Chapter 58
“…Rings. What kind of design…”
“I haven’t decided yet. Please recommend something.”
Joo Kwon-oh narrowed his eyes as he looked down at me.
“What’s the purpose of wearing it?”
“It’s for my lover.”
“Wh-what kind of taste does your lover have?”
“Ah. Their face is very white and their skin is soft. They look like a peach.”
I asked about taste, and he’s describing his lover. Nearby customers glanced our way as they overheard the conversation.
Thanks to this, I felt even more embarrassed.
“If their face is white… then how about this design?”
“Don’t you have anything cuter? I think something simple would be good.”
Just think of him as a real customer. I hypnotized myself and decided to change my approach from trying to chase Joo Kwon-oh away to responding as diligently as possible. It seemed better for me too.
“This design is also popular for couple rings.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“…”
“What do you like?”
“If it were me, I’d choose this one.”
“The size… this looks too big for your lover’s hand.”
Joo Kwon-oh mumbled while fiddling with my finger as if measuring its thickness. I quickly pulled my hand away and put it behind my back.
Meanwhile, the customer who had finished choosing a bracelet was heading to the counter. I hurriedly stood in front of the counter, leaving Joo Kwon-oh behind.
“Thank you, please come again.”
As the female customers left, Joo Kwon-oh also placed the ring he had just chosen on the counter.
“…Would you like it gift-wrapped?”
“Should I just carry it dangling? I told you it’s a gift for my lover.”
I nodded and took out a gift case and wrapping paper to place the ring Joo Kwon-oh had chosen.
“Next time…”
The words “please come again” circled in my mouth and disappeared. If I said that, he might really come again.
I’m not sure how I managed to wrap and complete the transaction, being so nervous because of Joo Kwon-oh.
He smiled as if he had read my mind.
“Thank you. I should contact my lover right away to say I bought a gift.”
“Yes… Have a nice day.”
“See you later.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Watching Joo Kwon-oh’s back as he waved and left the store, I finally relaxed and unconsciously let out a long sigh. And belatedly, a deflating laugh escaped from my mouth.
But why did he come here anyway?
*
As soon as the boss, who had gone out for inventory shopping, returned to the store, he immediately checked the sales.
“Oh. Today’s not bad? How did you sell this much alone?”
“Many customers came in.”
The boss shrugged his shoulders as if puzzled by my words.
“Really? Our store usually doesn’t have many offline customers. The sales are good. What about packaging?”
“I’ve done all the orders up to this morning.”
“Well done. I’ll do the closing, so just sweep the store once before nine and head home.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, Jeong-ha.”
As I was turning to get a broom, the boss suddenly called me.
“Don’t you care much about clothes?”
“Huh? Oh, clothes.”
“I think you’d look better if you dressed up a bit more.”
The boss crossed his arms over his chest and looked me up and down while touching his chin.
I just moved my lips, not knowing how to respond.
“Ah, of course, you don’t look bad now. It’s just a shame that you’re dressing so casually, relying only on your face.”
“…I’m not good at choosing clothes.”
Of course, I have some clothes I bought separately to wear on dates with Joo Kwon-oh, but I didn’t want to wear them to my part-time job.
“Let’s go to Dongdaemun together later. I’ll pick out a few things for you.”
“What? It’s okay. Even if I buy those clothes, I don’t have anywhere to wear them… And honestly, I need to save money during the break.”
“That’s a shame. If you become interested later, ask me.”
“Okay.”
I felt like I would never have anything to ask the boss. Our preferred styles were too different, and I didn’t have the courage to wear such eye-catching skull-print shirts.
When I finished my shift and came out of the store, I saw Joo Kwon-oh standing at the end of the alley with a crossbody bag.
He nodded slightly as if to say “come quickly” when he spotted me. I ran over in one breath and stood next to Joo Kwon-oh, feeling happy to see him.
“You waited a long time, right? You don’t have to wait until closing every time.”
“I had things to do anyway, so I did them while waiting. It worked out well since I can’t concentrate at home.”
“Still, it must be hot outside during the day…”
“It’s not hot in the shade.”
Joo Kwon-oh pinched my cheek gently as if to say stop talking. He even stretched it while holding my cheek.
“Ow. I’m just saying this because I care about you…!”
“Pfft. What? I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Joo Kwon-oh giggled, mocking my pronunciation that was full of air.
