Han-gyeom was currently in an extremely embarrassing situation.
“Oh my, that looks so good on you.”
At the employee’s unstinting praise, Han-gyeom scratched his head shyly. Then he stole a glance at Won-hyeok, who was sitting in front of him, and saw that he was smiling in obvious delight. Still, how many outfits had this been already?
At first, he had counted how many times he had gone in and out of the fitting room, but by now he had given up. Repeatedly putting on and taking off all kinds of clothes under the employee’s guidance, Han-gyeom felt as though he had somehow become a model in a fashion show.
From jackets to T-shirts, pants, hats, and more, seeing himself decked out from head to toe in expensive clothes felt strangely unfamiliar.
“You have such a great frame that everything looks good on you, customer.”
The employee, who had been standing beside him the whole time adjusting the fit and drape of his clothes, couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Han-gyeom.
“R-really?”
With the employee beside him showering him with praise and constantly talking to him, Han-gyeom felt like his energy was being drained twice as fast. Of course, since that person’s job was to assist customers, she was probably saying things she didn’t even mean, but that still didn’t make it any less embarrassing.
“If you roll the sleeves up a little more here……”
The employee moved in to touch up Han-gyeom’s styling even further, but Won-hyeok, as if he had been waiting for exactly that moment, suddenly stepped in between them.
“I think this is enough.”
“Ah, yes.”
When the quick-witted employee immediately took a step back, Won-hyeok looked Han-gyeom up and down with satisfaction. Wearing a blue shirt and a soft knit vest, Han-gyeom looked unbearably cute, and Won-hyeok felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment.
“Han-gyeom, do you want to go change now?”
“Yes!”
Maybe he was excited by the thought of finally escaping this fashion show, because Han-gyeom hurried into the fitting room at once. The moment he stripped off the expensive clothes and put his own back on, he felt indescribably comfortable.
As Han-gyeom gathered up his things and came back out, he saw Won-hyeok talking with an employee. And beside them were countless beautifully packaged shopping bags.
“How would you like to pay?”
“In one lump sum, please.”
Seeing Won-hyeok hand over his card without the slightest hesitation, Han-gyeom gasped, swallowed his panic, and quickly walked over.
“S-sunbae. Don’t tell me all of this…….”
“Yeah. It’s all yours, Han-gyeom.”
He had suspected it, but he hadn’t believed it would really be true. Han-gyeom stared with wide, round eyes, looking back and forth between the shopping bags and the employee swiping Won-hyeok’s card. Won-hyeok had said he wanted to buy him clothes, but Han-gyeom had only imagined maybe one or two outfits out of all of them. He had never once expected him to buy every single thing he had tried on.
“Sunbae, I don’t need this many clothes.”
“You can wear clothes for a long time. Wear them whenever you come to see me.”
Just then, the cheerful payment confirmation chime rang out from the card machine, and an absurdly long receipt came printing out. The employee handed the card back with a lavish smile reserved for customers who spent huge sums of money.
“Still…… this is too much…… and it’s too expensive.”
Han-gyeom glanced around inside the store. He could see a brand logo that even someone unfamiliar with luxury goods would probably recognize on sight. And on top of that, there was the staggering price printed on the receipt he’d caught a glimpse of.
For Han-gyeom, who only bought clothes from online shopping malls when they were on sale, this was the kind of shopping trip he couldn’t even begin to imagine. It was obvious that even if he worked part-time for several months, he still wouldn’t make as much as Won-hyeok had just spent today.
“Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Huh?”
“Before we started dating, you said something like this, didn’t you? That just because I have a lot of money doesn’t mean you should shamelessly accept it.”
Han-gyeom nodded. Won-hyeok seemed to be talking about the time he had given him the glasses as a present. Back then too, Han-gyeom had said something like that when Won-hyeok had casually bought him glasses that cost an unimaginable amount.
“Do you still think it doesn’t count as a reason? We’re dating now.”
“T-that may be true, but even so…….”
“It’s because I want to do this for you. Isn’t it natural to want to buy pretty clothes for your lover? Just like how you want to do anything for me, I feel the same way.”
Han-gyeom’s eyes blinked slowly. It felt like he had just been hit over the head by something he had never expected. He liked Won-hyeok enough to want to do anything for him. But he had never thought that Won-hyeok might feel the same.
Then again, it was incredibly difficult for two people’s feelings to take the exact same shape, and Han-gyeom had never assumed that Won-hyeok would like him as much as he liked Won-hyeok. But after what Won-hyeok had just said, he thought maybe—just a little, even if not by much—maybe it was okay to let himself have a small hope.
“What should I do…….”
“Hm?”
Han-gyeom grabbed the hem of Won-hyeok’s top tightly in his hand.
“I, I like you so much, sunbae.”
“…….”
Won-hyeok flinched. At the sight of Han-gyeom making yet another love confession with his face flushed bright red like a ripe persimmon, his heart pounded helplessly. What was this? Why was his heart beating this fast? At this rate, wasn’t this enough to actually kill someone?
When he caressed Han-gyeom’s cheek, the heat of his skin transferred into his palm.
