Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Na-young Han
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Time flew by—long if it felt long, short if it felt short—and vacation finally came to an end. The first day of school had arrived.
Ji-hoon had a gut feeling that Na-young's beauty was about to shine through soon, so he set aside his frenzied FX trading for a moment and focused entirely on helping her slim down.
The plump look that had once defined her appearance had vanished almost completely before he knew it, replaced by pure beauty.
Normally, on the way to school, the kids would have singled her out for her ugly looks and teased her mercilessly. But after her dramatic transformation into someone more beautiful than anyone else, no one realized this girl was actually Na-young.
And why would they? She'd lost so much weight that her massive frame—the one everyone associated with Han Na-young—was completely different now. Plus, unlike before when she'd hidden her ugly face behind long bangs, she was now showing it fully. It was only natural.
Hardly anyone would even remember what Na-young's face looked like back when she'd covered it up anyway.
As a result, rumors spread that a pretty girl had transferred in.
But when Na-young entered the classroom and calmly headed to her seat to unpack her things, everyone couldn't help but feel an unbelievable doubt.
"You... are you Na-young by any chance?"
A girl whose name and face Na-young didn't even recognize approached, denying reality with disbelief and carefully asking the question.
Ji-hoon spoke up.
That she was pretty. More than pretty enough—in fact, there probably weren't even enough fingers on one hand to count girls prettier than her—so she should hold her head high.
So Na-young decided to act with confidence.
This was the same Na-young who, in the past, would have looked down at the floor timidly before even opening her mouth.
"Yeah. It's me."
But now, she met the girl's eyes squarely without a hint of trembling and answered boldly.
"No way..."
The girl, who had shrunk back at the sight of this transformed Na-young—not the bullied outcast she knew, but someone beautiful and confident—couldn't hide her shock.
Liar? Na-young felt a surge of anger at being dismissed like that. Her naturally pretty features had just been hidden away, and all they'd done was bring them out. Yet here they were, calling it a lie.
It felt like all the pain she'd endured because of her looks, all the effort she'd put into exercising despite the hardship, was being denied.
Part of her wanted to lash out and scream, but she didn't have the courage to go that far yet, so Na-young forced herself to ignore it.
"Whoa... no way. For real? You're not lying?"
"What if it's just someone else?"
"I saw it. Her bag and pencil case have the class number, seat number, and name. It's definitely that Han Na-young!"
"Plastic surgery! My mom said you can change your face with that!"
"What's that...?"
"I don't know, but it has to be plastic surgery!"
Her change was so extreme and unbelievable that the consensus quickly settled on plastic surgery.
You could get pretty with surgery, sure, but there was no way the swelling could go down this fast. Na-young knew the truth from Ji-hoon, but these kids who didn't even know that just seemed ridiculous to her.
No matter what anyone said or how they tore her down, the simple fact that Na-young had become beautiful remained unchanged.
She didn't particularly care if these kids called her ugly or pretty before. It didn't bring her joy either way.
Na-young had developed the mindset that as long as she looked pretty to Ji-hoon alone, that was enough.
"Um... Na-young?"
"......"
Just thinking of Ji-hoon brought a silly smile to her lips.
But then a disgusting voice shattered that smile, calling out to her.
Na-young's delicate brow furrowed deeply as she turned to the boy who'd called her.
His flushed face and shy expression made her stomach churn with nausea.
Because this was the ringleader of the bullying that had made her want to die at such a young age.
For him to approach her like this, all shy and bashful, filled her with revulsion and fear. Her eyebrows trembled, and tears she'd been holding back threatened to spill.
To Na-young, that boy's face was no different from the devil's.
"You've gotten really pretty. Go out with me."
Shameless didn't even begin to cover it.
As if he'd forgotten everything he'd done, he just blurted out a sudden confession. Her fear vanished, replaced entirely by disgust.
He'd led the charge in mocking her endlessly—calling her ugly, a virus, saying any guy who married her later would be pitiful—and now he was asking her out without even an apology?
"Ha..."
It was so absurd she couldn't help but laugh.
But apparently taking that laugh positively, a smile crept onto the boy's face too.
It was probably just a joke to him. He likely thought it was some trivial prank she could laugh off. That must've been why the words came so easily.
Just as she was about to unleash the rage she'd bottled up deep inside...
"What're you doing?"
Ji-hoon appeared like a savior.
For some reason, he looked in a foul mood, his face slightly twisted as he spoke sharply.
"Ji-hoon!"
Na-young flung herself into Ji-hoon's arms as if she'd been waiting for him, and Ji-hoon gently stroked her hair with a warm smile.
Their casual intimacy made them look every bit like a couple, and the boy who'd just confessed to Na-young openly showed his displeasure.
*
"What's your deal with Na-young?"
It wasn't really my place to say anything, but this guy had tormented her whenever he felt like it, and now here he was, confessing the moment he saw how angelically pretty she'd become over break—not content with that, he was even trying to warn me off. It was beyond absurd.
He probably thought bullying her wasn't bullying at all, just messing around for fun. And since he was still a kid, I could understand him not knowing the difference between personal grudges and boundaries.
I could understand it, but there's a limit to letting it slide just because he's young.
But stealing my girl? That's crossing the line, you punk.
"Why? What do you think we are?"
I pulled Na-young into my arms.
"Eek...?!"
Her slender waist trembled cutely under my arm, followed by a sharp squeak.
