"What do you want to buy?"
"I want a jacket... You know I could’ve handled that myself, right?"
Suho asked as they walked toward the jacket aisles. Neither of them was moving slowly at all. Yoona had left her suitcase near the entrance of the shop and was hurrying alongside Suho toward the jacket aisles.
"I know. Then you would’ve made me miss my train too... because you would’ve taken forever to deal with it. Uncle Lim is a manager here, so his name did the trick. That black jacket will look nice on you."
They stopped in the jacket section, and Yoona picked up several hangers before pointing at an overly flashy black leather jacket. Suho rolled his eyes at her choice and instead took another jacket from her other hand. It was a light beige wool jacket with a simple buttoned front and almost no flashy design. Compared to the leather one, it looked much cleaner and more minimal, which suited Suho far better.
"This one looks boring."
As Suho headed toward the counter, Yoona followed a step behind him, almost jogging across the shop just to keep up because his legs were much longer than hers. A small victorious smile appeared on her face, as if she had just won something.
He fell into my trap once again. I deliberately kept the one I wanted him to choose farther away in my other hand while showing him that ugly leather jacket... Sigh! If only I could defeat him this easily in studies too...
"I want to buy this one."
"Yes, sir..."
When Suho placed the jacket on the counter, the sales associate looked at the ₩7,600,000 Silk Merino Wool Jacket and seemed surprised by his choice. She then looked at Suho from head to toe, as if trying to figure out whether someone dressed like him was really about to buy such an expensive jacket.
Suho didn’t mind at all. He was used to it. Behavior like this toward an orphan from the rural outskirts was exactly what he expected from people, which was why he wanted to become such a good doctor that people like this would never even be able to get an appointment with him.
Suho pulled out his phone and opened Samsung Wallet. It was one of the most widely used mobile payment services in Korea, which was why he had already set it up and registered his bank card while setting up his new phone. Fortunately, the Gucci store accepted Samsung Wallet, so he simply held his phone near the payment terminal.
*KA-CHING*
"Wait... this coat is almost eight million won?!!! ($5,320)"
Suho was shocked when the payment confirmation appeared on his phone along with a thank-you message. He had thought the coat would cost at most around ₩500,000 ($350), and even that estimate had felt ridiculously expensive in his mind. But to his horror, it had cost far more than that.
What the hell? Are they scammers? This quality costs this much? Pathetic... what the fuck?
"Let’s go. We’re going to miss our train..."
"But I want to return it..."
"This store is just expensive like that. Look at mine. It’s called the Padded Polyester Puffer Jacket, and it cost ₩4,100,000 ($2,870). And you’re freezing, so just keep yours."
Yoona grabbed Suho by the arm and pulled him toward the exit. Suho still wanted to turn around and return the jacket, but just as they were about to step out of the store, his eyes landed on the sales associate still standing near the entrance.
She was watching him with a small, almost satisfied smile on her face, as if she were already expecting him to come back and return the coat because he couldn’t afford it. Suho stared at her for a second, then immediately stopped resisting Yoona’s pull. There was no way he was going to give her that satisfaction.
"Sir, this jacket is called the Silk Merino Wool Jacket. It’s made from silk and merino wool, so please enjoy your purchase."
As Suho left the shop with deep regret, he heard the fat sales associate speaking behind him. For the first time, a vein popped on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, planted his feet firmly on the floor, and refused to move no matter how hard Yoona tried to push him forward.
"Yeah... and fuck you too. Whatever black thing you’re wearing looks like it’s going to rip apart at any moment because you’re fat like a pig."
Yoona looked at her classmate in shock, and even the sales associate was taken aback. But Suho acted as if nothing was wrong, and for some reason, he finally felt at ease. He then looked back at the store name, ’Gucci.’ He was never coming back here again. To him, this place felt like it was legally robbing people. With that thought, he finally put on the jacket he had just purchased.
He... cursed?
Yoona felt like she was seeing a completely new version of Suho. Although she had been insensitive about the whole situation and hadn’t considered his financial situation at all, simply assuming he could afford it, she never would’ve guessed that Suho would actually curse—and that loudly too.
People around the station were already looking their way, but Suho remained completely nonchalant. After putting on the jacket, he cracked his neck, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and started rolling it toward the platform since the train had already arrived.
"Which university are you going to?"
Suho asked as he and Yoona stood directly in front of the platform screen doors. The train rushed past them before slowing down, its long body filling their view through the glass. The loud rumble of the wheels echoed across the station while a strong rush of air swept along the platform, blowing Suho’s hair back slightly and making the loose parts of Yoona’s puffy jacket flutter. The two of them stood there watching the windows flash past one after another until the train finally began to slow in front of them.
"Soongsil University. I got into Brown University in the U.S. too, but Papa got sick, so I decided to stay in Korea. And don’t look so surprised, you weren’t the only smart person in our school."
Yoona looked proud as she bragged about her opportunity, while Suho was still slightly shocked about the jacket he was wearing. It felt nice, smelled nice, and, most importantly, was keeping him warm.
But it’s not worth it at all... damn it, my money!!
[Updated]
[Main Mission: Help Yoona With Her Suitcase]
[New Wild Card Offer: Sell Your Inventory at 2× the Price] [Time Limit: 23:59:34]
...
Cast Images in this Chapter:
[Suho Wearing his favorite Jacket]
[Cheon Yoona with her Puffer]