“I don’t know what to choose.”
With those words, Kim Hyejung eagerly stepped forward saying, “I’ll help you,” and things proceeded quickly afterward. After examining Yeonwoo from head to toe, Kim Hyejung selected pants, a shirt, and a cardigan, telling him to try them on first. Entering the changing room, Yeonwoo stood still for a while before moving slowly.
He neatly folded the clothes he had been wearing and placed them on the chair inside, and throughout the process of changing into the new clothes, Yeonwoo’s expression remained awkwardly stiff.
“My goodness, they really suit you well.”
“……”
There was no falsehood in her bright smile as she clapped her hands. She repeated how well the clothes suited him several times before looking at Secretary Kang. When Secretary Kang nodded, Yeonwoo didn’t have to try on any more clothes. Instead, this time he sat in a chair at the back of the store and had his hair styled.
With a few gentle touches of her soft fingertips, his hair was quickly tidied. The reflection in the mirror—himself in new clothes with his hair now neatly arranged—looked unfamiliar. Kim Hyejung kept smiling, somehow understanding why he couldn’t take his eyes off himself, finding it strange.
“Your skin is so good that there’s no need to apply anything. Should we just add a little lip color?”
Yeonwoo immediately pursed his lips.
Seeing this response through action rather than words, Kim Hyejung turned to look at Secretary Kang.
Yeonwoo remained tense throughout, unable to adapt to being dressed up like a doll. Recognizing this, Secretary Kang said that this was enough and told Yeonwoo they should start moving.
Kim Hyejung stepped back, and Yeonwoo quietly stood up. He checked his uncharacteristic appearance in the mirror and moved quietly, with Kim Hyejung following behind him saying:
“You’re the most beautiful guest I’ve seen recently, and I’ve been excited the whole time. Please visit again. Next time, I’ll prepare with even more care.”
“……”
Would there really be a next time?
Today, Secretary Kang had brought him here because he needed to meet not only Ho Munbeom but also his grandfather. There were no price tags on the clothes, but they were clearly beyond what Yeonwoo could afford.
Though that’s what he thought in his mind, his mouth didn’t open. Yeonwoo just hoped his expression didn’t look awkward. Kim Hyejung, who had followed them to the entrance, made an “Ah!” sound and looked back.
“What should we do with the clothes you came in?”
Only then did Yeonwoo realize he hadn’t collected his own clothes, and he turned back as well. Kim Hyejung looked up at Yeonwoo and said with a harmless expression:
“Would you like us to dispose of them for you?”
“……”
Yeonwoo, who had naturally planned to take his clothes with him, couldn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Secretary Kang, who was already leaving the store, answered, “I’ll leave it to you, thank you.” With the matter decided before he could say anything, Yeonwoo kept his mouth shut. During this time, Yeonwoo got into the car with Kim Hyejung seeing them off, and he quickly shifted his gaze to the rapidly changing scenery outside the window.
The clothes he wore felt comfortable. His reflection in the mirror didn’t look strange at all, and wasn’t bad to look at. Perhaps he was now in a state more suitable for meeting Ho Munbeom and his grandfather than he had been before.
He had thought his original clothes weren’t bad, but apparently they weren’t good enough. He couldn’t have gone to meet Ho Munbeom or his grandfather wearing those clothes.
Feeling already tired at the thought of the tense meeting ahead, Yeonwoo closed his eyes.
Their destination was neither a hotel nor the café where he had met Ho Munbeom before. The car left Seoul and found its way along an unmarked road, arriving at a traditional Korean house located in the mountains. At first, Yeonwoo thought it was someone’s home. But it was too large for someone to live in, and seeing the spacious parking lot, he realized it was a restaurant.
There weren’t even ten cars parked in that vast lot. More precisely, there were five vehicles near the entrance, one on the opposite side, and now the car Yeonwoo had arrived in, making a total of eight.
Why were there so many cars? Not having considered that Ho Munbeom and his grandfather might travel separately, Yeonwoo just followed Secretary Kang cautiously. Climbing the stone steps and entering through the open gate, Yeonwoo took a small breath.
Inside the gate was a wide courtyard, with lanterns hung here and there giving off a soft glow that made the scene indescribably mysterious. Yeonwoo, who until just moments ago had been in the 21st century, stood still wondering if he had entered the past, clasping his hands together.
Just then, catching a faint smell of cigarettes, he turned his head and saw a tall man standing in the corner to the right. It was Ho Munbeom.
