Chapter 328: Still Fun, Pleasant, and Promiscuous!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 328: Still Fun, Pleasant, and Promiscuous!
“Fifty more servings of beef ribs…!”
After asking Kalia to provide concealment through Seo Tae-ho and finishing a quick cleanup, I swapped places with my clone. The moment I did, Ha-ni’s boisterous voice rang out, and a scene of chaos—no less intense than the incident just moments ago—greeted my eyes.
Well, alright. Since the clone’s memories were flowing into me, I had a general grasp of the situation.
“This is impossible…! There’s no way…!”
“You’re pathetic, Cheon Yu-hak! You loser!”
“It’s a lie…! That I, Cheon Yu-hak, would lose a bet! My calculations were perfect…!”
Basically, before checking the sales—and before diving into the rather expensive meal of beef ribs—Professor Park A-ram mentioned that it might be a burden for one person to pay for everyone. So, a suggestion was made: the losing side of today’s bet would cover half the bill. This, of course, reignited the competitive fire in both Cheon Yu-hak and our Ha-ni.
Well, the result was obvious once the sales were tallied. The Holy Sword Class won.
I actually expected this to some extent. If the criteria had been net profit, Cheon Yu-hak might have stood a chance, but in terms of pure gross sales, food is more expensive than drinks.
“Oh, our class lost? That’s a shame.”
Cathy Noona seemed to be enjoying herself regardless. Actually, it was safe to say everyone except Cheon Yu-hak was having a good time.
“…Dammit, this is all your fault.”
Suddenly, Cheon Yu-hak pointed his finger at me as the cause of his misery.
“If not for your betrayal, the Holy Fire Class’s victory would have been guaranteed.”
Judging by his tone, he wasn’t truly resentful, but I wondered why this guy was doing such a long buildup. What was he getting at?
“Don’t you think you should take responsibility for this defeat?”
“Hey, Loser-hak, why are you being so pathetic? Why are you trying to pick on our So-hyun~?”
Ha-ni stepped forward to block his tyranny, but even she went back to her seat and started snickering once she saw the object he held out to me.
It was a microphone.
“Are you insane? How am I supposed to sing in a restaurant?”
“Don’t worry. There’s a karaoke machine over there, and the soundproofing is excellent, so no noise will leak outside.”
…Wait, why does a galbi place even have that?
“You guys seem to think it’s a given that I’ll sing for every event, but I already performed today, you know?”
I had barely managed to get off the stage after singing through my backup songs and even the backups for those backups because of the encore requests. To make me sing again… these people were nothing short of demons.
“Aw, so you’re not going to sing for us?”
“Sigh, just this once.”
But I was going to do it anyway. I’m incredibly weak against requests from Cathy Noona, Ha-ni, or Ga-eul!
Of course, it wasn’t just that. I’d had a bit of a rough time earlier, and I wanted to see their smiling faces to warm up my body, which had grown cold from the chill. Also, I felt a greedy desire for one more person to be added to the circle of people smiling at me.
…Greed, huh?
If this feeling of not wanting to let go or give up on anyone is greed, then I am undoubtedly a greedy man. Until recently, I had mocked myself, thinking I had no right, and I was even careful about touching anyone. Now, I didn’t want to let go of anything. It was truly ridiculous.
But I couldn’t help it.
“…Huh? He’s singing even better than usual today.”
“What is up with that voice…?”
“He’s better than he was during the performance…? There’s going to be a controversy.”
Yes, because I had finally touched warmth.
Well, anyway, I’m glad everyone seems to like it.
* * *
The next day, after Cathy Noona and Professor Park A-ram’s wallets were narrowly saved thanks to Cheon Yu-hak.
The second day of the festival had arrived.
Perhaps because everyone was still full of energy, they had all arrived at school a bit early. A small dispute was breaking out at our booth, which had the bizarre concept of combining a cosplay cafe with a restaurant.
The topic?
“So-hyun should work in the kitchen! He’s a good cook! Oh, and we should put him in a qipao dress.”
“No? He has to be a maid. Is there anything better than a maid to visually attract customers? To get maximum efficiency, we have to have him promote in a maid outfit.”
“Hmm, I think yesterday’s stage outfit would be good too. It was so popular yesterday, so wouldn’t a lot of customers come?”
“I-I want to see him in a butler outfit…!”
My friends were literally fighting over what clothes to put on me and what role I should play. Normally, I’d complain about them fighting over me like I was a doll, but perhaps because the fatigue from yesterday hadn’t fully faded, I actually quite liked this boisterous atmosphere.
“You amateurs…! In this situation, a miniskirt is…!”
I noticed a strange friend shouting among them; it was the classmate who had suggested the maid cafe. Haha, you bastard. I draw the line there. That’s just embarrassing.
“Don’t be ridiculous…!”
“Th-that’s a bit dangerous.”
“Ahem, everyone. Please refrain from such unwholesome suggestions.”
Ha-ni, Ga-eul, and Cathy Noona each had peculiar reactions, but fortunately, their comments were buried in the noisy atmosphere and passed over.
Hmm, but this is a bit of a problem.
Since I have the cloning technique, I do feel like wearing all of them if possible, but if I accepted all those suggestions, this wouldn’t be a cosplay restaurant/cafe—it would be a multiple-twin cafe or a paranormal phenomenon cafe. Or maybe a Kang So-hyun Face Cafe?
A restaurant where I do the cooking, the serving, and the soliciting. That’s a bit scary. If there were that many identical faces, some people might faint from shock the moment they walked in.
“How about I change every few hours? It doesn’t seem like we’ll be short on hands starting today anyway.”
That seemed like a reasonable compromise.
“Yesssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
After that, I started working in the butler outfit, which was the request of Ga-eul, who had won first place in the drawing.
If only.
If only Ga-eul’s turn had been a bit later, perhaps a terrible future misunderstanding could have been avoided. Unfortunately, at that time, I was far too ignorant to prepare for the future that was about to strike.
* * *
“So-hyun, you’re really amazing.”
“Pardon?”
“When you wear women’s clothes, you look like a perfectly cute girl, but seeing you as a butler, you look like a perfectly handsome boy.”
When I returned with empty plates, Cathy Noona, who was working hard in the kitchen, suddenly spoke to me.
“Ah, right. I was thinking that too. Is it the difference in expression? It’s not like your face changes, but there’s a certain vibe.”
Ha-ni, who had just brought out a freshly baked pizza, showed a similar reaction.
To be honest, I was a bit surprised while preparing for the festival. The reason I didn’t have much resistance to cross-dressing was that I was used to showing a ‘ridiculous appearance’ to others. I mean, realistically, even if my features are on the delicate side, I thought there would be something awkward or gross about me cross-dressing.
However, whether it was the effect of Lee Yu-na’s makeup or if my face just suited cross-dressing better than I thought, the reactions were different from what I expected. Well, honestly, even when I looked in the mirror, I looked like a girl, so I couldn’t help it.
“I think it’s because of your smile.”
Ga-eul, who was wearing a borrowed dinosaur onesie nearby, jumped into the conversation.
“My smile?”
“Yeah. So-hyun, your face is usually expressionless, but when you smile, you smile so softly, right? You’ve been smiling a lot lately, and you’re smiling the whole time you’re serving customers, so maybe that’s why?”
The way Ga-eul looked so proud of her deduction while wearing that floppy dinosaur suit was quite cute.
Hmm, cute aside, her words made some sense. In the past, the people I had imitated to create this expression were all women. It wouldn’t be strange if my smile particularly resembled a woman’s. I’d heard it often enough before.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard since I was little that my smile looks like my mom’s.”
Hmm?
I said it without much thought, but for some reason, not just the kitchen, but all my friends with good hearing suddenly froze. Especially Ga-eul, who was looking at me with a despairing face that said, ‘He did it!’, and her expression was so serious that I was actually getting worried.
No, I’ve been thinking this since last time, but everyone’s reaction seems too intense whenever my mom is mentioned. Of course, I’d be upset if someone brought her up randomly or to pick a fight, but it’s fine to have her come up briefly in conversation during daily life. Especially since I was the one who brought it up this time.
Even so, if I tried to say it was okay now, the situation would likely only get worse. Just as I was wondering how to resolve this chilling atmosphere…
“O! Ho! Ho! Hot! So-hyun! I’ve come to visit as a guest today!”
A savior with a glowing face appeared, as if she didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘awkward.’
Aisha Livias.
Has there ever been a day when I was as glad to see her as today?
Thanks to Aisha’s entrance and her making a scene by asking, “Is there no service where the butler feeds me?!”, the awkwardness in the class vanished.
Ah, as a side note, when I told Aisha I’d feed her if she was okay with me drawing a heart with hot sauce instead of ketchup, she ordered an omurice drenched in hot sauce without a moment’s hesitation and got her “Ahhh~” from me.
“It’s hot…!!!!!!! It’s spicy! This isn’t store-bought hot sauce…!”
Well, it seemed Ha-ni’s homemade hot sauce was spicier than expected, but she’d have to endure that herself. Anyway, thanks to her, the atmosphere lightened up! Thanks, Thumbs-up Aisha!
* * *
A little while later, around the time Kang So-hyun headed to the changing room to put on his second costume.
A family had arrived at the Academy.
“Ugh, seriously. Mom, Dad. Why do I have to come all the way to Oppa’s academy festival too~?”
“Now, now. You’re taking the entrance exams this year too. It’s good to see it in advance.”
“Ugh, I’m not going to Leilan Academy. Honestly, I don’t even really want to be a hero.”
“My goodness… both my son and daughter awakened, so why are they like this?”
“…It’s because I hate being compared to Oppa like that.”
“Being a superhuman doesn’t mean you have to live as a hero. I told you not to force her if she doesn’t want to.”
A kind but somewhat opinionated mother, and a strict father who nonetheless respected his children’s own views. And a younger sister who had a bit of a complex regarding her outstanding older brother. They were a typical family that could be found anywhere.
“Hmph, I’m definitely not taking the Leilan Academy entrance exam.”
They were the family Kang So-hyun had once described as ‘a family far too ordinary and blessed to be the family of a novel’s protagonist.’ In other words, they were Lilac’s family.
In the original story, they rarely had a chance to appear, and in the 1st Timeline, he hadn’t even seen their faces, so they were only a faint memory in Kang So-hyun’s mind.
Did he know?
‘I’m going to go to a women’s academy full of cool unnies and enjoy a freshman life being doted on in the arms of unnies who smell nice…! What’s the fun in going to an academy that’s obviously crawling with guys! I hate co-ed schools!’
That among Lilac’s family, his younger sister had a rather peculiar fetish… no, personality, and that from this day forward, she would live a life very different from her original destiny.
And that the reason his friend’s sister would live a different life was none other than himself.
* * *
“Oh, what’s this? I got a text from Secretary Noona. She says she might come if her work finishes early today?”
…Ummm, Secretary Noona might be surprised if she sees me cross-dressed. I did send her the videos and photos from yesterday, though. It should be fine, right?
“Well, I promised to wear it, so I have no choice.”
An Alice costume accented with red ribbons.
“With the red and white, I look more like a rabbit than Alice.”
If the me of this moment had known what was about to happen…
I would never have done something like meeting a friend’s family while cross-dressing.