Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Cha Hee-ra
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Glance... Glance...
Hee-ra kept stealing glances at the boy named Ji-hoon Lee, who was walking beside her, their hands clasped together, matching her steps perfectly.
His mind was so intriguing—calmly strolling along as if nothing was amiss, sensing her gaze and responding with a smile.
Didn't it bother him at all?
The reactions she was used to were all the same: kids who spat out words of disgust, saying she must be greasy as hell, repulsive, stinking, utterly loathsome.
But not Ji-hoon. No, neither him nor his girlfriend Na-young.
There wasn't even a flicker of instinctive revulsion.
He was simply approaching her out of pure pity, offering help for no other reason.
Hee-ra felt like she owed these two a debt she could never repay in a lifetime.
She'd had only one friend ever, and even that girl had now left her side.
She had no peers she could call friends or even acquaintances. Then suddenly, these kids had stepped into the empty space around her and become her friends.
And they didn't stop there—they gave her money, put her on a diet, made her believe she'd definitely be pretty once she lost the weight.
It was a one-sided relationship where she just kept receiving.
Even so, Hee-ra couldn't stick to the diet properly.
Tempted by the promise of 100 million won yesterday, she hadn't eaten a thing since last night, but she had no idea how long that would last.
It was bizarre—her own body, yet she couldn't control it herself.
She let out a long sigh, heavy with the lump in her chest.
"Noona, let's head in."
"Yeah..."
There weren't many people on the street, but even those few whispered as they looked at Hee-ra.
Boys in school uniforms targeted her, teasing, "Hey, that's your girlfriend," "No, yours." Girls hurled indirect insults like, "Might as well die if you're that fat."
But she'd heard it all so often that she'd grown numb, immune.
Hee-ra silently held onto Ji-hoon's hand and followed him into the karaoke room.
"Want to go first?"
"No, you first. I like to warm up my voice before singing."
Even as he said that, everything felt new to her—this was her first time in a karaoke room.
From the sparkling mirror ball on the ceiling to the mics, the suddenly darkened room, the surprisingly huge speakers—it was all fascinating, and she felt pathetic for never having come to a place that had been so close all along.
"Whew. Your turn now, noona."
What? Already done? She'd been looking around, lost in thought, and time had flown by.
Hee-ra took the mic and remote, flustered.
"Uh, um... so... this is..."
She fumbled and found the popular charts.
But another problem hit: she'd heard these songs in passing on the street, knew maybe a highlight or two, but nothing else.
She'd bragged to Ji-hoon like she'd been here tons of times—what now?
"Heh. No way. First time at karaoke, noona? You told me you came here all the time."
"..."
Caught. Embarrassment crashed over her like a tsunami.
Her face burned.
She didn't need a mirror to know it was beet red.
Hee-ra bowed her head.
"It's fine, noona. Not everyone's been before. No need to be so embarrassed."
He gently stroked her hair as he spoke.
'Again... he touched my hair... and petted it this time...'
He was younger. Four years younger, a boy, and he'd touched her hair twice now.
Not even her parents, not even the boy she'd liked, had ever touched it—it had become a place no one touched.
Yet Ji-hoon touched her hair without hesitation, even petted it.
His hand was so small compared to hers, like a child's, but why did it feel so large and warm?
Her mind calmed before she knew it, but her heart pounded.
Her face flushed even deeper; she couldn't bring herself to look at him now.
'No way... am I...?'
Unbelievable.
Just from him touching her hair—a spot even family avoided—and she was feeling this for a boy four years younger.
A boy who had Na-young, a girl with absurdly overwhelming beauty, as his girlfriend.
"Eek...!"
Hee-ra hurriedly picked a random song.
The bright karaoke room dimmed to darkness.
Only then did his hand leave her hair, but she felt an inexplicable regret.
"I can... see you... Ah, for me... as much as time!"
Of course, it was a song she didn't know.
She tried to follow the lyrics on screen, but without knowing the tune or words, she couldn't sing properly.
Her voice was audible but slurred, skipping lines, reading like a textbook.
"Hahaha. Noona, what was that?"
"Eep...?!"
Ji-hoon finally burst out laughing.
