When the Dress No Longer Fits
It was a question I would never have asked under normal circumstances. But the situation was so utterly absurd that the rude inquiry slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
It hadn't even been ten full days since the fitting—how on earth could this have happened…?
Cassandra looked just as flabbergasted. She stared into the mirror, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly, before answering in a voice far smaller than usual.
"…It seems so."
"But still… No matter how I look at it, this doesn't make any sense."
How could anyone put on this much weight in such a short time?
There was no way I had measured the sizes wrong. In all the time I had been using the Manito App, I had never once made a mistake.
Still, just to be sure, I went to dig out the paper where I had written down the measurements during the fitting and came back with a measuring tape. Cassandra buried her face in both hands and muttered under her breath.
"Every day…"
"Huh? What was that?"
"It's because I eat delicious food every single day!"
I paused for a moment. Then I rewound through the past ten days and catalogued every lunch and snack I had prepared for the people at the office.
Glossy, glistening meat dishes… dense chocolate brownies buried under a thick snowfall of powdered sugar… and, because it was autumn, the apple crumble pies topped with vanilla ice cream that I had been making more and more often lately…
"…"
I felt a tiny twinge of guilt. When it came to the food that went into the children's mouths, I carefully tracked daily activity calories and recommended nutrients down to the last detail. For the adults, though, I had cared about only one thing: taste.
Even so, that still didn't answer every question. Yes, the food had all been a little sweet, a little oily, and high in calories—but not so high that someone could balloon like this in a mere ten days.
I shook my head in denial.
"Cassandra, no matter what, a person simply can't gain weight this fast. Greg and I ate the exact same portions, and neither of us put on anything noticeable."
"That's because you two are still in your prime! And on top of that…!"
On top of that?
I looked at her through the mirror with a bewildered expression. Cassandra's face flushed crimson as she continued in a voice that shrank smaller and smaller.
"Jun, you always packed extra snacks for me when you left work…"
"…Those were snacks for Charlie at home, though?"
Charlie's favorite chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, the raw chocolate that had turned out so delicious I had to share it, eclairs thickly coated in chocolate… the list went on.
"Don't tell me you two were eating those together every single evening?"
"No—well, I figured it wouldn't be good for a kid to have sweets every day, so some nights I just ate them by myself."
"…"
My hand holding the measuring tape dropped limply to my side. I stared at Cassandra, completely at a loss for words. But her confession was only just getting started.
"And then Dimitri treats me to a delicious dinner every night, too… Plus I've been stressed out with all the wedding preparations, so I've been eating a little more than usual…"
As her voice dwindled into near silence, I let out a small sigh and set everything I was holding down on the table.
"Alright. At least the weight gain isn't from some sudden illness, so that's a relief. And the wedding is still three whole weeks away."
Cassandra looked at me with genuine apology written all over her face.
"I'm so sorry, Jun. I ended up making extra work for you for no reason."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
When I asked in genuine confusion, Cassandra's eyes went round as saucers.
"What? Well, of course… Um, won't we have to alter the dress?"
"No. We need to lose the weight you gained over the next three weeks!"
If the wedding had been three days away, we would have had no choice but to take the dress apart and alter it on the spot. But with three weeks still remaining, there was absolutely no reason to start ripping seams on a dress that had been made so perfectly.
Cassandra stepped into the dressing room to change and continued talking through the door.
"Ah, well, of course that's the plan. I'll try my hardest, too. But…"
She let out a deep sigh.
"Jun, I'm the type of person who, no matter how hard I try, never loses weight once I've put it on. Up until now I've only ever gained weight—I've never successfully lost it again."
"That's…"
I almost said the words "weak willpower" and swallowed them just in time.
Anyone else, maybe. But Cassandra was the sort of person who would have forced the weight off purely out of guilt if she thought she had inconvenienced me. Starting off by resigning herself and giving up simply wasn't like her.
Which meant she truly had never managed to lose weight even once in her life. That experience must have piled up and piled up until it left her with a deep-rooted distrust of herself whenever the word "diet" came up.
Cassandra emerged looking thoroughly dejected, the dress draped over her arms. Without a word I slipped it back onto the mannequin.
"…"
"…"
For a long moment neither of us spoke. The sparkling dress suddenly felt like Cinderella's glass slipper that no longer fit.
In more ways than one, it was upsetting. The dress not fitting could be fixed with a few alterations. What worried me was the emotional state of the bride who was supposed to wear it.
I couldn't lose the weight for her, after all…
But instead…
"…Ah."
An idea suddenly sparkled to life inside my head.
I quickly pulled my phone from my back pocket and turned to Cassandra.
"Cassandra. Let's ask an expert for help. I'm no specialist, but weight you put on in a hurry can usually be taken off just as quickly."
Cassandra asked with open worry,
"An expert? Who? I've tried gyms and everything before…"
Of course, back when money had been tight she had probably only used the machines and never once experienced personal training.
What I was about to propose, however, would boost Cassandra's motivation far more effectively than any ordinary PT session.
"Let's send an emergency SOS to Vanessa."
Vanessa was an influencer who covered everything from healthy meal plans for body management to pilates, yoga, and general wellness and beauty topics. She sometimes even designed diet menus and workout programs for friends as content for her channel.
This was finally the perfect opportunity for that joint broadcast Cassandra had been singing about for so long.
"I share some of the blame for putting the weight on you in the first place, so I'll diet right alongside you."
"Jun… I'm really sorry, and thank you. I'll work hard at it."
The shame and disappointment that had filled Cassandra's face only moments earlier were instantly replaced by blazing determination.
