Chapter 37

The person who entered the clothing store was, of course, Ha-yul and Ha-yeon.

Originally, they had planned to go straight to the movies, but due to Ha-yeon’s stubbornness, they ended up stopping by this clothing store. Ha-yeon couldn’t accept her mother’s outdated fashion sense. She didn’t like how her mother’s clothes looked like they were picked up from somewhere, while her own clothes were always nice.

Even though her mother’s current fashion wasn’t great, she still looked bright and pretty. Ha-yeon couldn’t even imagine how radiant her mother would be if she had better clothes. She wished her mother would pay more attention to her fashion. After all, her mother was only 20 years old. At that age, most people would be enjoying campus life and dressing up, but Ha-yul had sacrificed her own life for Ha-yeon.

At 20, most people would be hanging out with friends, drinking, and going places, but Ha-yul couldn’t enjoy those pleasures because she was raising Ha-yeon. On top of that, she was even working part-time at a café.

Seeing her mother like this made Ha-yeon feel uneasy. She wished her mother would cherish herself more.

“Uh…”

“Mom, you should try on some pretty clothes too!”

“But this one outfit could buy two of Ha-yeon’s clothes…”

“Mom, don’t worry about me!”

“Okay…”

Ha-yul looked at the clothes, seemingly resigned. It was generally hard for her to like women’s clothes. After all, Ha-yul was a man. He didn’t know much about women’s fashion. He had never paid much attention to fashion before. Of course, he did care a lot about Ha-yeon’s clothes.

“How about this?”

“Great! Try it on, Mom!”

Ha-yeon put her hands on her hips and watched to make sure her mother actually tried on the clothes. If she let it slide, her mother would definitely skip buying new clothes. Today, she was determined to get her mother some nice clothes.

“Okay…”

Ha-yul said as she went into the fitting room. Han Ji-young, the store employee, also quietly followed. Having seen Ha-yul’s appearance, she couldn’t help but imagine how she would look in the dress she had just taken. One thing was certain—it would look incredibly good on her.

Clunk—

The fitting room door opened, revealing Ha-yul. Instead of the dull clothes she had been wearing earlier, she now wore a bright and beautiful one-piece dress. She looked like an angel had descended. Ha-yeon stared at her mother, mouth agape. She had thought her mother would look pretty in new clothes, but this was beyond her imagination.

Han Ji-young also clapped and said, “It really suits you, ma’am!”

“Ah, really…?”

“Truly! I’m not just saying that!”

Ha-yul awkwardly held the hem of the dress with her fingers. She wasn’t used to the wind blowing under the skirt since she rarely wore skirts. Do all women feel this sensation when wearing skirts?

“Mom, you’re awesome!!!”

Ha-yeon clung to Ha-yul’s leg. She loved her mother’s transformed appearance. Her mother was already pretty, but she just didn’t have the right clothes to show it. Today, she had proven that.

“Do you like how Mom looks, Ha-yeon?”

“Yeah! I really like it!”

Hearing Ha-yeon’s words, Ha-yul realized she couldn’t back out now. If she didn’t buy the dress today, Ha-yeon would sulk for at least a month. Ha-yul smiled awkwardly and looked at the employee.

“Ehehe… How much is this dress?”

“Ah, ma’am…”

Upon hearing the price, Ha-yul’s face turned pale, but she couldn’t resist Ha-yeon’s pleading eyes and ended up buying the dress. If she didn’t buy it now, she knew Ha-yeon would nag her for at least a month. That’s how important buying this dress was.

“It really suits you, ma’am! Truly!”

“Ah… Thank you…!”

Ha-yul’s face turned pale at the price on the register, but there was no turning back now. She had already made an irreversible decision. Of course, Ha-yeon was beaming, holding her mother’s hand. Ha-yeon couldn’t stand her mother wearing dull clothes. It didn’t make sense for Ha-yeon to have nice clothes while her mother wore shabby ones.

And so, Ha-yeon succeeded in getting her mother to ditch the dull clothes and wear a bright one-piece dress. She smiled behind her mother. Wearing the same dress as her mother made her feel like they were a couple.

—

Bustling—

The movie theater was packed. It was the weekend, so most of the people were families or couples. Since I had Ha-yeon with me, I didn’t feel out of place. Holding Ha-yeon’s hand, I stood in front of the theater kiosk.

Come to think of it, I could feel people glancing at me. Was it because they were seeing someone in a dress for the first time? Or was it because Ha-yeon and I looked so good together? We weren’t wearing identical dresses, but they were similar enough that we looked like mother and daughter. I liked that.

However, there was a problem. I had no idea how to use the movie ticket voucher the boss had given me. It was my first time using a movie ticket voucher. In the past, there would have been a ticket booth employee to help, but recently, those employees had disappeared, making it hard to get assistance.

With rising labor costs, automation was becoming more common. And for someone like me, that automation was a nightmare.

“Ugh…”

I managed to select “Tiny Ping: Love” on the kiosk, but I couldn’t figure out the next steps. I looked at Ha-yeon with a helpless expression. This was when I needed Ha-yeon’s help. Of course, I could have asked someone or used my phone, but with Ha-yeon here, there was no need for that.

Ha-yeon seemed to notice my expression and stretched out her arms, saying, “Mom, pick me up!”

“Okay!”

I lifted Ha-yeon up and placed her where she could see the kiosk clearly. Ha-yeon skillfully operated the kiosk. I watched her from behind, amazed. I knew Ha-yeon was smarter than most kids, but it still surprised me every time.

Even I struggled with the kiosk, but she handled it so effortlessly.

“Mom, is this seat good?”

Ha-yeon pointed to a seat in the middle of the theater. I nodded in agreement. No matter how I thought about it, the corner or back seats weren’t ideal. To fully immerse in the movie, the middle seat was perfect.

“Mom, give me the movie ticket voucher!”

“Okay!”

Ha-yeon took the voucher from me and expertly scanned it on the barcode reader. I watched the process carefully. Even if I was a bit slow, having an example right in front of me meant I could follow along. If I didn’t have that ability, I wouldn’t have been able to work part-time at the café. I had the intelligence to learn!

“Hehe, it’s done, Mom!”

As soon as Ha-yeon finished speaking, the receipt printed out from the kiosk. I looked at the receipt. The movie was starting in exactly 20 minutes. I grinned. I was happy to watch the movie with Ha-yeon, but the thought of seeing an animated movie I loved in theaters made me even more excited.

“Mom~”

But Ha-yeon looked at me with a dissatisfied expression.

“What’s wrong, Ha-yeon?”

Why was Ha-yeon making such a pouty face? I racked my brain, desperately trying to figure out what was missing, but nothing came to mind. Ha-yeon made a gesture of putting something in her mouth and looked at me.

“Mom, I want popcorn and cola…”

“Oh, right! Popcorn and cola are a must for watching movies!”

I had been so focused on Tiny Ping that I almost forgot the most important thing. I quickly moved from the ticket kiosk to the snack kiosk. This was something I could handle successfully. The movie ticket voucher required scanning a barcode, which was a secondary issue I couldn’t figure out, but ordering snacks didn’t have that complication.

“Mom, we have to get the couple combo!”

Of course, Ha-yeon had her strange insistence. She insisted on getting the couple combo instead of the double combo. I decided to go along with it. After all, Ha-yeon had done everything from start to finish.