Can't Resist Hotteok
As Nayeon had declared the day before, we were going out to buy clothes.
…Well, more accurately, just getting out the door took half the day.
Until now, my entire wardrobe had consisted of a single short-sleeved T-shirt yanked off the drying rack and a pair of Jihyun's dolphin shorts.
A person couldn't keep freeloading off someone else's laundry forever… mm-hmm.
The problem was that for these two, "going outside" was no ordinary affair.
"Okay, Byeori. Hold my hand tight. You absolutely, absolutely must not let go."
Nayeon wrapped both her hands around mine, gripping them like she was transporting a national treasure.
…Well, I was a national treasure, technically. Third in the world, they said.
But that was a separate issue from being dragged around by the hand just to walk down the street.
"I can walk by myself, you know."
"No! You slipped and fell on your butt the other day! Outside there are so many people and cars — it's dangerous!"
They'd made my body ten years old, and now they were treating me like a toddler.
I understood, though. The me they knew was basically a newborn — three years of sword memories and nothing else.
And Nayeon wasn't done. She dashed off somewhere with a whoosh, then came back and plopped a tiny pair of shoes right in front of my feet.
"I bought these at the market yesterday! How about it — Byeori's very own shoes!"
"…Ooh."
So she'd known I had nothing to wear out and prepared ahead of time.
The devotion was unreal. I doubted she did this much for her own daughter.
Was it because I was such a rare and expensive specimen…?!
"Ahem…!"
I squatted down at the entryway, shoulders puffed with pride, and tried to tie the laces.
Which, as it turned out, was not easy.
"Ugh."
The knot kept slipping free.
Once.
Twice.
A third time, and it slid right apart again.
In the end, Jihyun wordlessly knelt down and tied them for me.
"Hard, right? You make a knot like a ribbon, like this. Pretty, huh?"
"…."
I looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Yeah, well…"
So mortifying! My fingers were tiny, so it couldn't be helped, but still!
"Hey, Byeori."
"Yes, Jihyun-ssi."
"About that 'Jihyun-ssi.'"
She looked up after finishing the laces, and her face was oddly dejected.
"…It sounds weird. Like we're strangers."
"……."
"Call me unnie. We're relatives on paper — what's with the 'ssi'?"
Unnie?
If we were being technical, wasn't she closer to an aunt…?
But sure, "ssi" was a bit stiff.
I felt a slight internal resistance, but…
"Okay. Jihyun nu—"
…No, wait.
"…Unnie."
Right. I already called Nayeon Master — a little service like this was nothing…!
"Mm. Good girl."
Jihyun ruffled my hair and stood up.
Hmm.
I could say unnie out loud, but I wasn't going to think it that way on the inside.
My body might be compromised… but my mind wouldn't fold…!
"Huh?! What the what — why does only Jihyun get unnie?! Call me unnie too instead of Master!"
"I'd love to, but…"
This damn system wouldn't allow it.
"Tch! I want to be unnie too!"
What did the title even matter? Unnie, noona, yellow dog, sea anemone — as long as the meaning got across.
"Jihyun! Byeori's discriminating against me!"
"That's what you get for buying her, sunbae."
"How is that my fault?! If I hadn't bought her, we never would have met!"
Jihyun didn't even bother answering. She just picked up her wallet.
"Fifty thousand won. That's today's budget. Not a single won over."
"Huh? You're coming too?"
"Of course. Who knows what you'd do if I didn't tag along."
"Come on~ It's Byeori's clothes — the budget can stretch a little!"
"I knew you'd say that. That's exactly why I'm going."
The reason this guild's finances were in such a state.
And the reason those same finances somehow still held together at all.
Having witnessed both at once, I gave a small shake of my head.
I couldn't really blame them. After all, that was how I'd gone from scrap metal to… this.
I glanced at both their faces, then followed them out the door.
Obviously, the outside world was vast.
When was the last time I'd properly seen the scenery out here? Ever since I'd broken, I'd always been carried around in a case…. All I'd ever seen through the gaps was a swaying ceiling.
But now I was walking that road on two feet.
Two small, short feet.
Squeak-!
Squeak-!
"Ah."
Why did these shoes have to make a sound with every step? So embarrassing.
…Anyway.
There were so many people. Everyone was at least twice my size, and they all walked so fast. Weaving between them felt like pushing through a forest of giants.