It was embarrassing, but weirdly pleasing to have made him laugh.
"The blessing of your life!"
"Hahahaha!"
*
They burned through about an hour.
Repeating the same songs, she nailed them by the end, earning Ji-hoon's enthusiastic cheers.
The price was a throat hoarse beyond words.
"Want something to drink?"
"Ah... Yeah..."
A café loomed ahead.
She knew it'd make her gain weight, but the temptation was irresistible right now.
"Then let's grab something."
In the end, she followed him in.
"If you don't know the menu, I'll pick for us. Just sit anywhere and wait."
"Yeah..."
Hee-ra looked around.
The spacious café was over 90% full; few seats left.
The available ones were awkwardly visible from inside and out—right by the window.
No choice. She sat by the window.
Immediately, unwanted glances from inside, and passersby outside stared as they hurried past.
Now, forget the 100 million—it wasn't about that. Convinced Ji-hoon found her pretty, she seriously considered dieting, grasping at straws.
A slim ugly girl had to be... mu-much... even a little better than a fat ugly one, right?
Hee-ra looked down at her belly, protruding enough to half-cover her thighs.
Way too much.
If only she could lose weight easily with a single painless pill.
She sighed, a wish that could only come true in dreams.
"Huh? Unnie?"
Then, a familiar voice tickled her ear.
"Na-young?"
It was Na-young.
Why was she here when she'd said she was out with friends...?
"Ah..."
Hee-ra sighed.
Following Na-young into the café were three girls.
The kind of same-sex friends Hee-ra had longed for her whole life but never had.
And as the saying goes, pretty girls hang with pretty girls—even if not quite Na-young's level, they were plenty attractive.
"Na-young, who's she?"
One of Na-young's friends, with long straight hair and a lively vibe, asked cautiously.
"A close unnie!"
Na-young declared it without hesitation, unlike others.
Hee-ra was moved.
"Hee. Hi! I'm Park Chae-yeon, Na-young's friend."
Chae-yeon stepped back.
"Hi. Kim Mi-jin."
A blunt-looking Mi-jin.
"Ugh... so fat. Ugly..."
"Eun-bi!"
"Eek?!"
And Eun-bi, innocently blurting insults without malice.
Startled by Chae-yeon's scolding, Eun-bi hid her small frame behind Na-young.
"Haha. Sorry."
"No... it's true..."
Hee-ra shrank.
Standing near Na-young made her feel inferior already with that unreal beauty, but facing these girls, her huge body felt tiny.
The world seemed made of pretty girls, excluding her. She hated it.
"Where's Ji-hoon?"
"Ji-hoon? Over there ordering coffee..."
No sooner said than—
"Huh? Why are you guys here?"
Ji-hoon returned, not with coffee, but two chocolate lattes.
She knew she was ugly, especially next to Na-young, but today she felt extra ashamed of herself.
What would Ji-hoon think seeing her like this?
Five girls together—two weren't even comparable in looks.
One worshipped as a goddess, the other a hideous demon; nothing strange there.
Plus more pretty girls. Her mind was a mess.
"Ooh, Wallet-oppa! Buy us coffee too!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get whatever."
"Wallet-oppa's so generous!"
Resigned, she handed over her card. Chae-yeon snatched it and headed to the counter with Mi-jin and Eun-bi.
Soon, they returned with drinks and cake, naturally taking seats at Hee-ra's table.
"Unnie, what were you up to alone with Ji-hoon?"
"Oh...? On a date?"
"You know Ji-hoon's Na-young's boyfriend, right? But alone together..."
"Hohoho. I wonder what that's about. Wallet-oppa, what have you done?"
Chae-yeon started grilling Hee-ra.
Ji-hoon told her to stop, but her cold dead eyes said it wouldn't end soon.
Na-young, his girlfriend, sat quiet—why was this girl so mad?
Not defending a friend; her expression said otherwise.
Like getting pissed at a girl clinging to your crush while you looked away.
Whatever the reason, Hee-ra's date with Ji-hoon had turned into a bed of nails, an uncomfortable time.
No exercise, yet her cheeks felt slimmer.
'Ah... I wanna eat something.'
Today, she craved stuffing her face.