CI 2.2

About two hours later, Son Yeo-il’s face looked considerably more haggard as he left the personal shopping room. It was difficult to keep count of how many outfits he had tried on and taken off in such a short period of time.

At first, when trying on several formal suits, Son Yeo-il timidly questioned, “We’re only buying one of these, right? I already have belts, shoes, and ties at home. We’re just trying these on, right?” But when the manager brought out casual clothes, he began to firmly refuse, saying, “We only came to buy a formal suit.”

However, if Won Hee-yeon actually listened to reason, he wouldn’t be Won Hee-yeon. He immediately responded to Son Yeo-il’s words with, “I need to replace your T-shirt, don’t I?” 

Son Yeo-il was about to tilt his head and ask “What T-shirt?” when he suddenly clamped his mouth shut in surprise.

Oh god, he’s talking about that shirt.

He was curious about the whereabouts of the T-shirt he had left at Won Hee-yeon’s place the night they first met, which Won Hee-yeon had claimed to “use” well over time, but knowing he’d only lose by bringing it up further, Son Yeo-il deliberately pretended not to understand.

If he needed to replace one T-shirt, it seemed suspicious that he was having him try on full sets including pants, cardigans, and sneakers. After that, a lengthy doll-dress-up game with no justification followed.

The manager and Won Hee-yeon were so in-sync, busy murmuring things like how perfect everything looked on him, how both colors suited him so they should keep both, how they should bring out more knitwear, and especially to bring all available turtlenecks out for him to take a look at.

Though he initially resisted, Son Yeo-il gradually surrendered to the flow, thinking that simply changing clothes as instructed instead of adding his own comments would end the situation much faster. Still, he couldn’t believe it had taken this long. While dragging his tired feet, Son Yeo-il stubbornly asked.

“Boss Won. We’re not buying all of this, right? That would be too much.”

“Oh no, not everything. I just asked them to load only what you can wear immediately into the car for now.”

Only for now? The ambiguous answer was suspicious, but he didn’t have the energy to question further. Honestly, all the clothes he tried on looked beautiful even to Son Yeo-il, who rarely shopped, and he did covet some items, so part of him wanted to turn a blind eye. But there was one thing that kept bothering him.

“But why don’t those clothes have price tags?”

“Hmm? Is that so?”

“Yes. They seemed expensive so I wanted to check, but it looks like none of them have tags on them.”

“Maybe they forgot? Anyway, they’re not that expensive. Don’t worry about it.”

If he had known those clothes were on a completely different scale and unit of measurement from his common sense, he might have resisted more, but the naive Son Yeo-il glared daggers at Won Hee-yeon before giving up.

“Fine. If you promise to choose moderately, I’ll buy lunch today.”

“Really?”

“It’s nothing compared to what I owe you today.”

Won Hee-yeon was ecstatic at Son Yeo-il’s prime offer.

“Since my husband is buying food today, this doesn’t count against the 50 meals I decided to buy, right?”

Son Yeo-il hesitated at Won Hee-yeon’s question. Even these days when he felt much closer to Won Hee-yeon, Son Yeo-il still counted backward every time they ate together. Thinking, once he’d reach 50 meals with this person, it would be all over.

It felt like he had read his ambivalent feelings—neither fully opening his heart nor completely closing it, but awkwardly measuring the distance. His heart started to throb with embarrassment, but Won Hee-yeon’s face was one of pure delight.

“…Yes, it doesn’t count.”

As he answered, Son Yeo-il pushed the number that had decreased to the thirties deep into the recesses of his memory. The two headed toward the restaurants on the top floor of the department store.

They looked around at all the appetizing establishments, but because Son Yeo-il was very hungry and this place happened to have the shortest waiting time, they ended up at an eel rice bowl restaurant.

“What does this mean? Huh? What does this mean?”

“Please be quiet.”

“I’d like to be quiet, but the situation doesn’t allow it. Our Son Yeo-il is buying me a meal? That’s shocking enough. But out of 10 restaurants outside, you choose an eel place? This is like completely falling head over heels and then resurrecting after three days!”

With a look of utter distaste, Son Yeo-il hurriedly turned the table kiosk screen around to open a menu page without eel included.

“Oh, come on. You saw earlier that all the other restaurants had an hour wait. Look, they have other things here, too. Should I get you a salmon rice bowl? Beef?”

“No, no. I should have eel.”

Won Hee-yeon pressed the ‘forward’ button with a serious face and ordered an eel rice bowl. After smiling contentedly to himself, he suddenly put on a straight face and added something like an excuse.

