The Concert (3)
Bzzzz.
The vibration came first.
Then, a sweet vocal melody flowed into her ears.
"Wake up!"
Choi Saeron turned off the alarm and sat up with a start.
"Whew...!"
She had gone to sleep a bit late last night to make sure she was in peak condition today.
Since the concert was scheduled for 8 PM, waking up too early would only leave her exhausted by evening.
"Is it noon already...?"
First, she needed to eat some brunch.
"Since I'm going to eat something delicious later..."
She had no intention of stuffing herself for lunch.
She was meeting Jeong Jisul around six to grab dinner anyway.
It made more sense to eat a light lunch and save her appetite for a massive dinner.
"That way, I can fully enjoy the concert too."
The concert was scheduled to run for two hours.
In other words, she needed to be fully charged to enjoy it to the absolute fullest.
"I'll just have a simple seaweed soup for brunch."
Choi Saeron headed to the kitchen.
She ladled out a small portion of seaweed soup.
Then, she popped a bowl of instant rice into the microwave.
"Let's just eat half."
She scooped out half the rice.
"If I eat the whole thing, I'll be too full."
After finishing her quick meal, Saeron checked the time.
It was only 12:30 PM.
"...How boring."
She really didn't like the fact that she still had over four hours left before she could leave the house.
"Let's decide what to wear first."
Still, it wasn't like she had absolutely nothing to do.
She had been agonizing over her outfit since last night.
Four hours would be plenty of time to solve that dilemma.
"Hmm..."
Saeron walked over to the clothing rack occupying one side of her room.
Although she had to wear her school uniform most of the time as a student, she actually had a keen interest in fashion.
Her rack was filled with clothes of various styles.
"I even have a crop top, but I haven't been able to wear it yet."
To be honest, she really wanted to wear the crop top with wide-leg pants.
Throwing a light bolero cardigan over it would make for a classic, trendy look.
But...
"...Since I'm going with Jeong Jisul, is a crop top a bit much?"
The fact that her companion was Jeong Jisul made her hesitate to unseal the crop top.
"I want to wear it, but... with Jisul there, it's a bit awkward."
Then what should she wear?
"I have so many clothes, but..."
Yet she felt like she had absolutely nothing to wear.
"...This won't do."
In times like this, she had to consult an expert.
Someone who knew fashion as well as she did—or perhaps even better.
Without a moment's hesitation, Choi Saeron initiated a video call to Kwon Dain.
The reason she didn't call Yoon Seolah was simple.
"Seolah is..."
Honestly, Seolah's fashion sense was a complete disaster.
Of course, Seolah had her own struggles.
"It is hard to dress well when you have a big chest. Especially since Seolah hates tight-fitting clothes."
But even with that excuse, Seolah had zero interest in fashion to begin with.
She always just threw an oversized zip-up hoodie over her school uniform. That outfit never changed, all year round.
That was why she called Kwon Dain. Dain possessed a wealth of fashion knowledge.
"Hello?"
"Dain!"
Saeron pointed her camera at the clothes laid out on her bed.
"Which one looks better? For now, I've narrowed it down to these three."
If Dain also said, "I think you'd look pretty in the crop top," then...
I'll just wear it.
It had been three months since she bought it, and she hadn't worn it once.
"They all look pretty. You're already good at dressing yourself, Saeron."
"Ah, but..."
Hmm...
There was no point in beating around the bush. Saeron quickly made up her mind and got straight to the point.
"Actually, I really want to wear this one."
"...The crop top?"
"Yeah, it's super pretty. It's not sleeveless, so it's not even that revealing."
Saeron set her phone down for a moment.
"I'll just put it on and show you."
She quickly changed and turned to the mirror.
"How is it?"
She filmed herself in the reflection.
"Isn't it pretty?"
"......"
However, unlike Saeron's excited reaction, Dain looked quite serious.
...Is it not that good?
The girl on the screen seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.
"It is pretty, but..."
"Yeah?"
"Considering today's weather, I think it's too thin and short."
"Ah, the weather."
Weather was the ultimate decider of fashion. To think she had ignored it just to wear what she wanted.
"I didn't think of that. Is it supposed to be really cold today?"
As expected of Dain. Saeron was glad she had called.
"It rained yesterday, so it'll be pretty chilly today."
"Then I should wear something a bit thicker..."
"And since you're just going to hang out, you should dress comfortably," Dain added.
