# Chapter 85
Two o’clock on a weekday afternoon.
The department store near home was crowded with people. They chatted and laughed with cheerful faces. Jiwon was overcome with a strange feeling.
As Jungyeom had predicted, Jiwon had expected people to be dejected. After all, no proper solution for the Riska dungeon had been found yet.
How could anyone be okay while living with what amounted to a ticking time bomb?
“It’s so crowded, isn’t it?”
But Jiwon’s assumption had been wrong.
Of course, people probably weren’t completely at ease. They must be worried to some extent.
Actually, it didn’t matter either way. Regular people worrying wouldn’t improve the situation anyway.
“Yeah, it is.”
Jungyeom had asked if Jiwon felt unfair that everyone else was going about their lives normally while they couldn’t.
But Jiwon didn’t feel that way. Rather, he was glad everyone was doing well. It was much better than them being holed up at home, trembling in fear.
Even the worry about resolving the dungeon was the responsibility of ability users. Jiwon hoped that ordinary people wouldn’t have to shoulder that burden.
“Looks like a lot of people recognize you, Esper-nim.”
Jiwon said to Suhyun with a pleasant smile. Not far away, people were whispering while stealing glances at Suhyun.
Suhyun didn’t bother to turn and look.
“Many people recognize you too, Guide-nim.”
Jiwon shrugged.
He could feel the burning gazes directed at him, but they were probably recognizing him because he was beside Suhyun.
The interest in Guides was much lower than that in Espers, after all. Even so, Jiwon had been working as a Guide for a long time, so some people did recognize him. And he’d gained even more attention after becoming Suhyun’s dedicated Guide.
‘I mean, I’m the Guide of none other than Seo Suhyun, so it’s to be expected.’
Jiwon thought about public interest in this way and accepted it without making a fuss.
“Anyway, Esper-nim’s popularity is something else.”
Well, that was only natural.
By this point, Jiwon recalled the first time he had gone to a dungeon with Suhyun. That was when he truly realized how immense the interest in Suhyun was.
“…Seo Suhyun…”
“He’s so fucking handsome…”
Though they seemed to have lowered their voices, the praise directed at him was clearly audible.
‘That’s right. He is handsome.’
Jiwon found himself nodding in agreement without realizing it. He was actually enjoying the attention Suhyun was getting.
“So, where shall we start?”
It was quite enjoyable, but since Suhyun didn’t seem too pleased with the attention, Jiwon decided to quickly buy clothes and leave.
First, they needed to find a store to enter.
“Hmm…”
But Jiwon hit a roadblock right from the start. He hadn’t really been to department stores much himself.
The last time was probably a few years ago when Jo Wooyeon had suddenly dragged him along because Jiwon had grown taller. Come to think of it, the first time he visited a department store was also with Wooyeon. It was shortly after he became a Guide, when he looked like a complete mess.
Other than that, he’d always just been dragged around by Wooyeon.
Thinking about it now, he felt overwhelmed. Today, Suhyun was with him, and since he was the one who suggested coming here, he needed to complete the shopping successfully and return home, but he didn’t even know where to go first.
“Shall we go in there?”
After contemplating briefly, Jiwon pointed to a store that caught his eye. His intention was to just enter somewhere and figure it out from there.
“Ah, wait a moment…”
However, Jiwon stopped before taking even two steps. He had pointed to the store because it seemed to display casual clothes at a glance, but upon closer inspection, the clothes were far from his taste.
A loose-fit hoodie in neon colors. That might be acceptable, but the shredded jeans were too much to bear.
“…”
Still, they might suit Suhyun well…
Jiwon quickly glanced at Suhyun. Suhyun’s eyes were narrowed. As soon as he saw his expression, Jiwon realized that these clothes were far from Suhyun’s taste as well. With a twitch of his lips, Jiwon pulled Suhyun along.
“Let’s go over there.”
Suhyun might wear them if Jiwon insisted, but since this was the first time they’d gone out just for fun, he didn’t want to give him an unpleasant experience.
Jiwon pointed to a nearby store that had the same casual feel but displayed relatively more subdued clothes.
