7 IT’S A DATE

"I HAVE nothing to wear," Nikolai said, frowning while looking at the outfits that Glenn presented to him. Then he looked at his watch, his mood improving a bit. "I still have time to shop for new clothes before I meet up with Mona."

"President, what do you mean you have nothing to wear?" Glenn complained, pointing at the clothes around his luxurious close-in closet. "And the clothes I prepared for you are all new."

"I don't like them," he complained. "Why are my clothes all dark? They're either black, navy blue, or gray in different shades."

"But you like dark clothes, President."

"Glenn, I already retrieved my memories," he reminded his secretary. "Mona once said that I look great in light-colored clothes."

"But since it's already winter, black is actually more popular, President."

"I don't care what's trendy. If Mona says I look good in light-colored clothes, then I should wear light-colored clothes on our first date."

First date in a long while, to be precise.

"Well, I guess we really need to go shopping," Glenn said while looking at his clothes. "Most of your clothes are too formal. You should dress down for your "date" with Mona-ssi today, President."

[I heard quotation marks in the air when Glenn said 'date,' but let's just ignore it.]

"Why do I need to dress down? Neoma's activity will be held in a sushi restaurant."

"I checked the address that Mona-ssi sent," his secretary said when he turned to him again. "The sushi restaurant in question isn't the luxurious or traditional type. It's just a normal restaurant that sells cheap– I mean, affordable sushi."

That didn't sit well with him.

[I don't trust places that sell cheap sushi since raw food is already tricky to eat in the first place.]

And Mona knew that, too.

[It's not like my wife can't afford to bring Neoma to a decent sushi restaurant.]

Mona's family was well-off since they owned a huge coffee farm that had an excellent reputation among coffee aficionados. Their family also owned Roseheart Café– a famous coffee shop franchise in Korea.

Plus, Mona had a stable career.

[My wife is an award-winning screenwriter. Her debut rom-com drama was a huge hit here and abroad– effectively making the main cast into household names. Her second drama, a fantasy romance series, was so huge that it earned her the Writer of the Year award in a prestigious awards ceremony. And now, Mona's third drama is the most highly anticipated drama of the year. It hasn't even aired yet, but people are already talking about it since it's the first time that she wrote a crime drama with elements of horror in it.]

Mona's flourishing career only started after she was kicked out of their house.

Unfortunately, Nikolai only found out about all of that through the report that Glenn gave to him. He wasn't interested in his wife's career before he retrieved his memories.

"President?"

"I guess it doesn't matter even if it's a cheap restaurant as long as Neoma likes it," Nikolai said belatedly regarding to what Glenn said about the sushi restaurant. "Anyway, call the boutique I usually go to. I'll personally buy a new set of clothes for my date."

"Alright," his secretary said. "Ah, Nikolai."

"What?"

Glenn smiled 'sweetly' at him. "If you call me on a weekend again, I'll resign. I know I'm getting overtime pay with this. Plus, I'm helping you because we're friends and I sincerely want you to win your family back. But that doesn't mean I want to spend my precious weekend with you. My wife will kill me if this happens again."

Nikolai avoided Glenn's gaze. "You can go home after I'm done shopping."

"Why don't you ask Nero for some fashion advice?"

"My son dresses like me since we have the same stylist."

"But I saw Nero when he left the house earlier," Glenn said, tilting his head to one side. "He looks pretty stylish in his streetwear."

"Streetwear? I've never seen my son in streetwear before."

Nero would only come home during weekends, and he barely spent time with his son since he was too busy with work before his regression.

And now, Nero was busy dating.

[Ah, right.]

"It must be Hanna Baek's influence," Nikolai said, then he pulled out his smartphone (that his company made) and called his son. "Nero."

<"Yes, Abeoji?">

"Where are you?"

<"I'm on my way to meet Hanna. Why?">

[I knew it. He's on a date with his girlfriend.]

"Send me a picture of your outfit, son."

<"Huh?" >

"I don't need to see your face, but I need to see your entire outfit," he said bluntly. "Make sure to include everything from your top to your shoes."

