Not for the First Time - Chapter 50

Sung Hyuk finished parking and looked back at the passenger seat.

She had become less talkative, and Young In’s face was now full of worry. No matter how she thought about it, leaving home like this still felt unsettling.

“Are you feeling very uncomfortable?”

It was meant as comfort, but even if Young In said yes, he had absolutely no intention of sending her back.

Young In turned her head with a rather gloomy expression.

“I should have packed a few changes of clothes.”

“Ah, were you worried about what to wear tomorrow?”

“I’m hesitant to go to work wearing the same clothes as today, like a thief returning to the scene. It’s already past 10 PM, so no clothing stores will be open…”

“That’s perfect. If anyone asks, just say you stayed overnight with me.”

Young In glared at him, oblivious to others’ feelings and carefree.

“How is that perfect? Always saying such strange things…”

“I’ll take care of it, so let’s get out for now.”

It was at that moment when Sung Hyuk gently stroked the back of her head, which was turned away.

“Ah!”

As Young In let out a groan while hunching her shoulders, his eyes widened.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”

“My scalp…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Sung Hyuk fidgeted anxiously and inwardly cursed at Ah Rim. Young In, who had squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them, forced a smile.

“It’s okay now.”

The two got out of the car and went up to the house together. Sung Hyuk opened the front door, letting Young In in first, and asked:

“Do you want to soak in some warm water?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

He immediately ran to the bathroom, turned on the water in the tub, and came back.

“Go in after a little while.”

“Senior, can I have some clothes to change into?”

Young In nodded and slowly followed him as he went to the dressing room. By the time she arrived at the dressing room, he already had clothes in his hands.

A look of surprise crossed Young In’s face.

90% of his clothes were black, white, or gray. The remaining 10% were navy and brown. But light purple?

“What?”

“Your taste seems to have changed a lot since I last saw you, Senior.”

“Huh?”

“Do you wear clothes in this color now?”

Sung Hyuk, belatedly understanding what she meant, chuckled as he held out the clothes.

“These are your clothes.”

Young In unfolded the clothes she received with wide eyes. It was a soft cotton women’s pajama set.

Her eyes grew even wider when she realized they were her own.

“You haven’t thrown these away all this time?”

“How could I just throw away your things?”

“…”

“I couldn’t even throw away your clothes, so how did you manage to throw me away?”

As Sung Hyuk tilted his head with an innocent expression, Young In pushed out her lower lip.

“You gave me my clothes to make me feel guilty, didn’t you?”

“That wasn’t my intention, but it seems you do feel guilty.”

“I do feel guilty.”

“Then don’t think about throwing me away anymore.”

“…”

Choked up, Young In bit her inner lip hard.

How could she not know that he was concerned about her words “afraid of being abandoned”?

She also knew there was something else he really wanted to say.

I’ll never abandon you. So don’t ever think that way again.

“The water should be ready by now.”

Young In felt like she was about to cry, so she quickly turned around and left the dressing room.

[This is the timeline separator]

Young In soaked in the bathtub and became lost in deep thought.

Perhaps it didn’t feel real, what she had just experienced, because she was now in the safest place in the world.

Recalling the moment Sung Hyuk’s face appeared before her eyes made her nose tingle again. It was a moment when she realized how heartening it was to have someone who worried about her and fought for her.

That’s why she could endure being slapped and having her hair pulled. Even if worse things happened, she felt she could bear it if he was there.

Lost in these thoughts and unaware of the passing time, the sound of the bathroom door opening suddenly reached her ears.

Startled, she turned her head to see Sung Hyuk’s face.

Young In reflexively crossed her arms to cover her chest and sank into the water up to her chin.

“…W-why are you here?”

“You were in here for so long. Just checking if you’re alive.”

After his calm reply, he grumbled as if displeased.

“Did you think I couldn’t control my lust and barged in?”

“Can you put your hand on your heart and declare that it’s absolutely impossible?”

Sung Hyuk obediently put his hand on his chest. And after serious consideration, he gave his result.

“It’s not impossible.”

The one who made this honest declaration left a kind warning that next time he barges in, he won’t just leave like this.

Should she praise his honesty or scold his brazenness?

Young In let out a small laugh as she looked at the closed door.

[This is the timeline separator]

When she came out of the bathroom after about an hour, the house was quiet. There was no sign of life at all.

Young In went to the kitchen, took out some water from the refrigerator to drink, and began looking for Sung Hyuk.

“Senior.”

He wasn’t in the living room, bedroom, or study.

“Where did he go?”

Did something happen?

Suddenly, her spine stiffened. She decided to check if his car was in the parking lot first.

Just as she hurriedly turned and reached the entrance, the front door opened. And Sung Hyuk’s face came into view.