Ho Munbeom, with one hand in his pocket, removed the cigarette from his mouth. He tapped the cigarette between his fingers to shake off the ash, stubbed it out in a nearby ashtray, and exhaled a long stream of smoke between his lips. After waving his hand in front of his face a couple of times, he walked toward Yeonwoo.
As Ho Munbeom approached without hesitation, Yeonwoo blinked a few times. Watching the man become larger and clearer, Yeonwoo finally exhaled the breath he had been holding when the faint smell of cigarettes touched his nose. As he breathed out deeply, Ho Munbeom bent down and brought his face close to Yeonwoo’s.
“As expected, this style suits you too.”
“…Yes.”
Yeonwoo recalled his reflection in the store mirror. It was certainly a look that even a third party would find acceptable. So he should take it as a compliment, but feeling downcast, Yeonwoo clenched and unclenched his lowered hands.
“You must have arrived early and been waiting.”
“No, I just got here and was having a smoke. Can you smell it?”
Ho Munbeom pulled his head back slightly and parted his lips a little. Watching him exhale a long breath into the air, Yeonwoo said, “No.”
“It’s fine.”
At those words, Ho Munbeom tilted his head to the side.
Perhaps he thought the response was too quick to contain sincerity. But it wasn’t a lie—it really was fine. Hesitating, Yeonwoo added again, “I don’t smell cigarettes.” Ho Munbeom then raised one finger and rubbed Yeonwoo’s exposed forehead.
“Revealing your forehead a bit like this isn’t bad either.”
“……”
Yeonwoo’s hair was just as it had been styled at the store. Not just washed, dried, and combed down by hand, but stylishly swept to one side. It was a style he couldn’t have done himself, and Ho Munbeom seemed to like it.
Should I practice styling my hair when I get home?
While he was lost in this thought, warmth touched his cheek. The hand that had been touching his forehead was now on his cheek. Lightly caressing before gently rubbing under his chin with his thumb, it created a strange feeling.
The forehead was one thing, but was there any need to touch his face like this?
Perplexed, Yeonwoo looked up, and his eyes met Ho Munbeom’s.
In that brief moment, he felt something difficult to explain.
If they continued like this, he felt his wildly racing heart would soon be discovered. So Yeonwoo looked away first and flinched. This was because he spotted a stocky elderly man standing on the wooden porch.
“……”
How long had he been standing there?
More shocked than curious, Yeonwoo unconsciously mumbled, “Uh.” Ho Munbeom also turned his head to see what Yeonwoo was looking at. Upon seeing his grandfather with an even more stern expression than usual, he lowered the hand that had been touching Yeonwoo’s face. With his hands now in his pockets, he asked in a casual tone:
“Why are you standing outside when it’s cold? We’ll follow right away, so please go in first.”
“……”
Despite these words, Ho Jaejung didn’t move and furrowed his brow as if to show his displeasure. After looking at Yeonwoo and Ho Munbeom alternately with a deeply frowning face, he cleared his throat loudly as if for them to hear, then turned away.
“Stop doing that outside and come in quickly!”
Yeonwoo’s eyes wavered at the sight of him striding away.
Ho Jaejung was just as formidable as Ho Munbeom. Yeonwoo, who hadn’t expected to see the chairman of Ho Moon Group in person, followed Ho Jaejung’s now invisible back with his eyes before looking up at Ho Munbeom. Carefully addressing the man whose face, unlike his own, remained composed, Yeonwoo said:
“…Shouldn’t we go in quickly?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
It was a leisurely response.
In this situation, even the serene courtyard scenery didn’t register. Feeling that they shouldn’t keep the chairman waiting, Yeonwoo raised his hand. Very lightly grasping Ho Munbeom’s sleeve, he began, “Um.”
“He’s waiting, so let’s go in.”
“……”
Ho Munbeom looked at Yeonwoo’s fingers carefully holding the end of his sleeve, then shifted his gaze to his face. Feeling as if he had made a mistake when Ho Munbeom looked at him, Yeonwoo tried to withdraw his hand. Before it could drop away, Ho Munbeom grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward.
“You’re right. We should go in before he has to wait any longer. He’s someone who understands when he makes others wait but can’t understand when he himself has to wait.”
Ho Munbeom’s hand fell away immediately, but the shock of having his wrist gripped by that large hand left Yeonwoo staring at the broad back walking ahead. Then he quickly followed as Ho Munbeom removed his shoes and stepped up onto the wooden porch.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