Just as I had expected, telling Cassandra "try hard for three weeks and lose the weight" would never have been half as effective as tying the whole thing to work.
I smiled faintly as I watched her burn with a sense of mission. From everything I had observed so far, what truly set Cassandra's motivation on fire was never her own personal benefit—it was the prosperity of the channel.
Of course, she probably also believed that if the channel did well, she herself would do well too.
"We'll try the diet for the remaining time, and if the date gets close and it still isn't working, then we can alter the dress. It's not that big a deal, so let's not worry and just give it everything we've got."
I had been ready to look for someone else if Vanessa turned us down, but fortunately she even rearranged previously booked schedules in order to welcome us with open arms.
And so, a few days later, I found myself visiting Vanessa's house together with Luca, Reni, and Cassandra.
"Welcome!"
She used her entire living room as a filming studio; it looked as though a private pilates studio had been transplanted wholesale into the space. The sweeping cityscape visible beyond the wide windows felt bright and refreshing. One side of the living room held solid hardwood flooring, various pilates machines, and neatly arranged mats.
Before filming began we spent a short consultation going back over all the points we had already discussed by phone.
When we told her that while weight loss would be nice, we wanted to avoid any extreme crash dieting, Vanessa produced a binder titled Three-Week Detox Program the Whole Family Can Do Together.
Thud.
The binder she set on the table held a stack of A4 paper easily a full centimeter thick. The meticulously planned weekly meal schedules and exercise routines practically radiated professional authority.
"It looks elaborate, but all it really means is watching what you eat for three weeks and spending a little time moving your body. No need to tense up."
"Ah…"
Cassandra flipped through the pages one by one with a fluttering sound, too stunned even to form a reply.
"First of all, for someone like Cassandra who tends to retain water, simply pairing the program with a low-sodium diet will show results surprisingly fast. The problem is that when you try to do it alone, after three solid days of effort it usually just fizzles out."
Vanessa turned to look at me.
"That's the part Jun has to keep handling steadily by her side. Since we're going to film you preparing the diet meals for the channel anyway, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
I nodded.
We had agreed to split the content of the Three-Week Detox Program the Whole Family Can Do Together appropriately between my channel and Vanessa's. Naturally, all the exercise footage filmed here would go up on Vanessa's channel, while the meal-prep and eating videos would go on mine.
And the final goal of the three-week series was to film everyone gathering at Cassandra's wedding to celebrate together.
Of course, as the channel owners, Vanessa and I would appear the most under the pretext of "doing it together," while Cassandra would only show her face from time to time. It was the same setup as those reality shows where the star trainer ends up with more screen time than the actual contestants.
Which was why only Vanessa and I sat in front of the camera for the opening interview of the program as well.
"…"
The bright lights and the camera pointed straight at me still felt burdensome. This was only my second interview after the recipe-book shoot, yet I was still radiating rookie energy.
Fortunately Reni's voice helped ease the tension a little. The boy clearly liked seeing his dad dressed nicely under the bright lights and standing in front of a camera; he pointed at me and chattered away enthusiastically to Cassandra. Luca looked at his older brother, then at me, tilted his head, and then let out a soft "hee" of laughter.
I live because of you two…
Yet for some reason the sight of Cassandra standing behind the camera with the kids, watching me with a proud expression, felt just a tiny bit annoying.
"Alright—three, two, one, cue!"
The moment the crew member holding the camera gave the signal, Vanessa launched into the interview with bright energy.
"Hello, my Bunnyblies! Today, to kick off a brand-new program, I've invited my friend and fellow famous influencer, Jun! Applause!"
Regardless of how it would be edited later, Vanessa clapped her hands a few times to create fake applause and then turned to me.
"Alright, Jun. Could you give our Bunnyblies a short self-introduction?"
"Bunnyblies" was the affectionate nickname Vanessa used for her subscribers.
"Hello, I'm Jun, the owner of JL Studio. Nice to meet you."
"Today Jun is here because he wants to diet alongside his friend and coworker who has a wedding coming up!"
"Yes, that's right."
"Viewers who already subscribe to Jun's channel will know this well, but even though he's still quite young, he's already the father of two children, isn't he?"
"Yes, that's right."
While I kept repeating stiff, mechanical answers, Vanessa was pure eloquence itself.
"Raising two children all on your own can't be easy at all. May I ask how you manage your stamina?"
"Just as you said, if I don't take care of my physical condition I wouldn't be able to keep up with the kids' energy, so I jump rope for fifteen minutes every morning."
Of course that was only on the mornings I didn't sleep in, but there was no need to mention that part.
Vanessa clapped her hands once and continued the interview smoothly.
"So there's a reason behind that lean, solid physique with not a single bit of excess fat! Jump rope is an effective full-body exercise that works the muscles of both the upper and lower body evenly."
There wasn't a single line of script, yet she spoke so fluently. I could only feel envious.
"But for people who are overweight or who have naturally weak joints, jump rope can be difficult. And of course there are plenty of office workers who simply can't carve out the time! So the exercise I'm going to introduce today is…"
I had been watching Vanessa purely as a viewer for a moment when her next words snapped me back to reality.
"Alright then, shall we get started?"
"Ah—yes."
Soon the interview chairs were cleared away and Cassandra, Vanessa, and I stood on the mats.
Moving a little farther from the camera actually gave me a bit more breathing room. I had always been fairly confident in my stamina and physical coordination, so I felt sure I could handle whatever Vanessa threw at me.
That confidence evaporated roughly three minutes after filming resumed.
"Hup…!"
In a pose I had never attempted in my entire life, my body trembled all over like a newborn fawn and no longer felt like it belonged to me at all.