One day left until Si-hyun's birthday.

Full of determination, Ye-rin took her boyfriend to the large supermarket.

"Si-hyun, what kind of gift would make your parents happy?"

"Well, even if we don't buy anything and just show up, I'm sure they'd be pleased."

Ye-rin quickly shook her head at Si-hyun's response.

"No way. Going to see my parents-in-law empty-handed is disqualifying behavior for a daughter-in-law."

"Heh..."

Si-hyun gave Ye-rin a look of exasperation but felt secretly pleased. Her talking about in-law duties implied she was considering marriage, and he wasn't opposed to the idea.

'Even if we do get married, it will be after we graduate college.'

As Si-hyun imagined Ye-rin in a wedding dress while pushing the cart, Ye-rin noticed something and quickened her pace.

Then, she picked up a square box with a reddish tint.

"Si-hyun, how about red ginseng? Do you think your parents would like it?"

"No, they'll start using it at first, but it will sit there unused in less than three days."

"What? Then we should look for something else..."

With her shoulders drooping, Ye-rin began searching again. Like someone visiting a relative's house during the holidays, she started collecting fruits, bulgogi, yogurt, and a variety of foods.

Feeling the cart getting heavier, Si-hyun asked in a worried tone.

"Aren't you overdoing it? This must add up to around 100,000 won."

"Don't worry about the money. I've saved up a lot."

Ye-rin's mother had a well-paying job, which meant the monthly allowance she received was comparable to a company's salary. Ye-rin had saved any leftover allowance, and she currently had considerable assets.

"This cosmetic looks nice too! I should get one."

Unaware of this fact, Si-hyun took the skin lotion Ye-rin was holding and put it back.

"We've bought plenty already. Let's stop now."

"What? But..."

"If we give them too much, they'll feel overwhelmed."

Persuaded by Si-hyun, Ye-rin nodded reluctantly. After returning from the food section in the basement, the two headed to the checkout.

While Si-hyun waited in line, Ye-rin, looking around, suddenly exclaimed:

"Si-hyun, come here. Quickly!"

She started dragging Si-hyun with her in excitement.

"I said let's stop buying things."

"Nope. We're just looking this time."

As the shopping trip dragged on, Si-hyun felt a headache coming.

Sighing deeply, he followed her, and upon reaching their destination, his eyes widened.

"This is too cute!"

The reason was that Ye-rin had brought them to a section selling baby items. Holding a discounted piece of sky blue baby clothes, she asked excitedly.

"Si-hyun, look at this. Isn't it so pretty?"

"Yeah, it is. It's so tiny too."

The baby clothes were only slightly larger than Si-hyun's palm.

'Amazing.'

He marveled at how these tiny beings eventually grow to be around his size.

While Si-hyun was fascinated by the wonder of the human body, Ye-rin held a sky blue piece in one hand and a pink one in the other, asking:

"Sky blue is for a boy. Pink is for a girl. Which one do you prefer?"

"The pink one."

Wouldn't a daughter be more affectionate towards her father than a son? Plus, if she took after Ye-rin, she was sure to be beautiful.

But then.

"Huh."

Ye-rin tossed the pink clothes back to their original place. Waving the sky blue clothes, she said, "I prefer a son. I don't want my husband becoming a daughter-fool* and neglecting me." (*Overly doting father.)

"I would love both a son and a daughter equally, and I wouldn't neglect you."

Hearing that he wouldn't neglect her made Ye-rin's heart flutter. Blushing, she smiled sweetly and said,

"What if we have a daughter and she ends up falling for her dad?"

"When they're young, kids often say they want to marry their parents. When they grow up, they don’t even remember saying that."

Ye-rin touched her chin in serious contemplation over the problem she herself had mentioned, then soon after, she laughed brightly.

"Well... even if we have a daughter, as long as we give her a good early education, it should be fine."

"Why did you suddenly bring up early education?"

Without answering, Ye-rin placed the sky blue baby clothes into the cart and leisurely walked towards the checkout counter, pushing the cart.

Meanwhile, Chae-yeon was thinking.

'What would Si-hyun like?'

She was shopping in the city to find a birthday gift for her ex-boyfriend.

'He's already got new shoes... and even if I gave him an accessory, he probably wouldn't wear it...'

She had looked through all the stores from the underground shopping mall to those on the street above, yet she still couldn't find anything suitable.

