CH 321

Something Kang Jin-Ho hadn't mentioned to anyone was that... well, he didn't dislike going on shopping trips.

Every modern human possessed the primal nature of feeling this satisfaction when purchasing a product they found appealing. The only difference separating people was as simple as the degree of satisfaction. That was all.

It was the same story back in Zhongyuan, as well. Martial artists might seem like the type to not care about things unrelated to the pursuit of cultivation, but even they rigorously stuck to the chosen hues of their martial uniforms. If there were a top-tier treasure or weapon to be had, they would stop at nothing to obtain it. Some of them did that quite literally, too.

People's obsession over shinier items in the modern era was a lot more... 'physical' back then, in other words.

As for Kang Jin-Ho, he couldn't deny that he also had such a streak. As proof, just how gratified did he feel when he first got his hand on the Azuremourne? He was so indescribably chuffed back then. So much so that he could still vividly recall the sensation of gripping the sword's hilt for the first time.

Besides, considering he was having fun to some degree while choosing his next car, Kang Jin-Ho definitely did not dislike the concept of shopping itself. Even so, he still felt like going through hell while shopping with his mother and sister. That was because that shopping trip was like... The best description he could think of would be a constant slog through an illogical time-wasting activity.

Debating which of the two skirts was prettier when both of them looked exactly the same was not something sane humans were supposed to do. Kang Jin-Ho was smart enough to debate the utility of a long or short skirt, but... Tragically, his ability to appreciate the aesthetic differences between, say, an H-line skirt and an A-line skirt was worse than a three-year-old child.

What tortured Kang Jin-Ho even more was that his replies to the question of 'Which one do you think is better?' couldn't even wield 0.01% of influence on the decision-making process.

Doing something he couldn't understand, couldn't influence, and couldn't even offer his opinion on... Doing that for several hours straight was practically psychological torture as far as Kang Jin-Ho was concerned. In that sense, this shopping trip was not such a rotten experience for him.

No matter how clueless Kang Jin-Ho was on the subject of shopping, he still knew what a TV was and definitely what a washing machine was, after all!

However, there was still a problem. And that his current shopping partner lacked the basic common sense even Kang Jin-Ho possessed!

“Dear customer, this TV is the latest design. Its curved screen means the focus on the image will be crisper and—”

“Huh? Why is the screen bent?” Choi Yeon-Ha asked while cocking her eyebrow.

“Dear customer, it's not bent but designed to look this way.”

“Don't care, show me the flat screens.”

“B-but, this is a better product, ma'am...”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes while listening silently.

'Look, he even said it's better.'

"Listen here, mister!" Choi Yeon-Ha slightly raised her foot before 'powerfully' stomping on the floor. Now normally, she would be wearing high heels when performing this action, which would have caused a loud 'bang' to ring out. Unfortunately for her, though, she was wearing a pair of what was considered the people's shoes, the triple-striped Adi*as trainers. Not only that, but it was one of those knock-offs usually sold in backstreet markets!

Choi Yeon-Ha was slightly flustered by the soft squishy noise her shoe made against her floor, but as befitting a top actress, she didn't show it on her face or her voice. “Didn't you hear me when I said, show me the flat screens?”

“No, I definitely heard you, dear customer! Please follow me!” The salesman nearly freaked out in fright, then displayed an astonishing technique of walking ahead while keeping his upper torso bent ninety degrees forward.

Kang Jin-Ho was genuinely impressed by this sight. The amount of money he spends to get this kind of treatment from a store would be much, much higher than what Choi Yeon-Ha had done so far.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

The thing was, though... Choi Yeon-Ha hadn't spent a lot, or more correctly, hadn't purchased anything yet. Even then, the store's salespeople were bowing their heads to her on their own accord after the forceful aura gushing out from her had suppressed them thoroughly.

...And despite her current get-up, no less!

'She's a natural, then.'

Some ordinary people could never emit such an atmosphere even if they practiced for the rest of their lives. Yet, there were also some other people who could naturally do that despite wearing floral T-shirts and cheap-looking baggy pants.

Kang Jin-Ho looked around while asking Choi Yeon-Ha. “By the way, is a TV really necessary?”

Choi Yeon-Ha's head spun in Kang Jin-Ho's direction. Her eyes could be seen widening behind the darkened glasses of her sunglasses. “...Mister Kang Jin-Ho.”

“Yes?”

"I know only too well how badly disinterested you are in all things related to media. However, normal people need to consume popular media, unlike you."

“Even if you say that...”

