After finishing his exciting shopping, Hakyung once again burst into song.
“One, two, three clothes. Four, five, six clothes. What should I do with such a small wardrobe, hmm hmm! My closet’s so full. So fat!”
What am I even listening to…
The lyrics were nonsensical.
However, it wasn’t completely absurd, so Muheon secretly raised his eyebrows at Hakyung. Before he knew it, Hakyung’s singing wasn’t unpleasant to listen to.
He let out a hum and followed Hakyung.
He also made sure to take a step back.
As they passed a few more shops, Muheon spotted a familiar silhouette.
He grabbed Hakyung by the back of the neck as he walked ahead.
“Ugh!”
Hakyung, who was suddenly pulled back, turned around with wide eyes.
Seeing the displeasure in his gaze, Muheon waved his hand apologetically, but it was a rather half-hearted apology.
Not really caring if Hakyung accepted his apology, Muheon pointed with his finger to the side.
Reluctantly forgiving him, Hakyung followed Muheon’s finger and then froze in front of a poster.
“Uh…?”
“How about that?”
“Wait, can we go inside the store and take a better look?”
“Do whatever you want.”
As soon as Muheon gave his permission, Hakyung dashed straight toward the event corner. The man lazily followed behind him.
“Welcome!”
“Hello, um… is the event still going on?”
“Yes, it’s until today!”
After the staff explained, Hakyung’s lips twitched slightly.
He wanted to participate, but after buying so many clothes just now, it felt a little too embarrassing to admit that he wanted to buy even more.
It was clearly an event meant for him, but he felt frustrated that he couldn’t say so openly.
Noticing Hakyung’s hesitation, the staff kindly encouraged him again.
“We’re also supporting endangered animals in the Amazon. If you purchase any of these items, 3% of the sales will be donated to a wildlife protection association.”
“Does that mean all the animals shown here?”
“Yes, yes. Of course! Jaguars, sloths, and even the Amazon river dolphin are included.”
At the mention of the Amazon river dolphin, Hakyung’s toes twitched.
Since the staff was directly involved in the sales, they knew exactly about the existence of the river dolphin.
Although Hakyung was closer to being human, he must have shared the same bloodline as those river dolphins long ago…
Every time he heard about the threat of extinction, his heart ached.
Hakyung wanted to contribute somehow.
Perhaps sensing his hesitation, the staff handed him a hat.
“This hat would really suit you! It’s spring, so a fresh color would be nice, and the dolphin logo on it is unique. It’s actually the best-seller among our new items. There’s only one left in stock.”
Hakyung had already fallen for the hat at first sight.
It was a pale lemon color with a coral dolphin logo embroidered on it, and he couldn’t resist it.
Hakyung glanced back and forth between the hat and his shopping bags, lost in thought.
If he went back to the store and returned a few items, he could probably afford the hat.
Though he had been so happy with his clothes that he even made up a song on the spot, the hat was a different story.
Hakyung made up his mind and turned around.
“Where are you going?”
A presence he had forgotten about suddenly blocked his way.
Startled by the man’s large figure, Hakyung stepped back.
“I said, where are you going?”
“I… I’m going to return something.”
“Return? Why suddenly change your mind?”
“I want that hat.”
Hakyung gulped as he stared at the yellow hat.
His heart raced, worried it would be sold out while he was returning the clothes.
There was no time to explain everything.
He moved his feet to the right to avoid the man, and Muheon mirrored his move, stepping to the right as well.
Then Hakyung shifted left, and the man followed again.
It felt like déjà vu from when they first met.
Hakyung made his face as unapproachable as possible and glared up at the man.
“Please move! I need to return my clothes and buy that hat!”
“So why return it? Just buy it.”
“But… my salary…”
Being the Excel wizard he was, Hakyung had carefully calculated his purchases to stay within his weekly budget.
Though the man had prevented him from approaching the checkout counter, Hakyung knew exactly how much he had spent.
If he added the hat to the total, his budget would be completely blown.
“Don’t worry, just buy it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Do you want me to buy it for you?”
Muheon, who had deliberately ignored Hakyung’s suspicious gaze, lightly pushed Hakyung’s back with his finger.
It was a soft tap.
But Hakyung, as if pushed by great force, stumbled and exclaimed, “Oh!” in surprise.
Is he really that weak to be pushed over like that?
Muheon clicked his tongue, repeating the thought he had the last time.
The staff’s smile faded as they observed the scene between the two, which clearly looked nothing like a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Having been on the receiving end of Muheon’s sudden attacks before, Hakyung calmly spoke to the staff with a neutral expression.
“I’d like to buy this…”
“Yes! Just a moment, I’ll get the stock for you!”
The staff, who had briefly lost her smile, brightened up again when she heard about the hat and headed toward the storage.
While waiting eagerly for his new hat, Hakyung muttered, “I should try it on to see if it suits me.”
Muheon, who had silently approached Hakyung from behind, spoke up.
At his suggestion, Hakyung scoffed.
It would’ve been awkward to say something like this in front of the company president, but since Muheon probably didn’t know much about him, it seemed fine as a way of sharing some information.
“I guess you don’t know this, but I’ve been wearing hats for over 20 years.”
“Hm?”
Muheon tilted his head as if asking, “So?” Hakyung raised his chin at the man’s innocent reaction.
“Just by looking at a hat, I can tell if it’s going to look great on me or not! I can predict it right away. And pretty much any hat looks good on me.”
Hakyung’s shoulders lifted in pride, as if he was boasting about something huge.
Muheon found it rather trivial and not a big deal, but Hakyung, or rather, the strong-willed guy, took immense pride in the fact that any hat suited him.
Not wanting to ruin the kid’s pride, Muheon suppressed the smirk threatening to form on his lips and nodded.
“Must be nice.”
He didn’t forget to add the appropriate response.
***
He’d successfully obtained the hat he liked.
After getting caught up in the shopping, Hakyung finally checked his phone and realized it was already past 4 p.m.
He hadn’t realized how long he’d been at the mall.
Then, at that moment…
His stomach growled loudly, a result of days of barely eating, signaling that it was long overdue to be filled.
He realized he hadn’t had much since breakfast, just a small snack.
The loud sound piercing through the background music in the store made Muheon burst into laughter, while Hakyung, clutching his stomach, blushed brightly.
Muheon stared at Hakyung, amused by his embarrassed expression.
Just when Hakyung was about to tell him to stop staring, Muheon spoke.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’m fine… I’ll just go home soon…”
“You’re fine? You’ve been working all day and now your stomach’s protesting.”
Muheon’s eyes, which had held a mischievous glint moments ago, now focused on Hakyung’s stomach.
It was a 180-degree shift from before, and no matter how many times Hakyung had experienced it, those eyes always made him uneasy.
If he turned down the offer again, he might face an even worse situation.
Hakyung’s heart raced at the thought.
“Well then… pizza.”
“Pizza…?”
“Yes, hot chicken pizza with cheese crust on the dough.”
Muheon nodded in understanding.
For someone who had just been nervous, Hakyung’s request was quite specific.
The demand, a bit playful and cute, made Muheon smile without saying much.
Hakyung had lived in a remote area, a 20-minute drive away from the city, so while he could eat home-cooked meals as much as he wanted, delivery food like pizza, fried chicken, and jajangmyeon was too expensive to order often.
As a result, whenever asked about food, he’d usually mention one of those three.
Today, for some reason, he craved spicy pizza, and that’s why he made the request.
But…
When they arrived at the place, the pizza Muheon had brought was a wood-fired pizza topped with spinach instead of the hot chicken with cheese crust that Hakyung had wanted.
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