Chapter 47: Face-to-Face (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Face-to-Face (5)
“I’m home…”
The orange glow of the sunset draped over the world as evening gave way to twilight. Shin A-young returned home from school, kicked off her shoes, and stepped into the living room.
“You’re back?”
“Oh?”
Her mother, sitting on the sofa munching on peanuts, greeted her. Surprised by the unexpected encounter, Shin A-young’s voice rose slightly.
“You’re home early?”
“I wanted to see my daughter’s face for once, so I hurried back.”
“Ugh, Mom…”
Shin A-young winced, narrowing her eyes. Her mother had a habit of saying embarrassing things with a perfectly straight face.
“…Hm?” Her mother studied her with a curious expression. “Did something good happen at school?”
“Huh?” That was sudden. “Uh… nothing in particular…?”
“Really?”
Her mother tilted her head, looking unconvinced, but she soon lost interest and turned her attention back to her phone.
“Go wash your hands. I sliced some fruit; it's on the table.”
“Okay—”
Shin A-young replied and headed toward the bathroom.
‘…Something good?’
Lee Seung-ho’s face instinctively flickered through her mind. If that counted, then she supposed so. Yeah. It could definitely be called a good thing. After all, it meant she had finally found a friend she could truly let her guard down around.
If her expression looked different than usual, it was probably because of that…
“…”
Shin A-young came to a dead stop, her gaze fixed on a single point.
“…”
A small breath escaped her lips as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. A faint, crimson blush was prominent on her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth had turned up of their own accord.
It wasn't a manufactured look; it was a genuine expression that had surfaced naturally. This wasn't the kind of acting she usually did. There was no way she could make a face like this without even realizing it.
She couldn't help but trust her intuition.
“……Ah.”
This.
……I’m so screwed.
*
“…Hmm.”
Shin A-young paced restlessly around the living room. She stepped out onto the balcony, then looked up at the shelves. She stood in front of the mirror again. Then she stopped.
“Hrrrrm…”
She couldn't seem to stay still. The current situation felt incredibly awkward.
“…What is wrong with you? You’re making me dizzy,” her mother muttered, glaring at her while crunching on nuts. “Are you looking for something?”
“No… well…”
Shin A-young flinched and turned around awkwardly. She hadn't realized she had been pacing that much. She let out a forced laugh.
“…Have you seen my chocolate? I thought I left it here…”
She squeezed out an excuse, desperate to avoid an interrogation.
“It’s up there.”
“Aha…?”
Shin A-young grabbed the box and hurried to her room.
“…Nothing’s really wrong, right?”
“Nothing happened!”
“If something is up, you have to tell me right away, okay?”
“Yes…!”
Click.
She closed the door and hugged the chocolate box, leaning her back against the wood.
‘Calm down. Let’s just calm down.’
Shin A-young closed her eyes tight.
Crunch—
Feeling like she needed the sugar, she sat on the bed and bit into a chocolate.
‘I have feelings for him? Me? For him?’
Her fingers wiggled restlessly.
‘Not as a friend? But as a man?’
Just thinking about it made her feel like her head was overheating. Beads of sweat began to form.
‘Maybe I’m just mistaken…’
In an instant, Lee Seung-ho’s face appeared in her mind. She could see his features clearly. His voice, gallantly telling her to just be comfortable, was still vivid in her ears. The tips of her ears burned with a slight heat.
“Uuuugh……”
She flopped backward onto the bed, grabbing a pillow and burying her face in it.
“Heeeeeek……”
She rolled around, not knowing what to do with this strange, new emotion.
“Phew…!”
Her face was bright red when she finally pulled the pillow away. She had buried her face so hard she’d almost run out of breath.
“…”
After lying there blankly for a moment… Shin A-young suddenly bolted upright.
Wait.
‘…What do I do now?’
Her eyes snapped open, sharp and alert.
‘What about Sol…?’
That was the most pressing issue. Her head already ached thinking about how to face her.
“Ah, seriously——”
Shin A-young buried her face in the pillow again, letting out a muffled groan of frustration. Why did she do that? Why on earth did she say she’d help Lee Sol?
“…”
But still…
Shin A-young stroked her chest. Her heart was still fluttering. It was a ticklish sensation, as if something strange had taken root inside her. She was worried about Lee Sol, but she didn't want to ignore or cast aside this feeling.
“……”
Shin A-young slowly opened her eyes.
“Ha…”
Her deep, dark eyes held a faint glimmer of emotion. Fine.
“……Seung-ho gave me permission, anyway.”
Muttering as if making an excuse, Shin A-young lay face down on the bed and began tapping on her phone. He told her she could be a little selfish. He gave her permission.
So. Just this once.
…I’m going to show a bit of my true self.
“Phew…”
Returning home, Lee Sol lay on her bed and let out a long breath. It was more of a sigh of relief than one of exhaustion. She had worked hard today in many ways.
‘I slipped up a bit at the end, though…’
There was the issue of accidentally falling asleep. But in the end, didn't it all work out? Lee Sol congratulated herself. She had done a good job. Besides, there were gains.
“…Ahem.”
Lee Sol recalled the way Lee Seung-ho had woken her up.
“Hehe.”
A hum of laughter escaped her before she could stop it.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Lee Sol forced herself to stop smiling. It wasn't time to relax yet. It wasn't over. She needed to seal the deal. After all, she had decided to seduce him…!
