Why Do Men's Clothes Suit a Girl So Well?
After Konoko's apology stream.
Haruna's broadcast was proceeding with the usual talk segment.
Talk streams always rose or fell entirely on the streamer's own skill, and the atmosphere could swing wildly from one to the next. Haruna's version of it centered on her alone—viewers clustering around her like a protective flock, cooing and coddling. Then, without warning, one of her rawer desires would burst out and leave everyone gaping in horror. After that came the self-flagellation segment, the so-called "Haruna Time," which flooded the chat with pure dopamine.
Today, though, the mood was completely different.
"W-well, yes! Kim Minseo—I mean, Konoko—figured out the situation right away and called me, so I got to apologize."
"The chat is moving so f-fast my eyes can't keep up! Please type a little slower, just a little—! Aaaaah, that doesn't mean stop chatting entirely!"
"O-of course! Pregnancy pure-love yuri is totally possible, right?! Even I know that much common sense!"
"Ah… what did I just say…! Please don't upload that last bit to Tree Wiki!!"
"K-kindness… maybe?"
"Th-that's…! I do want to collab someday, but… if I think about it for even a second, there's no streamer who'd want to collab with someone like me."
"I-I could never! There's no way I could just… casually send a collab request to Konoko-nim…"
"B-but…"
Funded in advance by a viewer who wanted her to buy Konoko clothes, Haruna had set out for a men's clothing specialty store.
Konoko, of course, had no way of knowing any of that, and was simply thinking to herself, Does she wear men's clothes often…?
Konoko could count the number of times she had set foot in a clothing store on one hand. Haruna was exactly the same. If the two of them shared one thing in common, it was that they both preferred staying home.
And inside every clothing store lurked That Presence.
Alongside the neighborhood salon auntie, it was the entity that had traumatized countless introverts.
"Welcome~. Are you looking for anything in particular?"
A woman with chin-length chestnut hair, dressed in a suit and wearing a professional smile, greeted them. The main boss of the clothing store—the shop clerk.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the gatekeeper, Haruna and Konoko froze solid in the entrance.
U-u-uh, what do we, what do we do?!!
Oh right. This is exactly why I only ever order clothes online…
The gatekeeper's aura (smile) sent a wave of pressure crawling up their spines. And so the two of them…
"S-sorry for the intrusion~!"
"I think we walked into the wrong store."
…immediately slammed the gear into reverse and backpedaled out of the shop like a video playing in reverse.
Haruna and Konoko turned to face each other as if they had planned it. On each of their faces seemed to be written the words Wait… you too?
Sensing that they were on the same wavelength, Konoko spoke first.
"Jiyeon-ssi, do you also have a phobia of clothing stores?"
"Konoko-ssi, are you scared of the c-clerk too?"
Why on earth had two complete idiots who couldn't even walk into a clothing store chosen a clothing store as their destination?
Konoko let out a long breath. Then, as if she had made up her mind about something, she opened her eyes wide and bright and made eye contact with Haruna.
"We're here to buy clothes for you, Jiyeon-ssi. How about we just let that clerk recommend something that suits you? I'll hide in the corner of the store and pretend to be a mannequin…"
Haruna, however, waved both hands frantically in protest.
"W-w-what are you even saying?! Clothing store clerks have international-spy-level social skills memorized! If someone like me goes in alone, it's a guaranteed scenario where I hear the clerk say 'It looks wonderful on you' and end up buying something that doesn't suit me at all!"
It was entirely possible that behind that bright clerk smile lurked the secret thought, Heh heh, today I will absolutely catch a sucker. Neither of them particularly wanted to take the lead.
"Look at what I'm wearing! A major corporate VTuber calls me out and I show up in a tracksuit—what am I supposed to do about this fashion sense? Honestly, Jiyeon-ssi is better suited to—"
"T-the truth is, the reason I asked to meet today is… one of my viewers donated a huge amount of money and told me that since Minseo-ssi always wears tracksuits, I should at least gift her one proper outfit. So, Minseo-ssi—I mean Minseo-nim—please take the lead!"
