167 Shopping Trip (1/2)

The next day.

As promised, Yeo Ri was going to go shopping with Choi Da Na and her mother, Park Soo Yeon.

The itinerary for the day was to look for school supplies for Da Na, who was also about to enter university. But of course, considering the fickleness of women inside a shopping mall, they would probably end up buying more than what they came for.

The three browsed through the shops the moment they stepped into the mall, their itinerary almost forgotten. They were blinded by the glamorous clothing and big promotions that was still ongoing in the stores.

”Back-to-School sale? Nice!” Da Na said, smiling craftily. She was already planning on begging her mother to buy her several new sets of outfits. She glanced at her mom, thinking: 'Going shopping with your parents feels like carrying a mobile ATM machine.' She was usually very cautious about spending money outside, but with her mom around, she didn't need to worry about the price since her mom would happily pay for it.

”Mom~” she sweetly called out. ”Can we go check out Eternally 20 first? I feel like getting a new blouse. Pretty please?”

Mrs. Choi smiled, nodding in agreement, ”Why not? Let's go.” She gestured to Yeo Ri who had been keeping quiet the whole time. ”Do you want to go to Eternally 20 too, Yeo Ri-ah?” Mrs. Choi asked the somewhat absentminded girl, smiling amiably.

Yeo Ri bowed her head politely at the older woman, snapping out of her thoughts, ”Yes, of course. Shall we?” She returned the woman's smile with one of her own, making the older lady's smile widen even more.

Yeo Ri felt awkward about accompanying them to shop even though she was not going to buy anything, but she did not have the heart to reject them when they had asked her since the Choi family had been nothing but kind to her this past year. She could only play the obedient, nice girl so they wouldn't be offended. Furthermore, Da Na was Gun's friend so she didn't mind being nice to her.

”Yay!” Da Na cheered happily after getting her way. She excitedly looped her arms around Yeo Ri's arm, dragging the younger girl along. ”C'mon, Yeo Ri-ah, we should go try out some clothes!”

”Mm.”

With Yeo Ri's assent, the Choi mother-daughter pair secretly exchanged glances.

Actually, Da Na and her mother had made a pact before they picked up Yeo Ri to go to the mall; they were planning to get something pretty for the pretty girl. Yeo Ri didn't have many new clothes—no, it could be said that she didn't have a lot of clothes in general, so the mother-daughter pair felt like they needed to 'enrich' Yeo Ri's closet. They felt like it was just too pitiful for a girl to own such a pitiful amount of clothing.

If one were to look at this from another angle, it could be seen as rather selfish of them. But alas, they were too excited about playing dress-up with the doll-like younger girl that they forgot to ask if she was fine with it. In any case, who in their right mind would reject such goodwill, the rich and privileged duo thought.

”Yeo Ri-ah, come and try this one,” Mrs. Choi said, eagerly holding a two-piece outfit for Yeo Ri to try. She could already imagine how nice it would look on the girl.

Yeo Ri flashed a difficult smile, ”No, I'm fine.”

”Aw, Yeo Ri-ah, it won't hurt to try, please? Da Na doesn't like wearing this kind of style so I was hoping you could satisfy Auntie's pitiful heart.” Park Soo Yeon attacked Yeo Ri with puppy eyes. She was originally a beautiful woman, so the attack power of her gaze was strong. Yeo Ri had no choice but to cave in.

”...Alright,” Yeo Ri nodded, gingerly accepting the outfit and dragging her feet to the fitting room.

”Mom,” Da Na said reproachingly. Her mother was an experienced actress-turned-businesswoman, so she was good at getting her way. She should have known that her mother would do something like this. ”Don't force her; you're being too pushy.”

”What? All I did was ask her to try some clothes,” Mrs. Choi said, defending her actions. ”Why are you blaming me? You also agreed to the plan,” Mrs. Choi childishly pouted at her daughter.

”...” Da Na pursed her lips, speechless. It was true that she agreed to the plan, but...

”We should take it slow; slowly, and, I don't know, ease her into it?” If they were too pushy, Yeo Ri might run away, after all. And Gun might hate her for it.