“Where did you go? I was so surprised, thinking something had happened.”

A sigh of relief escaped between Young In’s lips.

“A friend came, so I went down for a bit. I hurried to come up before you came out, but I was a little late.”

His hands were full of large shopping bags. They were all from the French luxury brand “Pleve”.

“Were you coming out to look for me?”

“I was about to go down to the parking lot to see if your car was there.”

“Dressed like that?”

“Ah…”

A sheepish smile spread across Young In’s face as she looked down at her pajamas.

“Let’s go inside.”

Sung Hyuk led her, who was glancing nervously at the shopping bags, to the living room and sat her on the sofa. Then he put down the shopping bags and sat on the floor.

“What are all those? Did your friend give them to you?”

“Yeah.”

Sung Hyuk took out a box from the nearest shopping bag.

What came out of the box was a classic black dress.

“It’s pretty. It’ll suit you well.”

Young In couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

“Because I said I didn’t have clothes to wear tomorrow…”

“I told you I’d take care of it, didn’t I?”

“…”

If she had heard those words three or four hours ago, she might have expected something, but it was so late that she just let it slide.

At a time when not only department stores but also most clothing stores would be closed, she thought that even someone like Cha Sung Hyuk wouldn’t have a solution. But he did…

She had planned to go to work tomorrow in the same clothes and buy a few outfits on the way home, but she couldn’t help but be surprised that he had managed to get clothes like this.

She was even more amazed because it was Pleve, a luxury brand that required “open runs”.

“My friend works at Pleve. When I called and said I urgently needed women’s clothes, he immediately packed these and brought them over. This should be enough to get through this week, for now.”

While Young In was still dazed, Sung Hyuk’s hands and mouth moved busily.

“Ah, he said we should have a meal together sometime.”

He took out a muted pink blouse and bootcut denim pants from another shopping bag.

“Who did you say these clothes were for?”

“The woman I’m going to marry.”

“…”

As if Baek Hee Ran wasn’t enough, now even his friend…

It seemed like he would soon be telling everyone in the world, and then some.

“These are shoes. Try them on.”

Sung Hyuk, who had moved closer to Young In sitting on the sofa, put black loafers on her feet and tilted his head back.

“Do they fit?”

The eyes of the man looking up and the woman looking down met at a single point.

“They fit well.”

“That’s a relief.”

Sung Hyuk’s eyes curved like a bow.

“Did your friend bring these on his own, or did you tell him my clothes and shoe sizes?”

“I told him in advance so he wouldn’t bring anything that didn’t fit. I said clothes size 55, shoe size 230.”

Sung Hyuk, who had answered confidently, suddenly had a flicker in his eyes.

“Is that something I shouldn’t tell others?”

“It’s not that I shouldn’t tell, but it’s a bit embarrassing…”

“What’s embarrassing about that? It’s not like it’s your underwear size.”

“Senior, do you know my underwear size too?”

“No, I don’t. Tell me.”

Young In’s wide eyes returned to their original size.

“What would you do if you knew?”

“Just to know.”

“You don’t need to know.”

Young In cut him off and quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what does your friend do at Pleve?”

“Who knows? Probably various things?”

“What’s his position?”

“Vice President.”

“You asked the Vice President to bring Pleve clothes all the way to your home?”

“Think he couldn’t have done it if he were the President?”

Unable to find a rebuttal, Young In quietly moved on to another question.

“Did he give all this for free?”

“Of course not. Even if he offered them for free, how could I accept such a burden? I gave him my card to charge it.”

“Is he trustworthy enough for you to just hand over your card?”

“Yeah, he’s a trustworthy friend. Don’t worry.”

While answering, Sung Hyuk rummaged through another shopping bag. This time he pulled out a bag.

“Ah, I told him to exclude the bag from the charge.”

“Why the bag?”

“He said the bag is a wedding gift.”

“…”

Young In knew that the price of the bag he held up was approaching ten million won.

A man who casually accepts a wedding gift worth nearly ten million won from a mere ‘friend’. The man sitting at her feet suddenly felt awe-inspiring.

Unaware of what she was thinking, Sung Hyuk emptied the last shopping bag.

One bag, one pair of shoes, eight outfits, ten items in total.

“I asked him to send clothes that don’t look too obviously Pleve.”

“I wonder how the Pleve Vice President felt when he heard the request to send clothes that don’t look too obviously Pleve?”

“Ah, we still have a long way to go, we need to work harder.”

Young In burst out laughing at his nonchalant answer. Sung Hyuk laughed along.

He was currently trying his best to be considerate of Young In.

If she suddenly went to work decked out in luxury brands, people would find it strange.

He planned to fully express his intentions once he made their relationship public.

Young In didn’t know why Sung Hyuk was smiling so meaningfully.