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Chapter 09
Bada looked at the men’s shirts hanging on the wall and pointed at a loud pink shirt with a flamingo pattern.
“What about that? I think it would suit you pretty well.”
“Sure. As long as I look good in your eyes.”
When her joke did not affect him at all, she shook her head.
“Don’t trust your face too much. Though honestly, you’d probably look good even in a potato sack. Let’s go with that cream linen shirt. This man will wear it—do you have his size?”
“The largest size should be somewhere here… just a moment.”
The shop owner pulled out a new one from under the table and handed it to Bada.
She held the shirt against River’s body to check the size.
“This should… fit well. How much is it?”
“1.4 million rupiah.”
Her eyes widened.
Over 100,000 won for one shirt? That’s way too expensive for Indonesia.
But River casually reached for his wallet from his back pocket.
Bada quickly grabbed his hand and made an exaggerated shocked face at the owner.
“1.4 million rupiah? Mahal! Mahal!”
When she spoke in Indonesian, the owner laughed and brought out a calculator.
“How much do you want?”
Bada typed 400,000 rupiah.
This time, the owner’s mouth fell open as he waved his hands.
“It’s handmade linen. At that price, I make no profit. No, no!”
“Then 500,000 rupiah.”
“1 million. No lower.”
“Can’t you do 600,000? I still need money left to buy nasi campur.”
River stood with his arms crossed, watching the scene with interest.
“Okay, 800,000.”
“…Then maybe we’ll look around more and come back—”
As Bada pretended to leave, the owner hurried to stop her.
“Okay, okay! I lose! For you, special price—600,000 rupiah.”
“Really? Terima kasih!”
At that moment, River smiled and tried to take out his wallet again.
Bada quickly stopped him and pulled cash from her own pocket.
“I’ll pay this as your bodyguard fee.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have a hobby of letting my date pay.”
“I told you, I’m buying it. You already paid for that expensive dinner.”
As they argued over who would pay, the owner smiled.
“You’re a smart young lady. He must feel secure having a girlfriend like you. A man should marry a woman like this!”
“Ah, we’re not that kind of rela—”
Before she could wave her hands to deny it, River suddenly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Startled by the unexpected touch, she was about to pull away—
Kiss.
His lips lightly touched her cheek.
She gasped.
The warmth that brushed her cheek spread through her whole body.
Even as she stared at him in shock, River calmly kept his arm around her.
“As you can see, I’m the one who’s more attached.”
She could not find any words.
The terrible scene from the restroom flashed through her mind, along with the cold warning telling her not to trust him.
He looked playful, yet there was something strangely chilling about him.
Which side of him was real?
Fear, confusion—and yet an intense attraction she could not shake—mixed together and made her dizzy.
After leaving the shop, the two of them were now walking side by side.
River had parked the bike in front of the store and insisted on walking her to her accommodation, which was not far.
Bada’s silky hair was now pinned up with a frangipani-shaped hair clip.
River had given it to her as thanks for buying him the shirt.
He said he couldn’t shamelessly accept a gift from a lady without giving something back.
In fact, he looked ready to buy the entire shop, so she had quickly grabbed one hair clip from a street stall to calm him down.
After passing the busy road and entering an alley, the surroundings became quiet.
In the silence, they became overly aware of each other’s breathing.
Their arms brushed lightly from time to time, but neither of them moved away.
Feeling awkward, Bada spoke first.
“You were about to pay full price earlier. In Bali, bargaining is basic. They usually start at three times the real price.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
“For a second, I thought you were the crown prince of some oil-rich country.”
River chuckled as if that was extremely funny.
Annoyed by his unserious attitude, she asked,
“Are you even managing your finances?”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe? Listen, as a former investment banker, let me give you some advice. You don’t need to overthink investing. Just buy U.S. stocks like VOO and QQQ and keep accumulating them. Don’t buy all at once—invest monthly. That’s called dollar-cost averaging—”
“……”
Seeing him only looking at her with interest made her sigh.
What am I going to do with him?
He buys expensive meals for a woman he just met.
He rides a Ducati.
His sense of money is slightly broken.
“You’re not listening, are you?”
“Then marry me. I already have too many things to manage. I’ll just hand over the financial authority to you.”
Bada narrowed her eyes and lightly hit his shoulder.
“Joking about marriage right away isn’t funny.”
“The shop owner said I should marry a woman like you. I’m easily influenced.”
Then he added with a serious face,
“The most beautiful woman in the world, with excellent bargaining skills.”
“……”
“Where have you been hiding all this time?”
“Cubicle on the left corner, 16th floor, Yeouido Finance Building.”
“Ah, so that’s the address where God sends angels down to earth.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
As the mood softened, they continued walking, teasing each other.
Soon, a sign that read “Oka’s Home Stay” came into view not far away.
“This is where I’m staying.”
They stopped and faced each other.
Under the moonlight, their faces were blurred, but she could feel his intense gaze moving across her features.
Wherever his eyes touched, her face seemed to burn.
“Bada.”
“Yeah?”
After hesitating, he slowly spoke.
“Can I see you again?”
Under the foreign moonlight, his eyes shone seriously.
Bada gently bit her lower lip.
She could not deny that she was strongly drawn to him.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of him.
She was afraid of falling too deeply for him and not being able to escape.
It felt as if every nerve in her body was warning her.
If you get involved with this man, your whole life will change. Can you handle it?
As if he read her hesitation, River nodded in understanding.
“It was nice meeting you today. Thanks for the shirt.”
He carefully lifted her hand.
Then his soft lips pressed gently against the back of it.
Bada let out a small breath without realizing.
Heat spread from the place his lips touched, flowing through her entire body.
The whole time, his eyes were fixed on hers.
Like a loyal knight treating his queen, he slowly pulled away and whispered meaningfully,
“See you again.”