"I don't know how it is with the boys, but with girls? If they miss a show that's the hottest trending topic online, they won't even be able to chat with their friends the next day. Imagine how terrible they would feel if they missed the hot new show not because of how busy they were, but because they didn't have a proper TV? Can you imagine that?"

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth shut. The old Korean idiom of 'Ten mouths, and still have nothing to say in defense' seemed to be invented just for occasions like this one.

Choi Yeon-Ha shook her head while narrowing her eyes in disapproval when Kang Jin-Ho couldn't say anything. "I know what kind of a person you are, Mister Jin-Ho. You're basically like a caveman, so you can still survive with no problem, even after discarding all the things you find cumbersome around you. Actually, I'm guessing your lifestyle won't change all that much.

"However, that's not the case for us 'normal' people. They simply endure because they don't have a choice, that is all. If they had the ability, they would've tried to do what everyone else was doing, too. Do you understand what I'm trying to say, Mister Jin-Ho?"

“Yes, I understand.” Kang Jin-Ho replied while turning into a mushy pulp after getting slaughtered by logic and justification.

"Keuh-hu-hu-hum! Your words are indeed wise, ma'am!" The salesman cleared his throat and addressed Choi Yeon-Ha. By now, he had fully figured out who he needed to butter up to between this pair and had completely turned his back on Kang Jin-Ho.

Choi Yeon-Ha harrumphed. "Okay, then! For now, flat-screen TVs... Hmm, how many rooms were there again? Well, even though I'm not thinking of putting TVs in the young kids' rooms, show them to me, anyway. The models shouldn't be too large or too small. Just the right size, do you get my drift?"

“Aha. Were you planning to install TVs in every room, dear customer? In that case, how about this model? It's one of our bestsellers among the 30-inch-plus sizes.”

Choi Yeon-Ha shook her head in disappointment. “Excuse me.”

“Yes, dear customer?”

“Can you honestly see anything with a 30-inch?”

“...”

"No, it has to be 40 inches-plus, at least! So, show me something bigger!"

“Yes, dear customer! Your words are indeed wise!”

Kang Jin-Ho continued to groan nonstop behind the comedy duo.

***

Choi Yeon-Ha was like a runaway train with malfunctioning brakes. After choosing washing machines, microwave ovens, TVs, and vacuum cleaners, she headed to one more place in this electronics store, and that was the first floor's mobile phone sales area.

The salespeople there naturally freaked out when Choi Yeon-Ha ordered them to bring fifty of the latest models. Still, they pulled their socks up and urgently called other branches to source all fifty in record time.

“Here they are, dear customer. These are the latest models.”

Choi Yeon-Ha nodded contemplatively. “I see. And this one over here is the local product, yes?”

"Y-yes, it is, ma'am...?" The salesman assigned to this case began dripping in a cold sweat. What should he say in this situation? Dear customer, Korean phones were the best out there? Other countries also use Korean mobile phones?

The salesman wasn't sure whether this madam asked that question because she was disparaging the Korean phones or only wanted the products featuring an apple logo. And that was why cold sweat drops were caking his forehead.

“Hmm... There is the issue of personal preferences to consider...”

"T-that is true, dear customer! Most people choose between these two brands, after all."

"I know, but I didn't ask the kids what they wanted, so I'm not sure what to choose for them. Hmm..." Choi Yeon-Ha lightly scratched her head, then glanced at Kang Jin-Ho behind her. However, she openly made a face that said 'Asking that man won't get me anywhere!' before turning her head away to call someone on her phone.

After an intense discussion in hushed whispers, Choi Yeon-Ha ended the call while smiling brightly as if everything had been finally sorted out. “Okay. Can you get fifty of this model as well?”

“Dear customer, that makes the total of one hundred phones...?”

“Yes. And I'm planning to return fifty of them later.”

“I'm sorry?”

"It's not an issue as long as the boxes aren't opened, right? I'll display them all and let the kids choose what they want, then return the rejected ones. I don't see any problem with that. Do you?"

The salesman started imagining that he was a door-to-door salesman just then. He only needed a split second to calculate the profit from selling fifty out of one hundred products while visiting a prospective customer's home, and easily the most dazzling smile he had ever made bloomed on his face. "If there is any problem, don't worry, ma'am. I'll take care of it!"

“Okay!” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded while subtly purring like a full-bellied kitten.

“Then, dear customer. The payment will be...?”

“Here,” said Choi Yeon-Ha while producing a card from her pocket.

“No, hang on. Let me...” Kang Jin-Ho tried to stop her while taking out his wallet.

However, Choi Yeon-Ha frowned deeply while placing her card in the salesman's hand. “Take care of the payment using this card, please.”

