“Hey, you punk!”
—Splash!
Without any chance to react, a cup filled with water was poured onto Jerald. Caught off guard by the sudden situation, Pristin was too shocked to even scream, keeping her mouth shut with wide eyes.
“Ar,Are you okay?”
“…”
“Hey, what’s going on here?!”
“Do you know who this person you’re meeting is, miss?”
The woman who poured the water unexpectedly appeared quite pleased.
“This man is engaged to me. No wonder he’s been acting strange lately…!”
“E,Emilia?”
Then, another man’s voice chimed in. Pristin looked stunned at the man who had just opened the door and entered.
Oh no, she wasn’t alone.
Pristin alternately looked at the two with a flustered expression.
“…Arnold?”
“H, how did you…”
“Then this man…”
The woman named Emilia looked at Jerald’s face with a bewildered expression. Finally realizing that the person she had drenched was not her lover, her face turned contemplative.
“Oh, what do I do? What should I do?”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry!”
“…No, it’s fine.”
Although his expression and tone seemed clearly angry, there was a sense of restraint. Pristin didn’t know what to say and just quietly observed the situation.
Jerald slowly turned around, glaring at Emilia, Arnold, and the woman who had entered with Arnold.
“Judging by the situation, I understand that you’re not happy, but it seems understandable.”
“Ah…”
Emilia, with a mix of anger and shame on her face, glared at Arnold and his accomplice. She approached her fiancé with a murderous gaze. Then, without hesitation, she slapped him across the face.
—Smack!
Arnold’s head turned with a sharp sound, and the customers in the restaurant were all watching the situation on this side with faces mixed with surprise and interest.
“You, you punk… how could you cheat on me right before our engagement?!”
Emilia poured out anger that seemed large enough to make the entire restaurant evacuate.
“You dare fool around with another woman? And here, in this restaurant!”
“I, it’s a misunderstanding, Emilia. This is…!”
“What do you mean by misunderstanding?”
“Ah, Emilia!”
Emilia grabbed the man by the hair with an angry expression, but his shocked accomplice intervened.
“Please, don’t do this to Arnold!”
“What?”
If she had stayed still, she would have been safe. But that one word struck a chord with Emilia. Her youthful eyes now glared at her fiancé.
“Yes, you’re caught as well. Come here, too!”
“Argh!”
The restaurant quickly turned into chaos. Emilia’s loud wailing made the place incredibly noisy, and the three of them started a physical struggle, causing glasses and plates to fall to the floor at some tables.
Some guests thought the situation wouldn’t be resolved easily or that the ruined atmosphere would be difficult to recover, so they simply left the restaurant.
Frankly, suing them for disturbing business would be justifiable.
“Should we just leave now?”
And even Pristin and Jerald, who were the cause of this incident, were no exception.
“We don’t seem to be able to have a proper meal here.”
“Oh, yes. And you also need to… change your clothes.”
Considering the situation, it seemed better not to think about any form of compensation. Pristin quickly got up and grabbed a napkin from the table. Then, without hesitation, she took Jerald’s hand and helped him up.
Jerald seemed a little surprised as Pristin suddenly held his hand, but he didn’t refuse her gesture and followed her.
Fortunately, thanks to Pristin’s quick thinking, the two of them were able to leave the restaurant without any major damage. After they stepped outside, Pristin let out a relieved sigh and asked Jerald.
“Are you all right?”
But Pristin soon realized that her question was completely meaningless. Jerald didn’t seem to be in a particularly good condition. Instead of waiting for an answer, Pristin handed him the napkin she had brought.
“Just clean up for now.”
“…Thank you.”
Jerald accepted a napkin from Pristin with a very thoughtful face. His face was marked with water stains from how much he had gotten splashed, and his hair was soaked.
As Pristin watched Jerald wipe off the water from his body, she unconsciously had a thought.
‘…He’s handsome.’
Even though he had unintentionally been baptized in water, his appearance didn’t seem ridiculous at all. In fact, being wet made him even more attractive and sexy. Pristin’s gaze unconsciously trailed down to Jerald’s shirt, which had become slightly translucent from the water, but she quickly averted her eyes, thinking that she was being too strange.
Crazy, really.
To cover her blushing face, Pristin quickly searched for something.
“U,Use this as well.”
What Pristin handed over was her handkerchief. Jerald, who was wiping himself with the almost soaked napkin, stared at it intently. Then, with a slightly flustered voice, he asked.
“Can I use it?”
