The car Chaewon was driving stopped in front of a boutique, raising several questions in Hitomi's mind.

"Why are we here? Aren't we going to your sister's dinner invitation?" Hitomi raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Chaewon looked at Hitomi from his direction, inspecting her from the areas his line of sight had access to.

"You? Going to a dinner party with The Kim Chaewon in such clothes?" A dry laugh. "Not a chance. I might be in need of help, but you still need to pass my requirements, young lady."

Hitomi could not believe what she was hearing. Did this lowlife siscon whom she kicked twice in the manhood really dare to say she does not qualify in any way for his tastes? But of course, being 'Honda Hitomi', she instead used the sharpness of her tongue to get back.

"Well, a erted siscon is also way below my tastes, but you don't hear me telling you that every day, do you?" Hitomi deadpanned, her eyes fixated on the general manager.

The statement obviously enraged the silver-haired man, but he instead replied a forced smile, though a bit of anger still managed to slip through the cracks.

"Thanks for the compliment," Chaewon uttered instead, his teeth gritting and his left eyebrow twitching.

Chaewon then accompanied Hitomi to the store, and both were greeted by the staff in an instant.

"Welcome back, Kim Chaewon-ssi!" greeted the store manager. The manager's sight immediately refocuses on the woman with him. "Is this… your girlfriend? She looks cute."

Chaewon managed to let out a sweet smile before returning, "not a chance."

Hitomi then adds: "If I were to have a boyfriend, I'd want anyone but him."

Another twitch of an eyebrow from Manager Kim happened before the man replied, "why would I want an unladylike brute to be my girlfriend?"

Hitomi smiled sweetly to Chaewon this time, her eyes in the form of crescents. "Why would I want someone whose tiny wiener got kicked twice? He's probably impotent."

"Oh, so you're only after a man's means to reproduce?" With an eyebrow raised, Chaewon moved his face a bit closer to Hitomi.

Hitomi faced Chaewon, with shock evident on her face. Regardless, she found something to throw back at the silver-haired young man. "And you're only after the aesthetics of young women? How basic," Hitomi replied with an intensity rivaling that of Chaewon's.

Chaewon was out of words. His mouth would open and close, trying to find anything as a bullet to return but arrived at zero results.

How funny. Both of them had already agreed to a ceasefire agreement and were supposed to be friends now. They never expected that they'd have this sort of negative chemistry later on. The 'argument' lasted for 5 more minutes until one of them called another ceasefire—a possible prelude to an even bigger disaster.

Let's not forget the store staff who were weirded out with their 'cute' lovers' spat. Rest in peace, their wasted time and attention.

"Okay, let's stop." Hitomi was panting, her sights still on the man who didn't want to lose to her. "We're here to try dresses, are we not?" Finally! Someone remembered their purpose tonight!

Chaewon wanted to argue more but Hitomi was right. The man also seemed out of breath, agreeing with Hitomi. "Yeah…" He turned his head, looking at the store manager. "Turn her into the most beautiful woman in the world tonight, and I'll give a discount to the stall you guys wanted on one of our branches."

"Leave it to us." The store manager clapped his hands twice as if to call the attention of the other staff. They transferred to the VIP room, which also came with a hairstylist chosen by Chaewon himself.

Hitomi was then led by the staff to another room, where she was asked to try expensive-looking dresses.

Chaewon was waiting for her to come out in the lounge, playing with his phone to relieve boredom.

Half an hour later, Hitomi came out of the dressing room, wearing a one-piece that gave emphasis to her shoulders and collarbone. It was a turquoise off-shoulder dress.

"Sir, what do you think?"

Chaewon sighed, thinking, 'I wonder what kind of animal they turned her into-‘

He had initially planned to laugh at whatever Hitomi was going to wear, but that did not happen. Instead, Chaewon's eyes widened in surprise, his jaw dropping afterward. Not to mention how Hitomi's hair was slightly curled, making her look prettier than before. Her makeup was also done by a VIP-only makeup artist, the result only magnifying her charms more.

Hitomi sported a knowing grin, looking at the now flustered Chaewon.

"Do I still look like an unladylike brute now?" Hitomi teased, her eyes narrowing in addition.

The staff watched the both of them, chuckling at the general manager's reaction. It was rare to see Chaewon amazed like this so it only means they did a job well done.

Going back to the surprised bachelor, Chaewon looked away, slowly trying to regain himself. "W-well… It's not half-bad."

Hitomi's cheeks ballooned. 'I guess I was still not pretty enough.'

Chaewon nervously rose from his seat, avoiding Hitomi's eyes as he presented a necklace. "Wear this."

"Un." Hitomi tried opening the lobster clasp of the necklace but seemed to fail. Seeing this prompted Chaewon to take the necklace away from her hands, the contact making him blush redder than before.

"I- I'll do it." Chaewon gulped, opening the clasp himself as Hitomi nervously raised her hair a bit so the man could put the necklace around her neck.

Chaewon was amazed when he saw the woman's shoulders up close. From afar, Hitomi was already able to take one's breath away. But close up, the charms only magnified, making him unable to say anything other than 'beautiful'. Not wanting to embarrass himself, he gulped and swallowed the words instead.

From behind, Chaewon closed in to Hitomi's left ear.

"Does it not feel heavy at all?"

Slowly, Hitomi's cheeks turned into an unfamiliar shade of crimson. She was not used to this.

Regardless, she just shook her head. "I- it's fine." The man behind her was surprisingly silent. Why wasn’t he commenting on anything?

Chaewon immediately looked at the store manager. "W-we'll take it."

"Thank you for your patronage, Kim Chaewon-ssi."

As they leave the store, Hitomi didn't know—Chaewon had managed to snap a photo of her.

\\\

Yuri was still depressed. After all, she got rejected by the person she had been loving in secret since her first year in the university.

Nako visited her, trying to lift her spirits.

"Still feeling down because of Kang-seonsaengnim?" A rhetorical question. Of course, Yuri was still depressed. She spent four years loving him—started giving him lunchboxes after studying the recipes in her part-time job since the second year, and now, being rejected in her fourth year.

Yuri nodded, a frown still painted on her lips. "Am I not pretty, Nako?" She looked sombrely at Nako who just sighed.

"I want to say 'no' as a joke, but I guess I'll put it off for another day," Nako commented as she patted the woman's back. "What did he say though?"

"That I was cute and all, but that he was a teacher and I'm a student."

Nako's eyes widened. "Well, you still have a chance! We're graduating this year!"

Yuri was still frowning, however. "Nako… It's fine. I was fine hiding my feelings for him these past four years. I'll do that and move on after graduation."

Nako sighed when an idea suddenly appeared in her head.

"Oh! Watch this episode of The World God Only Knows! It can help you conquer a professor! Kang-seonsaengnim likes games, doesn't he? Try that!"

Whether Nako was so tired with her thesis or her brain got fried while attending her classes, Yuri did not know. All she knew was that Nako's idea was