008 - Even If It's a Little Embarrassing
008 - Even If It's a Little Embarrassing
Department store. A luxury clothing store.
Because of Jia's bombshell announcement that she would buy me clothes, I was stuck being a mannequin.
Well, I didn't actually wear the clothes myself.
I was exhausted from standing still while Jia held clothes up against me to see how they looked.
"Would this be good? No. Eunha, you look better in something a bit cuter. Okay, decided. Let's go with this."
After changing clothes for a while.
Whether she finally found something satisfying or not, Jia handed me a piece of clothing with a beaming smile.
A white dress similar to the one I have at home.
However, it had a cute pink ribbon on the chest.
Plus an oversized pink cardigan that looked like it would never fit me.
'She wants me to wear this...?'
Even though I didn't have much resistance to it, since I wore a dress today and also when I met Seoha-eonni last time.
But this... the color is a bit much.
'It's too pink!'
It's clothes that only little kids would wear.
In the first place, I prefer dressing lightly, so these kinds of clothes were burdensome.
But I couldn't just say "This is a bit..." to Jia's face after she worked so hard to pick them out.
What should I do?
"How is it? It's good, right?"
Jia made a confident expression, as if she assumed I would naturally like it.
"Wouldn't this be a, a little too flashy?"
I carefully offered a dissenting opinion.
"Eunha, you're cute, so you're naturally a bit flashy, so it's fine. That's why it's better to go for something super cute. Hurry up and try it on, okay?"
However.
Jia's stance seemed firm.
I could even feel her determination to make me wear that outfit no matter what.
'I like normal clothes...'
As I lifted my head while thinking that, Jia was staring at me intently, as if asking me to hurry up and put it on.
Maybe it's because I saw Jia with that terrifying atmosphere last night.
Her gaze felt heavy.
Of course, this is the usual Jia now, but if she suddenly changes again, I don't know how I'd handle it.
I let out a small sigh in my heart.
Yeah, well. Can't be helped.
Wearing cute clothes is just embarrassing.
It's not like anything major will happen to me.
"Alright. I'll wear it."
I headed to the changing room with the dress and cardigan in my hands.
Swoosh.
I took off the jumper skirt I was wearing and changed into the clothes I was given.
Come to think of it, this outfit that I was forced to wear by Jia today was just as embarrassing.
I had tried to go out wearing a plain short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts somehow, but because of Jia's thunderous command that she absolutely wouldn't tolerate that, I ended up like this.
'All done.'
Lastly, I draped the oversized cardigan over my body.
And I looked at the mirror right in front of me.
A cute silver-haired girl wearing a dainty pink look was reflected.
'...It's not as bad as I thought.'
Is it because my face is cute?
Or is it because of my petite body?
It was a not-so-bad combination.
The combination of pink and silver hair wasn't bad either.
'Should I have a bit more confidence?'
The 'Beloved One' skill adjusting my body is also to make it easier to raise favorability.
Ultimately, to level up, I have to raise favorability.
And the best way to raise favorability is to leave a good impression on the other person.
If I look this harmless and adorable, it will naturally be a big help.
'And I'm not far from level 3.'
I'm raising favorability faster than I thought.
Although it's mostly thanks to Seoha-eonni showering me with it.
Anyway, maybe because we're both girls, I'm really glad I haven't been confessed to or anything.
That would have been super awkward.
(Favorability needed for next level: 10)
'What will be unlocked next?'
Since I can now choose the type of equipment.
It would be nice if it could slightly reduce the coin cooldown or allow attribute selection.
Thinking that, I opened the changing room door.
Jia, who had been looking at her phone, turned her gaze to me at the sound.
It's a bit embarrassing when she stares at me so intently all of a sudden.
I tried hard to act nonchalant so I wouldn't show how awkward I felt.
"......"
Jia remained silent.
With her gaze fixed on me, she covered her mouth with her hand and breathed heavily.
'Is it bad?'
In my opinion, it wasn't bad.
But Jia has good fashion sense, so seeing it actually worn might give her a different feeling, and she might say it's bad.
Did I make a useless vow to wear cute clothes in the future?
"Ah, does it not suit me...?"
Then.
Jia rushed over and hugged me tightly.
"So cute. You're so adorable that I want to display you in a place where only I can see you forever. How, how can a person be like this? I should have made you wear clothes like this sooner."
It felt like there was a very scary remark mixed in there.
It must be a joke.
"It's the best. Actually, every time I saw you wearing whatever, my heart broke. To think I can finally put you in cute clothes that suit you perfectly...!"
While doing that, she grabbed me and shook me up and down.
It felt like I was being treated like a baby.
"S-stop!"
