An Unexpected Invitation
I froze, momentarily doubting my own ears at the sudden suggestion Min Soyeon had just thrown at me.
…What did she just say? A date?
My face must have shown my confusion because she narrowed her eyes with a hint of unease and spoke again, more cautiously this time.
“…You don’t want to?”
She bit her lip hard, looking anxious. The pitiful expression on Min Soyeon’s face made my heart sink. I quickly waved my hands in a placating gesture.
“Ah, no… It’s just so sudden…”
“…So, you don’t want to?”
Ugh… I shrank back a little at her insistent tone. Going out together was fine, but a date was a whole different story…
In truth, if you really thought about it, there wasn’t much difference between going out with Soyeon and going on a date with her. The core of it—spending time together—was the same. But… given the circumstances, I had no choice but to be careful.
I knew exactly what she meant by that word. There was no way I could just happily accept it.
“…Well, is there somewhere you want to go?”
I tried to dodge the question by turning it back on her. Min Soyeon seemed to catch on to my intention immediately. She frowned as if to say don’t play games with me and started glaring.
“…If you hate it that much, then don’t go.”
Her tone was sharp, laced with clear displeasure.
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by her sudden irritation, I stared at her blankly, letting out a dumb sound. Min Soyeon pulled out her phone with an annoyed huff and muttered just loud enough for me to hear.
“…Guess I’ll have to call my friends then…”
Friends? I flinched at her words and quickly grabbed her wrist, blurting out an excuse.
“W-wait! Soyeon… I didn’t mean I didn’t want to go. I was just asking if there was somewhere specific you wanted to visit. I swear.”
The thought that I was already caught in her trap flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t possibly let her meet up with those delinquent friends of hers.
Min Soyeon stared at me quietly while I held her wrist, then her expression softened just a fraction, as if she’d let me off the hook this once.
“…There’s a movie I want to see.”
A movie?
*
Before long, all the classes had ended and we were on our way home.
“…Come out slowly.”
“Yeah. See you in a bit.”
At the fork in the road, I gave a vague reply to Min Soyeon’s instruction to take my time and turned toward my studio apartment.
After accepting her invitation for a date, I had assumed we’d head straight to the theater as soon as class ended since she’d suggested watching a movie. But it seemed Min Soyeon wanted to really feel like we were on a date. She insisted I go home and change first.
Just how dressed up was she planning to get…?
“…Sigh…”
Having somehow ended up going on a date with Soyeon, I let out a heavy sigh and quietly pulled out my phone. With a listless flick of my fingers, I sent my wife a message saying I’d be home late.
Tap— Tap tap—
Then…
Vrrr— Vrrr—
Instead of a reply, my wife called me right after seeing the message.
…Huh? Is she already done with work?
I quickly answered and brought the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
[…Do you have plans today?]
…Hm?
I picked up on a subtle discomfort in my wife’s voice. For some reason, it felt like she was in a bad mood.
“Uh… I’m going to hang out with Soyeon for a bit, so I’ll be home a little late. I wanted to let you know in case you were waiting.”
I instinctively read the room and spoke carefully, then waited in silence for her response.
[…I see.]
Her reply came a beat too late. Convinced now that she was upset, I held the phone more politely and added cautiously.
“…Well, yeah, but… I’ll try to come home early.”
In my heart, I wanted to say I’d head back right away, but I didn’t have the courage to break my promise to Soyeon.
[…Alright. Have a good time.]
“…Yeah, see you at home.”
Click—
I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and stared at the ended call, trying to figure out why my wife seemed so unhappy.
“…Why is she like this…”
Nothing plausible came to mind. All I could think was that I should hurry home and comfort her. Usually, once I went over and soothed her, most of her anger melted away.
Once I reached my studio, I quickly started getting ready to go out. Today’s outfit was jeans and a striped shirt—both picked out by my wife.
“Mm… This should be fine.”
I gave myself one last check in the small mirror, adjusted my clothes, grabbed my things, and left the house.
I was about to text Soyeon when I pulled out my phone and saw—
“Huh?”
She must have sent it while I was changing. I replied that I was on my way, then started walking at a leisurely pace just like she’d asked, thinking about the rest of the day.
First, the main goal—watching the movie—Soyeon had said she would book the tickets herself. She hadn’t even told me the title, so I had no idea what we were seeing, but at least I didn’t have to worry about that part.
