“Anyway. That’s the point. Come with me to buy clothes. No—go buy clothes with me.”
“That emotional shift from a suggestion to an order was pretty abrupt.”
“You don’t have anything to do today anyway. I refuse to watch my fiancé walking around dressed like a slob—even if dirt gets in my eyes.”
“Let’s keep it down before I actually throw dirt in them, Yuri.”
“Whatever. Let’s go.”
Even though Do Jihoon clearly showed how annoyed he was, he didn’t refuse my request. He set down his book, stood up, and started changing his clothes.
“Jihoon will drive~”
“Do you seriously have no conscience?”
“Aing.”
We got into Do Jihoon’s car and headed to a nearby department store. Jihoon smoothly parked perfectly within the lines.
“Oh. Nice.”
“There’s absolutely no soul in that compliment.”
“No, I’m serious. I guess being handsome really does make everything look good.”
We went inside the department store together. As soon as we reached the floor that sold men’s clothing, I grabbed Jihoon’s wrist.
“In case you try to run away.”
Jihoon stared at me intently for a moment.
“That’s funny.”
His voice carried a hint of laughter.
I dragged Jihoon around from store to store. Maybe it was because he had a good frame for clothes, but everything suited him no matter what he tried on. So I just bought all of them. This is exactly the kind of situation the parent credit card trick exists for. Jihoon watched me with a fed-up expression.
“You’re buying all of these?”
“Yeah. Everything looks good on you. It’s too hard to choose.”
“I don’t think I could even wear all of this.”
“No way. Your hyung will make sure you get to wear all of them. No worries.”
“……”
Why is he worrying about something like that? But despite my reassurance, Jihoon’s expression only grew worse.
“And why are you paying when they’re my clothes?”
“Husband and wife are one body.”
“That’s the two-hundredth piece of bullshit today.”
“If I tell my mom and dad I bought you clothes, they’ll be ridiculously happy. Don’t worry.”
We wandered around for another two hours like that. Before we knew it, both of Jihoon’s hands were full of shopping bags hanging everywhere.
It was around the time we had picked out roughly fifty outfits for him that Jihoon started complaining that his hands were too heavy.
“You’re not seriously asking me to carry them, right? To someone as delicate and fragile as an omega like me?”
I wrapped my arms around my shoulders with both hands and put on the most fragile expression I could manage. Jihoon’s face soured yet again.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Our Jihoon says his arms hurt. A fiancé should carry things for him, I guess. Even though I’m just a fragile omega who can barely lift a spoon.”
“I’ll carry everything, so shut your mouth.”
“Put them in the car and come back. Call me when you’re done~”
Jihoon headed toward the car carrying the bags. While he was gone, I took the chance to pick out my own clothes. A shirt, a light hoodie to throw on…
I was happily browsing when it happened.
A familiar pheromone scent drifted through the air.
That smell.
The scoundrel who marked Do Jihoon. The scent I’d smelled at the café a few days ago.
I looked around and began walking in the direction the scent was coming from.
Feels like the Pied Piper, I thought pointlessly as I wandered around for about five minutes.
Then I found the owner of the scent.
He was short. Since I’m just slightly under 180 cm, he was probably in the early 170s.
He had a cute face. Pretty handsome, too.
He moved around here and there, picking out clothes. I followed behind him while wondering what kind of guy that bastard was.
First of all, he’s probably a student at our university, right? The smell appeared after Jihoon had dinner with his classmates, and then again at a café near campus. There was a high chance he was someone Jihoon knew—but it was too early to be certain.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
Bzzzt—
“Ah, shit. That startled me.”
It was Do Jihoon.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Where are you?”
“Here…”
I told him the name of a nearby brand store. Jihoon quickly found me.
“Yuri. Why can’t you sit still for even a moment? Running around everywhere like that.”
“I really don’t like that onomatopoeia.”
“You know what an onomatopoeia is? That’s surprising.”
“You bastard. If I were really an idiot, I wouldn’t have gotten into Hanguk University no matter how much I tried.”
“That’s true.”
Jihoon nodded in agreement immediately. I poked him repeatedly and pointed toward the owner of the scent.
“Why?”
“Do you know that person?”
Jihoon narrowed his eyes and looked at the guy. After a few seconds, he nodded, saying he knew him.
“Who is he?”
“Why do you want to know?”
An unexpected counterattack. I went silent.
Would it be okay to tell Jihoon the truth? What if it turned out he was someone Jihoon was actually close with? I worried that even the smallest wound might hurt the delicate and sensitive heart of Lord Do Jihoon.
