, and he walked off looking dejected. A few of the guys who'd overheard soon looked away — but plenty of eyes were still raking over me all the same.
When is he going to get here...
I was glancing around when I spotted Juyeong standing off in the distance, watching. Desperate to get out of there, I walked over to him and slipped my arm through his. Thankfully, he seemed to catch on to what I wanted, because he started walking right away.
A little later, we arrived at a quiet park and were chatting about this and that when Juyeong's stomach decided to make itself heard.
Grrrowl.
"...I skipped breakfast this morning."
The sound shattered the mood so thoroughly I couldn't help bursting out laughing.
"Pfft. Should we get lunch first, then?"
"Sure..."
I led him — ears a little red, apparently embarrassed — over to the department store. After passing restaurant after restaurant, I made the call and we went into a pasta place. Juyeong ordered the rosé pasta; I ordered a more generous serving of bread-bowl carbonara, and we ate.
I was savoring my food, perfectly content, when Juyeong handed me a napkin.
"You've got sauce on the corner of your mouth."
A sudden spark of mischief made me lean my face out toward him and make some vague little sound. Juyeong gave me a look that asked what that was supposed to mean, then sighed and wiped the corner of my mouth for me.
If he hadn't done it, I was just going to wipe it myself.
Honestly, I hadn't thought he'd actually do it.
He comes off so indifferent, but he's actually really attentive about things like this.
I was the last to finish. We paid and headed out, and when I suggested we go to a café, he looked at me like he had no idea why.
He doesn't even know that the stomach you eat a meal with and the stomach you eat dessert with are two completely different things.
With that thought, I led him to a nearby café, ordered, and sat down first. Before long, Juyeong came over carrying the desserts. Nothing particularly special happened — we just ate and left.
To get back to the original point of the trip, we headed for the clothing stores, and Juyeong looked around with a curious expression, as if everything were a novelty. I left him to it for a bit while I browsed, then, unsure of what would look good, I grabbed a few pieces and went to ask his opinion.
"How's this one?"
"Looks fine."
"Yeah? What about this?"
"Looks fine too."
He kept saying everything was fine, and before I knew it my lips were sticking out in a pout.
"Don't just say it's fine. Give me an actual opinion."
I said it in a sulky little voice, and immediately something so embarrassing I wanted to hide my face came back at me.
...?!
It was a line that made even me, the one hearing it, want to crawl into a hole — but he looked like he had no idea what he'd just said. It felt like I was the only one getting flustered, so I tried to fire something back, but—
"Th-that so...? Th-thanks..."
I couldn't get the words out the way I wanted to.
After that we browsed a few more stores, took a short rest, and then headed to the cosmetics floor. I dragged Juyeong over to the lip-balm shelf and dumped the decision on him.
"Which scent would be good?"
"...Does that even matter?"
"Of course it matters!"
"For example?"
This was my chance. Time for a little payback. I put on the most seductive smile I could manage.
"For example? Hmm... well."
"Like when we kiss?"
But Juyeong's reaction was lukewarm at best.
What the... he's not even fazed...?
The thought that I'd lost again made me steel myself, already planning to go even further next time.
We batted a few pointless jokes back and forth while I quickly grabbed what I needed, then I led Juyeong toward the store I'd had in mind all along.
Let's see if he can stay unfazed by this too.
The place I brought him — quietly holding my hand, trailing along behind me — was a lingerie shop. I did wonder if this was really a good idea, but we were already here, so I decided to just go through with it.
"Alright, shall we go in?"
"Me too...?"
"Well of course you have to come in. You want me to go in alone?"
"I don't really need to go in, do I?"
The look of genuine panic on his face made the whole trip over here feel worth it.
"When a girlfriend goes in, her boyfriend goes in with her. That's how it works."
"I'm not your boyfriend..."
"You'll come with me, right?"
The moment I offered that ridiculous excuse, he tried to wriggle out with a perfectly reasonable argument, so I cut him off. I asked with a sweet smile — though even I had no idea what my face looked like right then.
It didn't take long for Juyeong to make up his mind. He spoke in something like a whisper.
"I'm only going in..."
"Great!"
I blurted it out, giddy with the feeling of having won.
After all that back and forth, I succeeded in dragging Juyeong into the lingerie shop. But...
Now what?
I'd only thought as far as getting him through the door. I hadn't given a single thought to what I'd do after that. While I was standing there thinking, Juyeong made a beeline for the corner of the store and stared at his phone, clearly mortified.
I can't just leave him like that.
Deciding I had to do something, I quickly grabbed two pieces of lingerie and headed for the corner where Juyeong was hiding. Then I held them out in both hands.
"What do you think?"
"..."
The second I'd actually done it, I felt embarrassed — but the flustered look on Juyeong's face made it impossible to stop.
"I'm not leaving until you answer."
And yet...
Doesn't this just make me a pervert...?
Embarrassment welled up all over again now that I'd already gone and done it, but one look at Juyeong's reaction and that thought went right out the window. He had his eyes squeezed shut. His reaction was even better than I'd expected.
Heh. I win.
Thinking something that stupid — completely at odds with the situation I was in — I stood in front of him in silence. After a moment, Juyeong lifted a finger and pointed in one direction.
"...This one."
And in the direction his finger was pointing...
Black...
I let out a sound as the atmosphere turned strangely charged.
"Heeh..."
After lingering in that awkward air for a beat, I quickly headed out of the store. Of course, I didn't forget to buy the one he'd just pointed at.
I'll save this for teasing him later.
"Shall we head back now?"
"..."
Juyeong didn't say a word, as if every last drop of energy had been wrung out of him. We'd bought most of what we needed, and just as we were about to head home—
"Huh? Lee Yeonhee?"
A voice calling my name from behind brought both of us to a halt.