No Girls' Uniform in My Size
So? What did I think?
The room I'd followed Jina into wasn't exactly... feminine.
The picture of femininity stamped into my head was all pink atmospheres and shelves stuffed with dolls. Jina's room, on the other hand, started with black metal furniture a guy would probably like more than a girl, her favorite hats hanging on the wall, a gym bag, and a few simple workout machines tucked into one corner.
"It's a little messy... I haven't cleaned yet... You got here earlier than I thought, Jiwoo..."
"Huh? No? Unnie, how is this messy?"
I knew I didn't have to, but I swept a hand lightly across the desk. The dust on my fingers: zero. Even if she'd just cleaned, a little leftover dampness or a skipped spot should have left everyday dust on my skin. That would have been normal. This was way too clean.
"If this room is messy, then the room Tsuki and I use is... what? A pigsty?"
"Is that wrong?"
She... saw us that way?
"It wasn't me."
"...What?"
"The mess. It wasn't me. It's Tsuki... I'm always clean, you know? I wash my hair every day... and I wash myself thoroughly too..."
"Ah, I get it! No, I already know, so stop!"
I swallowed, and my eyes trembled a little. First time I'd ever heard it... Jina unnie raising her voice.
And I wasn't the only one who heard it.
"You! Your little sister finally comes over to hang out, and you're yelling?!"
"Ack! Aagh! That hurts! I said it hurts! Stop hitting me!"
Jina's mother had appeared, and she was laying into Jina's back with a vicious smack. Tsuki trembled in fear whenever she caught one of Hoyeon unnie's backhands too... Did it really hurt that much?
Just as I briefly wondered what it would feel like to get hit once myself, Jina's mother held out a bowl piled high with fruit.
"Have some of this. You said you already had lunch... This is all I've got in the house right now."
"Wait... when did we even have fruit like this in the house... Aagh!"
"Tsk! Is there anything you won't say! Hoho. Take your time and hang out~"
Click.
The door closed, and a brief silence settled over the room.
It wasn't as if Jina and I were close enough to just chat about nothing. Most of the time I talked with Tsuki or Lee Yuwol. Part of why I'd invited myself over — imposing or not — was to get a little closer.
"Um..."
"Thanks. And I'm sorry."
Sudden gratitude. And a sudden apology. I made a bewildered face.
"The thanks is for making me an idol."
"It wasn't the kind of idol you wanted, though."
"Even so."
Jina was genuinely grateful to me. Even if it wasn't standing in front of a live audience as a conventional idol, she was still a VTuber idol.
Of course, there were upsides too.
"I don't have to diet like hell the way I did as a trainee, right?"
"Pfft... That's true... Haa... I wish I could eat as much as I wanted too."
I let out a deep sigh and lamented, and Jina just blinked at me.
"What are you talking about? Jiwoo, if you eat any more than you already do, you're getting kicked out."
"Huh? I don't eat that much..."
"You do."
Did I? No way. Just look at NewTube — even among professional mukbang streamers, there were plenty of super skinny people. I could be one of those people, right? That's what I thought.
"You were just thinking about mukbang streamers, weren't you?"
"Ah, no...?"
"Jiwoo, you... it shows on your face more than you'd think. And yet you somehow manage to act... In a way, it's impressive."
It wasn't that impressive. I just gave whatever I was handed my best and worked at it.
I pressed two fingers together into a little circle.
"It's thanks to these."
"Yeah. Those really are the best."
Jina grinned, a sly little smile. But the smile vanished just as quickly. Her eyes had been drifting toward the monitor this whole time... Was something wrong?
"Unnie, are you uncomfortable?"
"Ah, no...! Uncomfortable? I'm just..."
"It's that, isn't it. That's what's bothering you."
I stepped up to the monitor. Jina tried to stop me, but it was already too late. My hand found the mouse, and I checked the screen.
"This is..."
"Th-that's... why I was apologizing. You're so busy with work you can't even practice properly, and it felt like we were practicing on our own without you."
So that's why she'd been making that guilty face this whole time... I finally got it.
Aigoo. How was she planning to survive in this world being this nice? If I had to pick the kindest person in our group, I'd pick Jina without a second thought.
"I don't mind. I've been practicing on my own anyway. And if you're going to feel bad about that, shouldn't Yuwol unnie feel the worst? She's streamed more than any of us."
"That's..."
Different from practice, she started to say — then her mouth shut.
"Hmm... If you feel that bad, then do me one favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes!"
Maybe I could ask because it was Jina? It wasn't that hard a favor. I slowly opened my mouth and told her what I wanted, and Jina's eyes went wide.
"You're okay with that? You'd be better off going with Manager unnie or Yuwol unnie. Tsuki is... ah, yeah, that wouldn't work."
She was right — Tsuki would agree to anything I wanted to do, no question.
