Wrong Luggage, Perfect Curves

They stood there, facing each other in the middle of a massive shopping mall, and everything around them felt like it was in slow motion. The sound of footsteps, door hinges creaking, conversations – it all seemed like distant noise. Claire lifted her gaze to Min-jae, and he was in the midst of a mental struggle. "No way," he thought. "I won't give in to this obvious weakness."

The last few days had turned her into a new person. She had filled her life with new plans, new responsibilities. She was still the same Claire who left a trail wherever she went, but so much time had passed, and he wasn't sure how to look at her now.

"Claire?" he said finally, calmly, trying to sound like her presence didn't affect him, though it clearly did. It was her figure. Her FIGURE. That was the word that kept popping up in his mind.

"Min-jae?" She replied, surprised but somewhat pleased. She hadn't expected to run into him here. After two years, she still carried all those same old habits from her past life.

However, for Min-jae, this moment felt like a test of his willpower. While he spoke, his gaze couldn't stop lingering on her. It was like an art form, thinking about something while someone stood before you with such a figure and... "Min-jae, get it together!" he repeated to himself. "Don't let it go. Don't look. You're better than this!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, still trying to fight the battle inside.

"I came back for work," Claire said with a soft smile. "I'm working with Korean restaurants. Combining French and Korean cuisine. I'm thinking of bringing something fresh into all of it."

Although Min-jae didn't fully understand what combining French and Korean food meant (maybe French baguette with kimchi?), he knew it sounded impressive. "Interesting," he said, trying to keep the conversation casual while his heart raced.

Then, once again, her appearance. Her curves. That little dress, which had a very specific effect on his focus. "Min-jae, get a grip! You can't be that guy from the past who just stares at curves! This is not normal!"

"It's a good start," she replied, with a smile, trying to stay nonchalant, though clearly aware that he was still the same guy from her past. "I kind of feel like I never left..."

As they exchanged these words, Min-jae tried hard to avoid looking at her any longer. "Oh God, why can't I stop looking? I can't believe this is still my problem." Yet, he struggled to control himself. He didn't want to appear as a complete idiot.

But then, she turned to leave. Min-jae immediately reacted, still trying to act like everything was fine, as though he wasn't still shaken by everything he was feeling. "Can I offer you a ride?" he asked, knowing that, in his past life, he would've already been halfway to the car. But now, it was painfully obvious that he was still... "that Min-jae."

Claire, a little surprised but smiling, agreed. "Well, why not," she said as though it was nothing unusual.

As they walked towards the exit, Min-jae, still battling with himself, repeated to himself, "Why am I staring at her? I don't know, but look at her... Maybe it's just normal to like everything about her. But... this? Really?"