Chapter 34: Mall, Food and Cinema

The automatic doors of the massive mall slid open, blasting them with a glorious wave of cool, conditioned air.

Euryale let out an exaggerated sigh of relief as her emerald snakes perked up happily.

It’s like her mantra now, Hyun-woo thought, shaking his head.

“Finally. I thought I was going to melt out there,” she muttered before walking in. A few shoppers did double-takes at her snake-hair, but no one screamed or panicked. Just another weird Tuesday in Texas.

Hyun-woo grinned and nudged her shoulder. “Told ya. Let’s get me some normal clothes first before you start complaining again.”

They wandered into a large department store. While Hyun-woo browsed the racks of jeans, shirts, and hoodies, Euryale lounged dramatically in a nearby chair, looking bored but occasionally offering commentary.

“That one looks decent. Makes your shoulders look less pathetic.”

“Black. You look good in black.”

“…Try it on. I want to see.”

There was a teasing lilt in her voice every time he stepped out of the fitting room. Her slit-pupil eyes would linger a second too long on his chest or arms, then flick away, a faint green tint rising on her cheeks.

Hyun-woo noticed and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, I feel a little violated right now.”

“What are you saying?” Euryale asked, pretending to be genuinely confused.

“I don’t know, I just felt like someone was staring at my chest and arms very closely.”

Euryale understood exactly what he was implying, but she played it cool. It wasn't like she was his lover or anything. So she just ignored him, lifting her chin and sitting back in her chair.

Hyun-woo chuckled. She's being petty, he realized, but it's actually pretty cute. From then on, he had to choose his own clothes; no matter how many times he asked for her opinion, she stubbornly refused to budge.

After paying, he walked out carrying several bags of fresh clothes.

As they continued through the wide mall corridors, Euryale’s gaze suddenly locked onto a massive electronics store. Front and center was a glowing display for the new BRX gaming console.

“Hyun-woo,” she said, stopping dead in her tracks.

“Yeah?” He already knew where this was going.

“Let’s go. I want that,” she declared, immediately dragging him inside by the sleeve.

She confidently asked the employee to get her the console, but when it was time to ring it up at the register, she froze, staring blankly at the price tag. She hadn’t even thought about how she was going to pay for it.

Slowly, she turned to Hyun-woo. She gave him the most pitiful look imaginable, her emerald eyes practically starting to water.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy it for you,” he said with a laugh, pulling out his credit card. He looked at the cashier. “Also, two controllers, please. I’m not watching her hog it all to herself.”

Euryale's eyes lit up with genuine excitement.

They walked out with the premium bundle—the console, several games, and extra controllers. Euryale was visibly trying (and completely failing) to hide how thrilled she was. The snakes on her head were practically dancing.

Hyun-woo shook his head with a smile. He would have gotten her a gift anyway, but he never expected her to want something like this. Still, it was nice.

“Happy?” he asked.

Euryale nodded very fast. “...Very.”

Hyun-woo grinned internally. Well, I’m glad she’s a closet otaku.

Next came the gifts for the others.

Hyun-woo took his time picking them out carefully, wanting to get something meaningful for each of the women waiting back at Eden's Vault.

For Ebonara: A massive, ridiculously soft black hoodie with a detachable scorpion-tail accessory, a huge plush scorpion pillow, and a box of premium chocolates that smelled faintly of whiskey.

For Stheno: A set of high-quality throwing knives (perfectly balanced display replicas) and an enormous golden snake plushie that was almost comically big. He also added a bag of extra-spicy snacks.

For Medusa: An elegant silver necklace with a green crystal eye pendant, and a set of delicate hair ornaments specially designed to clip safely onto living snake-hair.

For Mother (Adrazelle): A bottle of very expensive, aged whiskey and a custom crystal decanter set, engraved with subtle runes that would keep any drink poured into it perfectly cold.

Euryale watched him the entire time, her arms crossed, her tail slowly curling and uncurling against the floor.

