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The next day, the Demon King’s family dragged Jeong Gyeoul, who had a sour expression, to the flagship store in Cheongdam-dong.

“Wow, look at that dress…”

“Now I understand why women go crazy over Berry Wang.”

Even Jeong Ha-yul, who usually isn’t interested in dressing up, was mesmerized by the dazzling array of dresses.

The Demon King Jeong Ha-yul was also a woman.

Baek Kang-woo was no different.

He didn’t understand why people would wait weeks or months to reserve a dress, but seeing the dresses in front of him, he began to grasp it a little.

‘If the dresses hanging here are this impressive…’

He couldn’t even imagine how it would be when Berry Wang personally tailored a dress for someone.

“Unfortunately, Berry Wang is too busy in New York to come to Korea anytime soon, so the store said to pick out a few outfits.”

“…Unnie, are you close with Berry Wang?”

“Just know her personal contact info?”

Yoo Eun-chae, who usually didn’t stand out, suddenly seemed impressive knowing the personal contact of a world-renowned designer like Berry Wang.

“Is it normal for a stylist to know something like that?”

“Not really, unnie is just amazing. You can praise her.”

“I even have the Queen’s direct number.”

“Oh, if it’s Helena unnie, we’re very close.”

“…Bringing up the Queen out of nowhere is cheating.”

No matter how impressive Eun-chae’s connections were, they couldn’t compare to Jeong Ha-yul’s.

Recently, Jeong Gyeoul’s connections were also growing rapidly, so bragging didn’t work.

Surprisingly, Baek Kang-woo seemed a little envious.

“Let’s hurry up and pick a dress, it’s annoying to keep chatting here.”

“…Are you really going to buy a dress?”

“Why? Don’t want to wear it? Then let’s just go home…”

At Kang-woo’s thoughtless remark, Jeong Gyeoul’s face brightened but quickly turned gloomy.

“Unnies wouldn’t let me go home…”

As Jeong Gyeoul expected, Jeong Ha-yul and Yoo Eun-chae had already started examining each dress.

“Gyeoul, try this on. The asymmetrical shoulder line stands out. The chest line is sheer, but we can customize it by adding fabric.”

“…It’s too red, it might blind me.”

“Your beauty will blind them when you wear this. Just try it on.”

“Then how about this one? It’s simple yet elegant, the beads and flowers are so pretty. It would suit you.”

“Oh, that’s nice, Ha-yul has a good eye, huh?”

They had already picked out more than five dresses.

The thought of trying on each one made Jeong Gyeoul feel like she was losing her mind.

Baek Kang-woo, already bored, was sipping tea on the sofa.

“Can’t we just pick the prettiest one and be done with it?”

“…Oppa, are you crazy? If we ask for the prettiest among all these pretty dresses, what should they give us? Don’t you see the staff struggling? And among all these dresses, there’s a beauty that suits Gyeoul, and to find that, she needs to try them on. This is why men… they don’t understand the effort it takes to pick an outfit.”

“…Sorry, I spoke out of turn. I’ll just sit quietly.”

Everyone has their role and domain.

Eun-chae’s is in fashion.

In the realm of fashion, there was no trespassing.

Kang-woo also quietly backed down.

Jeong Gyeoul, who had been silently rooting for Kang-woo, became gloomy again.

‘Why is he so spineless? At times like this, he should show some charisma and say, “Enough! Let’s just go home!”… Sigh.’

It seemed like she’d never see Kang-woo’s charisma in her lifetime.

There seemed to be no escape from Jeong Ha-yul and Yoo Eun-chae’s dress-up game.

With the help of the staff, Eun-chae went in to try on the first dress she picked.

Swish—

The curtain opened, revealing Jeong Gyeoul in the dress.

“My God…”

“This is insane! Insane! Amazing! Totally amazing!”

“From now on, I won’t argue about fashion. Seriously… this is incredible.”

Jeong Ha-yul covered her mouth with both hands.

Yoo Eun-chae jumped up from the sofa, making a fuss.

Even Baek Kang-woo looked like he was ready to worship Eun-chae as a goddess.

The reactions varied, but they all praised Jeong Gyeoul’s beauty.

“Wow… Many people have come to our store, but you seem to carry it the most beautifully. I’m usually good at compliments, but… I’m at a loss for words in front of such beauty.”

Even the staff seemed captivated by Jeong Gyeoul’s presence.

“…So, how about we decide on this one? It suits you.”

“What are you talking about? There are still eight more.”

“…”

After that, more dresses kept coming, and after trying on twelve, it finally ended.

In the end, they bought all those dresses.

“…I clearly said I’d only wear one.”

“Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be enchanted by the charm of dresses and wear them.”

“Well, if you grow taller, we can alter them. It’s not bad to buy them in advance.”