<"Abeoji, that sounds creepy and suspicious.">

"You said you hate playing golf with your grandfather and the old directors, didn't you? Send me a picture of your outfit, and I'll make sure your grandfather can never take you to the golf club again."

<"Alright, Abeoji. I'll send the pictures after you end call.">

"Thank you, son. Enjoy your date with Hanna Baek."

He hung up after that.

"Nero is dating Rufus hyung's daughter?"

"I also just found out recently."

Glenn laughed. "Rufus hyung would cry if he found out his little girl is already old enough to date."

"There must be something wrong with Rufus hyung's tear ducts if every little thing could make him cry," Nikolai said while shaking his head. Then he showed his phone to Glenn. To be precise, he showed his secretary the pictures Nero sent him. "Let's get the same outfit as Nero for me."

His secretary looked surprised by what he said. "You're copying Nero's outfit?"

"It looks good on my son, so this fit will also look good on me since we look alike."

"But Nero is young, so that style suits him well. But, President, you're…"

Nikolai glared at Glenn. "I'm what?"

"You're handsome and cool, President," Glenn said, obviously taking back what he wanted to say earlier. "I'll call your personal shopper to help us find the same clothes as Nero's."

***

"MAYBE I trusted my face too much," Nikolai said, embarrassed by the fit he was wearing. "I should have listened to you, Glenn. A man in his late thirties shouldn't be dressing like a teenager."

Glenn, who was behind the wheel while driving him to Mona's café, laughed out loud. "You actually pulled it off, Nikolai."

Since they weren't talking about work, Glenn was speaking comfortably with him.

[And I actually prefer it this way.]

"I thought a serious guy like you wouldn't suit a casual fit, but I guess you can pull off anything with that face and body," Glenn said, showering him with praises. "I actually thought you pulled it off better than Nero."

It was embarrassing to hear, but he appreciated it.

"Nero would be heartbroken if he heard that. He looks up to you, you know? You're the only one he calls 'uncle' among my friends."

"I'm your only friend, Nikolai."

He could only glare at Glenn in the rearview mirror because he couldn't deny what his secretary-slash-friend had said.

"It was just a joke," Glenn said, smiling. "Our friends miss you, Nikolai."

Ah, right.

[Mona's high school friends and my university friends became a close-knit group.]

He had cut off his contact with their other friends when he lost his memories because his parents didn't like those friends.

"Now that your memories have returned, do you want to have a reunion with them?"

"No. Not yet, at least."

"Why?"

"They're kind of scary."

Glenn laughed again, but he didn't say anything until they arrived at the Roseheart Café.

[It's really nice how Glenn doesn't overstep his boundaries when not needed.]

"I'm going home now, Nikolai. Call your driver if you need a ride home," Glenn, who stayed in the car with his window down, said. "Please say 'hi' to Mona-ssi for me. I'll greet her as a friend later."

Nikolai nodded. "Alright. Enjoy the rest of your weekend with Brigitte-ssi and your children."

His secretary-slash-friend just waved him goodbye before driving off.

Nikolai then headed straight to the coffee shop, only to stop when he saw his reflection on the glass window.

[This… is really embarrassing.]

He wore a camel coat over a light-wash pair of jeans. Layered under that was a quarter zip sweater and a white shirt. For the trousers, he went with beige corduroy, with a pin roll cuff that exposed his gray socks. Finally, for the shoes, he picked a sand-colored pair of sneakers in suede.

For an added touch, Glenn put a pair of brown leather gloves into the coat's breast pocket.

[I hope I don't look like someone who's trying hard to look young…]

"Nikolai-ssi?"

With a thumping heart, Nikolai turned around to face Mona.

Then, much to his confusion, Mona suddenly burst out laughing while obviously checking out his outfit.

[I-Is it too obvious that I tried too hard to look good for her…?]

It was embarrassing, but it was also worth it.

After all, Nikolai got to see and hear Mona laugh again.

[Ah, she's really the most beautiful woman for me.]

***

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