Chapter XXXI – Shopping Spree

It was Monday again. Returning to school felt strange after such an eventful week. Classes resumed as normal, and the kids went back to their regular activities. Everyone was for the most part relaxed, apart from those impatiently waiting on results. The announcement was that they had to wait a few more days.

The gang got together during lunch along with Iseul joining them. Sophie was surprised to find out that Nabi and Don already knew the two were siblings, but it wasn’t that shocking since they were classmates. Tjay claimed to have known as well, but everyone had their doubts.

With such a large group it was only natural that separate conversations were had at the same time, and Arthur found himself in the middle of them. On one side, the girls were discussing the k-drama that Arthur caught them watching, while the guys were talking about a new fighting game that had just been released.

The next period was math. Arthur found watching others to be quite entertaining. Don was focused on every detail, writing down diligently what the teacher said. Max on the other hand had a hard time staying awake. That was until he dropped his pen by accident which snapped him out of it. Nabi kept her composure and wrote down most of what was said, but was constantly distracted by Tjay who wasn’t paying any attention. Not only was he doodling the entire time, but he also used an earbud to listen to music without the teacher noticing. Secretly everyone wanted Arthur to win the spar.

Glancing at Irene, he couldn’t help but watch her every move. Sitting with her back straight, not even leaning against the chair, writing with her right hand, and with the left, she adjusted her blonde hair by tucking it behind the ear. She was clearly attentive during class. Every time the teacher would finish up a problem that she solved correctly in advance, she’d smile softly feeling proud.

Before he knew it, Irene glanced back at him catching him staring. She was having that weird feeling of being watched. Arthur quickly averted his gaze back to his notes. Waiting a few seconds, he finally peeked again turning his head slightly. Irene was still looking at him with one eyebrow raised and a smile nodding at him. Arthur sighed shaking his head which made Irene chuckle.

With the sound of the final bell, Tjay joined Arthur in the hallway as the two made their way to the bathroom.

“Man, school’s awesome sometimes,” Tjay said proudly knowing he attended. “I don’t see why people complain so much.”

Arthur sighed freshening up with cold water while waiting for the other students present to leave. Once the two were alone, he turned the water off and splashed it in Tjay’s face.

“Hey!” he chuckled. “What’s that for?”

“People don’t typically listen to music during class.”

“Well, that’s their problem.”

“Once you lose, that’ll be your problem as well,” Arthur teased.

“Tough chance. . .” he sighed. “Anyway, wanna go to an arcade with me?”

“Huh?” Arthur mumbled confusedly.

“Umm. . . What’s up?” Tjay looked back at him just as confused. “Don’t wanna cuz it’s just the two of us?”

“What about the rest?”

“Max is hanging out with his Nonna. Don, Nabi, and Sophie seem to be going to a book store to look at something lame. I haven’t asked Irene yet, but if you say no it’d be kinda weird. She might mistake it for a date.”

“And you wouldn’t date her?” Arthur asked but more so was having a realization that the plans Irene and he made were for the two of them alone.

“Don’t get me wrong, she looks great. . . But I have my eyes on someone else,” he pointed out proudly.

“Oh, is that so?” Arthur said smugly assuming he knew who Tjay was talking about. “Well. . . Thanks for the invite, but I do have plans already.”

“Oh. . . Well, if things don’t turn out as planned, you know where to find me,” Tjay washed his hands and sprayed Arthur back before turning towards the exit. “I might as well go with the rest then. Cya later dude.”

Arthur chuckled before glancing in the mirror, taking a deep breath before leaving school.

Irene waited at the school gates with her back towards the wall, leaning into it with her left foot. She kept gently swinging her school back from left to right in a rather small arch. It was hot outside, and she had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

“You ready to go?” she asked with a soft-spoken voice and a gentle smile.

“Let me just send Sophie a message so she knows I won’t be home,” he said taking out his phone.

“You didn’t tell her?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was gonna be just the two of us.”

“Oh. . . You don’t mind that do you?” she asked tilting her head down slightly while looking Arthur straight in the eyes.

Her smile was gone while waiting in anticipation.

“Of course not,” he chuckled averting his gaze slightly. “I’d love to hang out with you more. Alone. . .”

She pushed herself off the wall and slowly walked up to him. “Is that so? Well, let’s get going then.”

It wasn’t the first time that the two were alone, but things were definitely different now. The two had planned to meet up instead of random circumstances occurring. It was also the first time that a girl other than his sister asked to meet with him.

The streets were busy, cars passing by every few seconds. Along the road, Arthur could see kids returning home from school wearing various uniforms that were similar to their own.

Arriving at the mall was a lot different than Arthur expected. Considering how the streets were, the mall was surprisingly not as crowded. It was Monday after all, so it was only natural that people would rather go home after work, as for the students, they still had work to do.

“I haven’t been here in a long time, but I should be able to navigate the stores fairly well,” Irene explained as she scanned the area.

“We got time, so no need to rush.”

