My Shopping Trip Part 2

While walking, I stopped in front of one store. What was it for? Hm… The store’s name is in a fancy font. The logo has a black and pink colour scheme. The name is a snazzy-sounding French word. And the interior is sprawled with hearts… This is undoubtedly a women’s underwear shop.

“Interested?”

I quickly turned to Ren.

“What!? N-No! I was just… um…”

I could feel my cheeks get warmer as I was embarrassed. I waved my hands in denial.

“N-No Ren. I’m not a pervert, I swear! I was… um… yeah, I was just looking!”

Ren nodded. He doesn’t believe me!

“Wait, no, I wasn’t looking at the things in the store like the mannequins with swimsuits or the scantily clothed woman on the poster! This store... Um… Yeah, compared to the surrounding ones, this one caught my eye!”

I declared that with aplomb.

Ren nodded… No, he still doesn’t believe me!

“Hold on, i-it’s not that I find underwear more interesting than anything else… it’s just… um… you see, this store…”

Ren raised his hand at eye level.

“Oh, y-yeah Ren?”

“Sorry if it was implicit that I was calling you that when I asked if you were interested, but I was not.”

O-Oh…

I tried acting playfully to dismiss my misunderstanding.

“Y-Yeah… Yeah, you wouldn’t think that way… Heh heh…”

“I was wondering if you needed underwear. They sell some at Univear, but this store mainly sells underwear, so they are of higher quality.”

How do you know that!?

“Hm… Um, shouldn’t we, like, compare prices first.”

He shrugged.

“We could, but I do not think it would matter. If one store is more expensive than another, it won’t make a big difference.”

“I see…”

I thought about this. Aren’t prices something big that people need to consider when deciding on things? Well, it was for me. Well… We’re already here… and the things here look cute… Uh, I meant it could save some time when looking around at Univear...

“Sure, why not? We’re already here, so might as well.”

Ren nodded his head and began to walk in.

“Then let’s go.”

“Wait, “let’s”!? As in both of us!?”

“Hm? Sure. I can carry your things for you.”

“Men are allowed in here!?”

“Hm? Well, yeah. I do not really see why they wouldn’t… I think that would be bad for business.”

“Yeah, but… Um…”

He raises a good point. I… don’t know what to say. It just feels and looks wrong for a man to be in a women’s underwear shop.

“Wait, I’m okay with going in alone.”

“Are you sure? I mean, this is your first shopping experience so you will probably need help with things such as checking out. In addition, you will most likely need me to be present when using my credit card.”

He raises greater points.

“Hm… Yeah, okay… B-But make sure you stay close to me at all times, okay?”

“O-Oh?”

He seemed surprised by this. Why? Does he not want to? Sorry for treating you like my child.

“I assume that is excluding fitting rooms, right?”

“Huh? Oh, are those the rooms where I can try on the clothes? Y-Yeah, don’t follow me there…”

And when you’re alone, try not to look suspicious and get yourself arrested, okay?

…

“Huh? Ren, what’s this store?”

With the bag from the underwear store in my hand, I pointed at the place that interested me. We weren’t in the open area but rather in a smaller area close to the subway station we left from. This store seemed to be smaller than the others and did not have a door — instead, there was no front wall and the entrance was open. There were these wooden figures that formed the shapes of round couches. There was also a counter at the back with blenders… oh wait, this isn’t a store.

“Authen-Berry Bubble Tea.”

“Bubble tea? What’s that?”

“Basically, bubble tea is a form of tea with tapioca pearls.”

“O-Oh… What’s that?”

“Tapioca is starch that is extracted from the storage roots of a cassava plant.”

“I-I see… Wow, you’re really knowledgeable!”

I had no idea what any of those words meant. I also had no way of verifying that Ren was actually knowledgeable. But that sounded right… I think.

“Considering that it’s a weekend, there are a lot of people here at this restaurant.”

“This chain is pretty popular. People like the drinks that they serve, like their milk teas, slushies, and fruit smoothies.”

“Interesting…”

I turned excitedly to Ren.

“Wait, do they serve chocolate milk!?”

I smiled.

“I am not entirely sure, but they do serve some drinks containing chocolate.”

“Really? Okay, then let’s-”

“Okay, then let’s go!”… is what I wanted to say, but I stopped. I just… it felt wrong asking Ren to buy this for me. But I am okay with Ren buying clothes for me. Why is this? It’s like… Gah, I just can’t explain it!

“Did you say you wanted some?”

“Oh, no, never mind. I… thought of the time and thought it would be best to get this after dinner, right? Yeah…”

“Okay.”

I decided to skip out on buying from here for now. I think… I think it’s because compared to the underwear and the clothes, this is more of a leisurely commodity… Is that it? I don’t want Ren to buy me things unless they're absolutely necessary. I mean, I was okay with the donuts he shared with me because he said he got them for free...