“Hmm…”
What I did need to think about were the things besides the movie. Since we were already heading out, maybe we could grab a nice dinner somewhere… Should I look it up in advance?
While scrolling through my phone, checking restaurants near the theater and places where we could kill time, I soon found myself standing in front of Min Soyeon’s house.
But…
“…Is she still not ready?”
It looked like she wasn’t finished getting ready yet; I couldn’t see her anywhere. I sent her a message saying I’d wait in front of the house and continued browsing information around the theater while I waited.
How much time had passed?
Clank—
Finally, I heard the front gate open. I quickly put my phone away and turned toward her without thinking.
“You’re he—”
The sight of Min Soyeon walking out with calm, measured steps—click, clack—left me speechless. I was utterly shocked.
Tight pants that clung to her body and revealed every curve, paired with a ribbed top so short that the slightest movement would expose her navel. She had even put on makeup; a subtle tint colored her face.
…Oh my god.
It was genuinely hard to look at her in that outfit with both eyes open.
“…Am I late?”
She spoke casually, tucking her hair behind her ear. As she raised her arm, the top rode up, fully revealing her cute little belly button for the whole world to see.
…Ahhh…
The moment I saw that pale, smooth stomach of hers, I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed a low groan.
She’s really going outside dressed like this?
It didn’t suit her at all. No matter how I looked at it, the outfit was far too provocative.
Whether she knew how I felt or not, Min Soyeon simply adjusted the strap of her crossbody bag and said we should get going.
“…Shall we?”
She was pretty because she took after her mother, but there was no way I could let her go out in that.
I stepped in front of her and spoke as calmly as I could.
“W-wait a second… Soyeon. Let’s change into something else before we go.”
“…Why?”
When I suggested changing, Min Soyeon looked down at her outfit with an innocent expression, then tilted her head as if she had no idea what the problem was.
Ugh… How am I supposed to explain this…
“…That outfit isn’t great.”
“…What’s wrong with it?”
I’d tried to be as roundabout as possible, but she spun around this way and that with a completely clueless face, practically showing the outfit off to me.
“…The top is way too short. At least change the top.”
“…This?”
“Won’t you be cold? What if you catch a stomachache!”
“…I’m fine though?”
The conversation dragged on endlessly.
…What is this?
The way she kept repeating the same answers, refusing to change no matter what, gave me a strange sense of unease. Was there some specific response she was waiting for? It almost felt like she was leading me on.
…No way…
A bad feeling crept over me. Just to test the waters, I tried again.
“Soyeon… I’d really prefer if you didn’t wear clothes like that anymore.”
“…Why?”
Min Soyeon tossed the question right back at me. There was a faint spark of anticipation in her eyes.
I chose my words carefully and answered softly.
“…I like the style you usually wear. That looks pretty to me too.”
Only then did she show a hint of satisfaction. She replied with a slightly pouty tone.
“…Fine.”
…I’m going crazy.
Seeing her reaction, I finally realized this had all been a scheme. I clutched my throbbing forehead and pointed at the gate, urging her to go change quickly.
But.
“…If I change now we’ll be late. Let’s just go.”
“…What? Hey, wait—!”
She grabbed my forearm as if she had never intended to change in the first place. It felt like I had been thoroughly played.
*
When we arrived at the shopping mall that housed the movie theater, we headed to the food court on the third floor to grab dinner first.
But…
“Dude. Where are you looking?”
“…Uh, uh? No, I just saw some pretty clothes over there…”
“You wanna die for real?”
A guy sneaking glances while his girlfriend was right next to him, and the jealous girlfriend.
“Is this even a country?”
“Life is so damn unfair.”
Women who grumbled as they watched Soyeon walk by.
Min Soyeon was drawing every eye—men and women alike—wherever she went. Yet the person in question simply walked on with natural, unaffected steps—click, clack—completely ignoring the stares.
“…”
It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar feeling. I’d experienced it often when walking with my wife. Back then, I’d felt proud, shoulders squared, thinking that’s my woman.
But the situation was different now.
I already disliked her outfit, and the constant stares from other people were making me feel strangely irritated.
…This won’t do.
I casually draped an arm around Min Soyeon’s shoulders and gently pulled her closer to me.
“!”
She slipped right into my embrace as if she’d been waiting for it. I held her and glared around at the crowd.
“…”
People who had been staring at her quickly averted their eyes the moment they met mine.
…I think I need to buy her some new clothes first.