Super Big (In More Ways Than One)
"Pfft! Haha!"
Jisu stared at me blankly for a moment before she couldn't hold it in any longer and slammed the desk, bursting into laughter. The solemn classroom atmosphere shattered for a bit because of her, but she was back to her usual self instead of that serious mode from earlier, grabbing both my cheeks and stretching them out.
"Meeeooow..."
"What's up with you today, Haru? You seemed like you had middle school syndrome earlier, and now suddenly you're all cutesy."
"It huuurts... Angry now?"
"There, there, all better. So you want me to teach you math? You've been giving up on it all this time, and now you've changed your tune."
At Jisu's words, I quietly bowed my head. Honestly, acting like this at a combined age over 40 was embarrassing in itself. After spouting that ridiculous bluff about having a combined IQ of 200 and crashing hard, any shred of pride I had was long gone.
Sure, thanks to the guy's memories, I remembered solving it, but there was no recollection of puzzling through how to solve that problem—it was the issue. Subjects like history that were just rote memorization were one thing, but anything needing associative thinking required effort.
Yeah, getting something for nothing in this world is tough, huh.
In novels, some all-powerful AI pops up and does everything for you, but real life is the battlefield. Lunchtime rolled around. We wolfed down our school lunches and headed to the school library. Most people chose to study in the classroom, but the library was pretty decent too.
Still, since it's the library, there are some people around.
The shelves near the "monopoly category" were weirdly empty, so we sat there and I listened quietly to Jisu's whispering explanation.
"Okay. You wanted to know how to solve it when n goes to infinity, right? First off, the key is that the absolute value of the base is less than 1..."
As Jisu's simple, straightforward explanation continued, I felt this bizarre sensation—like the guy's math knowledge, which had vaguely flowed into me as Lee Haru, was fully merging into one. I'd definitely slacked off on studying until now, but my comprehension was better than I thought.
"Okay, for this one, if it's not descriptive, you can solve it faster with substitution."
"Hmm... Got it."
The substitution method felt somewhat familiar. Was it from engineering math in the guy's memories? It was similar to one of the ways they solved problems in that class.
"Like this, right?"
"You're picking it up right away? Did you study behind my back or something?"
"N-no? Not at all."
At this rate, first grade might be a stretch, but third grade seems doable. History is basically already memorized, so first grade there is a given, and if I build up my calculation skills, I'll have the super-genius J-pop master (real) high school girl Lee Haru complete.
Aah... that's the perk of this all-powerful brain I've got.
Silly thoughts like 'Should I head to America right now?' popped into my head.
Thwack.
Like she'd spotted my smugness, Jisu's knuckle rap hit me dead-on.
"You're making that weird face again. Focus on studying, Miss Lee Haru."
"Y-yes ma'am..."
Lately, it felt like the guy's memories were fading in weight—which was good, right? After all, I was originally Lee Haru, so in a way, this was just returning to my natural state.
School ended before I knew it, and after getting my phone back, we started cleaning. I didn't open the Vocaloid Gallery at school—with Jisu right there, and the risk of someone spotting it by chance and causing major embarrassment. I'd set it to look like another community with a green theme for camouflage, but up close it still felt off, so I didn't want to risk it.
Sweep. Sweep.
That's why stair cleaning is so easy. Sure, dirt shows up every day, but even with two of us, it was quick work. Jisu and I took turns—one sweeping, the other wiping—and it was done in about ten minutes.
Heh... time to work on stuff at home... ah, stepped in it again.
Of course, the minor downside was that footprints showed up clearly if someone walked by during cleaning, but since inspections accounted for that, it was fine aside from the slight annoyance.
Hmm~ la la la~
In my head, I imagined separating Lee Haru's own voice—one note at a time—like in a Vocaloid Program, fooling around with the functions. The original song was surprisingly easy to sing for a Vocaloid track, and the gender matched perfectly, making it ideal.
