You narrow-minded jerk!!
You narrow-minded jerk!!
The next morning.
Ding-dong, ding-dong~
"Umm..."
I woke up to the sound of the sudden doorbell and sat up with a dazed look on my face.
Still half-asleep, I looked toward the living room, where Han Seol, who had already woken up, walked over to the door and opened it.
A moment later, as the door opened, a familiar voice was heard.
"Good morning~!"
Ah, this voice is...
"Ju-yeon...?"
Han Seol's voice was laced with pure bewilderment.
"Yeah. You called me, didn't you?"
"...... I called you?"
Han Seol wore an expression that said she didn't understand.
'Wow...'
I won't get caught, right?
I hadn't left any evidence behind, but since I was the most likely person around to use her phone, it wouldn't be strange if she suspected me.
"What, Eonni, did you seriously forget after waking up? You told me to come over in the morning, so I came right away."
"When did I ever do that?"
"It came from your phone, Eonni? Isn't it you?"
A moment of silence.
Meanwhile, I climbed down from my spot and approached the living room.
"Haaam..."
As I approached while yawning, Ju-yeon spotted me and waved with a bright smile.
"Jia, good morning!"
"G-good morning..."
"Looking at your face, it seems like you just woke up? So cute~"
"......"
This doesn't really seem like the time to be talking about being cute, does it...?
While Ju-yeon was talking to me, Han Seol was checking her phone.
"...... It's real."
"Exactly."
"I sent this?"
"Yeah. You said let's go grocery shopping together today."
Ju-yeon answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
In contrast, Han Seol's expression gradually shifted to that of someone looking at a riddle.
Naturally.
Because she hadn't sent it.
[Stay calm.]
Yeah, I need to stay calm.
If I show any signs of guilt here, who knows what will happen...
"This is strange."
She glanced at me for a moment.
I put on an "I don't know anything" face.
Couldn't I just act like a kid who doesn't even know how to use a phone...? Well, I already told her I used to be a man, so that probably wouldn't work.
Hmm...
"It couldn't have been Jia..."
"What would that kid know how to do?"
"That's... yeah, that's true."
She probably thinks I know something.
Since I told her about my identity just yesterday.
Even so, logically speaking, there was no way I could have done it.
She might look like that, but she's an S-rank Hunter; even if she was off guard, there's no way she wouldn't have felt me approaching her.
However, based on her senses, I had never taken her phone, and even if I had, I couldn't use it without knowing the password.
So, even if she suspected me, she couldn't actually pin it on me.
"Didn't you send it in your sleep, Eonni?"
Ju-yeon asked with a smirk.
"Me?"
"Or who else would have sent it secretly?"
At that, Han Seol furrowed her brows for a moment.
It was plausible.
It would be even weirder to say someone sent it secretly, and it would be ambiguous to say she sent it in her sleep.
In the end, Han Seol put her phone down with a very subtle expression.
"...... Forget it for now. It's not a big problem... and I was debating whether to call you anyway."
"Geez, you could just admit you did it."
"......"
Han Seol still looked unconvinced, but it seemed she wasn't going to dwell on it any further.
It seemed she concluded that this wasn't a problem with an immediate answer.
And that was a very good thing for me.
Since it was my doing, after all...
"So?"
Ju-yeon said with a grin, clapping her hands together.
"Let's get ready and head out. We need to buy clothes, daily necessities, and all sorts of other things."
That's right.
There had been some twists and turns, but that was the original goal after all.
Han Seol's house was too empty.
Since I was going to be living here now, there were so many things I needed.
"Y-yes!"
I nodded quickly.
Han Seol looked back and forth between me and Ju-yeon, then let out a small sigh.
"...... Alright. Let's get ready to go out."
"Great!"
"Ah."
I paused for a moment.
Come to think of it, I was still wearing Han Seol's clothes.
The moment I realized that, Ju-yeon's gaze naturally turned toward me.
And.
"......"
"......"
Ju-yeon's expression slowly hardened.
"Eonni."
"What."
"Don't tell me you let her sleep like this?"
"...... I had no choice. It's not like I could put her in the clothes she was wearing when she was wandering outside."