"What about a school friend instead?"
"A friend..."
If I'd had a friend I could ask, I would have... Unfortunately, none of my school friends were girls. There was one girl. Lim Hyun-kyung, my club sunbae. Every last one of the others was a guy.
"Haa... Guess there's no choice. If you're fine with me."
"Great! Then I'll sleep here tonight and we'll go together tomorrow!"
"...What? Sleep here? Ah, no way!"
Don't care!
I tipped backward and flopped onto the bed.
"Ahh~ so cozy~ I ate dinner... and fruit too, so... I'm getting sleepy..."
"Wait a second! First I need to ask Mom... wait, when did you even finish all that fruit?!"
"Hoho. If it's Actress Lee Jiwoo, she's welcome anytime."
"Ah! Ma'am! The fruit was delicious. It was so good I couldn't stop eating."
I wasn't joking. I really hadn't been able to stop, and I'd eaten every last piece. But Jina's mother seemed to take it as a joke, and just laughed.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Oh! If Actress Lee Jiwoo wouldn't mind, could I get an autograph..."
"Oh, come on~ I'll sign as many as you want. And please, just call me Jiwoo~!"
"Shall I? Then... Jiwoo."
"Yes! Ma'am!"
Jina stared at the two of us.
"Look at you two putting on a show. Aagh!"
"Is there anything you won't say!"
She got smacked on the back again.
And so I successfully spent the night. The morning sunlight coming through the window was... wait, what.
A blaring alarm snapped me wide awake.
"I overslept... no, wait, today's a day off."
I checked the time. 8 a.m. Pretty early for a weekend, but I needed to get ready fast for where we were going today.
"You're up? I already washed, so you can use the bathroom."
Jina, already done getting ready, came into the room toweling her hair. I wasn't a light sleeper, so I hadn't heard her moving around.
"Sleep well last night?"
"Yes. I slept great."
"Good... You snored, by the way."
What?! Th-that's a lie, right?
"Stop playing around and get ready. You said we were already running late."
I shot up, folded the bedding I'd laid out on the floor, and bolted to the bathroom to get ready. The reason I was rushing: the place we were going today might run out of stock.
"That's why you should've gotten this done ahead of time."
"I was busy too~"
If I'd been going to school properly, they would have told us when to get these. I barely made it to school once a month, if that. In June I'd only managed to show up three times total — filming had been that brutal.
But last week we'd started our first streams, and filming was almost wrapped, so I finally had some breathing room. Which was why we were heading out now to buy the school's designated summer uniform.
"You brought money, right?"
"Heh. Of course."
I pulled a debit card with a cute character on it out of my wallet.
"This right here is my all-blue."
"Quit the nonsense and let's go."
"Yeees~"
Jina and I put on our shoes and headed out the front door together.
"We're heading out!"
"Haa..."
We'd been turned away at the uniform shop. Three times, even. The reason: they didn't have a girls' uniform in my size.
And the ones they did have...
"An underboob?"
"If you wore that, you'd get reported."
They were so small you could have called them fake chest-covers. We'd hit every shop from around my house all the way to around the school.
"This is the last one. That's why you should've gotten it tailored in advance."
"I didn't think it'd be this impossible to find one."
I regretted not at least reserving one ahead of time, but it was already too late.
"Can't be helped. If they don't have one, I'll just have to wear the winter uniform in summer."
Clinging to one last scrap of hope, I opened the door of the last uniform shop and stepped inside.
"Welcome."
The shop was about the size of a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall. Would they even have the size I needed?
"Um... would you happen to have a size I could wear?"
"Size? Hold on... could you come over here?"
The shop owner pulled out a measuring tape and stretched it taut.
"Let's see... at this rate you're an 80H? You're not going to find that size anywhere."
"...Excuse me?"
"Eigh... 80..."
I was stunned. Last time I'd been measured I was a 75H. Had I grown since then? Lately whenever I wore a bra the underwire stretched out fast and my chest felt tight.
So that's why. My chest had gotten bigger. The moment I finally understood the reason, a smile started to form — and at the same time.
"So I can't wear a school uniform?"
"Well... not a girls' uniform, anyway. You can wear a boys' uniform. If you just explain it to the school, it should be fine. Hold on a second, I'll alter one for you real quick."
The shop owner had already dropped the formal speech, asked which school I went to, picked out a Cheongsol High boys' uniform, and disappeared into the back.
"Is this really going to be okay?"
"Beats me."
After about ten minutes of waiting, the owner came back out.
"Try this on. It should fit you perfectly."
Would it really be okay? A little uneasy, I took the uniform and went into the fitting room.
Shhk.
A moment later, I opened the fitting room door.
"Unnie, how do I look?"
"Oh.... I'm jealous."
Is that so? Yeah. I think so too.
Even I had to admit it. It looked good on me.