"I'll go grab the teacher today too."
"Sure."
Once I confirmed Jisu was gone, I slipped into a corner of the hallway where no one could see me from behind and checked the Gallery. I knew the nature of Galleries—all bait burns hot and fast—so this was just in case.
Thankfully, when I opened it, the photo I'd posted yesterday was buried under a flood of ERU talk and other Vocaloid Program chatter.
It had been lively bait that morning, but between then and now was the off-hours when even schools were out. No wonder the topic had flipped instantly.
Phew...
Of course, one photo wouldn't dox me, but the unease of some stranger knowing even a piece of me was indescribable.
Was I being too paranoid?
Time heals all wounds, but if worst came to worst, there was always the rollback method like some people did. Thinking about it, I'd overlooked that.
Something about privacy: Boring and pretentious. Fine, I'll spin up the rollback and fabrication tools: Gallery posts and concepts get wiped.
Hmm... maybe look into the Gallery rollback?
Suddenly, I pictured the Vocaloid Gallery with a rollback in action.
No matter how I thought about it, that seemed wrong. Felt bad for the unpaid mods stuck managing the Gallery 24/7, so I gave up immediately. I'd just dial back on Gallery time anyway.
Right as my dilemma wrapped up, Jisu returned with today's cleaning inspector. Luckily, it was the school nurse.
Some teachers were sticklers and made inspections brutal, but arts, PE, and nurse types were usually chill.
"Hmm... looks clean. Head home."
"Yes ma'am!"
The school nurse finished up and headed straight back to the office. Honestly, among the teachers, she seemed the most enviable.
With the co-ed school thing... in the guy's memories, the nurse's office was like a respawn point after death, full of girls claiming to be sick and lounging around.
Thud.
I was thinking about making the Prank's Function MR at home when she suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
"Oh, and how's the spot where you bumped your head?"
"Huh? Oh, it's fine."
Honestly... it was concern, but the moment she grabbed my shoulder, only one thought hit me.
Whoa... super big.
Of course, I meant her height. Up close, I was average myself, but she seemed at least 10cm taller. ...Probably.
I left the school gates with Jisu. It was that golden hour after school with the sunset, still cool before night fell. Exams meant studying, but right now, recreating songs was way more fun than cramming.
"Jisu, heading straight home?"
"Yeah, tutor guy's coming early 'cause of exam season. You?"
"Me? Gonna chill at home. Got stuff to do today."
"Cool, see ya."
Rich kid vibes, huh. Not that I could talk, but private tutoring? The guy I was would've never dreamed of it. After splitting with Jisu, I walked home.
My head was full of thoughts about the original Prank's Function MR again. Definitely more suited to J-pop than boring, pretentious studying.
"Um... excuse me."
"Y-yes...?"
I turned at the sudden voice from behind to see a guy I'd never met. Hmm... did I do something? Wasn't I just walking? Then he continued.
"Y-you're my type, so... could I get your Insta ID or phone number...?"
My brain completely froze. Objectively, I knew Lee Haru was smoking hot.
Wait, aren't I still a minor?
No, beyond that—thanks to the guy's memories, dating a guy felt... physiologically off. How do I turn him down without hurting him? But rejecting him at all would probably sting anyway.
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend."
"Ah... okay... sure."
I turned him down, but felt a tiny bit guilty—then took it back. Even without the guy's memories, original me would've said no anyway. Vague thoughts like 'yesterday wasn't it, but today my world's crumbling' flashed, but I bolted from the spot.
Ew... chills.
Imagining myself acting cutesy to a guy already gave me goosebumps. Sure, I'd done it with Dad yesterday and Jisu today, but that's different. Even as my Lee Haru self grew stronger over the guy's memories, the idea of dating a guy triggered pure instinctual revulsion.
Sigh... guess I'll be single for life?
Dating a girl? That felt weird too. Man, today's been full of heavy thoughts.