By Zephyria 
Ryu Soo-hyun left the restroom, chewing on a low curse. Only after the rhythmic clicking of his dress shoes faded into the distance did Haon finally relax.
He had been so terrified that the man might demand his clothes back right then and there.
Leaning his back against the cold wall, Haon clutched his pounding chest and took a moment to catch his breath. He had simply been startled, yet the corners of his mouth, now heavy, drooped downward like melting ice cream.
It wasn’t as if he had been cursed at or physically struck.
Haon, who had been frozen in a daze, let out a sigh. Even though he hadn’t intended to look, his reflection in the mirror caught his eye. No matter how fine the clothes were, he couldn’t hide how shabby he looked.
I should have just worn my own clothes. If I had dressed according to my station, I wouldn’t have caught that man’s eye.
Feeling even more pathetic for thinking such things, Haon bit his chapped lips. Then, putting strength into his eyes, he headed for the door.
Thinking of In-ho, who would be waiting for him, he forced the corners of his mouth upward. He didn’t want to have a gloomy face in front of the person who had come to the department store for his sake.
“Gloomy people…”
…aren’t liked by anyone.
Repeating the words he had carved into his heart since childhood, Haon stepped out of the restroom. He intended to stand bravely before In-ho, but before long, his feet froze once again.
“Is this really how it’s going to be, after I haven’t seen you in so long?”
It was because he heard the voice of the man he thought had already left.
Haon, who had been walking while looking at the floor, slowly shifted his gaze forward with trembling eyes. In that moment, a familiar face entered his field of vision.
“In-ho hyung.”
Ryu Soo-hyun clenched his teeth to hold back a curse. He was furious at In-ho, who, upon encountering him in front of the restroom, frowned immediately without even asking how he had been. Who was the one who should be angry right now?
“You shouldn’t be doing this to me, hyung.”
“Haon-ssi, are you okay?”
Upon locking eyes with Haon, In-ho ignored Ryu Soo-hyun and headed toward the restroom entrance. Haon’s complexion did not look good.
“I’m talking to you!”
Seeing In-ho cup Haon’s pale cheek, Ryu Soo-hyun snapped and shouted. He was appalled by how Haon flinched at such a loud noise. Looking at him now, he wasn’t just some clueless kid; he seemed to be a fox pretending to be frail.
“Haon-ssi, go to the cafe first.”
In-ho spoke while worriedly touching the pale face. Fortunately, the injury hadn’t worsened. If he had left a scratch on the cheek, he wouldn’t have been able to contain his anger.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Forcing a smile, In-ho gently pushed Haon’s back. However, for some reason, Haon only repeated small steps forward and back, unable to move.
“…Clothes.”
A small voice leaked through his thinly parted lips.
In-ho leaned closer to Haon to hear the voice more clearly. Seeing this, Ryu Soo-hyun yelled out, calling In-ho’s name loudly.
“We agreed to go buy clothes…”
Haon spoke quickly, lest his voice be drowned out by the sharp tone. He even unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of In-ho’s coat.
“If we don’t go quickly… they might close.”
The one surprised by this behavior wasn’t In-ho, but Haon himself. While his mind was clearly preparing to return to the cafe as In-ho suggested, his racing heart kept pouring out words of its own accord.
“Since we decided to go right after finishing the coffee… I thought we should go now…”
Haon’s pupils shook violently. He didn’t even know what words were coming out of his mouth.
His face, stained with tension, grew redder. Ryu Soo-hyun’s sharp laughter pierced clearly through his muffled ears. He felt humiliated.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”
At that moment, In-ho took Haon’s hand and spoke. At this, Haon’s head, which had been dropping toward the floor, snapped up like a spring.
“Let’s go quickly. Before they close.”
After saying that, In-ho led Haon down the long hallway. He lightly ignored the sound of Ryu Soo-hyun calling him along with curses from behind. Putting Haon in a better mood was the priority.
The two stepped onto the escalator together again. Haon was distracted by Ryu Soo-hyun’s voice echoing loudly through the hallway.
In-ho continued the conversation, calling Haon’s name to ensure he focused only on him.
“What did he say to you?”
“Just… that it was his clothing.”
Haon’s voice grew small as he pointed to the knit sweater. He didn’t add that it was a piece of clothing the man cherished. If it were truly cherished, he wouldn’t have left it behind at someone else’s house. Haon had at least that much intuition.
In-ho rubbed his forehead and turned his head, pretending to browse the clothing stores.
“I’m sorry. I should have bought you new clothes.”
Haon hurriedly waved his hand, saying there was no need to apologize. Even if he were to buy new clothes, he should be the one to buy them; there was no reason for a man to buy clothes for him.
“I have money to buy clothes.”