“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t particularly need to eat eel. This Won Won Hee-yeon has strength second only to money, and I get all fired up just looking at our Son Yeo-il, even without eating eel. Hmm? Let me see? No, showing would be a criminal offense. Just give me your right hand lightly and I’ll put it right here…”

“Shh.”

Now able to catch when Won Hee-yeon was about to start talking nonsense, Son Yeo-il put his index finger to his lips and exhaled sharply instead of responding at length. Won Hee-yeon shut his mouth like an obedient large dog. Judging by how he kept smirking and scanning Son Yeo-il’s lips with his eyes, he seemed to be having some thoughts about the round shape of the other man’s lips.

Sigh. Well, whatever.

Since he had his own mischievous thoughts sometimes, Son Yeo-il decided to let that much slide. The other man’s lewd glances weren’t the only attention that bothered him. At some point, Son Yeo-il realized that people in the restaurant were taking turns glancing at their table as if by agreement.

About half of them were stealing glances at Son Yeo-il, but not having considered that possibility, Son Yeo-il mistakenly thought all those gazes were directed at Won Hee-yeon. It was an understandable mistake. Won Hee-yeon’s current appearance was more than enough to draw everyone’s attention.

If I were a woman, I might feel a bit proud right now. No, even if I’m not a woman, I would feel the same if we had a special relationship.

Looking at the refined profile as he slightly turned his head to drink water, Son Yeo-il secretly entertained thoughts that would have caused quite a commotion had Won Hee-yeon known about them.

When their food arrived at the table, Won Hee-yeon neatly arranged the utensils in front of Son Yeo-il. Then he selectively picked out side dishes that Son Yeo-il might like from the tray, including portions from his own share, and placed them on Son Yeo-il’s plate.

Was Son Yeo-il shallow? Though this was something Won Hee-yeon always did when they ate together and he had merely dressed according to Son Yeo-il’s taste, today it felt particularly special.

No. I think I’m just feeling a bit proud right now…

Son Yeo-il ate while trying to bring down his elevated mood. He didn’t have to try too hard, as Won Hee-yeon kept making mood-dampening comments from beside him, like “Oh my, eating the eel tail will cause trouble,” and “But what if you gain strength with nowhere to use it? Will there be a second part to the program according to the schedule?”

The personal shopping room staff were supposed to organize and package today’s purchases to load into Won Hee-yeon’s car, but by the time they finished eating, the preparations weren’t complete (Son Yeo-il asked exactly how much they had bought, but Won Hee-yeon didn’t answer), so the two decided to look around the department store for a while.

“Where should we go next? Is there anything else you’d like to see?”

“Not clothes. I think I’ll get motion sickness if I look at more clothes today. Oh, I heard there’s a bookstore in the basement.”

“A bookstore sounds good. Indeed, our Son Yeo-il is sexiest when smelling of ink.”

“…Be quiet.”

He was admonishing him to be quiet at 30-minute intervals. It seemed excessive even to himself, but there was no alternative since Won Hee-yeon said something strange every time he opened his mouth.

Son Yeo-il headed to the bookstore partly to check out new releases and partly to place Won Hee-yeon in front of books to render him speechless like a mute who’d eaten honey. Honestly, he held a condescending expectation that, as someone who used to throw punches, he would probably detest even the smell of paper.

But surprisingly, Won Hee-yeon stood next to Son Yeo-il, earnestly examining the bookshelves. His expression was calm and serious, and each book he picked up was invariably an anticipated work by an author with a solid fan base, suggesting he wasn’t just randomly browsing. Son Yeo-il couldn’t hide his puzzlement as he asked.

“…Do you read books often?”

“Well, as much as others do. Not enough to show off in front of a lawyer, though.”

If he had boasted as usual, saying something like “Won Hee-yeon is dead without reading,” he would have dismissed it as pretension, but his humble response made him sound more like a bibliophile.

What’s with this person?

Curious, Son Yeo-il checked the book Won Hee-yeon was examining and casually probed him with a question.

“I thought that author’s debut work was the best.”

“I agree. But they say this book has fewer abrupt plot developments.”

The accurate response surprised Son Yeo-il even more.

Seriously, what’s with this person?

Quite unexpectedly, Son Yeo-il found herself discussing novels and novelists with Won Hee-yeon in front of the fiction section. If Won Hee-yeon’s phone hadn’t suddenly rung, their conversation might have continued longer. After checking the screen, Won Hee-yeon furrowed his brow as if perplexed.

