He Bought Everything I Touched

“Please pack up everything he tried on.”

“D-Director, all of it?”

“Everything suited him perfectly. How does he have such incredible presence?”

The store manager quickly chimed in.
In the VIP shopping room, which the staff had cleared out in advance, Kang Chaehee stood among clothes strewn everywhere, looking impeccable in a navy suit.

He was wearing a new item from the upcoming F/W collection.
A dignified design—with the right tie, he wouldn’t look out of place going to work at a bank.
But if he unbuttoned his shirt and adorned it with a flashy lapel pin instead of a tie, the same outfit could become glamorous enough for a party.

Right now, he was somewhere in between—just the shirt unbuttoned, no lapel pin.
With Kang Chaehee’s outstanding looks, that alone was plenty flashy.

The manager’s praise wasn’t empty flattery either.
In my opinion, Kang Chaehee was probably the one who wore that suit best in all of Korea.
I’d seen a famous former model-turned-actor wear it once, and it hadn’t looked good.

Not that I’d only tried on that one.
I liked this brand’s designs, but the somewhat heavy feel didn’t suit me, so there were many pieces I’d only ever eyed from a distance.

But when I put all of them on Kang Chaehee, they fit him as if he’d been born wearing them.
Every single outfit drew gasps of admiration from the staff, so of course it was right to buy them.

Four suit sets, plus shirts, cardigans, slacks, ties……
Thinking it was too much, Kang Chaehee kept glancing around nervously.
I stood up, approached him, and lightly tapped his forehead.

“Director……”

“What’s a few things to get worked up over? This is just the beginning. I’m going to play dress-up with you today.”

At the words ‘dress-up,’ Kang Chaehee rubbed his forehead and looked at me with a strange expression.
Just then, the manager approached, so I nudged him with my elbow to signal him and turned away.

“Director, is this about enough? Do any pieces need alterations?”

“No, this is fine.”

“We’ve rarely seen ready-made suits fit this well. They really suit you. The suit you’re wearing now—I think the fit looks even better than on our own models.”

“Ah, yes…….”

Kang Chaehee rubbed the back of his head with an awkward face.
Feeling a bit playful, I placed my hand on his forearm.
I wanted to put it on his shoulder, but I had to raise my arm too high.

“Manager, what do you think of this person?”

“Hahaha, honestly speaking, he’s the most handsome alpha who’s ever visited our store.”

“Right? Remember his face. He’s going to be famous. You should get his autograph in advance.”

“Oh my, an autograph?”

“Yes. He’s an actor I’m raising. Very soon, he’ll be very, very……”

“D-Director.”

Kang Chaehee grabbed my hand from his forearm.

“What? Embarrassed? You shouldn’t be embarrassed in a place like this.”

The manager seemed to grasp the general situation but just kept smiling.
Which made sense—it probably wasn’t unusual for her.

She quickly took the card, ran the payment, and returned, still smiling.
Since it would take a while to pack everything individually, I had all the purchases sent down to the car, changed clothes, and left the store.

We were about to go into another store—this one under our company’s umbrella, with decent casual designs—when Kang Chaehee suddenly stopped.

“What?”

“Ah, well, Director, I think we’ve already bought a lot……”

“We’ve only been to one place so far. Are you tired? Well, come on anyway. I’m not tired.”

Kang Chaehee quickly shook his head.

“No, it’s not that…… The prices here are high too……”

“I’ve never looked at prices when I buy things.”

“But what I’ve already received is more than enough.”

“Kang Chaehee.”

When I said his name, he flinched and looked at me.
I approached him, standing about two steps away, and smoothed out the wrinkles in his worn-out clothes.

“How many places do you have to go in the future? Even if you don’t care, even if you don’t pay attention, that world judges people by the clothes, shoes, bags, and watches they wear. Do you want to tarnish my reputation?”

Kang Chaehee quickly shook his head.
His long hair swayed lightly.

“Then stop complaining and follow me.”

“……Yes.”

Still looking unsure, Kang Chaehee followed me into the casual wear store.

“Director, you’re here.”

The manager, recognizing me, said she’d guide us to the VIP room and asked us to wait just a moment.
Then I saw Kang Chaehee slyly moving at the edge of my vision.