Perhaps he misunderstood my silence. Jihoon’s gaze gradually turned colder. In contrast, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
“Hey. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“I’m not staring because I’m interested in him.”
Jihoon snorted. I couldn’t tell whether it meant stop talking bullshit or I don’t believe you.
“Yuri. There’s no cure for delusional self-love.”
So it was the former. Bastard.
“No, but seriously. I decided to focus on you.”
“……”
This time, Jihoon went silent.
At this point, he should’ve snapped back with something. But the corners of his mouth drooped downward instead.
What the hell. Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?
“Ah, so. Who is he?”
“There it is.”
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“He’s in my cohort. Business Administration, Class B.”
“Are you close?”
“Well… we’ve only known each other for two weeks. It’s not like we’re close or anything.”
If the phrase “well…” came out of Jihoon’s mouth, that meant they weren’t complete strangers. I definitely shouldn’t say anything about who he is.
“So why did you ask, my dear Yuri?”
“Don’t attach weird modifiers like that. I’m not answering.”
That bastard Do Jihoon kept interrogating me without understanding my feelings at all. I only managed to escape his constant “Who is it?” attacks after rejecting him thirty-seven times.
“Hey. Since we’re already out, want to hang out a bit?”
“I’m tired.”
Both Jihoon and I liked staying home. But the reason was different.
I was the type who rested at home so I’d have energy to go out and play. Jihoon, on the other hand, simply liked being at home itself.
“Come on. Since we’re already out, let’s do something. Yeah?”
“Too bothersome.”
“If you keep that up, you’ll grow mold on your body.”
“Don’t worry. I work out four times a week.”
“……”
In the end, I shut my mouth and climbed gloomily into his car. I had bought new clothes and wanted to hang out since we were already outside. But if he didn’t want to, then what could I do?
Then I’ll just hang out with someone else.
I sent Shin Gi-hyeok a KakaoTalk message.
[Hey, let’s eat]
[21 Shin Gi-hyeok: I just scooped rice]
[Good timing. Put it back and come out. Your hyung will buy you food]
[21 Shin Gi-hyeok: I’ll go if you buy meat]
[Yeah yeah, come out. I’ll find a good barbecue place nearby]
[21 Shin Gi-hyeok: kk]
Okay. Plans secured.
“Doji Doji. You have a lot of friends, right?”
“No.”
It seemed Jihoon had finally decided to accept the nickname Doji Doji. But still—no friends?
“No lies. When we ate at the cafeteria and at the café before, you seemed to have a lot.”
“They’re not friends. Acquaintances.”
“You really draw the line sharply.”
Jihoon was fairly cold when it came to relationships.
Or maybe ruthless would be the better word.
Unlike me, who shouted We are the world, Jihoon had strict divisions: best friends, friends, acquaintances.
There had been a few times when that made me feel a little hurt. Honestly, even now, I wasn’t completely sure whether I counted as his friend. Judging by the way he treated me, it seemed like I was—but still.
“So why are you suddenly asking about friends?”
“Oh. I’m meeting a classmate for dinner. I was going to ask if you knew any good barbecue places nearby.”
“I don’t know. I usually just get dragged around by the guys.”
I pictured Do Jihoon being grabbed by his business department classmates and dragged to a restaurant with that rotten expression on his face.
That image was hilarious.
Snickering, I searched for barbecue places near Hanguk University on my phone.
“Which classmate?”
“Would you know them if I told you?”
“That person we saw at the café before?”
“Wow. Your memory’s good. Yeah, that’s him.”
Ah. This place looks good.
I sent the restaurant location to Shin Gi-hyeok and told him to meet at five.
[21 Shin Gi-hyeok: kk]
“What about your other classmates?”
“They commute from home. Shin Gi-hyeok’s house is far away, so he doesn’t go back on weekends much. His family lives in Jeju.”
I remembered begging him once to speak in the Jeju dialect while we were eating, only to get cursed out.
Heh. A dumb laugh escaped me.
“Do Jihoon. I’ll put in the address, so drop me off there.”
“I’m not your driver, Yuri.”
“Aing, give me a ride.”
“Walk. It’s a hassle.”
“Aww. Your fiancé’s going to eat dinner—take me there… It’s only a five-minute detour.”
Do Jihoon suddenly slammed the brakes and turned to look at me. The light was red.
Screeech—
The sound rang out as my body lurched forward.
