Eunchan, having seated Miro—who had just woken from his nap—in the passenger seat, gripped the steering wheel. Though he fumbled somewhat with the unfamiliar steering wheel and interior controls, thanks to Miro teaching him each thing one by one from the side, he was able to pull the car out smoothly.
Before heading home, they headed to a nearby department store intending to buy food and necessary items. The entire way there, Eunchan was busy keeping his eyes on the front and rear, while Miro was occupied admiring the photos of Eunchan he’d brought along. Thanks to the cars moving aside for them on their own, Eunchan marveled, thinking this must be why people buy expensive cars. The boss’s beat-up old car never got let in easily.
As they entered the department store parking lot, a valet parking attendant approached them with recognition. When Eunchan rolled down the window and greeted him back, he responded in a polite voice.
“Hello?”
“Yes, yes. Hello.”
“You’re Jang Miro-ssi, aren’t you? Please leave it to me.”
Do they normally know names and everything? Eunchan looked back at Miro sitting in the passenger seat.
“Yeah, just get out like this.”
As if accustomed to it, Miro smiled and unbuckled Eunchan’s seatbelt. With the engine still running, Eunchan hesitantly got out of the car. He bowed his head in greeting again to the brightly smiling employee and finally managed to step forward. He wasn’t used to this either, but when they went inside, there was even more to come. As soon as they entered, a department store manager greeted Eunchan and Miro as if they’d been waiting.
“Hello, Miro-nim. I’ll guide you upstairs.”
What’s this now? Eunchan looked at Miro with a somewhat overwhelmed expression. They’d only come to visit the food section in the basement. He’d deliberately stopped by for Miro’s sake, who would only eat high-quality food. Reading the situation, Miro shook his head while linking arms with Eunchan.
“W-we’ll just look around.”
“Yes, please do so. If there’s anything uncomfortable, please call for us.”
The manager, who had responded to Miro in an affectionate tone, soon bowed and left. Let’s just walk quickly instead. The luxury brand stores lined up were far too burdensome. However, Miro stopped Eunchan while looking at the displayed clothes.
“E-Eunchan, I think this would suit you.”
“It’s fine.”
“Then I’ll b-buy something for myself.”
There was no way to stop him when he was buying his own things with his own money. Eunchan frowned, but soon moved his feet as Miro led him.
Even though it was a weekday, people were lined up in front of the luxury stores. There sure are a lot of rich people in the world. Eunchan scanned the people with envious eyes.
“Aren’t we getting in line?”
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
But this is cutting in line. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Eunchan buried his head in Miro’s back as he followed behind.
“Welcome.”
He’d thought they’d be turned away and told to go back since there were customers ahead, but what they actually received was a warm welcome. A staff member was immediately assigned to Miro and Eunchan’s side, and even though they hadn’t requested it, they began introducing new products. Miro listened attentively to the seller’s words while examining the items with meticulous eyes. Pants and shirts, thin tees, even a belt.
Eunchan stood beside Miro pretending to browse casually. They explained what designer’s work this was and what line it was from, but since he didn’t know anything about it, he didn’t understand even when he heard it. As Eunchan looked around unnecessarily, he soon realized that everyone in the store was watching Miro.
Some people stared openly while others stole glances. And here I am with gauze stuck on my head and bruises all over my face. Worried about being compared standing next to him, Eunchan stood a little apart from Miro.
“Why, why?”
Though he’d only stepped two or three paces away, Miro immediately noticed and grabbed onto Eunchan.
“I was going to look around.”
“Together……”
Miro followed behind Eunchan, and the employee followed behind them. Feeling awkward, Eunchan pretended to browse casually and discovered a display stand with sunglasses. He’d probably look good in glasses too. If only to disperse the gathering attention, he needed to cover Miro’s face.
“Want to try those on?”
“This is from the new women’s line that just came out. Shall I find you the same design in men’s?”
“Ah, it’s for women?”
Though it was a slightly smaller size, it seemed to fit Miro’s face. At the mention of it being for women, Eunchan hesitated and lowered his hand, but Miro picked up the sunglasses.
“But I think they would suit you, sir. Since you’re so……”
The employee’s trailing off contained all their admiration. Eunchan also looked at Miro in agreement. As expected, they suited him far too well. Like an actor, or maybe a model.
“A-are they pretty?”
“They suit you well.”
Eunchan raised his hands and clapped. It was pure admiration. Just what kind of people were Miro’s parents to give birth to a son like this?
At Eunchan’s admiration, Miro’s lips curved upward. With half his face covered, his high nose bridge and neat lips were emphasized. His gently curved lips looked alluring.
“Take a picture.”
This is dangerous. Miro, who had looked ascetic until now, suddenly looked sexy in an instant. Eunchan removed the sunglasses while whispering to Miro.
