Christmas (2)
Sung Yoon-ah got into the car and said, “This is a nice car.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
The Porsche, then as now, was built in Germany and shipped over by sea. But that kind of arrangement meant a long wait between signing the contract and actually taking delivery, so dealerships usually kept preordered stock on hand with the most popular options already installed.
When I placed the order, I chose the one that could be delivered the fastest, and the car had arrived a few days ago.
“Where are we going?”
“If you’re not busy, want to go to the department store with me?”
“Huh? The department store? Don’t tell me...”
“I’m looking to buy some clothes.”
“...Ah. Okay.”
What was that? It felt like she’d been excited for a second and then disappointed.
I quickly added, “I’ll buy you an outfit too, Yoon-ah.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s Christmas.”
Then she smiled brightly. “Great. Let’s go right away. What are you looking for?”
“Something to wear now, and a suit.”
“Hmm. Suits are better when they’re tailored. Then let’s just buy one today and go to a tailor shop with me next time.”
“Sure.”
“Any brand in mind?”
“No. I don’t really know much about clothes, so pick for me.”
“All right.”
Homes and cars were simple: the more money you spent, the better they got. A nice house and a nice car suited everyone.
Clothes weren’t like that.
No matter how expensive they were, the person wearing them could make them look like an entirely different outfit. Even a luxury piece worth millions that looked good on idols would make me look like a fool.
So it was better to get her help than to buy everything blindly on my own.
We headed to Shinsegi Department Store.
There, we went into the kind of luxury boutique I would never have set foot in in the past and picked out clothes.
“Try this on too. I think it’ll suit you.”
“All right.”
“Ah! And this coat too.”
“Okay.”
“What about these shoes? They’re supposed to be popular these days.”
“...”
She seemed more excited than I was about buying my clothes.
I changed into everything she picked and stood in front of her.
“How is it?”
Sung Yoon-ah clapped lightly. “It’s good. You could wear it just like that and go out.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The stretched-out shirt and the pants with knees bagged out from wear could be left here to die.
After buying my casual clothes, we moved on to suits.
Everything looked the same to me, but Sung Yoon-ah kept saying the styles were slightly different and had me try on several of them.
“A size smaller would be better.”
“I’m more comfortable wearing mine a little loose.”
Sung Yoon-ah said firmly, “No. A suit is all about the fit.”
If you don’t know much, it’s better to listen to the expert.
When I came out as instructed, she nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Perfect. As expected, Miru, suits suit you well.”
I checked myself in the mirror. I didn’t know whether it was because the clothes were expensive or because the fit was right, but even I had to admit I liked it.
Right. If I was going to do business, this was the level I needed to wear.
After changing back and heading to the register, the clerk said, “The lady just paid for it.”
At that, I turned to look at her, and Sung Yoon-ah smiled. “It’s a gift.”
“Wasn’t that pretty expensive?”
She’d bought the jacket and pants, of course, but also the shirt, vest, and tie as a set. It was more than a first-year securities firm salary by a wide margin.
“Hehe, I saved up my salary, so this is fine.”
Well, considering her family, it probably wasn’t that much money.
Sung Yoon-ah took my arm and led me along. “Now let’s go buy my clothes. You didn’t forget you said you’d buy me something, did you?”
“Of course not. Let’s go.”
* * *
As we were wrapping up the shopping, a man and woman appeared in front of us.
The man approached Sung Yoon-ah familiarly and said, “Oh! Yoon-ah, there you are.”
“Oh, oppa.”
The man speaking looked to be in his early thirties.
He was just under six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a square jaw that stood out. His short hair was slicked back, and he wore glasses.
He didn’t have the feel of a handsome man so much as a masculine one.
The woman beside him was quite beautiful.
She looked to be in her late twenties. If Sung Yoon-ah gave off a cute, kind impression, this woman had a sharper presence.
She had a bob haircut, large eyes with slightly upturned corners, a straight nose, and full red lips. The beauty mark beneath her left eye was especially striking.
She was tall and wore high heels, and her makeup was fairly heavy. Her clothes were so flashy that most people would have trouble pulling them off.
And yet she didn’t look gaudy or out of place at all.
She smiled and said, “You were here? You should’ve said something. If the manager hadn’t told me, I never would’ve known.”
Sung Yoon-ah looked pleased to see her. “Unnie! I only stopped by for a quick clothes run. But why are you two together?”
“Oppa asked me to help pick out a gift, so after shopping we were just having coffee.”
They really did feel more like acquaintances than a man and a woman together.
She looked at Sung Yoon-ah and me, then asked, “What about you? Don’t tell me you’re out on a date with your boyfriend?”
At that, Sung Yoon-ah flustered and waved her hands. “M-my boyfriend? No, it’s not like that.”
The man, as though only now noticing me, said, “Then who’s this friend? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”
I let out a small laugh.
The woman beside him asked, “What’s so funny?”
“It’s funny because what you said doesn’t quite line up. You asked who I was, then said I didn’t look familiar. Usually, you don’t call someone you’re seeing for the first time a friend.”
She snorted. “That’s true, isn’t it?”
My reply made her laugh out loud, and the man’s expression stiffened for an instant. But he soon acted as if nothing had happened and held out a hand to me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ju Hyeon-jin. Yoon-ah and I have been close since we were kids.”
I didn’t need the introduction to know who he was the moment I saw his face.
Ju Hyeon-jin, the youngest son of the Hanjeong Group.