"I'm honestly speechless, just speechless... Even so, to put her in clothes like this..."
Ju-yeon looked dumbfounded, then approached me.
"Hmm... If I knew this would happen, I would have bought some things yesterday. Do you happen to have what you were wearing yesterday?"
"Y-yes..."
"Really? Then let's wear that. And Eonni?"
"What."
"From now on, if the kid doesn't have stuff, just call me."
"That's a bit..."
"Forget it, just call me."
Ha, if I knew it would be like this, I would have taken her with me.
Watching Ju-yeon mutter that, I quietly thought that might actually be better.
Who would have known she'd be so lacking in domestic sense?
[I still believe Han Seol is the better choice for your mental comfort.]
That's true.
I feel bad for Ju-yeon, but I have a feeling she'd annoy me constantly, so living with her would be really awkward.
Though, she would take good care of me, that's for sure.
Anyway...
And so, I stepped out of the house with Han Seol, who still looked suspicious, and an overly enthusiastic Ju-yeon.
As soon as we stepped outside, Ju-yeon naturally took my hand and pulled me along.
"Alright, let's get going."
"Y-yes..."
And so, we got into the car.
Han Seol drove, Ju-yeon sat in the passenger seat, and finally, I sat in the back.
"But where are we going?"
Ju-yeon answered my question immediately.
"We're going to buy clothes and daily necessities... The house is big but empty inside, so we'll need to buy furniture too... First, we have to go to the department store."
Hearing that, my heart beat strangely fast.
Because I've never actually been to a department store with someone like this before.
The shopping I did when I was Hyun-woo was more about buying only what was necessary at the minimum cost.
If I didn't buy like that, I'd run out of living expenses, so it couldn't be helped.
But now, I'm in a situation where I'm going to buy my clothes.
Even if they are clothes for a young girl.
"Hm? Are you nervous?"
"N-no..."
"You are nervous~ How cute~!"
Ju-yeon laughed as if it were amusing.
"Don't worry. Eonni will take care of everything."
Even hearing that, I somehow didn't feel relieved.
Ju-yeon is a good person, but she's so passionate that I have no idea what kind of clothes she'll end up buying...
[Analysis result: There is a high probability that Administrator-nim will be trying on a variety of outfits.]
'Why are you stating such a terrifying prediction so matter-of-factly...'
[It is a very natural result given the tendencies of the entity known as Ju-yeon.]
"I don't want to..."
The department store we arrived at couldn't just be described as "big."
"Waaa..."
It was flashy, incredibly spacious, and there were a lot of people walking around.
For some reason, I felt like eyes were being drawn to me...
I instinctively stuck close to Ju-yeon.
For some reason, both of them were wearing sunglasses.
"That is..."
"Oh, this? We're so famous that if we don't wear at least this, people recognize us."
"Wow."
Suddenly, I realized anew just how amazing these two people next to me were.
"Let's look at clothes first!"
As Ju-yeon confidently took the lead and walked, Han Seol followed silently behind her.
But wait a second.
"Eh..."
I feel like I just heard something I shouldn't let slide.
We're looking at clothes first, right here...?
'We're going to be walking around a ton today...?'
It would have been better if we had looked at other important things first before going to look at clothes.
We're going in to look at clothes first, of all places...?
If we do that, I'll have to keep walking around here for the rest of the time; will I really be able to last until then?
I felt like I would collapse physically first.
I broke out in a cold sweat at the all-too-clear vision of the future.
[Steel yourself.]
'Help me, Sis-emon...'
What if Sis steps in here?!
[I don't know. Handle it yourself.]
"She's still sulking from yesterday...!"
"Th-this petty jerk...!!"
The first store we entered was, quite blatantly, a store full of children's clothing.
"Owa..."
My body is a child's right now.
I knew it in my head, but having it shoved in my face like this felt strange.
"Would this one be better? Or this one?"
Ju-yeon smiling and talking to me looked just like a devil asking me to choose which punishment I'd receive.
I had been looking forward to it just this morning, but thinking about what was about to happen, that anticipation vanished completely.
'H-help me...'
She wouldn't make me try on every single piece of clothing in there, would she?
I could only hope that wouldn't happen.