At a loss for what to do, Chae-yeon finally sighed in resignation.

'I guess I'll just have to buy him some clothes.'

If she bought him nice clothes, he'd wear them at least once, right? Rationalizing this way, Chae-yeon headed to the clothing store she and Si-hyun often visited when they were dating.

As she entered the store, the air conditioning brushed against her skin. Having been outside for a while, Chae-yeon was relieved and started to browse the clothes while fanning her top.

Then...

"Oh, Chae-yeon! You're here without your boyfriend today?"

An employee, whom Chae-yeon frequently encountered with Si-hyun at the clothing store, naturally approached her.

'I never told him my name, so how does he know it?'

More importantly, when she was with Si-hyun, he would stay silent and just do the checkout. Now he was pretending to be familiar, which made Chae-yeon uneasy. Frowning, she responded.

"Yes. I'm looking to buy some clothes since my boyfriend's birthday is coming up."

"Oh, I see~ There's a trendy fashion line right now. Would you like some guidance?"

"No, I'll choose by myself. That's alright."

"Aww, but there's an outfit I really want to recommend. I'm sure it would look perfect on your boyfriend."

The idea that it might suit Si-hyun was tempting, but she had no intention of hanging around with this guy.

Currently, Chae-yeon found it unpleasant to have any man other than Si-hyun nearby.

Her PTSD from the blind date only made her more afraid of being misunderstood by Si-hyun in this situation. Nervously scanning her surroundings, she answered with trembling hands.

"No, really, it's fine. Please, just get back to your tasks..."

Chae-yeon wished the man in front of her would disappear as quickly as possible, but her wish wasn't granted.

Even though Chae-yeon had tried her best to politely tell him to leave her alone, the employee not only stayed close but also subtly reached out his hand with a meaningful smile.

"Miss Chae-yeon, you're such a regular customer here, so I'm letting you in on something special. Just trust me this one time. You won't regret it..."

Whack!

When the male employee, like a snake, attempted to grab her hand, Chae-yeon smacked it away with force.

Just knowing that he had touched her was enough to make her uncomfortable. Unable to hold back any longer, she let out her true feelings.

"Hey. Do you think I've only dealt with guys like you a couple of times? When I tell you to back off, you should just back off. Why do you keep sticking to me like glue and causing trouble?"

Chae-yeon was absolutely certain. This employee was trying to hit on her while Si-hyun wasn't around.

Being someone who had been approached many times before, Chae-yeon's instincts were sharp, and they rang true in this situation.

The man, who stood there dumbfounded after being yelled at by Chae-yeon, responded belatedly with an awkward smile.

"Haha... Miss Chae-yeon, that was a bit harsh. I just wanted to..."

"You were clinging so much, how could I not swear? You knew I was giving you hints, right? You kept pushing it, knowing it was annoying!"

As Chae-yeon shouted, the attention of the nearby customers turned towards them. A female manager, realizing something was happening, approached.

"I'm sorry, miss… Could I ask if something happened?"

Chae-yeon brushed her hair back and explained the situation. The manager, who silently listened, then turned to the male employee with a cold stare.

"Jin-woo, what exactly were you trying to recommend to the customer?"

"Uh, well..."

The response from Jin-woo, the male employee, might have seemed plausible to an average person, but it was far from convincing to the manager. His attempt to recommend clothes was merely an excuse to strike up a conversation with Chae-yeon. Caught off guard by the unexpected question, he was flustered.

"......."

With Chae-yeon's striking beauty and Jin-woo's flustered demeanor, the manager quickly understood the whole situation. She promptly bowed her head to Chae-yeon.

"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience. I'll ensure proper training so this doesn't happen again."

Chae-yeon, who had been glaring at Jin-woo, biting her lip, replied while clenching her fists.

"No need for that. I won't be coming back to this kind of store."

She tossed the clothes she'd picked out at Jin-woo's face and stomped out of the store. As Chae-yeon fumed, tears welled up in her eyes.

'If Si-hyun had been here, someone like that guy wouldn't have bothered me...'

Sniffling, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Lately, no matter what happened, she found herself missing Si-hyun's presence, causing her to cry more often.

'Si-hyun, I miss you so much...'

Hoping for their relationship to mend, Chae-yeon made her way to another clothing store. Although the weather was quite hot, the side of Chae-yeon walking alone felt as cold as a freezer.