“Okay.”
Suhyun responded right away. His expression improved considerably. Jiwon smiled at how transparent his thoughts seemed for once.
“Oh, welcome!”
As soon as the two entered the store, a staff member greeted them enthusiastically. This employee had already been sending heated glances their way.
Jiwon gave a slight bow and then scanned the numerous clothes hanging on the racks. They had managed to enter a store, but there were so many clothes that it was overwhelming to decide where to start.
“Are you looking for something specific?”
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wander for long. The staff member asked a kind question, as if willing to help them find anything.
“Ah, not for me, but for my friend here.”
Jiwon quickly pointed to Suhyun. Suhyun, who had been following behind Jiwon while scanning the displayed clothes with disinterested eyes, raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have any clothes that look casual? Not too formal, but not excessively casual either?”
Although Jiwon had some intention of buying clothes for himself too, Suhyun was the priority. Jiwon took full advantage of the staff’s assistance to detail what he wanted.
The staff member quickly scanned Suhyun’s attire. Then, she smiled brightly.
“You’re looking for comfortable clothes for everyday wear, right? Something that looks neat?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Do you have any preferred style?”
At the question directed at Suhyun, he slowly shook his head.
“Then…”
The staff member’s movements became increasingly busy. She kept examining Suhyun while searching for clothes that would suit him, her movements very professional.
“Fortunately, no dungeon appeared today. Are you going somewhere important?”
Meanwhile, she continued with light questions to avoid awkward silence, which was impressive.
Jiwon inadvertently turned his gaze toward Suhyun. At the same time, Suhyun also looked at Jiwon, causing their eyes to meet.
Jiwon immediately understood how their everyday clothes appeared to others. A small laugh escaped between his lips.
“Haha, no. These are our everyday clothes.”
“Oh, really?”
“Someone complained that we both dress too dully. So we came to buy less drab clothes.”
Jiwon explained to the staff member, adopting a somewhat businesslike but gentle and friendly tone.
“I see!”
Something about what he said sparked a gleam in the staff member’s eyes. It was more than just a sparkle, causing Jiwon to hesitate momentarily.
Sure enough.
Before much time had passed, the staff member stood proudly in front of them, holding a pile of clothes.
“You made a good decision! Both of you ability users are so tall and handsome that you’d look good in anything, but formal clothes can be uncomfortable, right?”
“Ah, yes…”
“I’ve chosen styles that are comfortable for activities but not too casual.”
The staff member’s eyes blazed with enthusiasm. Jiwon nodded awkwardly. He didn’t have a good feeling about this.
“Would you like to try them on?”
The quick-moving staff member handed Suhyun a white t-shirt, a dark green knit sweater, and dark blue jeans with no tears.
Suhyun, who had reflexively accepted the clothes, looked at Jiwon, but Jiwon had no time to meet his gaze.
“Guide Jiwon-nim, how about trying these?”
“…Me too?”
“Weren’t both of you looking for clothes?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Jiwon looked at the pile of clothes that had somehow accumulated in his arms. A pink sweatshirt, slightly torn light blue jeans, and an ivory trench coat.
The light colors suited spring perfectly, but they were clothes that Jiwon would never have picked for himself.
“The fitting rooms are this way.”
“Haha…”
In any case, it was Jiwon who had decided to take advantage of the staff’s help. Since he was secretly curious about how Suhyun would look in the new clothes, Jiwon nodded without protest.
‘Ah, I’ve been duped.’
However, inside the fitting room, Jiwon suddenly realized that this wouldn’t end with just one try-on.
He had a feeling that after changing and going out, they would have to try on the other clothes that had been piled up earlier.
Unfortunately, Jiwon’s prediction was almost perfectly accurate. The moment he stepped out of the fitting room, he was caught in a vicious cycle of being cheered for how well the clothes suited him, followed immediately by being handed a new set to try on.
What Jiwon hadn’t anticipated was that with each entry and exit from the fitting room, the pile of clothes accumulated by the enthusiastic staff member grew larger and larger.
No matter how many outfits they tried on, new ones kept appearing. It was like a pit of quicksand.
