Even though it was a weekday, the department store was crowded. At least the luxury brand store was relatively quiet. Jae-hee passed by several stores that she had never seen before and walked into a store with a familiar, clean white toned interior. Inside the store, there were only a couple of women looking at clothes and employees, as all the people who were once there seemed to have disappeared.
“Oh, Mr. Yoon, you came?”
The manager, who was serving customers, asked another employee to take over for him and walked toward Jung-Hoo.
“It’s been a while.”
“The last time you came was when you came to buy a gift for your second mother’s birthday?”
With a kind smile on her face, the manager greeted Junghoo warmly and politely and quickly glanced over at Jaehee who was standing next to him. Then, she naturally guided them to a separate VIP space that was prepared in the back of the store.
“This person over here…?”
He hugged Jaehee’s waist tightly as if he was looking at her.
“Bring all the items that suit this person.”
The manager smiled brightly and left the message without mentioning the relationship as if she understood the meaning behind the man’s words. From the conversation, it seemed like this store was frequently visited by the man’s family.
“What are you going to do if other family members hear?”
“Is that a concern?”
“It wouldn’t be strange if it is.”
What was Jung-hoo trying to say about himself? She felt both comforted and at a loss as he didn’t get a response from him, but on the other hand, her heart beat aimlessly.
“Don’t worry about pointless things and think about paying off today’s debt.”
The items on display were luxury goods that Jae-hee had never even seen before.
“Do you have so much money?”
“If I have a lot?”
“Isn’t that natural? I’m not upset at all. I wish you would dress nicely, wear nice shoes, and put on nice makeup.
“There are plenty of women like that.”
“Yes, there are plenty around me.”
“Why do you insist on asking me to do that?”
“I told you, I want to see you looking pretty. Aren’t you a girl? Have you never wanted to dress nicely and look good?”
“…I haven’t.”
“It’s a lie.” Jung-woo teased with a smirk.
“How do you know that’s a lie?”
“Aah, Sunbae doesn’t know.”
Jae-hee didn’t express her emotions easily. He had to cling stubbornly and observe her to barely see her habits.
“Sunbae pauses for a moment when lying.”
“What?”
“As if you are preparing yourself for the wound you will receive from that lie. A mental preparation. You know, that kind of thing.”
Junghoo’s mouth was smiling but his eyes seemed to pierce through Jaehee. His gaze was cold, yet simultaneously warm. It was as if he knew everything, even though Jaehee tried to hide her feelings and he understood kindly. Jaehee was flustered because no one had ever spoken about her feelings before and she turned her gaze away.
Fortunately, Junghoo’s phone rang at that moment.
More about my translations can be found here.
https://aistea-translations.carrd.co/
