Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Cha Hee-ra
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Today, as always, the boring school day had finally come to an end.
Chae-yeon, Mi-jin, and Eun-bi all had some reason to hurry home early today, so for the first time in a while, Na-young and I got to go on a date just the two of us.
But the starting point of that date...
"Burger! Burger!"
Was McDonald's. That was the problem.
"You really want a burger that bad?"
"Yeah! Burger! I wanna eat burgers like crazy for once!"
"Na-young, we ordered pizza last night..."
I got her craving for burgers after so long, but we'd just had pizza delivered the night before.
"Yeah! It was super yummy!"
That's not what I meant.
"You'll gain weight like you used to if you keep this up."
"It's fine! On days I eat a ton, I exercise extra hard while you're doing FX or stocks!"
Did she? Come to think of it, even after days when she stuffed herself until her stomach looked ready to burst, her weight never went up even a bit. She wasn't lying.
"So, burger! Burgerrrr! Ji-hoon, can't we eat it? Just a little...!"
Right now, she was in that stormy adolescence phase where her appetite spiked.
The age where even if it's unhealthy food, you just can't stop chewing and wanting more.
Weight? Whatever, I could work it off her later and get her back to normal.
And honestly, burgers were sounding good to me today too.
"Fine. Let's eat. Why not."
"Yesss!"
Na-young toddled into the store and stood at the counter.
"This one... and this. Oh, and this one... Drinks are Coke! Ji-hoon, you?"
"One Hanwoo bulgogi burger set and one single for me."
"Add one Hanwoo bulgogi burger set and one single Hanwoo bulgogi burger! Drinks are Coke!"
She ordered with such a bright, innocent face. Did eating burgers make her this happy?
"How would you like to pay?"
"Here."
"Here you go!"
She took the card from me and politely handed it over to the part-timer with both hands.
"Total of twenty-five thousand five hundred won approved."
How does a burger joint rack up nearly 30,000 won?
In the future, prices would inflate so much that two sets plus a few sides would easily hit that, so I was used to it. But here and now, with a single bulgogi burger at 2,200 won, it was a hefty bill.
"When the pager buzzes, come pick it up at the counter."
"Okay~!"
The only seats left were by the window, so we grabbed the pager and sat side by side.
"You really have been working out steadily, huh."
"Of course!"
I fiddled with Na-young's arm next to me.
Hardly any flab to pinch.
Just the right mix of soft flesh and firm muscle—plump without actually being puffy, with a nice feel.
What about lower down?
"Ow?!"
I slipped my arm around her waist and grabbed her belly.
Same here—no pinchable fat at all.
Man, it's wild. We're dating, but it took forever to even kiss, yet we're casually groping each other everywhere except the sensitive spots.
All thanks to working out.
Constant exercise made us comfortable touching the areas where muscle and fat build up best, twisting into this weird dynamic.
"Heehee. That tickles~!"
Over her vest, past her dress shirt, then her thin white tee. Crossing the final hurdle revealed her porcelain-smooth belly.
Rubbing and kneading that soft tummy made her squirm and twitch from the tickling.
Her breathing grew heavier, carrying a hint of something sensual.
Whoops. One wrong move and I'd be pitching a tent right here.
But her belly was addictive; hard to let go.
"Ah...! It's here! I'll grab it!"
Thankfully, the pager buzzed loudly just in time.
Na-young snatched it up and bolted to the counter like she'd been waiting.
She came back carrying a tray piled high with nearly 30,000 won worth of burger sets and sides.
"Looks delicious!"
One big tray overflowing with food, all for under 30,000 won. Unbelievable.
I'd gotten so used to insane future prices that this "past" era's cheapness hit me again—nearly a decade ahead, and this amount wouldn't even be possible for half that soon. You'd need double to get this much.
Gloomy future for the country, anyway. Not for me, already sitting on billions.
"Mmm~! So good!"
Na-young bit into her burger with her mouth full.
She beamed, her face melting like it was dissolving in bliss.
"Ji-hoon! It's amazing! Try this!"
Mid-bite, she shoved her burger at me.
Honestly, my set plus single was already more than enough—probably too much. Any more and I'd leave some.
But she was offering so nicely; couldn't say no.
I opened up and took a light bite from her burger.