It wasn’t the same mall that Ryung worked at. This was in the central Seoul area. The prices were nearly identical from what Arthur could tell. Most of the stores looked exactly the same, and the size of the place was nearly identical apart from minor differences.

“How about here. . .” she said squinting her eyes, grabbing Arthur by the arm and pulling him into a clothing store.

Irene walked around countless rows ignoring most clothes, Arthur simply followed behind clueless.

“See this?” she grabbed a shirt by its sleeve that was on display. “Every time I find something I might like, they have to add extra details to make it look different. But they really just mess up the design completely. Ugh. . . Like why did it need this teal button strapped to a thin yellow chain?”

“I don’t know?” Arthur chuckled.

Irene sighed smirking as well.

It took her a few more minutes of walking around and even switching up the store before finally finding something she liked.

“I’m sorry. . .” she mumbled. “Typically I’m not so indecisive, it’s just that I genuinely didn’t find anything too appealing.”

She held two types of jeans in hand trying to figure out which one might fit her better.

“Irene. . .” he said quietly while approaching her from behind. “Don’t worry about me, I’m having fun just being with you.” Reaching forward, he grabbed the light-colored jeans. “How about you try these on. I think a light color suits you better.”

She turned towards him smiling as he stood only a few inches away from her.

“In that case come with me,” she said walking past him towards the changing rooms.

On the way there she grabbed something else, but Arthur failed to spot what it was before she entered the changing room. It took her a bit to get changed.

“Hey Art,” she said behind the curtain as she pulled it to the side revealing her new outfit.

He waited a bit for her to change, but it was worth it. The outfit looked amazing. The light blue jeans were slim fit, and the white off shoulder crop top that she snuck in perfectly showed off her surprisingly athletic build. Her fitness was comparable to Sophie’s.

“You were totally right about the light colors,” she said turning a full circle, showing off her backside. “Damn, this makes my butt look amazing.”

Arthur sighed shaking his head with a smile on his face.

“Indeed, you look amazing.”

“You think so?” she looked at him wanting a serious answer.

“I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“Hmm. . . In that case, I’ll take it.”

“You don’t want to look around for something else?” he asked curiously.

“You said you liked it, and I like it too. So I’m getting it for sure,” she explained pulling the curtain back. “Besides. . . Did you really think I came here to buy just that?”

“I guess that’s true,” Arthur said sitting down on an empty cushioned stool.

She put her school uniform back on and the two made their way to the cashier. It was the first time Arthur saw someone pay with a credit card. It made Irene look a bit more mature in some strange way.

Leaving the store, Irene turned to him handing the bag over to Arthur.

“Here you go,” she said with a cheeky smile.

“You do know that even without the bet I would have helped you carry stuff, right?” he said taking the bag.

“Shhh. . . Stop ruining it for me,” she chuckled pushing him forward towards the next store.

Half an hour passed and Irene tried loads of different clothes, but nothing that truly stunned either of them. With a yellow blouse on and a skirt, she looked at the mirror and sighed.

“This looks ridiculous.”

“Looks kind of funny if you ask me,” Arthur laughed.

“I think I’m done with this store. . . Let’s move on,” she said changing back into her school uniform.

Irene decided to go up to the second floor. Arthur was once again oddly satisfied going up the escalator as he observed the surroundings with a coy smile. It wasn’t even the fact that it was just enjoyable riding up and down, nor the fact that he could move without effort, or even the view, but those were a bonus nonetheless. It was all about the carefree feeling he had, where he had nothing to worry about. Those moments made him truly appreciate his new reality. Irene observed him before pulling him by his arm.

“I think I saw on the map that there are some decent stores on the third floor, so we might as well go there first.”

“Sounds good to me,” Arthur said glancing at the next escalator.

The third floor was indeed fruitful. Irene managed to find a beautiful black Chanel handbag with a leather strap which she preferred over the typical chain that all the handbags on display had. Eventually, she even found a store that had just what she was looking for clothing-wise.

“Ready?” Irene asked behind closed doors.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Opening up, she posed for Arthur in a jaw-dropping slinky black cocktail dress. It was both graceful and seductive at the same time, just what Irene was going for.

“Ta-Da,” she said changing poses to show off different angles. “Whatcha think?”

“Honestly?” he looked at her from head to toe. “Stunning. . .”

“I’m glad,” she said with a sigh of relief. “I was quite happy with how it looked, but I do need different shoes for this. Heels that is. . .”

“Regardless, it fits you great,” Arthur said standing in the hallway holding the bags, including Irene’s and his school bag.

“I’ll get changed and buy it then.”

“Alright. . .” Arthur sighed noticing that the price wasn’t exactly on the lower end.

Walking out of the store, Irene cheerfully smiled looking around for what store they could plunder next. She eventually managed to convince Arthur to try on new clothes which for the most part were casual, except for one particular blue shirt that she believed fitted him perfectly. Arthur had no intention of buying anything though.

