Ryu Su-hyun exited the restroom, chewing on a low curse. Only after the click-clack of his receding shoes faded away did Haon relax his tense shoulders.
He had been so afraid that Ryu Su-hyun would demand his clothes back right then and there.
Leaning against the cold wall, Haon clutched his pounding chest and took a few steadying breaths. It was just a surprise, yet the corners of his mouth drooped downwards like melting ice cream.
He hadn’t been cursed at or physically assaulted, after all.
Stunned, Haon let out a sigh. Even though he hadn’t intentionally tried to look, his reflection in the mirror caught his eye. No matter how nice the clothes, the shabby air about him couldn’t be hidden.
I should have just worn my own clothes. If he had dressed according to his station, that man wouldn’t have even noticed him.
Haon bit his chapped lip, feeling even more pathetic for having such thoughts. Then, he widened his eyes with determination and headed for the door.
Thinking of Inho, who would be waiting for him, he stretched his lips into a smile. He didn’t want to show a gloomy face to the person who had come to the department store for him.
A gloomy person…
No one likes them.
Haon repeated the words he had engraved in his heart since childhood and left the restroom. He tried to stand confidently before Inho, but before long, his feet froze again.
“Is this how you’re really going to be after seeing me for the first time in a while?”
It was the voice of the man he thought had already left.
Looking down at the floor, Haon slowly raised his trembling gaze. And at that moment, a familiar face entered Haon’s sight.
“Inho hyung.”
Ryu Su-hyun gritted his teeth to suppress a curse. He was angry at Inho, who frowned as soon as he met his eyes in front of the restroom, without even asking how he had been. Who was the one who should be angry right now?
“You shouldn’t be like this to me, hyung.”
“Haon-ssi, are you alright?”
Inho, whose eyes met Haon’s, ignored Ryu Su-hyun and headed towards the restroom entrance. Haon’s complexion didn’t look good.
“I’m talking to you!”
Incensed by the sight of Inho cupping Haon’s pale cheeks, Ryu Su-hyun shouted.
He was dumbfounded by Haon’s reaction of flinching at his mere voice. Now that he looked closely, it seemed Haon wasn’t just a clueless kid but a sly fox pretending to be weak.
“Haon-ssi, go to the cafe first.”
Inho spoke, worriedly touching Haon’s pale face. Fortunately, there were no new marks. If there had been even a scratch on his cheek, he wouldn’t have been able to control his anger.
“I’ll be right there.”
He forced a smile and gently pushed Haon’s back. But for some reason, Haon only took small, hesitant steps, not moving forward.
“…Clothes.”
A small voice leaked out from between his thinly parted lips.
Inho leaned closer to Haon to hear the voice clearly. Seeing this, Ryu Su-hyun called out Inho’s name loudly, shouting.
“We were going to buy clothes….”
Haon quickly blurted out, trying to bury his voice under Ryu Su-hyun’s sharp tone. He even unconsciously grabbed Inho’s sleeve.
“Quickly, if we don’t go… it might close.”
It wasn’t Inho who was surprised by Haon’s actions, but Haon himself. His head was clearly preparing to return to the cafe as Inho had said, but his restless heart kept spilling out words on its own.
“We were going to go right after finishing our coffee… so I was thinking we should go now….”
Haon’s pupils shook violently. He didn’t even know what he was saying. His face, stained with nervousness, grew increasingly red. Ryu Su-hyun’s sharp laughter echoed clearly in his muffled ears. He was embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”
At that moment, Inho took Haon’s hand and spoke. In response, Haon’s head, which had been drooping towards the floor, sprang up like a spring.
“Let’s go quickly. Before it closes.”
Inho said that and walked down the long hallway with Haon. He lightly ignored Ryu Su-hyun’s voice calling after him with curses. Soothing Haon’s mood was the priority.
The two of them got back on the escalator together. Haon was distracted by Ryu Su-hyun’s voice, which resounded loudly in the hallway.
Inho kept calling Haon’s name and continued talking to keep Haon focused only on him.
“What did he say to you, Haon-ssi?”
“He just… said they were his clothes.”
Haon’s voice, as he pointed to the knit sweater, grew smaller. He didn’t add that it was a cherished piece of clothing. If it had been truly precious, he wouldn’t have left it at someone else’s house. Haon was at least that perceptive.
Inho rubbed his forehead and turned his head, pretending to look around the clothing store.
“I’m sorry. I should have bought you new clothes.”
Haon hurriedly shook his hand, saying he didn’t need to apologize. I should buy new clothes; there was no reason for a man to buy clothes for him.
“I have money to buy those clothes.”
Haon was the one who was flustered by the words that suddenly popped out. Haon closed his mouth, wondering why he had said such a thing. He felt a little stuffy and uncomfortable inside.
