By Zephyria 
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Waking up before the alarm went off, Eun-won checked the time—just past 6:00 AM—and sat up.
Since he had fallen asleep well past midnight, he hadn’t slept for very long, yet he felt far more refreshed than usual.
Normally, he was plagued by dreams and would wake up several times, startled by noises from outside, so he rarely slept soundly. This feeling of clarity was unfamiliar.
Without any desire to sleep more or any lingering fatigue, Eun-won immediately left the bed, went to the bathroom for a quick wash, and tidied up his bedding.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was too early to get ready for school, and quietly opened his room door while still in his loungewear. First, he wanted a drink of water.
The second-floor living room was beautifully decorated. He hadn’t been able to take it all in yesterday because he was so nervous, but the second-floor living room was just like the first, equipped with a sofa, a large TV, a table, and bookshelves. There was even a pantry with a refrigerator and snacks on one side.
When he opened the refrigerator to get water, he saw drinks neatly arranged inside. Water, juice, soda, sports drinks, milk, and protein shakes were all organized in an orderly fashion. Eun-won took out a bottle of water and opened the cap. As the cold water flowed down his dry throat, he finally felt his breath soften.
“Eun-won, are you up?”
At that moment, a voice came from the stairs. Eun-won quickly swallowed the sip of water he was taking and approached the sound.
“Yes…”
“Why did you wake up so early? You should have slept more. I was planning to have breakfast ready around 8:00.”
Yeo Hee-jin, looking perfectly put-together despite the early hour, came up and smiled at Eun-won.
“…Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Perhaps because Eun-won is home, I felt so reassured and happy that I slept soundly for the first time in a while. How about you, Eun-won? Did you have trouble sleeping because of the change in environment?”
“No. I slept comfortably too. I didn’t wake up once… I slept so well that I woke up early.”
“I see. That’s a relief. Ah, breakfast will be at 7:00, so come down then. There’s no need to go through the trouble of changing clothes; just come down in something comfortable like you are now.”
“Okay….”
Yeo Hee-jin smiled at his answer, took his hand, patted the back of it, and headed down the stairs. As Eun-won stared quietly at the lingering warmth on his hand, a faint smile spread across his lips.
Breakfast consisted of pancakes, fruit, and cereal. A pat of butter and a generous amount of strawberries and blueberries were piled atop the freshly grilled pancakes, all drizzled with plenty of syrup.
Eun-won cut a piece of pancake and put it in his mouth with a strawberry. The butter that had melted away, the warm cake, and the sweet-and-sour taste of the strawberry blended together in his mouth. It was a taste of such happiness that he could think of nothing but how truly delicious it was.
“We’ll have a proper welcome party this evening. Honey, you’ll be home early, right?”
“Yes, I should. I’ll be back by 7:00.”
“Good. Look forward to it, honey. Eun-won, you look forward to it too.”
The affectionate voices, kind responses, and soft atmosphere spreading across the dining table gradually melted Eun-won’s awkwardness. He was deeply grateful that, even though it must be difficult for the mistress of the house to truly welcome his presence, she showed no sign of it and instead reached out first and treated him warmly. He wanted to work even harder, as much as she was trying, to become a good… presence.
He knew he could never truly become her son, but he still didn’t want to be a nuisance in this house.
“Oh, honey. Please give Eun-won a ride to school when you leave for work. If you’re not too busy.”
“Yes, I will.”
The father looked at Eun-won with a smile, then briefly locked eyes with his wife and smiled. It was a smile containing a meaning that Eun-won could never know.
* * *
A message arrived around the time classes ended. It was from the mistress, saying she was waiting in front of the department building. When he went down after class, she stepped out of the car and greeted Eun-won with a bright smile. Leaving the staring eyes of others behind, Eun-won got into the car.
After driving for about 30 minutes, they arrived at a place called ‘The Aster,’ a private boutique owned by the Sewon Group. Eun-won felt a bit intimidated by the atmosphere, which was different from any department store he knew.
As the car stopped in front of the main entrance, a staff member came to open the door and greeted them politely. Eun-won stepped out with the mistress and approached the entrance. The staff standing at the entrance bowed deeply to the mistress and guided them inside.