"Will that be fine, ma'am?" The salesman sneakily gauged Choi Yeon-Ha's mood. There was the steep total cost to consider, and... Well, when the woman and man both step up to pay, wasn't it normal for the woman to pretend to give in and let the man pay? Wasn't that how things were supposed to unfold?

“What are you doing?” Choi Yeon-Ha asked again.

“Ah, oh... Yes, ma'am.”

It seemed Choi Yeon-Ha was adamant about it.

"Mister Jin-Ho, why are you trying to pay for my shopping trip?"

“We're shopping for the kids, after all.”

"I don't get your mindset about how you are the only one allowed to spend money on those kids. If you were truly worried about them, you should've treated them better. There are already enough people to carry rice sacks and fix the creaky storage doors working at the orphanage, you know? You drive around in a fancy Lamborghini, yet how could you not do anything when the kids of the orphanage you visit often have to wear old and worn clothes?"

“I... didn't notice it.”

"No, you were simply disinterested." Choi Yeon-Ha curtly cut him off. "Don't worry, I'm not planning to show off or constantly remind you about today. I know that spending this amount today still doesn't give me the qualifications, anyway. No matter how much I spend today, it still isn't worth the combined total donations from all the hard-working people over the years. I know that much. It's just that I feel like doing this, so let me be, okay?"

“Understood.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then backed off.

Choi Yeon-Ha stretched her limbs grandly while looking rather fulfilled. “Then... Should I buy clothes for the kids next?”

“No, no need.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “I'll take care of that, so you don't have to worry.”

“You will?” Choi Yeon-Ha looked at Kang Jin-Ho suspiciously. “You don't seem to be the type, though...?”

“I can provide an environment where they can take their time and shop at ease.”

“Hnng...” Choi Yeon-Ha briefly nodded after remembering that Kang Jin-Ho was connected to Jaegyeong somehow. “Okay. I'll leave it to you, then.”

Choi Yeon-Ha turned her head away while smiling brightly. Despite the mask covering her face, Kang Jin-Ho still got that impression.

While maintaining that face, Choi Yeon-Ha addressed the salesman. “Is everything ready to go? Can we leave now?”

“Dear customer, the goods aren't exactly ready to...”

"...Aren't ready?"

“W-we'll be finished shortly.”

"I see. Oh, well. When you're finished, please deliver the goods to the address. As for the phones, I need them by ten in the evening since that's when all the kids will be home from school. And also take care of getting the phones activated, please."

“Yes, dear customer! Please don't worry about anything.”

“Oh, and a small piece of advice...” Choi Yeon-Ha narrowed her eyes.

“Yes?” The salesman's expression became grave.

"This man here might not raise a fuss if there's some kind of an accident. However, I'm not like that. If something happens during the delivery or installation process, or if I find your services lacking in any way, I will return everything I just bought and go to your rival store right next door."

“Ma'am, I swear to you, that will never happen.”

Choi Yeon-Ha stared meaningfully at the salesman nodding away, then glanced at the store manager burning in fervor some distance away. She also nodded in confirmation, thinking that it should be fine now. She then glanced at Kang Jin-Ho next. "Mister Jin-Ho?"

“Yes?”

"Do you acknowledge that I've done several times the chores you were supposed to do today? And did much more than what you could've done by hanging out with the kids?"

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow but still nodded away. Although he and Choi Yeon-Ha went about it in different ways, when he thought about who the orphanage's manager or the workers would choose as more helpful of the two today... The answer seemed pretty obvious. “Yes, I do.”

“Then, is it okay to assume that I have performed your share of work for today?”

“Technically speaking, not quite, but I guess it's fine to look at it that way.”

“In that case, is it sensible or not for you to keep insisting you can't hang out with me because of the work back in the orphanage?”

“...”

Choi Yeon-Ha triumphantly snorted. “Coffee.”

“I'm sorry?”

"Buy me a cup of coffee. I have no plans to keep you for long, so you can relax. Besides, what I've done just now is more than enough for a cup of coffee from you, don't you agree? Or am I wrong?"

...So, the problem was that he had let her get away with too many things, then? Kang Jin-Ho groaned softly while thinking he should've paid for all those appliances. "Very well. Let's get going."

"Nope. First, we stop at the orphanage."

“Mm? Why?”

Choi Yeon-Ha's eyes subtly burned beyond the sunglasses as she glared at Kang Jin-Ho. “Instead of going to a cafe looking like this, I'd rather shoot myself.”

“...Mm.”

Her genuine threat sent a chill down Kang Jin-Ho's spine, and he shuddered slightly.