Afterward, I walked out of the store alongside Cha Rui.
He was holding the doll in his hand, and I was dangling the doll attached to my waist as we walked down the quiet street.
Come to think of it, we unintentionally ended up with a couple item… no, a friendship item.
Of course, I was happy, but I couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
Did he choose this doll on purpose?
I still didn’t understand why a claw machine master would deliberately win a strange doll.
Once might be an accident, but twice was worth suspecting.
‘Hmm.’
I narrowed my eyes and glanced at Cha Rui’s profile, but he didn’t seem to notice at all.
One hand was tucked into his pocket, and he was twirling the ring attached to the doll with his finger.
With the subtly nonchalant movement added, he looked exactly like a neighborhood hoodlum.
Contrary to his indifferent expression, his actions were highly amused, like a mischievous child.
Why is he so excited… and why is his walk like that?
As my questions piled up, his steps suddenly stopped in front of a building.
I wondered what he was looking at, and it was a photo booth called ‘Life Four-Cuts’.
I recalled seeing this place often while passing by on the streets, just like the claw machine arcade.
I also knew it was a place mainly frequented by friends or couples.
But why here?
Cha Rui’s back, staring intently at the shop, was entirely unfamiliar.
It was even more so because the shop was decorated in pink.
I was instantly seized by the impulse to raise my phone to take a picture but barely managed to resist the temptation.
Does he want to go in?
It was very unexpected that he would show interest in a place like this, but there was no law saying we couldn’t go in.
If two large men wanted to take a picture, they should.
I snatched Cha Rui’s wrist, just as he was about to move on.
Then, as I strode boldly into the shop, he looked slightly surprised.
“Come on. You got a doll, so I should treat you to this much.”
“You want to take a picture together?”
“Why, you don’t want to?”
“……”
Cha Rui clamped his mouth shut and was pulled along by my hand very easily.
His soft response showed that he had no intention of vehemently refusing.
Honestly, he was just being insincere.
A silly laugh escaped me at his hesitant demeanor.
However, after stepping into the sparkling shop, we soon hit a big wall.
Although we had entered, since this was a first for both of us, we didn’t know what to do first.
It was a slight relief that there weren’t many people in the shop.
Is this for taking pictures?
As I examined the many headbands hanging on the wall, a fox-ear headband caught my eye.
The shaggy orange fur was quite realistic and soft compared to the others.
As soon as I awkwardly put the headband on while looking in the mirror on one side, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Haha! Look at this, it’s hilarious.”
Perhaps because of ‘Seo Inho’s’ naturally sharp features, the fox ears suited him surprisingly well.
From a distance, people might even believe they were actually attached to my head.
It was a scene too good to keep to myself, so I turned around as if to show off to Cha Rui.
But for some reason, he didn’t say anything and just stood there, staring at me blankly.
I feel a bit awkward…
I wondered if I had overdone it and thought about taking it off, but honestly, I felt regretful after coming all this way.
It would be better to drag Cha Rui into it than to take it off myself.
I also thought it would be more fun that way.
Let’s see.
Just as I was choosing a headband very carefully, something highly intriguing caught my attention.
It was a pure white rabbit-ear headband with a pink ribbon.
I almost let out a burst of laughter but barely held it in by biting my lower lip.
I narrowed my brows, pretending to be serious, and quickly hid the headband behind my back.
“Cha Rui, come here for a second.”
At my gentle gesture, Cha Rui slowly approached with a somewhat dazed expression.
There was no better timing than this.
When he was right in front of me, I even stood on my tiptoes to take off his hat and surprise him by putting the headband on him.
However, my expression, which had been full of anticipation, soon visibly dampened.
I thought it would be funny, but Cha Rui was simply too handsome.
Wouldn’t he shine even if he put a piece of dung on his head?
My interest suddenly plummeted, and I raised one eyebrow.
“What? You still look handsome even in this getup. Seriously.”
In fact, he looked quite cute to my eyes.
Don’t idols usually do surprise events like this for their fans?