“Hmm, what’s wrong with these people?”

“What’s the matter?”

“They say the shopping bags don’t all fit in the car. How carelessly did they load the cargo to have this problem?”

“…Isn’t it because there are too many shopping bags? You’re really not buying all those clothes from earlier, right?”

At Son Yeo-il’s suspicious question, Won Hee-yeon hastily waved his hands around.

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t buy that much. Ah, these people are doing their job so carelessly. If stacked properly, everything should fit. Wait here. I need to go back quickly. If you want to buy that book, I’ll pay for it on my way out.”

“No thanks. I want to look around some more.”

“True. There’s no point stockpiling unread books—they just become a burden on your conscience. Then please wait here for a moment while you browse.”

Even his parting comment sounded like something a genuine book reader would say. It was so strange that he couldn’t help but smile. As he was about to put down the book he had been holding and move to the next section of shelves, it happened.

“I think that that book is out of stock, honey.”

At the familiar voice, Son Yeo-il’s steps came to an abrupt halt. It wasn’t at all because he was glad to hear it—literally, his body froze. Following the man’s voice, he heard a woman speaking with puzzlement.

“What? That can’t be. They said it was here. Check again.”

“It doesn’t show up in the search either. There’s a translated version—should I get that for you?”

“I came all this way to read it in the original language. Wait a moment. I’ll go ask an employee.”

As the woman left to find a staff member, the man yawned deeply and looked around. After standing still for a while, it suddenly occurred to Son Yeo-il that he might notice him.

Wanting to avoid that at all costs, Son Yeo-il moved his trembling knees to edge sideways with creaking steps. But perhaps his movements were too unnatural. Before he could get far, the man seemed to have spotted him. Feeling him approaching briskly from behind, Son Yeo-il grimaced.

“Is that Son Yeo-il?”

If possible, he wanted to sink into the ground or shoot up to the sky to escape this place. It would be fine to become a speck of dust and vanish from this world.

But since none of that was possible, Son Yeo-il had no other choice but to turn toward the voice. Toward that face that had until recently appeared incessantly in his dreams, causing him sleep paralysis.

“It is Son Yeo-il. Have you…been well?”

That typical line again. Son Yeo-il faced the figure before him without lowering his head. It turned out to be his crappy ex-boyfriend, Koo Dae-hyun.

His head started to throb with pain. Son Yeo-il had never been particularly lucky, but this was really too much. To run into his ex-boyfriend on his first trip to Seoul since moving to the countryside.

This is seriously messed up.

While Son Yeo-il was too dumbfounded by this unfortunate coincidence to respond, Koo Dae-hyun mistakenly thought that he too was lost in sentiment and started rambling on his own.

“How’s life in the countryside? Have you adjusted to working in a small office? You probably don’t have anyone to rely on there.”

“…”

“You seem to have lost some weight. That’s not good, Son Yeo-il. We agreed you’d eat properly even if no one was looking after you.”

It was a ridiculous statement. Son Yeo-il was currently making more effort to eat regular meals than at any other time in his life due to Won Hee-yeon’s insistence, and as a result, he had gained about 2 kg since his law school graduation ceremony.

What is this crazy guy going on and on about?

Son Yeo-il’s brow furrowed slightly. Misinterpreting his expression as one of emotional distress, Koo Dae-hyun spouted even more nonsense with greater enthusiasm.

“I know. I understand how difficult it must be. I also sometimes…no, frequently thought about you. I felt our relationship didn’t need to end the way it did.”

He said he ‘also’ thought about him. Not only did he misunderstand that Son Yeo-il was struggling when he was actually doing well, but Koo Dae-hyun even seemed to have concluded that Son Yeo-il had been suffering because he was thinking about him.

That blockhead had always been like this even when they were dating. The naive Son Yeo-il used to think he was missing something whenever they weren’t on the same page, but in reality, he was the one who didn’t understand anything.

Furthermore, “our relationship didn’t need to end the way it did”? Did Koo Dae-hyun even have the right to mention the end of their relationship? No, wasn’t it a luxury to even attach the word “end” to what happened?

Don’t engage in a long conversation.

There was much he could have confronted him about. How could he say such things? What was he thinking when he did that? Were all those rumors that followed Son Yeo-il around as he was finishing law school started by him?

But he knew that if he made a scene here, he would simply deny everything, and Son Yeo-il would end up looking like the strange one. It was better for Son Yeo-il to dismiss him first.