"She hates it! Let her go!"
She wasn't struggling to escape or resisting at all—she was just meekly staying put. Couldn't he see that?
The girl he liked was nestled obediently in another guy's arms, but he barreled in without reading the room.
"N-No, I hate it!"
When he tried to pry Na-young away from me, she finally resisted—gently swatting away his hand.
His hand, not mine.
"......"
Finally getting it, he backed away with a shocked look on his face.
"Tch..."
He clicked his tongue, trying his best to act nonchalant as he turned and left the classroom, but he couldn't hide the wetness in his eyes.
"J-Ji-hoon... hehe... Ji-hoon..."
Na-young, who'd been rubbing her face against my chest, slowly spoke up.
"Wh-what are we... hehe... heehee... what are we to each other...?"
Laughter kept bubbling out of her, her lips curved up, eyes crinkling in a smile that showed her mood was at an all-time high.
"What do you want us to be?"
"Heehee...! That...! That...!"
I wouldn't mind confessing coolly and taking things to the next level as lovers.
And whether Na-young had come to fully rely on me, or if she'd allow me to meet other girls because she hated the idea of me hating her more than anything else—I had no way of knowing.
So even with a 100% success rate right now, I wasn't sure if I should confess here and now.
I wanted to be her boyfriend too, so of course I was torn.
"Alright, class is about to start. Everyone stand up already. Back to your seats."
Luckily, the teacher walked in.
Na-young, who'd been eager for my answer, pouted with puffed-out cheeks.
"Let's sit too."
"Hng..."
I forcibly peeled Na-young off me—she clearly didn't want to leave my arms—and sat down.
After that, every break time, kids kept coming over to see the newly pretty girl, but Na-young ignored them completely and kept grilling me about what we were to each other. I kept steering the conversation elsewhere.
Finally, fed up, she whined about how frustrating it was, even tearing up and begging for an answer. But a light hug calmed her right down.
I knew I was being mean to her, but this was just making her cling to me even more.
At this rate, she'd sink deeper and deeper into my swamp without realizing it, unable to escape.
Just thinking about it made me happy.
And then it was time to go home.
"Ji-hoon. Can I come to your house today?"
"My house?"
"Yeah!"
"Sure, come over."
I was curious how Mom would react to seeing Na-young this pretty now.
She'd probably think it was some other girl.
Honestly, even I wouldn't believe the old Na-young and this one were the same person.
"Why...?"
"Nothing. You're pretty."
"Eek...!"
If I told her the truth, Mom would probably praise my past self and tell me to lock her down for sure.
Dad's company had overcome its crisis and was thriving, so money wasn't a big deal anymore. Pretty was all that mattered.
"Ji-hoon. Ji-hoon."
"Yeah?"
"Can I sleep over?"
"Sleep at my house? What about your parents?"
I was still playing the part of not knowing her family situation.
If I said something vague like that, she'd normally just say it was fine. But her reaction was different this time.
She hesitated, clearly debating whether to tell me. There had to be something going on at home.
"If it's hard to talk about, you don't have to. And yeah, you can sleep over."
"Really...?"
"Of course."
"Yay!"
That must've been the right thing to say, because Na-young's face lit up with a big smile.
But it didn't last long.
"Na-young~!"
At the school gate, a middle-aged couple who'd been anxiously waiting called out Na-young's name and waved as if they'd been expecting her.
They were probably her parents.
Most kids this age would be thrilled if their parents came to pick them up personally, but Na-young's expression darkened.
"Was school fun? Wanna go home with Mom?"
The woman stuck close to Na-young while eyeing me warily, wedging her hand between us.
Like she was trying to pull us apart.
"Let go...!"
Na-young clung even tighter to my arm and said it.
"N-Na-young... why? It's Mom. Mom."
She kept emphasizing "Mom" while trying to separate us, but it wasn't working.
"I said let go!"
Na-young had always seemed so timid before, but lately she'd been smiling brightly. Even though we hadn't spent that much time together, I'd seen various sides of her—but I'd never seen her this angry.
"Don't touch me!"
She slapped the woman's hand away and pulled my arm closer, putting distance between them.
"Na-young...!"
The woman looked utterly shocked, as if she never dreamed her own daughter would reject her like this.
She reaped what she sowed.
They hadn't given her a second glance when she was ugly, but now that she'd become pretty, suddenly they were acting nice. What did they expect that to change?
No, a normal kid might be over the moon that they'd finally come around.
But Na-young already relied on me more than her parents.
"Han Na-young!"
Leaving Na-young's stiff, shocked mother behind, the man who looked like her dad stormed over and yelled.
"What do you think you're doing?! Your mom and dad came all the way to pick you up from school, and you're yelling? Slapping hands away? What kind of manners are those!"
If their daughter was rebelling this hard, any decent parents would regret their past actions and apologize.
A still-immature kid acting out like this had to have her reasons.
But Na-young's clueless parents couldn't even think that far. I didn't see any value in trying to bridge the gap between them.
If anything, their shamelessness ground my teeth.
Part of me wanted to deck him, but the size difference was too much—I'd lose for sure.
"Don't worry about it, Na-young."
"......"
I gently stroked Na-young's hair to calm her down from her agitation.
Just then, the security guard and a teacher approached.
"Let's go."
"Han Na-young! Hey! You little punk! Where do you think you're going!"
I left those two to the adults and ran off home with Na-young.