Their shopping continued wildly for another two hours as Irene kept moving up and down the floors. Arthur sighed as the number of bags he carried practically tripled. Out of all the outfits she got after the black dress, the most appealing one was a black skirt with a dark red shirt.

The biggest shock was when they went shoe shopping. Arthur forgot how tiring it was to stand in place for a long time. Though, it was worth it seeing Irene happy. She even bought a pair of black ankle boots that added a few inches to her height. She was so excited upon getting them that she had her shoes that she came to school with packed up while she walked around in the boots.

After a while, she finally stopped in place stretching her arms out.

“Alright, I think we’re done for now.”

“You sure?” he asked sarcastically as he held too many bags.

“Come on, I’ll buy us a drink,” she said heading towards a cafe.

Sitting down they ordered refreshing sodas. It was getting a bit late, and the mall was soon closing but they had enough time to take a breather.

“That was fun,” Irene said leaning forward a bit. “I hope you had at least a bit of fun as well.”

“You kidding me right?” Arthur chuckled. “Of course it was fun. You even indulged me and tried on a few outfits I either thought would look good or at the very least funny. Besides, I’ve learned new things.”

“So. . . Do you think you’ll want to come with me again in the future sometimes?”

“How often do you go shopping?” he asked curiously.

“Not that often actually. . . However, when I do I make sure to buy loads as you can tell.”

“I get it,” he said taking a sip. “Of course, I’ll come with you again. Maybe we can go during the weekend next time so we have more time. That way we can check out the street stores as well. I saw a few things I liked on the way.”

“And here I thought you were just mindlessly staring,” she giggled. “You don’t actually have to carry all that to my house. I can take a cab.”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “A bet is a bet. Besides, it’s late.”

“I’m a big girl,” she chuckled.

“I know you are. Still, I’d like to take you home.”

“I won’t say no to that.”

The two sat down and talked about all the purchased items. Arthur explained that he loved the black skirt and red shirt combo, which he believed would go great with the ankle boots. Eventually, the two sat in pleasant silence, one that didn't make either uncomfortable and instead just allowed them to relax. Arthur kept looking at what type of people were around. Though his attention was stolen away when Irene poked his leg under the table.

“Hey,” she mumbled resting her chin on her palm. “Wanted to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

“Why’d you get so annoyed with Tjay at the party?”

“Hmm? Ah. . . Something just rubbed me the wrong way when he made that bet,” he sighed. “But I got nothing against him. He’s a cool guy. Just a bit too energetic for me sometimes.”

“I see,” she said tracing her finger along the edge of the glass. “Will the two of you be fine after that spar?”

“Absolutely,” he chuckled confidently. “I'm sure if you ask him, he'll agree that we're already cool, but boys will be boys. Gotta let us sort out our curiosities.”

“You know you can’t afford to lose, right?”

“Don’t worry about it. If there’s one thing I’m confident about, it’s my winning chances when it comes to fighting.”

“I believe in you. Just wanted to make sure you knew not to take this lightly.”

Truth was that Irene never actually saw Arthur fight apart from him stepping in to help her. However, she chose to believe in him regardless.

“Sorry to disturb you,” said the waitress as she approached their flank. “We’re closing up for today. Would you mind if I charged you for the drinks?”

“Oh, right. . . No problem,” said Irene as she reached for her wallet.

“I got it,” said Arthur who was ready.

“What? No. I already dragged you around all day, at least let me pay for the drinks.”

“I already told you the next one's on me,” he said paying the bill.

“Thank you and come again.” said the waitress before she left.

“You really didn’t have to. . .”

“Maybe,” he sighed getting up. “But I did it anyway.”

He extended his hand to her. Irene took the last sip of her soda before grabbing his hand letting him help her up.

“Well. . . Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s get going,” he said picking up the countless bags.

The two finally left the mall. It felt strange to enter during the daytime yet leave at night.

Surprisingly even at night, the city was full of life. Even though stores were closing up, some bars were just recently opened up. Arthur wasn’t surprised to learn that Irene lives in a building similar to Don’s, but she lived on the third floor. It overlooked a small park which was a pleasant sight.

“Here we are,” Irene said unlocking the doors. “I’ve had fun today.”

“Me too,” he said handing over the bags to her, making her realize just how much she bought.

“You wanna come in?”

“Thanks for the invite, but we do have school tomorrow and it’s late.”

“Yeah. . . You’re right.”

“I’ll tell you what tho. The next time you invite me over, I won’t say no.”

“Then how about Friday after school?”

“Hmm, sounds good to me. Then you can finally show me those anime you mentioned.”

“Ah!” she became flustered. “Maybe we’ll start with some classics first. Maybe even something that’s just recently released.”

“Well. . . Whatever you pick, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Alright then, Friday it is,” she said slowly entering the apartment leaving the bags on the hallway floor. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow then. Goodnight Art.”

“Goodnight, Irene,” he smiled leaving slowly.

On his way back he wandered through the city on foot towards his house. He couldn’t help but glance at his clothes thinking he might need new ones.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.