“You’re way too nice,” she said eventually, her voice softer than usual. “They’re going to get spoiled rotten.”

Hyun-woo shrugged with a small smile. “This is the least I can do.”

He didn’t say the rest out loud—that they were the most precious people to him right now (except maybe Mother).

There was a quiet moment where Euryale just looked at him. Why is he so weird? she thought. Why is he so nice?

*********

By the time they reached the restaurant area, both of them were starving. They chose a nice Italian place with comfortable booths and mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen.

They ordered big. Hyun-woo got spaghetti carbonara with extra pancetta, cheesy garlic bread, and a fresh Caesar salad. Euryale ordered seafood linguine packed with shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a rich garlic white wine sauce. Together, they shared a large margherita pizza with fresh basil and a side of creamy mushroom risotto.

The food arrived steaming and fragrant. Euryale took her first bite of the linguine, and her eyes fluttered half-closed in pure bliss. A soft, involuntary purr rumbled in her chest as her snakes swayed contentedly.

“Hyun-woo… this is so tasty. How is human food this fucking good?” she moaned around another forkful, a bit of sauce glistening on her lower lip.

Hyun-woo watched her with a proud smile. “I don't know, I don’t think it's quite as good as the lunch you and your sister made. But still... here, try this.”

He held out a piece of garlic bread.

She leaned forward without hesitation and took a bite straight from his hand, her forked tongue accidentally brushing his fingers.

When she realized what she’d done, her cheeks gained a faint green flush. “…Good,” she said quietly, her eyes flicking away.

They ate in comfortable silence after that, the soft music of the restaurant playing in the background. By the end, they were full, satisfied, and happily buzzing with good food.

Next on the agenda was a movie, so they made their way to the cinema on the top floor of the mall.

The sun had already set by the time they got there. They picked a big fantasy-action blockbuster featuring epic battles, magic, and a brooding hero.

The theater was dark, cool, and mostly empty. Also, they had hit the concession stand hard, buying everything from popcorn to chocolates to hot dogs and massive sodas.

Despite having just eaten a massive Italian feast, they were somehow still hungry.

Euryale loved action movies. Romance just didn’t do it for her; it was always too slow and too sappy. But explosions, martial arts, and epic battles? That was exactly her kind of thing.

That’s why, when an overly romantic scene suddenly came on screen, she couldn’t help but whisper, “…This is stupidly romantic.”

Hyun-woo didn’t reply. When she glanced over, she saw him completely focused on his hands, meticulously constructing an absolute culinary nightmare. He was piling buttery popcorn on top of chocolate squares, stuffing it all inside a hot dog bun with the sausage missing.

He was so hyper-focused on it that he had almost forgotten he was watching a movie.

When he noticed Euryale staring at him, he just blinked. “What?” he asked, right before taking a massive bite of his abomination.

Instead of making a disgusted face, he actually seemed to enjoy it.

Before she could say anything, the movie cut back to an intense action sequence. Euryale turned her attention back to the screen, but reached her hand out toward him without looking, silently demanding some of that weird creation.

Hyun-woo quickly built another one and handed it over.

Euryale took a bite… and hated to admit it, but she actually liked it.

“Is it good?” Hyun-woo asked in a low whisper, careful not to disturb the few other people in the theater.

Euryale just nodded, too focused on the movie to say anything. But deep down, she was impressed. She was a secret food-junkie herself and often made weird flavor combinations. Seeing someone else do it so naturally made her think they could actually get along.

When the credits finally rolled and the lights came up, Euryale stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

“…Not bad for a human movie,” she said, trying to sound casual.

Hyun-woo smiled, grabbing their mountain of shopping bags. “Ready to go home and set up that console?”

She nodded, her emerald eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

But just as they reached the exit of the theater, a glowing, translucent blue screen suddenly materialized in the air right in front of Hyun-woo’s eyes.

[ SYSTEM ALERT: INVASION FROM HIGHER FLOOR IN PROCESS ]

[ 2 Minutes Remaining ]

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