He still wasn’t especially well-known to the public yet, but later he would keep popping up in the news and become more famous than most celebrities.
I shook his hand. “Hello. I’m Han Miru. I used to work with Yoon-ah.”
“I see.”
He nodded absently, but the woman’s eyes changed when she heard my name, as if she recognized it.
“I’m Min Ah-reum. Yoon-ah and I were seniors and juniors in middle and high school.”
“Yes, hello.”
I knew her too.
Min Ah-reum, the youngest daughter of Chairman Yoo Hye-gyeong of Shinsegi Group.
Shinsegi Group handled department stores, duty-free shops, supermarkets, shopping malls, hotels, and more, and Chairman Yoo Hye-gyeong was Chairman Yoo Jae-ho’s aunt.
That made her Yoo Jae-ho’s cousin.
Even so, the age gap between them was over twenty years. Still, they seemed quite close; the two of them often appeared together at baseball games and department stores.
For reference, Min Ah-reum was also famous as a celebrity. If you looked at her Linsta, it was packed with photos taken with famous overseas designers and models.
Min Ah-reum asked Sung Yoon-ah, “I was thinking of going out to dinner. Want to come with us?”
“It’s okay, unnie.”
“Do you already have a reservation somewhere?”
“No, but...”
Then Ju Hyeon-jin chimed in. “Don’t be like that. Come with us.”
At that, Sung Yoon-ah looked troubled and glanced at me.
He said to me in a confident voice, “Unless you’ve got a reservation, it’s going to be hard to find a place for dinner tonight. I booked a good place, so come with us.”
It was less an invitation than a command. Like his words were obviously supposed to be obeyed.
“We were going to go separately—”
Before she could refuse, I said, “That works out. I was planning to have dinner anyway.”
Ju Hyeon-jin patted my shoulder lightly, pleased. “Ha! Good call. Dinner’s on me.”
Sung Yoon-ah then asked me in a low voice, “Are you really okay with this?”
She knew them, but I didn’t. And both of them were clearly from a world far removed from ordinary people.
She was probably worried I’d feel awkward.
I glanced at Ju Hyeon-jin and nodded. “Of course. If someone’s offering to pay, why would I refuse?”
I didn’t know it yet, but I would be meeting him again soon. I just hadn’t expected it to happen in a place like this.
Whether this was coincidence or fate, I wasn’t sure.
* * *
The place we went to was a French restaurant in Cheongdam-dong.
There was a Michelin three-star badge plastered right on the entrance. We were shown to our seats by a server.
Since it was Christmas, most of the guests seemed to be couples.
Everyone except me was apparently doing just fine in the love department.
Ju Hyeon-jin said to me, “Since I’m paying, order whatever you want.”
I looked over the menu, but I had no idea what was good. What did escargot even taste like?
While I was hesitating, Sung Yoon-ah picked for me. “They have steak too. How about this?”
“Sounds good.”
Then Ju Hyeon-jin, who had been looking at the wine list, asked me, “Do you like alcohol?”
“I don’t dislike it.”
He handed me the list he’d been looking at. “This place has a lot of good wines imported directly from France. I come here often when I want wine. Pick one.”
I looked at the list.
The wine names were written in French. There were a few lines of English underneath, but I still didn’t understand what any of it meant even if I read it.
Did he really think I’d know what I was choosing?
But the choice wasn’t that hard.
I pointed at one item on the menu. “Let’s go with this.”
Ju Hyeon-jin asked, “Do you know what wine that is?”
“No. I didn’t really know, so I picked the most expensive one. There’s usually a reason things are expensive.”
His expression stiffened slightly at that.
“So you picked it knowing exactly what it was. That’s a price most salarymen couldn’t afford.”
“Should I cancel it if it’s too much?”
Sung Yoon-ah said, “Oh, then I’ll pay for the wine.”
Ju Hyeon-jin laughed and waved her off. “No, I’ll pay. You don’t get to taste things like this often unless you’re in a place like this.”
Was he saying that for my benefit?
Min Ah-reum smiled. “Thanks to Miru, I’m getting to drink a good wine today.”
“Not at all.”
When she smiled, dimples formed in her cheeks, which was rather cute. She was beautiful, stylish, and from an even better family on top of that. No wonder she was popular.
While the sommelier was decanting the wine, the food we’d ordered arrived.
Min Ah-reum asked me, “Do you like steak?”
“I eat it pretty often. There’s a good place in my neighborhood.”
This time Ju Hyeon-jin asked, “Where?”
“You probably wouldn’t know it even if I told you.”
“I’ve been to just about every restaurant worth going to. If it’s good, tell us about it.”
His tone carried a faint edge of, So what kind of good places could you possibly know?
But this was one place he probably hadn’t been to.
“Outback.”
“Ha...”
Ju Hyeon-jin gave a laugh of disbelief, and Sung Yoon-ah said, “Their pasta is good too.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. At work, we sometimes go there with the other employees for lunch sets.”
Min Ah-reum looked interested too. “I’ve seen ads for it sometimes. I’d like to go.”
“I’ll treat you sometime.”
Min Ah-reum brightened. “Really? You’ll take me?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.”
From the way she said it, she must have genuinely wanted to go.
For some reason, Sung Yoon-ah muttered under her breath, “What? Why are you taking unnie to Outback?”
Was she telling me to take her somewhere fancier?
They really did seem close.
---