‘Should I try… wearing makeup…?’
To seduce a man, one had to be a fox. The first step toward that, no matter what anyone said, was an appearance that captured the eyes. Where in the world was a man who disliked a pretty woman?
“…Okay.”
Let’s give it a try. Lee Sol sat down at the vanity in the corner of her room.
“Phew—”
She blew a breath out, dusting off the light layer of dust that had settled on the surface. She realized she hadn't organized it in a long time. There were plenty of cosmetics on top. She hadn't bought them herself; they were mostly things her mother had set out or a few gifts she’d received. Even so, it looked like more than enough.
“Let’s see…”
Lee Sol lined up the cosmetics on the desk and looked down at them. Hmm. For some reason, they all looked the same.
“…”
Only then did something occur to her. Come to think of it…
‘…How do you even put on makeup?’
Now that she thought about it, she was right. She had never done it herself. It was only natural, as Lee Sol wasn't someone who particularly enjoyed wearing makeup. It was also quite a hassle. When she had to do it for work, she had always just sat there while a professional makeup artist did it for her.
Above all, she had the kind of face that didn't really need it.
“Mmm…”
Lee Sol groaned, lost in thought. It felt a bit awkward to ask others for help. They would definitely pry.
“Ah.”
Lee Sol thought of a plan. There was always that. She immediately opened Instagram. She remembered seeing an amazing makeup tutorial video there once.
“…”
Tap… tap-tap-tap…
The keywords were: Makeup for beginners.
‘Is it this one?’
Lee Sol clicked on the one with the highest view count. The girl in the video moved her hands with a flourish. As she explained things, her appearance began to transform rapidly.
After watching the video for a while…
“Aha? So that goes there…? It’s not as hard as I thought…? If it’s like this…”
She felt like she could do it. Lee Sol was filled with groundless confidence. She reached out boldly.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She began applying color to her face in the order the video instructed, moving her hands diligently while looking in the mirror.
Swipe… swiiipe…!
After one final touch, she lowered her hands. Good. Now.
“…”
Uh.
“…Uh, um…”
Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Lee Sol’s expression slowly froze. The excessively drawn eyeliner only doubled the awkwardness. The blush on her cheeks was nothing short of ridiculous.
It didn't look like this when the professional unnies did it. Back then, it looked so natural and pretty.
“…”
Lee Sol narrowed her eyes and looked down at her hands. She felt a bit cheated.
“Sigh.”
Lee Sol stood up abruptly. …This isn't working. Time to wash up. It seemed she had reached the peak of Mount Stupid. This definitely wasn't it.
She marched out of her room and headed for the bathroom.
“…!?”
Her mother, who had naturally turned her gaze toward her, opened her eyes in shock. Her mother’s mouth opened and closed as she hesitated to speak. Because she knew exactly what her mother was thinking, Lee Sol hurried into the bathroom even faster.
Splash—
“Phew…!”
Lee Sol turned off the faucet and let out a held breath. She had managed to scrub it all off. Her face had returned to its original state.
Once she came out after cleaning up…
“Phew……”
She heard a sigh of relief from the living room. Lee Sol maintained a policy of feigning ignorance and returned to her room.
Scroll, scroll—
“…It’s all so hard.”
Feeling a lingering sense of regret, she poked around other videos, but there were no meaningful gains. It seemed there were no videos easier than the one she’d already tried.
“Ugh…”
Laziness began to creep in. She flopped backward. Yeah. Maybe it was better to just go around as usual.
That was when it happened.
“……Huh?”
She blinked blankly. A post uploaded by Shin A-young caught Lee Sol’s eye. It was a perfectly ordinary photo of daily life—a picture of Shin A-young making a V-sign with her fingers at an ice rink.
What caught Lee Sol’s attention was none other than the background. A familiar silhouette was captured in the distance.
It was unmistakably Lee Seung-ho.
…This was during the counseling session. She had a gut feeling.
“……”
Lee Sol’s eyes went vacant. Why did she post this? That question began to tear through her mind. An instinctive sense of crisis surged within her.
“…”
With a look of grim determination, Lee Sol sat back down in front of the vanity.
……What on earth is going on?
I stopped in my tracks as soon as I entered the house. There was someone checking themselves out in the living room mirror.
“Oh? You’re back?”
“…What are you doing?”
I narrowed my eyes at Lee Seung-ah’s unusual appearance. What was that? She was wearing a light blue wig on her head. The strange part was the angel-like halo attached to it. Since she usually had black hair, the transformation felt incredibly jarring.
“It’s for the event. Looks good, right?”
Lee Seung-ah pointed at her head, looking proud.
“…I thought you were selling drawings. Why the sudden cosplay…?”
“Shh.”
Lee Seung-ah put her index finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet.
“You don’t get it. These days, this is a sales strategy. You have to attract people first. Plus, I get to dress up while I’m at it.”
Aha. So she was going to attract people with her looks first. It was a fairly strategic choice, but from a family member’s perspective, I wasn't so sure.
“I have one for you too, Oppa.”
“…?”
“I’m serious.”
Lee Seung-ah pointed at a delivery box. A set of clothes came out of it. My face crumpled as soon as I saw it.
Wait, why me?