He raised his arm to rub his chest and ended up shaking off Inho’s hand that he was holding. He hadn’t even realized Inho was holding his hand because he was so focused on Ryu Su-hyun.
“Shall we go over there?”
Inho naturally extended his hand, which Haon had rejected, and pointed to a nearby store. It was a place with many clothes in neat colors and simple designs. Inho also frequently bought clothes from this brand.
“Yes….”
Haon nodded awkwardly and followed Inho. Because Inho walked a step ahead, Haon couldn’t see his expression.
“It’s getting colder, so a knit sweater would be nice, right?”
Inho casually scanned the clothes displayed by color and picked out a few tops of moderate thickness. His voice was as gentle and bright as usual, but a deep weariness lay in his downcast eyes.
“What kind of pants do you like?”
“Th-there….”
Haon looked back and forth between the store employee who had approached him and Inho, then opened his mouth. When Inho tilted his head as if asking ‘what is it?’, Haon smiled brightly and shook his head.
“Pants are okay. Just one top is enough.”
Saying so, he picked up a brown knit sweater that the employee was holding. Haon touched the knit as if examining it, pretending to like it.
“This one seems the best. I’ll buy this.”
“Do you have winter clothes?”
Isn’t it that if you just layer several clothes, they become winter clothes? Haon avoided Inho’s gaze, just nodded, and headed to the cash register.
“Haon-ssi, I’ll pay.”
Inho, who had blocked Haon’s path, tried to take the brown knit sweater.
“I’m the one who brought you here. Haon-ssi, you should buy from somewhere else.”
“No, it’s my clothes, so I’ll buy them.”
Haon’s long eyes curved even more roundly. Haon widened his smile to hide his sharp feelings.
“Give me this.”
He hugged the knit sweater to his chest and went to the cash register before Inho could grab him. He felt ashamed of his old wallet, which he usually didn’t care about, so he didn’t take it all the way out of his pocket and just pulled out his debit card.
The store was so luxurious and clean that it made him feel even more uncomfortable. Haon wanted to finish the payment quickly and get in the man’s car.
“Excuse me, do you have another card?”
At the employee’s cautious words, Haon, who had been lowering his head, widened his eyes. Could it be…..
“The payment didn’t go through. If you have another card, I’ll help you with the payment again.”
The polite employee didn’t bother to explain that it was due to insufficient funds. Judging from Haon’s expression, he seemed to already know the reason for the payment failure.
“Ah, um… then just a moment.”
Haon’s pale face flushed as if it would burst. As soon as he received his salary, he transferred all the money to his savings account, leaving only the amount he would use for the month in his living expenses card. Since he had been living in the man’s house, he hadn’t had any reason to spend money, so several hundred thousand won remained untouched.
He never imagined that one knit sweater would cost over five hundred thousand won.
Flustered by the unexpected price, Haon tried to put the knit sweater back in its place after putting away his card. If he had known the price, he wouldn’t have even picked it up.
“Please give them all to me.”
At that moment, Inho, who had approached the cash register, handed over his card. The employee following him was holding six pieces of clothing. Four tops and two pairs of pants. He wondered how much all of that would cost.
“You can throw them away if you’re not going to wear them.”
While two employees were packing the clothes together, Inho spoke. Haon, who had been anxiously wondering if all those clothes were for him, gaped.
“I, I don’t need that many.”
“Then you can just throw them away.”
Inho’s smiling expression felt somehow stiff. Reading the deep fatigue on his face, Haon couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.
The thought that he was making Inho tired choked him up, making it feel like his throat was stuffed with wet cotton.
***
Inho had originally planned to visit two more stores, but he finished all his shopping at the first one they entered. He hadn’t even bought half of what he intended for Haon, but Haon looked too exhausted to be dragged around by his own desires. He himself was also tired.
“Fasten your seatbelt.”
Haon, who had gotten into the passenger seat, was just quietly fidgeting with his hands. Hearing Inho’s words, he reached for the seatbelt but hesitated for a moment and placed his hands back on his lap.
“The cost of the clothes you bought today… please deduct it from my future salary.”
He ended up saying it after all.
All the way down to the parking lot, Haon had been constantly debating whether or not to bring up this subject. The words asking for a refund had risen to the tip of his tongue, but he held them back. If he thought of them as clothes he would wear for the rest of his life until he died, he could probably manage. He tried hard to think that way.
“I feel more comfortable buying them with my own money. Please let me do that. I’m begging you.”
He mustered his courage and spoke each word carefully, but the only response he received was the sound of the car engine. Inho, without taking his eyes off the road, said just one thing.
“Fasten your seatbelt.”
