A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 120

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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[EXCLUSIVE] Our City’s Fashion Pride, Trendsetter, Costume Designer Macaron Speaks Out.
Our City sees as much foot traffic as the ships that pass through its waters, and just as many shops rise and fall with the tides.
Amid such fierce competition, I met Macaron, who has operated Emmanuel Clothing Shop from the same location for twenty years, at Boug Coffee House on a late afternoon.
Could you introduce yourself briefly?
– Hello, Harper’s Digest readers. I’m Macaron, head designer at Emmanuel Clothing Shop.
Our Emmanuel is the finest costume establishment in Our City, having survived even the war years, and we labor ceaselessly to bestow the greatest beauty upon every soul who graces our doors.
Twenty years—it must have been anything but easy! Do you have a secret technique of your own for capturing the eyes of passersby?
– I invest considerable effort in the window display and exterior decoration. Even when the shop was bombed during the war and everything inside was destroyed, I dressed the mannequin in the window in a gown with generous fabric and hung a diamond necklace around its neck.
That’s how I send a signal to those passing by. ‘Our shop is magnificent. Our shop is beautiful. Our shop is trustworthy.’
A diamond necklace on a mannequin?!
– It’s still there now. (laughs)
With such ostentatious displays of glamour and wealth, it seems most people wouldn’t dare step inside given their financial circumstances.
– Exactly. Instead, those who don’t wish to haggle over price come through. Especially men seeking gifts for their lovers—they’re drawn in like moths to flame.
Then the prices must run considerably higher than expected.
– I won’t deny it. (laughs)
But when a man is in love, does he ever concern himself with price? He’d spend every last coin to give his beloved something precious.
Why don’t you think of the finest thing your lover has given you? If it costs less than this dress, dump that man!
Ahahaha. I’ll keep that in mind. So among the ‘men in love’ you’ve encountered over twenty years at Emmanuel, is there a customer who stands out in your memory?
– In a strange way, or in an admirable way?
In a way befitting our Harper’s Digest readers.
– Then in an admirable way. I’ll tell you about a couple I saw just days ago.
I’m intrigued.
– Those two were truly extraordinary from the moment they entered. Both were stunningly beautiful, but the man was carrying the woman in his arms.
Carrying her?
– Yes! Like a princess!
That’s certainly a memorable entrance.
– He came in that way and set her on the sofa. The woman was wearing a man’s shirt tied around her waist.
As she sat on the sofa, long, slender legs became visible through the gaps in the fabric. To be precise, her calves showed, and the man was visibly struggling not to let his gaze linger there.
In any case, both were strikingly beautiful. Especially the woman—not only was she lovely, but her features were drawn in a unique way. That coy face seemed so familiar that I tried to look more closely…
You tried to look?
– The man glared at me. With the eyes of a rival. His gaze was so fierce! Good heavens! I’m married, you know? And he didn’t even know how beautiful my sister is!
It is hereby disclosed that Macaron, operator of Emmanuel Clothing Shop, entered matrimony three years ago with a talented individual from the Capital. Harper’s Digest readers who have been searching for a refined bachelor, despair not. Information regarding Our City’s charming unmarried men can be found on -p.21
I do hope that unnamed gentleman reads this article.
– Please!
But didn’t you say the man was also handsome?
– Yes, extraordinarily so! The ways of the world are truly inscrutable. For someone so handsome, to be wary of a fellow like me—easily fifteen years his senior with crow’s feet etched around my eyes—is remarkable.
He must be deeply fond of the woman who came with him.
– Indeed. (Macaron takes a sip of warm herbal tea, composing himself)
It should be noted that the herbal tea Macaron drank today is Boug Coffee House’s signature hibiscus blend, renowned for its antioxidant and weight-management properties. Pink hibiscus in small packets, twelve pieces per box. Boug Coffee House. Price to be determined.
So you remember them because of their appearance and the manner of their entrance?