Haruna looked up at Konoko with the most pitiful eyes imaginable. She looked exactly like a baby harp seal pleading, You're not about to put me in the shark tank, are you?
"Alright. I lose. Defeat confirmed. I'll take the lead."
"Th-thank you! I'll repay this debt over three generations!"
Haruna bowed her head with the expression of someone who had just returned from the brink of the afterlife.
A clothing store clerk was a difficult enemy, but if you properly studied the strategy guide, you could clear them without too much trouble.
Steeling herself a little, Konoko strode toward the clerk as boldly as if she were approaching the sworn enemy of her entire bloodline. Haruna stuck to her back like a human shield.
"Hello! Earlier you said you'd come into the wrong store, but this was the right one after all. There's only one men's clothing store around here, you know."
Even though this was business, the clerk's smile contained not a single drop of gossip as she continued.
"If you're looking for something specific, I'll find it for you. And if you're not looking for anything in particular, would you like me to recommend an outfit? You're so handsome that anything would look good on you."
Tch. So in the end she just wants to meddle with everything herself. Well, I won't deny the handsome part.
Just then she felt a slight vibration against her back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Haruna nervously chewing on her thumbnail with trembling eyes.
Before Konoko could even ask what was wrong, Haruna shot out in front of her as if launching an aura rush. And then—
"Sh-sh-she's my girlfriend!"
—she flung both arms wide as if to shield Konoko and shouted it at the top of her lungs.
At that sudden declaration, a tiny crack seemed to appear in the clerk's smile.
"Oh my~! So you're a couple. (Tsk.)"
Had there just been a tongue click mixed into that sentence?
Must have been her imagination… probably.
And "couple"? The clerk seemed to be under a pretty serious misunderstanding. Clearing it up would take a long time, so Konoko decided to just roll with it. Haruna only blushed and didn't say anything either, so she must have been thinking the same thing.
"In that case… may I recommend a coordination that would look good on your boyfriend?"
"Yes, yes, please do."
Konoko nodded lightly in agreement on Haruna's behalf.
The clerk rummaged a little aggressively between the display racks and pulled out a top-and-bottom set.
"Sir~. How about this outfit? I think it would be perfect for your boyfriend."
When Konoko took the clothes, she could feel the clerk's hands trembling slightly.
Does she have a hand tremor or something?
Konoko handed the tracksuit she had been wearing to Haruna.
"Hold the top for a second? It gets in the way if I hang it inside while changing."
And while Konoko disappeared into the fitting room, Haruna stared fixedly at the striped tracksuit draped over her hands.
A single thought bloomed as naturally as a sprout breaking through soil.
Should I… smell it?
The impulsive idea took over her body, and the tracksuit slowly rose toward her nose.
W-we're friends, so this much is f-fine, right?!
Snnnnniff!!
Haruna buried her face completely in the tracksuit and inhaled. A faintly sweet body scent hit her brain like a direct injection.
Heeung, it smells so good~. I want to take it home and smell it whenever I'm having a hard time. Konoko-ssi smells nice too…
She really was the kind of person you would want by your side for the rest of your life.
Just then Konoko finished changing and stepped out of the fitting room.
Their eyes met—Haruna still tightly clutching Konoko's tracksuit, with part of it pulled up over her nose and mouth like a mask.
"Th-this is, um…! I was just g-guarding it so no one would steal it!"
Without anyone asking, Haruna launched into a rapid-fire string of excuses. Even when Konoko's skeptical look didn't fade, she was about to pile on more explanations—until she saw Konoko's full outfit, at which point every last excuse was wiped clean from her mind.
Konoko in an oversized black shirt with an MA-1 bomber jacket thrown over it was, simply by existing—
Fssshk~!
A thin line of red liquid trickled from Haruna's nose.
"Y-you're getting a nosebleed, are you okay?!"
"Possible…!"
It was intense enough to make her think that even if they were the same gender, it really didn't matter.