Haon was the one flustered by the words that had suddenly blurted out. Wondering why he had said such a thing, Haon shut his mouth. His chest felt slightly tight and uncomfortable.
As he lifted his arm to rub his chest, it ended up looking as if he had shaken off the hand that was holding In-ho’s. Because he had been so preoccupied with Ryu Soo-hyun, he hadn’t even realized In-ho was holding his hand.
“Shall we go over there?”
In-ho naturally extended the hand that had been rejected by Haon and pointed to a nearby store. It was a place with many clothes in neat colors and modest designs. In-ho also frequently purchased clothes from this brand.
“Yes…”
Haon nodded awkwardly and followed In-ho. Because In-ho walked a step ahead, his expression was not visible.
“Since it’s getting colder, knits would be good.”
In-ho roughly scanned the clothes displayed by color and picked out a few tops of moderate thickness. His voice was soft and bright as usual, but a deep fatigue lay in his downward-cast eyes.
“What kind of pants do you like?”
“Um, over there…”
Haon spoke while looking back and forth between the store employee who had approached them and In-ho. When In-ho asked “What is it?” with his eyes, Haon smiled brightly and shook his head.
“Pants are fine. Just one top is enough.”
As he spoke, he picked up a brown knit that the employee was holding. Haon touched the knit as if examining it, pretending to like it.
“I think this one is the best. I’ll buy this.”
“Do you have winter clothes?”
Isn’t it just winter clothes if you layer several pieces? Avoiding In-ho’s gaze, Haon simply nodded and headed toward the checkout counter.
“Haon-ssi, I’ll pay.”
In-ho stepped in front of Haon and tried to take the brown knit.
“I’m the one who brought you here. You can buy yours somewhere else, Haon-ssi.”
“No, it’s my clothing, so I’ll buy it.”
The long lines of Haon’s eyes curved even more roundly. Haon widened his smile to hide his prickly heart.
“I’ll take this, please.”
Hugging the knit to his chest, he went to the counter before In-ho could stop him. Feeling ashamed of his old wallet, which usually didn’t bother him, he pulled out only his check card without taking the wallet entirely out of his pocket.
The store was so luxurious and clean that it actually made him feel more uncomfortable. Haon wanted to finish the payment quickly and get into the man’s car.
“Excuse me, but do you have another card?”
At the voice of the employee who spoke cautiously, Haon, who had been bowing his head, widened his eyes. No way…
“The payment didn’t go through. If you provide another card, I will help you with the payment again.”
The polite employee did not go so far as to explain that there were insufficient funds. Looking at Haon’s expression, it seemed he already knew the reason for the failed payment.
“Ah, I… then, just a moment.”
Haon’s pale face turned a bursting red. Whenever he received his salary, he transferred all the money to a savings account and always left only the amount needed for that month’s living expenses on his card. Since he had started living at the man’s house, he hadn’t had much to spend, so a few hundred thousand won had remained.
He never imagined a single knit sweater would cost over five hundred thousand won.
Flustered by the unexpected amount, Haon organized his cards and first tried to put the knit back in its place. If he had known the price, he wouldn’t have picked it up in the first place.
“I’ll take all of them.”
Just then, In-ho approached the counter and handed over his card. In the arms of the employee following him were six pieces of clothing. Four tops and two pairs of pants. Just how much did all that cost?
“If you won’t wear them, you can throw them away.”
While the two employees were packaging the clothes together, In-ho spoke. Haon, whose heart had been racing fearing that all those clothes were for him, let his mouth hang open.
“I… I don’t need that many.”
“Then you can just throw them away.”
In-ho’s smiling expression felt somehow stiff. Reading the deep fatigue on his face, Haon had no choice but to shut his mouth in the end.
Thinking that he was making the man tired, his voice wouldn’t come out, as if wet cotton were stuck in his throat.
* * *
In-ho had originally intended to visit two more stores, but he finished all the shopping at the first one. He hadn’t even bought half of what he wanted to get for Haon, but Haon looked too exhausted to be dragged around by his greed. He himself was also tired.
“Fasten your seatbelt.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Haon was silently fidgeting with his hands. Hearing In-ho’s words, he hesitated for a moment before fastening the seatbelt and placing his hands back on his lap.
“The cost of the clothes bought today… please deduct it from my future salary.”
He finally said it.
All the way down to the parking lot, Haon had been agonizing over whether to bring this up. The words asking for a refund had reached the tip of his tongue, but he suppressed them. He tried to convince himself that if he thought of them as clothes he would wear for the rest of his life until he died, he could afford them.
“I feel more at ease buying them with my own money. Please let me do that. I’m asking you.”
He summoned his courage to speak word by word, but the only response was the sound of the car’s engine. In-ho, averting his gaze from Haon, said only one thing.
“Fasten your belt.”