He had flinched after looking at the tag on a displayed hoodie.
It was only about 2 million won, tops.
Well, that was expensive for a hoodie, but……
Those items in that particular line were actually priced lower because they were a collaboration with a public service campaign.

But even here, Kang Chaehee had no choice but to try on everything I told him to and everything the staff recommended.
Changing clothes required considerable physical strength, but Kang Chaehee looked fine even after going in and out of the fitting room several times already.

“Pack up everything he tried……”

“D-Director!”

Kang Chaehee tried to stop me.

“At least half…… Please make it half.”

He didn’t want me to buy them even when I offered.
I tilted my head, then had a good idea.

“Ah, right. You have a younger brother. Take the other half in his size.”

“…….”

Then Kang Chaehee’s expression turned strange.
He looked very troubled.
Why like that?
When I tilted my head again, he whispered quietly.

“Chaekyung doesn’t usually wear clothes like that…… If he wore them around, he might get unwanted attention or rumors. They might even get stolen. Chaekyung’s school isn’t in a good area……”

“Hmm.”

So if a kid everyone thought was poor suddenly showed up in expensive brand-name clothes, people would get suspicious.
I didn’t know what the school district had to do with it, but I roughly understood.

“Well, fine. Hmm…… It’s hard to choose.”

“Shall I help?”

The manager skillfully stepped in and sorted which clothes to buy and which to leave behind.
In a way that would satisfy me as much as possible.
Meaning we ended up buying almost everything except for three or four items.

After paying, as we left the store sending the packages down to the car, I looked up at Kang Chaehee beside me.
He fidgeted and whispered, “Thank you, Director.”

He had changed into neat new jeans and a loose knit, and his vibe looked different.
Even his imitation accessories looked real—he had a natural elegance—but clothes really were important.

‘He won’t get looked down on wherever he goes.’

“Next, watches and shoes.”

“Director.”

“Now what?”

“Does everything have to be bought in one day? We already bought shoes at those two places too…… And you look tired, Director.”

I blinked.
It was true that my lower abdomen still ached dully and my legs felt weak.
I was also tired.

“If I call you to go out again, will you come quietly?”

Then Kang Chaehee smiled softly.

“Yes. Of course.”

* * * *

The clothes bought at just two stores were too many for Kang Chaehee to carry alone, so Lee Seyeon’s secretary, Han Youngjun, helped deliver them to the house.

As Kang Chaehee bowed deeply to Han Youngjun in front of the pile of shopping bags at the front door, Han Youngjun returned the bow and then disappeared down the alley.

Kang Chaehee let out a short sigh.
He hadn’t meant to receive this much.
Well, money like this probably wasn’t even money to Lee Seyeon……

With a grunt, he lifted the shopping bags and tried to open the front door, but it opened from the inside first.

“Oh.”

Startled, he stepped back to find his younger sibling standing at the entrance in school uniform.
Unlike Kang Chaehee, Kang Chaekyung had a slender build and sharp eyes.
Perhaps because he was often sickly, he had a cynical, sharp edge about everything.

Chaekyung, holding a towel as if he’d just washed his face, looked at the shopping bags Kang Chaehee was struggling to carry and said:

“Brother.”

“……Uh?”

“You’re being sponsored?”

“…….”

How could he guess that just from looking at shopping bags?
For example…… Couldn’t he be doing something like subway delivery?

“Don’t bother thinking up excuses. The car that came to our house before, the scripts that suddenly appeared, you dressing up and going out every Tuesday night, and now these luxury shopping bags. What else could it be?”

“Uh, well…….”

At his sharp deduction, Kang Chaehee was speechless.
Kang Chaekyung didn’t wait for an answer and continued.

“You know that if an alpha gets sponsored by an omega, the alpha takes all the heat, right?”

“…….”

“Don’t regret it later. Choose wisely.”

Regret……

Would he really regret it?
Even if his image took a hit someday because he’d been sponsored.
At least it wouldn’t hurt Lee Seyeon.
When an ‘omega’ sponsors an ‘alpha,’ the omega doesn’t really get criticized.

“Brother won’t regret it.”

Chaekyung narrowed his eyes and stared at him.

“She’s the only one who gave me a chance.”

He was just stating a fact, so why was his face burning?
Chaekyung twisted his expression and spat out:

“You’re insane. Completely insane.”

He showed no interest in the pile of shopping bags and went straight into his room.