Excited at the thought of playing dress-up with such a pretty Yiyoung, Chahyun completely forgot about being nervous just moments ago and relaxed his eyelids. Then Yiyoung looked at Chahyun with suspicious eyes, his expression downright frightened.
“……What are we doing today?”
He asked at just the right time. It was an appropriate question that allowed him to condense a week’s worth of contemplation into an answer.
Chahyun had been pondering why Yiyoung rarely smiled at him as lovingly as in the photos on his phone, and when he might receive kind and affectionate texts. He soon reached the conclusion that Yiyoung needed to love him more than the twenty-eight-year-old Moon Chahyun.
No matter how he thought about it, Yiyoung seemed to feel they were different people. In other words, Chahyun was in a situation where he had to win the heart of a man who was still depressed over not being able to forget his ex-boyfriend.
The problem was that in reality, Chahyun really was a completely different person from what Yiyoung knew. Yiyoung had said he liked Chahyun because he was kind and attentive. He’d also said he seemed mature because he was always several steps ahead in being considerate.
These were refinements the current Chahyun could never possess even if he died and came back to life. He could try to imitate them, but doing so would make him feel like he’d burst from frustration.
Of all things, his competitor was himself, eight years older—it was quite troublesome. If there was anyone in this world Chahyun couldn’t compete with and win, it was none other than himself. So Chahyun worked hard to contemplate what he was better at than him.
“Chahyun-ssi, are you listening to me?”
As he was lost in other thoughts, Yiyoung urged him to answer in an anxious tone. Snapping back to attention at Yiyoung’s call, Chahyun composed his expression and answered flatly:
“Bae Yiyoung-ssi.”
In conclusion, there was exactly one thing he definitely did better than the twenty-eight-year-old Moon Chahyun.
“Have you ever rented out an entire department store?”
“……What?”
Throwing money around.
***
In reality, he hadn’t rented it out entirely—he’d moved up the opening time.
They often operated this way when receiving foreign heads of state or when VVIPs like major artists wanted to shop. Naturally, it was a department store affiliated with Moongang Group.
Since the space of a department store itself was public, it wouldn’t be unfamiliar to Yiyoung, and it was an environment where Chahyun could shop comfortably too. Moreover, after opening, they could enjoy browsing stores among the bustling crowds, so it was killing two birds with one stone.
However, there was a place they needed to stop by before enjoying such an ordinary date.
Chahyun parked the car in the exclusive parking lot that wasn’t opened even to VVIP customers. As he got out of the car and opened the passenger door, Yiyoung asked with a somewhat bewildered expression:
“Didn’t you say we were going to a department store?”
It seemed like he thought they’d come to a different place because the scenery was quite different from the department store parking lots he’d seen. Since Chahyun had never used a parking lot for regular customers either, he didn’t know how different it was.
So he omitted a detailed explanation and simply nodded with a cheerful smile, extending his hand. With a somewhat sullen air, Yiyoung took Chahyun’s hand like a habit ingrained in his body and got out of the car. As if feeling awkward about something, even after getting on the elevator, Yiyoung kept shrinking as if scratching his elbow.
When the elevator doors opened, the familiar private floor scenery came into view.
The private floor, decorated like a spacious studio, was a space exclusively for members of the owner’s family, but in truth, Chairwoman Moon Igyeong and Chahyun didn’t use it much. Juhyuk, who didn’t care much about his appearance, seemed to stop by once when changing seasonal clothes. The main customers of the private floor were Igyeong and Chahyun’s acquaintances, and it could only be used by reservation for people on the list.
As they entered the private floor, about a dozen employees standing on both sides of the entrance bowed in unison. From the far end of the floor, a woman with a familiar face approached with a beaming smile. It was Director Jo Miyoung, who had received Chahyun’s instructions the day before.
Director Jo greeted Chahyun warmly in the friendly tone characteristic of service industry professionals.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Was it four months?”
“About that.”
Though he had no memory of it at all, it must be a customary greeting, so Chahyun went along with it indifferently. Director Jo immediately turned her attention to Yiyoung.
“You’re Bae Yiyoung-ssi, right? I’ll show you this way.”