“Why?”
“They do suit you, but I don’t like them.”
“Okaaay.”
Though he looked at Eunchan with regretful eyes, Miro easily accepted it. Eunchan grabbed Miro’s hand and pulled him toward himself.
“Let’s go grocery shopping.”
“We need to buy clothes for Eunchan,”
“Then look around and come down. I’ll go ahead first.”
“No! L-let’s go together.”
He was starting to get a sense of how to handle Miro. When Eunchan let go of his hand and stepped back, Miro hurriedly approached by the same distance.
“We’ll come next time.”
“Yes, please visit us anytime.”
Miro kept sighing with regret while looking at the displayed clothes. Eunchan pretended not to notice and walked out of the store. He’d planned to eat at a restaurant inside the department store before going home, but now that they were out, it was crowded and noisy.
It would be better to go home and cook. Or we could order delivery too.
“Shall we just shop quickly and go home?”
“Th-that’s good.”
Firmly linking her arm with Eunchan’s, Miro smiled. The fact that they would shop together and go back made Miro happy.
There were more eyes on Miro than expected. Eunchan adjusted Miro’s hat to sit deeper, then told him to stay close by his side. The attack they’d suffered last time had left unexpectedly many aftereffects. The delusion arose that someone among those people might attack Miro and himself at any time.
Let’s just order necessary things online and only buy what we need to eat right now. Eunchan browsed the meal kit corner casually and picked up a doenjang-jjigae kit.
“How about doenjang-jjigae?”
“Wh-what about Eunchan?”
“I like it. There’s rice at home, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s just buy this and go.”
The department store wasn’t a place to stay long. Eunchan picked out snacks and juice as well and finished paying. Of course, he used Miro’s card. Miro naturally took the plastic bag with their groceries in his hand.
“I’ll carry it.”
“I-I’ll carry it.”
The car they came in was Miro’s, and they’d paid with Miro’s card too. No matter how much he was in an employed position, having already received expensive clothes, doing this was shameless.
“No. Give it to me.”
Eunchan held out his hand, but instead Miro clasped their hands together with interlaced fingers. Eunchan’s hand was enveloped in Miro’s somewhat larger hand. Come to think of it, he’d been so absorbed in his face that he’d forgotten about Miro’s build. Was it because he’d only seen weak sides of him? Eunchan looked up at Miro, who was bigger than himself. Now that I think about it, his body is surprisingly firm, like someone who exercises. I don’t think I’ve seen him exercise separately though.
“Do you work out or anything?”
“Want to do it t-together?”
“No.”
Breathing and running were the only exercises Eunchan knew how to do. He didn’t want to waste money on unnecessary things either. Eunchan recalled the golf clubs he’d seen at Miro’s house and asked again.
“You play golf, right?”
“N-no.”
Must be his brother’s. When they arrived at the parking lot, the car was parked in front as if they’d been contacted in advance.
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yes, thank you.”
While Eunchan was exchanging greetings with the employee, Miro, who had loaded their things, opened the passenger door. As if insisting he sit there, Eunchan awkwardly got into the passenger seat.
“I could drive though.”
I thought you didn’t know how I drove because you were looking at photos. Apparently feeling uneasy, Miro took the steering wheel on the way home. Unlike Eunchan who had driven roughly, the car moved smoothly.
“Let’s go home. O-our home.”
Miro looked happy about returning home together. Eunchan turned his head and opened the window. A river flowed beyond the huge bridge. The sunlight was warm and the breeze gentle as well. The peaceful feeling loosened his tension and his body relaxed. A lazy day spent forgetting about lawyer work and leaving the office behind felt sweet. He’d gotten to ride in a nice car and even drive it.
But it feels like I forgot something. Eunchan fumbled in his pockets at the empty feeling. His wallet with what little money he had was safely there. Then,
“Ah, my phone.”
And only then did Eunchan realize he needed to buy a new phone.
The two returned home and roughly prepared a late lunch. Miro kept hovering around Eunchan trying to help set the table, but Eunchan, who needed to do something, stopped him. They finished the meal by putting dishes in the dishwasher. To roughly organize his luggage, Eunchan headed to his room. Miro followed along behind him.
“It would be nice to have curtains.”
The window was so big it seemed like all the sunlight would come in. It was nice that the room had its own air conditioner and bathroom, but there were more things missing. There was no proper place to organize clothes, so he wished there was a wardrobe too. Eunchan opened his bag and handed the doll to Miro.
“Yeah, I’ll do it for you.”
Miro, holding the doll in his arms, sat on Eunchan’s bed and smiled softly. Only half a day had passed and yet both mind and body were exhausted. When Eunchan approached the bed, Miro made room beside him as if telling him to sit.