– That’s just the beginning.
While I was preparing a catalog to show the two of them, I served some pastries I’d baked myself. The woman took just one bite and pushed the plate away. Perhaps it wasn’t to her taste. Well, that can happen. But then… (Macaron’s voice took on a conspiratorial tone)
The man ate what the woman had left behind—with her bite marks and fingerprints still on it! There must have been saliva on it, yet he put it in his mouth without hesitation! And the man looked like a nobleman!
Even though he was a nobleman?!
– Yes! After that, I couldn’t tell if that handsome man was her lover, or her servant, or perhaps both.
He could have been a servant who became her lover, couldn’t he? (laughs) Isn’t it an old habit among noble women to keep gardeners or coachmen as paramours?
– Ha ha ha! But that man’s speech was far too refined for that!
As Macaron slapped his knee in laughter, a boyish quality unbecoming of a man in his forties shone through. And here another trade secret of Emmanuel Clothing Shop emerged.
– I provide catalogs without prices to female customers. Only men receive catalogs with prices listed.
Our Emmanuel garments are as comfortable and beautiful as those of the Imperial Family, but they’re priced accordingly. A man visiting for the first time might well be flustered, yet this man’s expression didn’t change at all.
It was actually the woman who seemed confused by the lack of prices… while the man beside her kept encouraging her to select more items.
He must have been a wealthy man.
– Or perhaps he was a man who loved the woman that much.
(Both together) Or both.
– While the woman was looking at the catalog, the man was wiping her hands with a damp cloth. Like a truly devoted servant. He was so careful that the woman didn’t even notice. His touch was as soft as cotton candy.
When the woman came out in a new dress, didn’t the man’s expression become absolutely entranced? Like a scene from a romantic play!
– Unfortunately, the woman didn’t try the clothes on. She simply purchased them. She bought children’s clothes too, so at first I wondered if there was a child between them, but looking at everything, it seemed unlikely there were more than ten children, so I abandoned that theory. And.
And?
– That man was gazing at the woman with warm, ardent eyes from the moment he entered. I’d wager there couldn’t have been anything more captivating than that.
My goodness!
– Piles of children’s clothes, a few ladies’ dresses that seemed a bit small for the woman, conversely a few garments that seemed a bit large for her… even shirts for the man to wear. For me, it was two months’ worth of sales in a single visit, so they were customers I’d certainly remember.
He really must have been a very wealthy man.
– (lowering his voice and chuckling) The man was certainly wealthy, but he was definitely clumsy at seduction.
Why?
– He said he’d take a few of the garments right away, so I was wrapping them up… and while he was waiting, the woman fell asleep.
Is that so? Did the man steal a kiss?
– No. He gently brushed back the hair from her forehead with his thumb.
….
– But the way he looked down at her sleeping face…. That’s the decisive reason I remember the two of them so vividly.
After that, he carried her out again. He wrapped her in his new clothes, and since she was still holding the shirt around her waist, I asked what to do with it….
You asked?
– He told me to burn it.
So you burned it?
– Am I mad? Such fine fabric! I tore it into pieces and made ribbons and sleeve decorations for my wife’s silk slippers. The perfume scent embedded in the cloth was absolutely lovely. (He takes a sip of tea) And then, a few hours later, the man visited again.
Here Macaron pauses for a moment.
– Ah! I just remembered who those people resembled! Those two!
Macaron claps his hand over his mouth in astonishment.
Indeed, what is the true identity of these mysterious two?
To be revealed in the next issue of Monthly Harper.
The most sensual way to quantitatively measure a man’s love.
Budu Street 13, Emmanuel Clothing Shop—where one could enjoy homemade refreshments.
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【Monthly Harper’s Vogue】 Issue 113
Editor: Galbi
Illustrations: Dacquoise
*The price is listed on the back cover.
*Defective copies may be exchanged at the point of purchase.
*Harper is busy. Still, we always make time to hear your precious feedback.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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