“Ahem.”
And that was when it happened. The employee, who was still standing guard in front of the two of them, cleared her throat.
“Customer, the items you purchased can also be delivered. How would you like us to handle that?”
The two of them had been standing in the middle of the store openly wrapped up in their lovey-dovey world. They had been so thoroughly immersed in each other that the employee had eventually felt compelled to give them a hint.
“Ah, delivery would be great.”
Won-hyeok wrote down Han-gyeom’s home address and handed it to the employee. The employees, who had maintained professional smiles while assisting them, burst into a flood of pent-up commentary about that syrupy-sweet couple the moment the two of them finally left.
“Sunbae.”
“Yeah?”
The two of them strolled through the department store naturally holding hands. Honestly, if it were up to Won-hyeok, he would have liked to go into one of the watch stores they passed and buy him a watch too, not just clothes, but it seemed like Han-gyeom wouldn’t be able to accept that. So he figured he would wait for a better chance later and give it to him as a cleverly disguised gift.
“I’m definitely going to make a lot of money someday.”
“All of a sudden?”
“I want to do lots of nice things for you too, sunbae. Right now I’m just someone doing short-term part-time jobs, but…….”
And on top of that, he was still a university student who couldn’t really earn that much yet.
“But still! Once I make a lot of money later, I’ll buy you everything you want, sunbae!”
Han-gyeom raised a clenched fist with one hand. The pose was so full of determination that Won-hyeok finally burst out laughing. Did this kid even know that his family had so much money he could live in idleness for the rest of his life and still never run out?
“Then later, if I become unemployed and can’t earn any money, are you going to support me?”
“Of course! Just trust me.”
There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in his answer. Support who, exactly? This was the first time in Won-hyeok’s life that anyone had ever told him they would take financial responsibility for him.
For Won-hyeok, the only people who had ever approached him were those trying to cling to his wealth and background, so Han-gyeom’s answer could only feel all the more special.
“That’s really reassuring.”
Won-hyeok grabbed Han-gyeom’s cheek and stretched it out. He was busy kneading and tugging at those glutinous-rice-cake-soft cheeks when someone walked toward the two of them from the front. The sound of dress shoes approached in an even rhythm, then stopped abruptly.
“Won-hyeok?”
Both of them turned their heads at the same time toward the voice. Recognizing the person who had called his name, Won-hyeok made a strange expression, while Han-gyeom tilted his head. He was sure it was someone he had never seen before, and yet oddly enough, the face looked familiar. It strongly felt like someone he had seen somewhere before.
“I saw you from far away and wasn’t sure, but it really was you.”
“Why are you here, Secretary Min?”
The way Won-hyeok spoke was completely different from his usual tone. Han-gyeom looked back and forth between Won-hyeok and the man standing before them, and then suddenly something came to mind.
It was the photo album he had seen the last time he went to Won-hyeok’s house. A man had appeared in the pictures from Won-hyeok’s high school entrance ceremony and graduation. The person standing here now was that very man. Won-hyeok had definitely said that he was someone like an uncle to him.
“Huh? Me, well, that is…….”
As Secretary Min trailed off, Won-hyeok’s eyebrow twitched. If this man was here, then there was a very high chance that that person was here too. Sure enough, almost the instant he thought that, Do Won-cheol stepped out from one of the stores.
“Hm?”
Do Won-cheol, too, must not have expected to find his son here, because his eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Soon, a stiff exchange of eye contact passed between father and son. Secretary Min sighed as if this was exactly what he had expected, and Han-gyeom, not understanding what was going on, simply kept his mouth shut.
Even if he recognized Secretary Min, he had no idea who the older man who came out afterward was.
“If you’ve seen your father, shouldn’t you greet him?”
Your father? At those unexpected words, Han-gyeom’s eyes went wide.
“Why are you at a department store in the middle of a weekday afternoon? I guess being the president means your work schedule’s pretty relaxed.”
Won-hyeok was smiling, but there was nothing smiling about the words that came out of his mouth. Anyone could tell they were lined with thorns, but Do Won-cheol didn’t even blink, as if he had expected no less.
“Won-hyeok, the president barely managed to find the time to come out too. It was because of a gift for madam.”
Won-hyeok’s gaze landed on Do Won-cheol’s hand. A shopping bag stamped with the logo of a famous jewelry brand hung from his rough hand. Won-hyeok knew very well that even when there was no special occasion, his father sometimes came home like this after buying gifts for his mother.
“Secretary Min. Watch your tongue.”
When Do Won-cheol gave a dry cough, Secretary Min lowered his head.
“Yes. Then be on your way.”
“And why are you here? Do you know your mother was worried because you left the house without a word?”
“Just because it’s vacation, do I have to stay shut up at home? Over one single day, seriously…… and why do you care whether I’m here or not? What does it matter to you?”
Do Won-cheol looked at Won-hyeok once with clear displeasure, but then something caught in his field of vision. Right beside Won-hyeok, there stood Han-gyeom, his eyes darting around in obvious confusion.
Ohoho time to meet daddy huh