“I carry it around for moments like this, the handkerchief. And it’s just for drying off, so it’s fine.”
“Thank you.”
Instead of refusing, Jerald accepted a handkerchief. In such a situation, anyone has no choice but to accept it. The water, which could not be cleaned with the napkin, was cleaned to some extent with the handkerchief handed over by Pristin.
‘Clothes won’t dry easily.’
Except the shirt. Pristin looked helplessly at the wet shirt and asked.
“Would you like to go buy clothes?”
“…I think that might be necessary.”
In the end, the two of them postponed their meal and headed to a men’s clothing store. As Pristin thought about how her first date turned out to be so eventful, she couldn’t even have imagined it in her dreams. She constantly pondered whether this date was a failure or not.
But at least for now, it was too early to conclude that it had failed.
“Welcome!”
As they entered the clothing store, a lively salesperson greeted them with enthusiasm. And without any special explanation, it seemed like the salesperson understood the situation just by looking at them.
“Come this way.”
Jerald followed the salesperson to a corner filled with ready-to-wear clothes. Pristin followed him and asked,
“What size are you?”
“D3163…”
“What?”
Realizing that he had accidentally mentioned the measurements he used in the palace without thinking, Jerald quickly changed his answer.
“D, it’s D.”
“D, you can find it over here.”
Pristin started looking at the clothes with a rather meticulous gaze. Jerald couldn’t help but wonder why she was examining them so closely, but he casually looked at the clothes beside her.
After a while, Pristin selected a few outfits.
“These look good.”
“Uh…”
“This one looks good too.”
“Let’s go with this one.”
“Do you like this?”
In truth, Jerald didn’t really know the difference between the options. He just didn’t feel too pleased that the time spent with her was gradually decreasing due to the task of choosing clothes. But since he couldn’t express his true feelings, Jerald simply nodded. Unaware of this fact, Pristin handed him the shirt he had chosen.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Quickly taking the shirt, Jerald went into the fitting room. While waiting for him to come out, Pristin looked around the inside of the clothing store. At that moment, a salesperson approached Pristin and started a conversation.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Upon hearing those words, Pristin’s expression quickly turned red.
“Oh, no…”
“Or maybe, is he someone who might become your… significant other?”
“Oh, no. It’s not like that…”
As Pristin quickly shook her head to deny it, the salesperson didn’t immediately believe her.
“Just wait here for a moment, miss.”
Saying that, the salesperson went to the cashier and took something out from the cabinet. It was a box with individual displays for watches. Pristin looked at the salesperson with a puzzled expression.
“Do you know the meaning of a watch as a gift?”
Pristin shook her head hesitantly as if she didn’t know.
“It means, ‘I want to be with you. I want to share time with you.’”
“…”
“Or please cherish our meeting.”
“Well, that’s a nice gesture.”
“Yes, so how about buying one?”
Pristin tilted her head in confusion.
“I don’t have anyone to give it to…”
“There’s him. The one trying clothes on inside right now. Buy one. It happens to be on sale now.”
“…”
Pristin’s ears started to perk up.
“Above all, the intention is so good.”
It would definitely be a special gift. In the end, Pristin cleared her throat with a smile and shifted her gaze to the box.
“I’ll just take a look.”
“Yes, of course. Take your time.”
The box contained various designs of wristwatches, and contrary to her words of just taking a look, Pristin carefully examined the watches. And finally, one type caught Pristin’s eye.
“I’ll take this one. How much is it?”
“Just thirty bronze for the watch and the shirt included.”
“I’ll take both.”
Without hesitation, Pristin opened her purse.
“Can you wrap the watch?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
“Excuse me…”
At that moment, Jerald’s voice came from behind. Pristin quickly clenched the watch in her fist, hiding it.
“Did you put it on? I’ve already paid…”
And when Pristin nonchalantly turned around, she couldn’t help but be taken aback.
‘Why does he look so cool…’
It wasn’t an extravagantly expensive gift. Just a ready-made shirt that was different from when they first met. However, Pristin couldn’t help but think that Jerald looked incredibly stylish as he walked out of the dressing room.
Jerald walked towards Pristin with deliberate steps, and as the distance between them closed, Pristin felt her heart beating faster.
The sound of clicking, like crushing herbs, resonated through her chest and into her ears. And finally, Jerald stood right in front of Pristin.
Unknowingly, Pristin swallowed a dry gulp. And she thought to herself.
…What should I do? I think I like this guy.