“I’m here to buy some clothes for my son. You received the notice, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We have prepared products that we believe will suit your son.”
The place they were guided to was not a general store, but a large room. There were several racks with various clothes and displays for shoes and bags. Following the mistress, Eun-won sat on a sofa with a tea table and took a sip of the sparkling water the staff provided.
“How would you like your drinks?”
“I’ll have a warm latte. What about you, Eun-won? Anything is fine, so just tell me.”
Having rarely bought drinks and not knowing much about them, Eun-won hesitated before recalling a coffee he had tried a few times.
“Um… would a… vanilla latte be okay?”
“Yes, I will prepare a vanilla latte for you. Would you like it warm?”
“Ah, yes… please make it warm.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
After placing the order on a tablet, the staff member returned shortly after, pushing a trolley with two warm coffees and a three-tier cake tray. Small, cute treats were piled high on three beautiful plates.
“Please let us know if you need anything else. While you eat, we will introduce the coordinated products we’ve prepared.”
Two staff members took clothes from the racks, dressed them on mannequins to show the coordination, and explained the products. Since Eun-won had never been very interested in clothes and lacked the means to buy a variety, having only purchased the simplest and neatest clothes during SPA brand sales, it was difficult for him to fully understand the explanations filled with professional terminology.
“It’s neat and suits my son well; it’s lovely. Please have him try it on. Eun-won, would you like to try these on? Clothes often look very different when you actually wear them. Though I think my son would look beautiful in anything.”
“Ah, yes….”
After taking a sip of the warm vanilla latte, Eun-won stood up and followed the staff member to the fitting room.
“I will assist you with the fitting.”
“Ah… may I dress myself?”
“Yes, of course. Please let me know if you need any help.”
“Thank you….”
The clothes taken from the mannequin were hung on the fitting room wall. After seeing the shirts, knits, and trousers lined up, Eun-won waited until the door was completely closed before taking off his clothes and putting on the new ones. The cool fabric, devoid of body heat, felt chilly as it touched his skin and stole his warmth.
“It suits you perfectly.”
When he stepped out of the fitting room, the staff member smiled and tidied his clothes. They then kindly guided him back to where the mistress was. Carrying a hint of shyness and awkwardness, Eun-won left the fitting room and stood before the mistress.
“Oh, Eun-won. You look so lovely. How can it suit you so well? As expected of my son.”
Yeo Hee-jin stood up, unable to hide her admiration as she looked Eun-won over. Taking that as a cue, the staff members also poured out praise.
“Your skin is so fair that bright tones suit you wonderfully.”
“Your proportions are so good that the fit looks even better than on the model.”
“The ivory knit you’re wearing is a ‘The Aster Pick’ for this season, and it’s a product that Executive Director Cha Se-jin of Sewon also purchased. When the mistress contacted us, there happened to be exactly one size left, so we barely managed to secure it. It’s wonderful to see it suit you so well.”
At the staff member’s words, Yeo Hee-jin made a strange expression, stole a glance at Eun-won, and then returned to her kind smile.
“If it was Executive Director Cha Se-jin’s pick, it must have been really hard to prepare. He’s quite famous, after all. The ‘Cha Executive Pick.’”
Not knowing who Cha Se-jin was, Eun-won remained quiet without much reaction while listening to their conversation. He went on to change into seven or eight more outfits. Every time he changed into a new shirt, jacket, cardigan, or knit, an excessive amount of praise poured out.
“Thank you for your hard work. I like everything. Please send all the items he tried on. Including the shoes and bags.”
“…Ah, it’s too many….”
“No, Eun-won. To make up for everything I couldn’t let you wear until now, even this isn’t enough. You have to go to school, and there will be many places you’ll need to visit in the future, so you need at least this much. In my heart, I wanted to give you even better things, but I thought those might be too burdensome for school, so I compromised with this. It’s a gift for my son’s return, so please accept it, okay?”
Faced with such gentle persuasion, Eun-won had no choice but to nod. Yeo Hee-jin smiled as if he were cute, patted Eun-won on the back, and spoke as if making sure the staff heard her.