Swallowing my breath, I lifted my head, and Lucian slowly leaned in as he looked down at me.
His platinum-blond hair spilled softly, tickling my cheek.
I flinched and stepped back, but there was no more space to retreat.
The wall of the fitting room pressed against my back.
“The fact that we met is no mere coincidence.”
His low, sinking voice tickled the edge of my ear.
Right then, a cool sensation brushed past the hem of my clothes.
I flinched and cast my gaze downward.
Lucian’s fingertips were carefully lifting my clothes just a fraction.
“Keep doubting me endlessly.”
A cool touch grazed my skin, and his gloved fingertips slowly traced the fabric of my clothes.
It was as if he were intentionally provoking me—slowly, yet with absolute certainty, waiting for my reaction.
“Who I am, and what kind of existence I am.”
Lucian’s voice was as calm as a whisper breaking the silence.
But the heat harbored within it was more than clear enough.
When I slowly raised my head, Lucian’s red pupils curved into thin crescents.
Caught in that gaze, I froze.
‘Thump, thump.’
My heart thrashed anxiously.
“Think of nothing but me.”
When his fingertips brushed past my waistline and touched my bare skin, a chilling wave of goosebumps broke out across my body.
“Enough for this small head of yours to be completely filled with me.”
My mind went blank.
Reflexively, I batted his hand away and stepped back.
“What are you even saying?”
I pressed flat against the wall and glared at him with wary eyes.
Yet Lucian remained entirely unbothered.
No, rather, he gave a light laugh and slowly raised his hand.
In that hand was…… my wallet.
“……Hey.”
My heart instantly dropped into my stomach.
I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even open my mouth.
‘When on earth did he take it?’
I hadn’t looked away from him for even a single second.
However, as if not caring about my reaction at all, Lucian naturally opened the wallet and pulled out a card.
Then, tilting his head slightly toward me, he said softly.
“I’ll choose whatever gift you were going to give me, Master.”
“What…?”
“I’ll give you my card, so pick whatever you want, Master. It doesn’t even have to be a gift for me.”
I stared at him in a daze.
“Because everything you possess is a gift to me, anyway.”
Along with those words, he pressed a black card directly into my hand.
Stunned out of my wits, I stared down at Lucian.
The weight of the card felt strangely heavy.
A luxury card just by looking at it.
As I traced the smooth surface with my fingertips, my gaze drifted to another card resting in his hand, and my eyebrows twitched.
……A cute character card.
Once again, I alternated between looking at my card and his card.
‘Just how much money does a broke college student supposedly have that he’s bothering to swap cards with me?’
I opened my mouth, utterly dumbfounded, but stopped.
I wanted to interrogate him about something, but Lucian just watched my reaction as if finding it amusing.
His attitude was as though he had anticipated every single situation from the start, and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.
“Go ahead and put the clothes on. It gets chilly in the afternoon.”
Leaving those words behind, he slowly walked out of the fitting room.
Click—the sound of the door closing echoed quietly.
I stared blankly at the closed door for a moment, then looked down at the card gripped in my hand.
……Can I actually use this?
Swallowing down my swirling confusion, I carefully put on the white knit sweater I had been holding.
The soft texture brushed smoothly over my skin.
The fabric quality was undeniably high-end.
It fit my body with such precision that the reflection of myself in the mirror felt downright awkward.
Still in a daze, I opened the fitting room door and stepped out, but the card clenched in my hand only heightened my confusion.
‘Calm down, Yoon Seohyun. No, how the hell am I supposed to calm down? Do you think any of this makes sense?!’
I desperately tried to rein in my scattered wits.
“Are you…?”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears.
A clear, calm voice.
It was a tone that seemed to quietly settle even the surrounding air, carrying a sacred aura just by listening to it.
Slowly lifting my head, I saw a familiar face standing there.
The man I had seen at the cafe. Raphael Bayern.
This time, without his hat or mask, he was revealing his true appearance.
Mysterious white hair and deep violet eyes.
Seeing me, he smiled softly and spoke.
“I suppose I should have charged you a dry cleaning fee.”
“……Pardon?”
I stared at him with a bewildered expression.
“The clothes you’re wearing right now are from this season’s new release at GuX.”
At those words, I panicked and looked down at the white knit sweater.
……This is a GuX new release?
For a second, I froze and stared down at my clothes before locking eyes with Raphael.
Those uniquely calm eyes of his were quietly watching me.
Feeling awkward for no reason, I forced myself to say something.
“Th-The clothes from last time… are they alright?”
“They’re fine. Though it was a bit of a headache because the clothes that got soaked happened to be sponsored designer pieces.”
……Sponsored?
“I’m sorry……”
My voice trailed off at the end.
At that, Raphael gave a light laugh, his eyes curving softly.
“I’m just joking. You looked far too stiff.”
That nonchalant smile left me momentarily speechless.
……Am I supposed to take that as a joke?
Fucking hell, a few numbers had just flashed through my mind like a ticker tape.
Isn’t that a bit too terrifying for a joke?
An unfamiliar, strange sensation seeped down my throat.
An ominous premonition struck, but since I had already opened my mouth, I had to add something.
Hesitating, I forced myself to speak.
“Um, even compensation……”
The moment the words slipped out, I wanted to bite my tongue off.
‘As if you could ever afford compensation, you lunatic.’
Yet the words were already out.
Far from patching it up, I had only dug myself deeper.
Raphael tilted his head slightly for a moment, then smiled quietly and shook his head.
“No need. Besides, they’re quite expensive and hard to come by. Unless you happen to be someone who owns a black card.”
I let out an awkward, dry laugh and nodded.
Right, naturally, it wasn’t an amount a broke college student could ever compensate.
I thought the matter was settled and done with.
Until.
Suddenly, Raphael stopped talking, and the pupils of the eyes looking at me widened ever so slightly.
That gaze drifted toward my hand—specifically, toward Lucian’s card.
……Fucking hell.
Poor guy just keeps getting screwed over by the universe 😭 ALSO WHERE THE HECK IS LUCIAN AT A TIME LIKE THIS?