"Tasty."
This was the new one they'd just released.
But having eaten it to death in the future, nothing fresh about it.
"Right?!"
She lit up like I'd praised food she'd cooked herself.
"Ji-hoon, this too... Ah...! This one's super good too! Try it! Wow, this is reeeally good!"
She kept feeding me bites from hers mid-meal.
Even so, by the time I'd barely finished my two burgers, hers was almost gone.
I'd never been called a slow eater.
I ate at my normal pace, but compared to her, I was a snail.
And in that little body? How did it all fit?
I remembered mukbang streamers blowing up soon.
No makeup needed to outshine most idols with her face, and she ate cute and heartily without a hitch—straight path to stardom.
Title: High School Girl in Uniform Mukbang. Simps would flood in, emptying wallets and savings.
But no broadcasting plans.
"Ji-hoon. Ji-hoon. Ice cream!"
After she finished, dumped trash for sorting, and came back, Na-young's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
After all that, room for ice cream?
"Here."
"Heehee! Thanks!"
I handed her the card like, go buy it yourself. She dashed to the counter.
Returned with soft-serve in both hands.
"This one's yours, Ji-hoon!"
I didn't really need one. Took it anyway.
Ice cream squeezes in even on a full stomach.
We left and stopped by the park to lick our cones and digest.
"Think you can eat dinner?"
Mom and Dad loved seeing her slim down.
But if they knew she'd snacked enough to skip dinner, I'd catch hell.
"Yeah! Plenty of room!"
She patted her slightly bloated belly from earlier snacks, no hesitation.
"Good thing. Last time she couldn't eat dinner because of me, they might blame just me. If she can eat... Huh? Na-young?"
Walking fine, then her steps halted abruptly.
"Ah......"
A short sigh, staring blankly somewhere. So out of character.
"What're you... Ah......"
I followed her gaze and sighed too.
A girl was forcing herself onto a swing that looked tiny compared to her.
Her uniform was fancier and cuter than ours—probably high school, three years ahead of our middle school.
Older than Na-young, but that's not what grabbed me.
She looked like... someone I knew well.
Like pre-diet Na-young: chubby all over, face bloated with acne and frown-worthy flaws.
Greasy, unkempt bangs covered her face, glasses too. Impossible to see pretty.
Ugly girl archetype.
Yet weirdly tall for her age. Probably 170cm.
'Has to be... Yeah. Shocking enough to remember.'
I whipped out my future smartphone, excited, and searched frantically.
Na-young approached her, like seeing her past self.
"Unnie."
"Ah... So pretty......"
She flinched at Na-young's call.
Then, seeing Na-young's otherworldly beauty, muttered "pretty" unconsciously before dropping her head in relative defeat.
"What're you doing here alone?"
"......."
Whatever happened, she just hung her head, lips sealed.
"Unnie, you're super fat. You need to take care of it."
Straight ball—she trembled hugely.
"And you're ugly."
"Eut.....!"
Fact hit hard; she groaned.
"Set aside ugly for now—staying like that'll wreck your health. So diet with me."
"Wha.....?"
Sudden pivot to "diet together"—she blanked, looked up at Na-young again.
"No guarantee you'll get pretty losing weight. But better than ugly, right?"
Na-young knew best: no promise slimming and clearing skin made you beautiful.
Still, if someone believed and stuck by you, even a disaster result wasn't meaningless. She wanted to show that.
"Right?! Ji-hoon!"
Escaping unforgettable past trauma made it fade to nothing eventually.
Na-young called me for backup, dying to share this, but I couldn't hear.
Wouldn't.
"Found it.....!"
The photo I'd hunted for ages.
Identical to the girl before me: uniform, build, bangs, bag, everything. Like snapped now.
"Cha Hee-ra."
One of Korea's top models, hounded by Armas, Chanel et al. for fixed gigs. Young her.
This pic? Spread by bullies jealous of rising Cha Hee-ra, mocking her past. She flipped it into a bold "past-overcome" image, launching global.
"Ji-hoon~! Ji-hoooon~!"
Na-young kept calling, thinking I missed it.
Pfft.
I chuckled.
Lose weight, clear skin, still not pretty?
Knowing her future, my answer was clear.
"No way."
The proof was right there.