Within a few steps, I fully understood why Nayeon held my hand so tight. Let go, and the crowd would sweep me away for real.
Signs glittered and flashed. Somewhere, a delicious smell drifted on the air.
And my instinct-faithful feet began to slide that way—
"Slurp?!"
No. Get a grip.
You overcome instinct. If you can't even beat instinct, you're a beast, not a human.
Besides, the budget was tight. Jihyun had scraped together every last won for that fifty-thousand-won budget — I couldn't blow it on some bread.
I forced my feet to turn away. And as I did, a thought struck me.
"Mmph."
The world was similar to before, and yet different.
Signs I'd never seen before had multiplied. The smartphones in people's hands were sleek and gleaming.
And more than anything else, what had changed was the way people looked at me.
A passing ajumma glanced over with an "Oh my, what a pretty little one." The grandmother beside her chuckled, "So blue — kids these days dye everything."
Everyone just saw me as a cute kid.
For three years, the eyes that looked at me had come in exactly two varieties: ones that appraised my value, and ones that searched for openings to go after my owner. That had been it.
Now I was just a pretty kid…
The world really was hard to figure out.
More eyes poured onto me than before. But none of them were putting a price on me. Just that alone made my heart feel this light…
Nayeon, who had no idea what was going on inside me, was busy showing me the world.
She explained everything without being asked — what's that, what's this. Sometimes she got so excited she walked ahead, then came back to match my short little strides when I fell behind.
And then we passed that street stall with the smell again.
…Apparently my head had turned toward it on its own once more.
"Byeori, do you want that?"
"Ah, no?"
"Then why do you keep looking?"
"…I wasn't looking."
I was.
Staring a hole right through it, in fact.
But snacking on this impoverished household's money? I had a conscience.
I denied it flat-out.
And yet Nayeon marched straight to the stall and came back with an old-fashioned hotteok.
Not just any old-fashioned hotteok, either.
An extra-large one nearly the size of my face.
"Hwaaah…"
"Here. For Byeori."
"Master, your money — is it okay?"
From the side, Jihyun's gaze pinned her silently.
"Th-this is my personal money! Separate from the budget!"
"…Right."
It must have been sitting a while after cooking — even holding it bare-handed without a paper cup, it wasn't hot.
In case the sugar syrup dripped on my shoes, I sat down neatly and…
Chomp.
A careful bite.
Crispy outside, soft and moist inside. And sticky sugar syrup going drip.
"Hwaaang…"
So sweet!
Sweet enough to make my head spin!
Even in the middle of a hot summer, it was this good!
Personally, I'd never been a fan of old-fashioned hotteok — not greasy enough — but I take it back! This was amazing!
"Mhehehe! So good!"
My shoulders melted down. My eyes drifted shut on their own, and the corners of my mouth went loose and soft.
No, what was this. Why did one single hotteok make me feel like I owned the whole world.
Beside me, Nayeon was watching with another big, goofy grin.
Looking all proud of herself. Honestly.
What was so great about watching someone else eat hotteok.
I was still chewing the rest of it, looking around as we walked, when a familiar face passed across a giant billboard across the street.
A woman in pure white hunter gear, sword raised high. Beneath the photo, a massive caption scrolled by.
202X International Championship Winner — The Pride of Korea
…That one.
My feet stopped on their own.
That person had used me for a while.
Just one season, but still.
Even now, her thrust lived inside me. The same sword technique I'd mimicked with a wooden sword a few days ago.
On the billboard, she was smiling brightly at the camera.
Trophy in hand. Looking like the most successful person in the world.
I'd never seen her smile like that back when she held me.
She had only ever—
"……."
……Well. Seemed like she was doing fine.
I tried to just walk past, but somehow my feet wouldn't move. It wasn't longing or bitterness or anything like that.
It was just… strange.
Broken, I'd been passed around from place to place, and now here I was — tiny — staring up at a billboard, while she stood enormous on that screen, smiling like she owned the world.
She hadn't been the one who broke me. She'd actually been one of the gentler users. Used me well for one season, then quietly set me down when a better sword came along. That was all.
I held no grudge. What grudge could a sword hold against a swordsman? If I were a swordsman, I'd use the better sword too.
But just hypothetically.
If she ever found out — that the sword she'd used for a while and set aside had been watching everything from the inside the whole time.
