.

Just a moment ago, although it was a quick second, he looked like the handsome stranger whom I first met in middle school.

But ‘thanks?’ For what?

As I tried to ask him about it, Eun Jiho’s abrupt remark continued again.

“Thanks for your cooperation. As I said before, I will take care of everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m… quite good at it.”

Ignoring my question, Eun Jiho smiled mysteriously and began to walk, holding my wrist.

When I turned to look forward, the director lady was standing in front of me, looking at us. The little smile flickering on her lips looked as though she was thinking that we, the young couples, were whispering love to each other with our faces closely attached.

I strongly wished to correct her misunderstanding, but… there was something else that mattered even more. Pausing my steps after her, I turned my head to the side and flung a question.

“Why are you following us?”

Eun Jiho then replied with a full grin which made me look dumbfounded.

“You’ve finally decided to wear something pretty after a while, so as your boyfriend, shouldn’t I go take a look too?”

What the heck was he saying?

He spoke in a loud voice on purpose for his words to reach where the director lady was standing right now. He then threw a glance at her to check her reaction. Only then did I realize what his intention was. ‘Geez,’ I uttered, turning my head; however, I couldn’t help myself blushing in embarrassment.

As I began to bend my steps quickly, Eun Jiho walked after me and chattered in a fast tone.

“Oh god, Donnie ~♡ What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed? In our relationship?”

“Gosh, what kind of relationship are we in?!”

“Oh, again… Donnie ~♡ Yelling in embarrassment isn’t good behavior.”

“Come on, would you please stop calling me Donnie ~♡?”

“Why? Do you want to get called differently? In a more particular way?”

“Hell, yeah. What if you get beaten to me in a more PARTICULAR way?”

I started to talk nasty, forgetting about where we were, but neither Eun Jiho nor the director lady, walking ahead of us, seemed to care about the way I was speaking.

Instead, the director lady kept sending us a warm gaze, once in a while, on her way, which was too… too… Arghhh!

I wanted to tear my hair out if I could.

On the other hand, a part of me became, strangely, depressed in spirits when looking at Eun Jiho who made fun of me while returning to his usual, delightful face.

‘How come?’ I tilted my head in wonder; however, I had no idea even when I stepped into a large room to receive the clothes and head to the fitting room.

* * *

After handing out the clothes and shoes to Ham Donnie, Kwon Hye Young returned to the sofa where Eun Jiho was sitting on. He leaned on the upholstered back apathetically then rested his chin on his palm, straightened his waist, bent it forward again, tried to count the patterns of the table, and finally took his phone out. Watching his series of actions, Kwon Hye Young then burst into a fit of giggles.

She has known Eun Jiho since he was eight, so they were close like an aunt and a nephew. Eun Jiho, indeed, didn’t reveal any signs of defense on his face since he didn’t misunderstand her smile as a sneer at the young couple. He just tilted his head and asked Kwon Hye Young curtly.

“Why?”

His question, which seemed to have no idea why Kwon Hye Young was laughing, spread the smile on her face. Tapping her lips with her polished fingertip, Kwon Hye Young fell into thought.

‘Then the girl isn’t even aware of it?’

Eun Jiho was truly showing his unexpected sides today. Having a swiveling smile for a while, Kwon Hye Young then opened her mouth to make a response as she noticed Eun Jiho’s glum look waiting for her answer.

“Jiho, I’m afraid I have never seen you as distracted as today over the whole decade.”

“Oh…”

Emitting a whoop, Eun Jiho opened his lips involuntarily. His defenseless look was also something that Kwon Hye Young never saw until now. She, again, brought her hand near her lips and gave out a giggle.

As the one and only heir of Hanwool Group, Eun Jiho tried to attend parties, at least, once a week; therefore, she met him at the shop nearly every week. Thus, every side of Eun Jiho that came into her sight today looked somewhat fresh and surprising.

The moment Eun Jiho entered the private room after the girl, Kwon Hye Young regarded him as a completely different person. That was because he looked just like other run-of-the-mill teenagers about the same age when he stepped inside the space with a burst of loud laughter.

A run-of-the-mill teenager… Kwon Hye Young repeated the word in her head. She then came up with Eun Jiho’s childhood. As from the boy neatly dressed up in a decent suit, it wasn’t easy for her to recall his childhood immediately.

When Eun Jiho was a little boy, he was quite an adorable kid full of expression; however, at some point, he began to stiffen the look on his face alongside strict, hard and stern demeanor. At the time Eun Jiho was in middle school, he limited his conversations with Kwon Hye Young to only some formal matters.

She didn’t know what made him change into that degree. Kwon Hye Young only met Eun Jiho when styling his hair or choosing and coordinating outfits for him; besides, she wasn’t in the director position at that time. Thus, there was no way for her to know why. Both Kwon Hye Young and Eun Jiho were busy with their works, so she thought inattentively about the shift in his character as ‘a kid originally born with a composed, mature, and patient nature.’

It was not long before she realized that it was her big misunderstanding. One day, as he took too long inside the fitting room, Kwon Hye Young made bold to ask him, “Is everything okay? Do you need any help?” Just as she flung those questions, Eun Jiho came out in a hurry with reddened eyes. With a nonchalant face, he said to the tongue-tied Kwon Hye Young, ‘Sorry for the delay,’ and left the room. A moment after, he then appeared with wet skin as if he washed his face. There was no sign of tears from him anymore.

The incident remained a considerable shock in Kwon Hye Young’s mind. When she later asked about it after long hesitation, Eun Jiho answered back slowly, blushing a little as if he felt slightly embarrassed.

“It was too… overwhelming.”

“… May I ask what it was?”

“Just… everything.”

He just honed everything through education to make it seem innate. It wouldn’t be always so seamless and smooth to him at all, of course.

The expectations, disciplines, educations, and oppressive life he had to encounter every day… Still, he was a young boy who couldn’t help but wanted the same things as the other kids such as friends or people whom he could just behave like a child.

Kwon Hye Young patted the boy’s hair, in front of her, involuntarily as if a sister would do it to her little brother. Only then did Eun Jiho raise his eyes to look at her. Then, at the next moment, he reddened his eyes with tears but soon turned around quickly to leave the spot. It was around that time that Eun Jiho began to express his feelings only in front of Kwon Hye Young.

However, just before entering his second year of middle school, Eun Jiho turned completely different. At that time, she didn’t know what changed him to such an extent at all.

Thinking further until that point, Kwon Hye Young flaunted a smile on her lips and directed her eyes on Eun Jiho. She then asked him with a smile.

“Jiho, would you be a little honest with me?”

“Excuse me?”

“The young lady there and you aren’t going out, are you?”

Pffffft, Eun Jiho spat out the tea he was drinking. Even in this situation, Kwon Hye Young, a professional stylist, soon laughed out when she found there wasn’t anything splattered on the clothes. Eun Jiho averted her gaze out of embarrassment, but it didn’t last long either.

It had been quite a while for him to look naïve like others in his age, but Eun Jiho soon camouflaged himself with a captivating smile. He then threw a glance at her, keeping his composure. ‘So, you still can afford to disguise yourself, huh?’ she thought.

“Yes, we are. We’ve been seeing each other,” said Eun Jiho with a bit of a nervous smile.

“Oh, really? I’m afraid I can’t trust that, my dear.”

“If you think Ham Donnie is acting so stiff, that’s because it hasn’t been long since we started dating.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

Eun Jiho’s smiling face then slightly cracked. Staring at her, Eun Jiho then flung a question.

“Then, what did it look like?”