CH 114

“Don’t look down on a man’s first love,” said Sangsu, “It lasts forever.”

‘Yeah… I think I know what you mean,’ Yiyoung thought.

“Is he with you right now?” Sangsu asked.

“No, I’m looking around the duty free shops. I’m just accompanying him on his business trip. He’s occupied with a meeting.”

“Oh, he must be busy.”

“Yeah, he’s very busy. So I did some research on things to do in Istanbul.”

“Will you really be okay alone?”

“I think so. If not, like Muyeol, I could just stay inside the hotel and look at the Istanbulian sky. But for now, I’m going to focus on being active instead of being cooped up inside.

“Okay, okay. That’s a good plan. You should try out whatever you can.”

“I agree,” Yiyoung said before suddenly pausing in front of a shop. Her gaze was fixed on a men’s tie displayed at the window.

“But still, be careful,” Sangsu reminded her.

“Of course. I’m always careful.”

“And don’t forget my gift!”

“Okay.”

“Have fun.”

“Alright,” Yiyoung answered before hanging up.

She then stepped into the store. “Excuse me, I’d like to see some men’s ties.”

The staff member assisted her and showed her several ties, but Yiyoung found the one she’d seen at the display window the best. “I’ll choose that one.”

“We can help you. Please provide your passport and boarding pass.”

Once the payment was complete, the staff member began gift wrapping the tie, and Yiyoung found herself smiling widely.

“Here it is.” The employee gave her the tie.

“Thank you.”

“Have a great trip.”

After experiencing such great customer service, Yiyoung went to another store, planning to purchase gifts for Sangsu and Heesu as well.

After she was done shopping, she was headed back to the lounge when she heard a voice call out to her from behind.

“Did you shop a lot?” the voice asked.

Yiyoung quickly turned around to find Muyeol. His hair was a bit messy, cheeks a tad flushed, and he also seemed a little out of breath, as if he’d been running around the airport in search of her.

“Yes, I did!” Yiyoung lifted the shopping bags in her hand with a bright smile. She planned on surprising Muyeol by gifting him with the tie she’d bought in Istanbul. “Did you come out to shop, too?”

“No,” Muyeol said as he took the shopping bags from her.

“Then?”

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

“Yeah. Let’s get going. It’s almost time to board the plane.”

“Okay,” said Yiyoung.

Muyeol put an arm around her waist naturally. Although he played it cool, his heart was the furthest thing from it. It thudded loudly, as if he’d just finished a hundred meter race.

* * *

The moment Muyeol took his seat on the flight, he had fired up his laptop and started working. However, Yiyoung didn’t seem bored at all. She’d been busy pressing every single button on her seat before looking at the view outside through the oval window. She didn’t deny a single complimentary drink, causing her to diligently go to the bathroom. And once she discovered all sorts of movies that she had never watched, she put on the headset and watched several of them.

Muyeol turned to check on her. He unconsciously laughed as he saw her eyes. With the way she was concentrating on the screen, they seemed as if they would pop out at any moment. Her mouth was shut tight, and with her wide eyes open, she looked like she was getting sucked into the screen.

Muyeol chuckled, but he was secretly worried that Yiyoung would fall in love with traveling with this one experience and would only ever want to travel from then on.

On the day Yiyoung had visited the mall, she’d marked the activities that captured her interest on the pamphlet that she grabbed from a culture center. “I’m going to register for these activities after we return from the trip.”

But the list had been too long. It included decorating vases, make-up, guidance on how to use the smartphone camera, watercolor illustration, and even ballet for relaxation.