"If it were a date, it'd be worth dressing up even if it's uncomfortable, but you're just going to hang out. Right?"
A date?
It certainly wasn't a date. That word only applied when romantic feelings were involved.
"Right..."
"I think the third one you showed me looks the best," Dain suggested.
"The third one? The ringer tee and bootcut denim?"
"Yeah, those jeans have stretch in them, right?"
"Oh, right!"
Saeron changed into them immediately.
"How is it? Pretty?"
"Yeah, it's pretty."
It definitely looked good to her too. It flattered her slender frame nicely.
"I'll wear this then. Heheh!"
She had bought this ringer tee a while ago and hadn't had a chance to wear it yet, so getting to wear it now put her in a great mood.
"......"
The moment the video call ended, Kwon Dain buried herself under her blanket and kicked her legs furiously.
To be completely honest, the first outfit Saeron had shown her—the crop top paired with high-waisted wide-leg pants—was incredibly pretty.
Especially since Saeron has such a tiny waist...
It accentuated her figure perfectly. It was a look that suited her insanely well.
Moreover, today was a slightly chilly day. If she went out dressed like that...
She could easily complain about the cold and borrow Jisul's jacket...
It was a dangerous, versatile outfit that practically invited physical contact and flirting.
That was why Dain had reacted negatively to it. It was, in a way, a form of sabotage.
Sabotage...
She hadn't consciously intended to sabotage her friend. She simply didn't want Jeong Jisul looking at Choi Saeron's bare midriff.
But as they talked, her suggestions had naturally steered Saeron away from it.
"Sigh..."
Do people always become this devious when they start liking someone? Dain wondered.
Even though she had resolved to keep her distance from him, her heart refused to listen.
Perhaps trying to control these feelings had been a mistake from the start.
It's not like I can just turn it off.
Look at her now. Even while acknowledging her own pettiness, she was still determined to go and watch them with her own eyes.
"...Let's just pick an outfit."
Her mind was in a tangle. It seemed better to follow Saeron's lead and decide what to wear right now.
The key is to look as unlike myself as possible...
The absolute rule of today's outfit was that she must not be recognized as Kwon Dain. In other words, she had to wear something the usual Kwon Dain would never wear.
"...What would be good?"
Usually, she preferred neat, modest clothes because that was her taste and she felt it suited her best.
First, blouses are out...
She had to exclude them. She wore them far too often.
As she sifted through her wardrobe, she realized something important.
"I shouldn't look in my room."
The clothes in her bedroom closet were all things she wore on a regular basis. There was no way she would find anything drastically different here.
"Going to the main dressing room..."
It had been a really long time since she last stepped in there. Dain left her room and walked into the family's walk-in closet.
In the neatly organized space, she walked over to the section where her clothes were kept.
Then, she spotted something.
"...It's a bit much for me to wear."
A crop top.
She wondered why it was even in her closet, but then she remembered.
Ah, I bought it last time without realizing it was cropped.
This is...
It was something she would never wear under normal circumstances.
But if I wear a two-way zip-up hoodie over the crop top, leaving just a tiny sliver of midriff showing...
Wouldn't that completely disguise her usual look?
"I'm getting hungry."
It was time to head out. Since they were meeting at six, he had to leave the house by five.
"As for clothes..."
He just threw on a simple, casual outfit. A sweatshirt and jeans—the classic casual look.
And besides...
"I don't have any clothes."
He literally had nothing else to wear. He needed to get paid before he could buy new clothes.
There was still about a week left until his payout.
"Just wait until the money hits my account."
He planned to buy clothes immediately and treat his parents to something nice. First, he would buy them whatever home appliances they needed.
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the entrance of the concert venue. He wasn't going inside right away; he was meeting Saeron to eat first.
"I just want to eat already," he muttered.
The words slipped out as he stepped onto the crosswalk. He was genuinely starving.
He was walking while looking down at his phone when—
Thud!
Someone bumped hard into his shoulder.
It didn't seem intentional. Besides, the idea of a girl deliberately shoulder-checking him...
...Well, actually, that has happened before.
There was that one girl who apologized and used it as an excuse to get his number.
Anyway.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry," he said, reaching out a hand to help the fallen girl up.
The girl mumbled a quick apology, bowed her head, and hurried away.
"She felt like a celebrity," he murmured.
He couldn't see her face clearly because of her hood, but she had a striking aura.
It was almost like...
The feeling I got when I first saw Kwon Dain?