That’s exactly what he looked like now.
I shook my head and backed away, feeling inexplicably disgruntled, and Cha Rui immediately closed the distance between us again.
Then, he said something I couldn’t understand at all.
“Am I handsome?”
No… what a preposterous thing to say.
If you’re not handsome, then who is?
Dumbfounded, I looked up at him with a slightly annoyed expression.
“Are you even asking?”
But Cha Rui looked genuinely happy to hear that, and his lips couldn’t stay still.
He was looking at the floor, even biting his lips, trying hard to control the corners of his mouth from curling up.
His honest reaction was all the more confusing to me.
After all, he must have been hearing that he was handsome enough to be bored with it since the moment he was born.
Chirp!
At that moment, Chirpy, who had been fidgeting inside my clothes, poked his head out.
He kept urging me, as if asking me to choose something for him too, so I reluctantly walked towards the props.
“Uh… okay, is there anything Chirpy can wear?”
The square basket was stocked with cute trinkets like hairpins and mini sunglasses.
The sizes were all tiny, suggesting they were accessories for dogs or other pets.
Nevertheless, because Chirpy was so small, it took me a long time to find anything suitable.
Finally, after digging through the very bottom of the basket, I discovered a leaf hairpin the size of my fingertip.
“This looks perfect.”
A squirrel and a green leaf.
There couldn’t be a more perfect accessory for Chirpy.
Chirpy’s eyes also sparkled with anticipation, and he pushed his round head forward, as if urging me to put it on quickly.
And my judgment was spot on.
“Hahaha!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him looking up with bright eyes, a leaf resting on his head.
With the doll that looked exactly like him hugged in his arms, it was almost difficult to tell which was real, to slightly exaggerate.
“Look at him, isn’t he just so cute?”
I felt like an overly doting parent, wanting to proudly show him off to everyone in the world as my child.
But since that wasn’t realistically possible, I reluctantly pushed Chirpy towards Cha Rui.
I wanted at least him to appreciate this fatal cuteness.
But Cha Rui didn’t look at Chirpy; instead, he stared intently at my face, which was beaming brightly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It just made me think of the past.”
At that single, detached statement, my cheerful mood instantly plummeted to the floor.
Simultaneously, the corners of my lips, which had been arcing, dropped sharply as if they had never been up.
Thinking of the past?
That meant he was thinking of ‘Seo Inho’ while looking at me.
Of course, from Cha Rui’s perspective, it was a natural thing to do.
Both the ‘Seo Inho’ who had made him suffer and the new Seo Inho who had suddenly lost his memory were me.
But I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable even though I knew it.
I wished he wouldn’t think of ‘Seo Inho’ anymore when he looked at me.
I wished he would focus only on me, neither speaking of him nor thinking of him, as he was now.
I knew it was selfish, but I hoped that someday he would completely forget him.
To do that, I had no choice but to accept the existence of ‘Seo Inho’ as well, even if I was reluctant.
The moment I denied him, Cha Rui would leave without regret, and I might never see him again.
To wish for him to forget ‘Seo Inho’ and yet not be able to let him go.
There was no greater contradiction than this.
The day I reveal the truth to Cha Rui will never come.
If so, I have no choice but to slowly color the ‘Seo Inho’ remaining in his mind with myself.
“Cha Rui, just think about the present.”
“……”
“Look at the me in front of you, not the me from back then.”
Perhaps because my mood had dropped sharply to the basement, I unconsciously pressed Cha Rui, almost scolding him.
I firmly held both his arms and looked up at him with an unwavering gaze.
Cha Rui seemed slightly flustered by my sudden assertiveness.
But as I shook his arms and continued to demand an answer, he finally nodded his head.
“…Okay, I understand.”
An awkward yet obedient answer came back.
He didn’t seem to be blushing out of anger; he was probably just very embarrassed by the situation.
Although I forced the answer out of him, I felt a little better after hearing a satisfying response.
“Then let’s go take pictures now.”
I forced a smile and pulled Cha Rui by the hand.