I glared at him, then pushed his hand away and rubbed my stretched cheek.
We had a late dinner together near my studio apartment. Then, with a candy each from the convenience store in our mouths, we slowly walked through the alley to aid digestion.
Perhaps because it was summer break, the university area was empty despite being a college town. Most of the shops were closed, which made it nice to walk comfortably with Joo Kwon-oh without worrying about other people’s eyes.
I wanted to hold Joo Kwon-oh’s hand, but even though it was night, the street lamps in the alley were too bright, so I had to be content with just walking side by side.
It’s a pity. While I was thinking that, Joo Kwon-oh walked towards the direction of the playground. That playground where we first confirmed our feelings for each other on an early weekend morning.
The playground was empty this time too, as it was late at night. We sat on the swings, just like that time.
“Why here?”
I asked, taking out the Chupa Chups I had been sucking on.
“Wait and see.”
Joo Kwon-oh took something out of his bag. It was the ring he had bought at the accessory shop earlier.
“I bought this today to give to my boyfriend.”
He took the ring out of its packaging case and held out his hand to me. Of course, I knew he had bought the ring because I saw it, but I didn’t know he would give it at this timing.
I just stared at the ring without immediately extending my hand, worried that there might still be people left in the playground.
When I hesitated, Joo Kwon-oh took my hand and put the ring on.
It was a simple design ring with almost no craftsmanship, but surprisingly, it fit my finger perfectly.
“How is it? Does it fit snugly?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t take it off, keep wearing it.”
“Thank you. Oh, and I have something to give you too.”
Joo Kwon-oh raised an eyebrow as if to say “what is it?” I had to stand up from the swing for a moment to rummage through my pocket.
When I took out a case similar to the one Joo Kwon-oh had taken out, he narrowed his eyes.
“What is it?”
“I bought a ring too.”
After Joo Kwon-oh bought the ring and left the accessory shop this afternoon, I chose the same design and paid for it.
“This makes them couple rings, right?”
Despite feeling embarrassed, I cleared my throat and put the ring on Joo Kwon-oh’s finger myself. I thought it might be small, but fortunately, it went all the way in as I twisted it little by little.
Joo Kwon-oh looked a bit cute as he waited patiently without moving while I struggled to put the ring on.
“When did you grow up to do such an adorable thing…”
Joo Kwon-oh mumbled as he looked at the ring on his finger.
“You’re right, couple rings.”
“You don’t take yours off either.”
“Of course. But where did you get the money to buy this?”
“…I earn money too, you know?”
“Thank you.”
Joo Kwon-oh not only messed up my hair but also planted a deep kiss on my cheek.
“Wh-what if someone sees?”
Surprised, I covered my cheek and distanced myself from Joo Kwon-oh.
“There’s no one here, so what does it matter?”
I was about to scold him more for his careless behavior but decided against it.
“Oh, right. I have three days off after working two more days. What should we do then? Where should we go?”
I asked, rolling the half-eaten Chupa Chups in my mouth.
I expected Joo Kwon-oh, who always has hundreds of date ideas, to answer right away, but surprisingly, he said nothing.
“Kwon-oh?”
“Ah. Actually, I need to go down to Yongin.”
“When?”
“Tonight, after I drop you off.”
I, who had been fiddling with the ring Joo Kwon-oh gave me, paused at the sudden news.
“To-tonight? Why suddenly to your family home…?”
“My dad’s factory is short-staffed. It seems I need to go help urgently.”
Joo Kwon-oh added an explanation while observing my expression.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. My dad called this afternoon asking if I could come, so I said I would.”
Come to think of it, he did mention that he sometimes helps with factory work because of his dad’s business.
“Then… it can’t be helped. If you’re helping with factory work, isn’t it very tiring?”
I asked, hiding my disappointment. Joo Kwon-oh shrugged nonchalantly.
“Well. I’ll go there and do odd jobs and run errands. If they tell me to carry materials, I’ll carry them, and if they tell me to process something, I’ll go and process it.”
“What else?”
“There’s something called boring, which is drilling holes for screws. Sometimes people have to do it where machines can’t, so I do that kind of work too.”
Joo Kwon-oh seemed to know more about the manufacturing process than I had thought. I had heard before that he had a lot of part-time job experience because his family circumstances were difficult, but I was newly impressed that he had learned various jobs from such a young age.