“Enough about that, I feel like I’m going to die…”

“I’m hungry too, Gyeoul must be starving. Let’s hurry and go eat.”

After a restaurant tour to reward Jeong Gyeoul for her hard work, they finally returned home.

“Make sure to wear them to any parties from now on, okay?”

“…I got it.”

Jeong Gyeoul started thinking of excuses to skip everyone’s birthday parties.

But…

‘I can’t think of any…’

Swallowing her tears, Jeong Gyeoul had no choice but to give up.

***

A few days had passed since buying the party dresses.

At first, Eun-chae and Ha-yul kept looking for parties to attend, but they seemed to tire of it and agreed to wear them to birthday parties.

But there was something more important.

Today was the first day of work at the academy.

The whole family had been up since morning, eagerly teasing me.

“…I don’t want to go to school.”

“You have to, you’re the teacher now.”

“……”

The feeling of a meme coming to life was devastating.

“You’ve been buying two-piece suits since you were young, so you must have wanted to be a lecturer.”

“No, absolutely not.”

I decided to remember the faces of my teasing family clearly.

Life is a tragedy up close, but a comedy from afar.

Eun-chae was the same.

From afar, she looked like a proud mom seeing her daughter get her first job.

But up close, she was a mischievous brat eager to tease me.

She was smiling as if she couldn’t hold back.

And I knew that smile was meant to tease me.

“What should you do if the kids bully someone?”

“…Call them to the rooftop and give them a lesson.”

“Wrong! You should report it to another teacher. These days, bullying is taken seriously, so don’t worry too much.”

“I’m the teacher…”

“Of course, of course, our Jeong Teacher, we know you so well.”

Sometimes I wonder if Eun-chae lives in this house just to tease me.

“Don’t be too nervous, everyone has a first time. It’s okay to make mistakes, just do your best.”

“…Unnie, you’re the only one!”

For a moment, I almost teared up.

A motherly figure who genuinely cares for me, unlike Eun-chae the brat…

Yeah, right.

Jeong Ha-yul’s eyes were also filled with mischief.

“But if that mistake involves hitting a student, or another teacher, or the president, unnie won’t be able to handle it.”

“…I’m a good teacher.”

“Of course, of course, our Jeong Teacher. We know you so well.”

Baek Kang-woo…

Ah, forget it.

What more could I expect from this house?

Seeing him clutching his stomach, looking like he was about to roll on the floor.

I didn’t expect much from his mouth either.

“I… I’m going now, take care.”

“Are you going to hell or something?”

“If the workplace is where I’m going, then that place is hell.”

And it’s Monday.

If a Monday heading to work isn’t hell, then what is?

Stylist Yoo Eun-chae, Manager Baek Kang-woo, Hero Jeong Ha-yul—there’s a certain sorrow of office workers that they can’t understand.

“Ping-ping… I love Mondays… I love them the most…”

Singing a somewhat sad song, I put on my shoes.

“…Take care, Gyeoul.”

“Sorry for teasing you, unnie and oppa…”

“Fighting, at least you get to eat at the faculty cafeteria now.”

Hearing my sad and pitiful melody, they finally came to their senses and sent their support.

I didn’t need anything else.

Only Kang-woo’s words stuck in my ear.

The faculty cafeteria.

Yes…

My only hope.

My only lifeline.

With that in mind, I set off for work.

“…Right, Kang-woo oppa is driving me, right?”

“That’s right, I forgot too.”

The feeling of reuniting with someone right after a sad farewell was quite awkward.

The excitement and anticipation of going to school as a student… yeah, right.

Just imagining the hard work ahead was terrifying.

It felt like… re-enlisting.

The car carrying the private headed to the training camp.

“Leaving home… taking the train… to the academy… on this day…”

“…Do you know the private’s letter?”

“Now it’s… starting again… the days of youth…”

“…Is this a song a 14-year-old should know?”

***

“What are you most confident in?”

“Beating people up.”

“…Not that. Something that can help the students.”

“Bullying them.”

“…I get that you’re bullying me, but something else.”

“Teasing them.”

“You’re really something.”

If you’re going to use me as a lecturer, you better endure this much.

It’s the path you chose…

Thwack—

I got hit on the back of the head and came to my senses.

No matter what, you shouldn’t mess with your teacher.

“Your unworthy disciple, I can do anything, but what I’m most confident in is combat!”

“Then next semester, open a class on combat training, and for now, just audit this semester. As a teaching assistant.”

“Huh? Auditing? I finally escaped being a student, and now I have to attend lectures again? Even as a lecturer’s lackey? For combat training, can’t I just make the kids fight and watch while eating popcorn…”

Thwack—

I got hit on the back of the head again and pretended to come to my senses.

“I’ll study hard!”

And just like that, my dream of an easy life disappeared.

What a regretful life…

 

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