When I shouted urgently, she finally came to her senses and put me down.
"Sorry. You were just too cute, so I couldn't help it."
"...I'm an adult."
Honestly, I've gotten used to hearing that I'm cute.
Even though it's super embarrassing.
If I think of it as a compliment, it doesn't feel bad to hear.
But, I can't forgive her for constantly treating me like a baby.
I'm just a little short and soft, that's all.
Treating a grown adult like that just because I'm cute.
Sigh.
I swallowed a sigh internally, but Jia's eyes sparkled as if she had thought of something.
"Ah, right. That outfit is cute when worn like that, too. Can you let the cardigan slip down for a second?"
"Huh?"
I followed Jia's words without complaint and let the cardigan slip slightly off my shoulders.
Since it was already a large size, this actually felt more natural.
"I-is this okay?"
As I spoke cautiously.
Click—!
Jia took a picture first instead of answering.
Just as I was about to say that taking pictures was a bit much, Jia's gaze overlapped with that moment from yesterday.
The gaze of a predator.
I swallowed the words that were about to come out.
'W-what is this. I didn't do anything wrong today?'
Fortunately, after taking several photos, Jia's gaze returned to normal.
And she smiled softly.
What on earth was that just now...?
Was it just my imagination?
"Let's hurry and buy other clothes too. I'll buy everything for you."
"No, it's okay. I should buy clothes with my own money."
Normally, I would have teared up and gratefully accepted what Jia bought me.
But now, I have 5 billion, no, 4.99 billion after buying the game console... anyway, a huge amount of money is sitting in my bank account.
There's no reason not to buy it with my own money.
"Eunha, where would you have money... Ah, you said you sold equipment."
It seemed Jia also realized that I had sold an S-rank weapon to Seoha-eonni.
Even if she didn't know the exact price, she would know I earned quite a bit of money.
"Hmm..."
Jia thinking about something intently.
Perhaps she made up her mind, she shook her head and opened her mouth.
"No, forget it. Eunha, you gave me a really pretty ring as a gift yesterday, didn't you?"
Jia showed me the ring on her left ring finger.
The way she turned her hand around as if to show it off, it was clear she liked it quite a bit.
Come to think of it, even I thought I made it quite pretty.
By the way.
I think I heard that the meaning of a ring changes depending on which finger you wear it on.
The left ring finger is... what was it?
Well, seeing her cherish it like that, I thought it might be friendship.
.
.
.
After finishing the long shopping trip, we came to a high-end restaurant to have a meal.
I've never been to a place like this in my life, so I was a little nervous.
"Do you come to places like this often, Jia?"
At my words, Jia shook her head.
"No way. Since I'm with Eunha today, I made a big decision to come here."
I suppose so.
Of course, Jia is an A-rank hunter close to S-rank, but she always complained that she had too many places to spend money, like guild management and this and that.
'Does Seoha-eonni come to places like this every day?'
When we met last time, she originally intended to meet at an expensive place like this, and she's an S-rank hunter who doesn't even belong to a guild.
Thinking about how she bought Laevateinn in a lump sum, I couldn't even fathom how much money she had.
"Han Seoha-hunter didn't abuse her power or anything, did she?"
Suddenly, Jia said that in a worried voice.
"No, I think I only received help."
"Then that's a relief. She doesn't really seem like a bad person either... I'm sorry about yesterday. I think I went too far because I was worried."
Fortunately, it seems Jia is also reflecting on yesterday's events.
That's understandable.
She might have thought she was losing a very close friend.
"It's okay. You're buying me such delicious food, after all."
"I'm glad you like it."
It's steak, no less.
In my life, the only meat I've had was frozen pork belly.
I was really happy to have such a luxurious meal.
Anyway.
It would still take some time for the steak to arrive.
In the meantime, I briefly browsed the Hunter Gallery.
[Does Baekya not recruit guild members...]
[Hunter-bros, how's dinner tonight?]
[Is there a case where a weapon evolves?]
Among them, there was an interesting title.
I clicked on the post as if possessed.
[Title : Is there a case where a weapon evolves?]
[Author : Don't Play Rogue]
I bought a high-quality dagger at Ascent
But after running a gate today, its appearance suddenly changed;
It even seems like its performance changed a bit
What on earth is this?
[Photo]
- No fake
ㄴ Don't Play Rogue : No, I'm telling you it's real;
Looking closely, it looked familiar somewhere.
That dagger that I was sure wouldn't sell because of its appearance.
However, where the cute teddy bear used to be, a beast baring its teeth had taken its place.
The cuteness was nowhere to be found, and it had become a weapon of terror that looked like it could tear a person apart at any moment.
'What the... That's scary.'