Only then did Yiyoung, who’d been looking around the private floor with a dumbfounded expression, seem to come to his senses and looked at Chahyun tearfully. Yiyoung looked as flustered as a child lost in an unfamiliar place.
“Chahyun-ssi, where is this?”
Anyone listening would think it was a puppy whimpering after excitedly following along when told they were going for a walk, only to be suddenly dragged into a hospital. His frightened face was so cute that Chahyun couldn’t help but grin. Chahyun gently pushed Yiyoung’s back and said:
“It’s okay, so follow along. I want to try dressing you in clothes that aren’t in the stores.”
That’s why the day before, he’d delivered Yiyoung’s profile to Director Jo and instructed her to prepare suits, casual wear, and formal attire that would suit him.
Yiyoung was dragged along by Director Jo’s hand into the fitting room.
Chahyun sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, his expression full of anticipation. Before his eyes was a clear view of the fitting zone that brought to mind the stage at the whiskey bar where Yiyoung worked. As he waited for Yiyoung, tapping the floor with the soles of his shoes, he kept finding himself looking at his wristwatch.
Before long, the curtain of the fitting room was drawn back and Yiyoung walked out. Even wearing a splendid suit, for some reason Yiyoung’s face was bright red as if about to burst as he was pushed up onto the fitting zone. Seeing him look like he belonged to a prestigious family similar to his own level was more than satisfying, and Chahyun smiled broadly.
He really did suit it well. He’d thought he was pretty from the first time he saw him, but dressed in his taste from head to toe, he was truly Chahyun’s ideal type.
He canceled his previous thought that he didn’t look bad in a white t-shirt and cotton pants either. He should make sure he never wore such clothes again. Under Chahyun’s blatant gaze, Yiyoung contorted his face, which couldn’t get any redder, and mumbled:
“I don’t think these clothes suit me……”
“It’s because you’re not used to wearing them.”
Chahyun firmly refuted. Once he got used to it, there was no way Yiyoung wouldn’t know that this looked much better in his own eyes too.
With his gaze fixed on Yiyoung, Chahyun jerked his chin toward the two employees standing beside him. The sound of employees with checklists busily moving their pen tips could be heard.
What they held were Yiyoung’s fitting order and a checklist for purchases. The instruction to record the buyer’s reactions in detail for later analysis and documentation had been directly issued by Chahyun.
Once, the person in charge of the checklist had mistakenly omitted an item Chahyun had shown interest in purchasing, so now he had two people assigned to double-check. That was purely because he was annoyed at being made to say the same thing twice.
Yiyoung was dragged back into the fitting room. Each time Yiyoung was newly displayed in the fitting zone, Chahyun enjoyed watching and evaluated seriously. It was truly fun.
As he was immersed in playing dress-up, losing track of time, he suddenly heard Director Jo raise her voice tone a level higher.
“You said having a small build is a complex, but because your body proportions are good, you actually have a charming petite look. Your style shows no matter what you wear. If I were Yiyoung-ssi, I’d be worried about what to wear every day instead. I’d want to wear this in the morning, then change into this in the afternoon.”
Then she glanced at Chahyun.
It seemed that in her eyes, Yiyoung looked quite tired and she wanted to refresh the atmosphere. But Chahyun was enjoying the show so much that she seemed to hesitate to break the flow.
Come to think of it, he’d already changed clothes more than a dozen times, so Yiyoung must be out of breath. Sure enough, Yiyoung said weakly with an exhausted expression:
“Chahyun-ssi, I can’t wear any more.”
Chahyun reflexively checked his wristwatch. It was already time for the department store to open. Regrettably, he should stop playing dress-up around here.
Chahyun said to Director Jo:
“Dress him in casual wear one last time and bring him out. Something comfortable to move in.”
“Yes.”
Director Jo bowed her head to Chahyun and received the instruction. Then she patted Yiyoung’s noticeably hunched back and entered the fitting room.
Before long, Yiyoung came out of the fitting room looking cute in an oversized shirt with wide short sleeves and the hem tucked into the waistband of balloon pants.
He really looked like a doll toddling around.
If he could, he’d want to carry him in his pocket, and looking at Yiyoung’s physique, it didn’t seem impossible.