How would she react then?
Now that I was an Ego Sword… would she want me back?
……No. Why was I thinking this far.
I shook my head.
Useless daydreaming. No one would ever know anyway.
"Byeori? What's wrong — did you see something?"
Nayeon followed my gaze up to the billboard.
"Oh, that person's a super famous hunter! Wow, I wonder how cool she'd look in real life?"
"…Yeah."
"Hehe, but our Byeori's gonna be even more famous! Our guild's gonna make you the best in the world!"
"Sunbae, your volume…! There are people everywhere…!"
I hoped so.
Leaving the billboard behind, we stepped into a small clothing shop in the market district.
The shop ajumma greeted us with an "Aigoo, what a pretty little one." That killer sales pitch sent Nayeon into full excitement mode, and she immediately started ransacking the hangers.
"Byeori, how about this? Oh, this one's cute too! Would white look good with this hair color?"
"…Anything's fine."
I meant it.
As long as it covered my body, that was enough. I'd spent three years bare… well, with nothing but a scabbard.
But maybe "anything" had been the wrong order.
She picked out about ten outfits and started holding them up against me one by one.
This one, then that one. Her eyes sparkled every time. I felt like a game character being dressed up!
"Aww, everything looks adorable on you. This is a real cheat code."
Eventually I couldn't fight the pressure anymore. I took a white dress and got shoved behind the curtain.
"…Ugh."
How did you even put this on?
It wasn't separated into top and bottom, so head first made sense—
—Just say when you're done! Oh, is it hard to put on alone? Hang on a sec!
"Hek?!"
I'd set down the T-shirt and was carefully studying the dress when the curtain whooshed open.
And Nayeon stuffed me into the dress the way you'd jam a sword into a scabbard—
"Done! How is it? Cute, right?"
"Hweh…."
I was completely drained.
And more importantly—
"Euhik?!"
Ah — wind from below!
Even over the dolphin shorts this felt weird; how awkward would it be in just underwear?!
This… what about sitting down? Stairs? A strong breeze?
I pressed my knees together and clamped both hands down on the hem. That made me feel a little safer.
…I'd seen this pose somewhere before.
Ah, whatever.
"Ta-da! Byeori, look over here!"
Nayeon pointed at the full-length mirror beside us.
"……"
In the mirror stood some little girl.
White dress, blue hair cascading to her waist. Both hands pressing down the hem, face flushed bright red.
…That was me?
Of course I knew. I saw it every morning washing my face.
But looking at yourself in a ratty T-shirt and looking at yourself properly dressed were completely different things.
"……"
Without thinking, I took a step closer. The kid in the mirror took a step closer too.
I turned my body a little. The hem of the dress swirled softly.
And then — one full spin.
Flutter—
"……!"
I'd turned without thinking and froze mid-spin with a jolt.
"Eu…"
My ears were burning.
Yah, what the hell are you doing. A guy who even went to the military just—
"Ugh."
It was all the system's fault.
That damn system. A strategy to castrate my masculinity…!
"Our Byeori is so pretty~ Right?"
"…No, I'm not."
"Your cheeks are red, though?"
"I-it's hot! It's just hot… that's why."
…But if I had to be honest.
The clothes did suit me well.
Not that I liked them. Objectively speaking, that was just the fact!
Meanwhile, Jihyun had been checking price tags the whole time, putting back the things Nayeon had picked out one by one.
"Sunbae, this one's over budget. This one too… of these, maybe two could somehow…"
"Come on, just one more—"
"If you don't want to starve starting tonight, two is the max."
In the end, we settled on one plain T-shirt and the dress Nayeon had fought to the death to keep.
As I took the clothes chosen for me, a strange feeling washed over me.
How many years had it been since someone last picked out clothes for me to wear.
We paid and left the shop.
In the distance, that same billboard came into view again.
She was still smiling brightly.
I knew it wasn't my problem to worry about anymore.
That was all in the past. What was urgent right now was this fifty-thousand-won household. I couldn't keep freeloading off this impoverished Master forever, could I?
I needed to go out and earn money myself. I'd become an Ego Sword, after all — time to put on a show.
At the very least, I owed them for letting me see the world again!
"Okay, Byeori — hand!"
Holding Nayeon's hand as we walked, I quietly made up my mind.
Right. I'd tell them tomorrow morning.
That I was going to work.