Swimsuit Shopping and Forced Fitness
"The sea?" I blinked. "Suddenly?"
"Yeah, the resort company sent in a request this time. Since we're going anyway, why don't we tag along with Oppa too?"
It seemed this was the trip Mrs. Kim had mentioned earlier. One look at her face made her hidden intentions painfully obvious.
"You want me to help with the request, don't you?"
"Haha, you caught me…." She scratched the back of her head, looking sheepish.
I knew it. I had almost fallen for her coaxing.
"Forget it. You guys go without me."
"It's Jeju Island. You're really not coming?"
"……."
The mention of Jeju Island made me hesitate. It stung my pride a little, but I was tempted.
"Oppa, you never once went to Jeju Island back in middle school."
"W-well, that's true…."
I had missed the school trip because of a raging fever that day. I had been so upset I even cried.
'Hmm… what should I do?'
I wanted to go, but something told me I'd get dragged into a mountain of annoying chores.
Then Ha-im suddenly picked up her phone.
"I'll just tell them you're coming too."
"Wait! I'm still thinking—!"
"Yep~ Already sent."
Ha-im showed me the chat screen and grinned mischievously. I really wanted to smack her.
"Wanna go buy swimsuits with me tomorrow?"
"No thanks. I'm busy tomorrow."
"Huh? Got plans?"
"I have the GED test tomorrow."
"?!"
Ha-im's eyes flew wide open. Did something happen?
"Why are you telling me this now?!"
"Why do I have to report the date of my own exam to you?"
Why was she making such a fuss when she wasn't even the one taking it?
"That's not the important part! Did you study?!"
"When would I have time? I have to stream."
Besides, after streaming I usually passed out from exhaustion. Studying was a luxury I couldn't afford.
Our worrywart of a sister pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Ha… what are you going to do…."
"Don't worry. These things are all about your usual ability."
"No, that's exactly why I'm worried—because your usual ability is the problem!"
Such pointless worrying. As if I'd actually fail the GED.
"Just use your fortune-telling ability to pass!"
"Hey, that hurts my pride too much."
I didn't want to rely on fortune-telling just to pass a GED. Besides, there would be kids younger than me there. I wanted to compete on equal footing if possible.
Ha-im seemed to give up and left the room. Time passed, and the next day arrived.
Today was the long-awaited GED test.
The table was covered with a feast. Braised short ribs, grilled hairtail, army stew, rolled omelette—colorful side dishes lined up waiting for me. Mrs. Kim was washing dishes at the sink.
"What's with all this food today?"
"You're taking the GED test, aren't you?"
"Oh!"
Only Mrs. Kim would go this far for a GED exam.
Ha-im emerged from her room with bedhead and marveled at the spread.
"Wow, the food looks amazing today."
She quickly sat down and grabbed her chopsticks. We wolfed down our meal and got ready to leave.
As we headed for the door, Mrs. Kim handed me a lunchbox packed with exam-friendly foods—glutinous rice cakes, taffy, and the like.
"Do well on the test. Should I give you some digestive medicine too?"
"No, I'm fine."
"What about mine?"
"Get your own."
"Tch, you didn't prepare anything like this when I took the CSAT…."
Ha-im pouted. She seemed upset that only I was being pampered.
"Even if you fail, don't be too upset. It's only natural you'd struggle since you haven't been on Earth for long."
"Yeah yeah, don't worry."
We left the house and headed for the subway, fiddling with our phones while waiting. I yawned. Morning was not my friend.
"Do you have a morning lecture?"
"Yeah, I messed up my course registration."
"Pfft, so like you."
"Shut up. Oh, the subway's here. I'm off."
With a quick goodbye, Ha-im boarded. I took the next train. Ten minutes later I arrived at my stop and walked fifteen minutes to the test center.
The proctor entered the classroom and gave a brief explanation of the rules. Contrary to my expectations, the GED was nothing special. It was just a cycle of taking the test, sleeping during breaks, taking the test again, and sleeping again. There weren't any particularly difficult questions either. Honestly, it was a bit easy. The only tricky part was the multiple-choice questions where the answer was obvious at a glance—like in Go—so I had to cover the options with my hand while solving them.
Before I knew it, the clock struck twelve. Everyone in the classroom, including me, pulled out their lunchboxes.
'It's been a while since I ate at school.'
It wasn't school lunch, but it had its own charm. Still, it felt a little lacking. Mrs. Kim had prepared easily digestible foods. As I ate, I thought:
'It's a shame I couldn't go to high school….'
High school. The place where students spend their youth, and the word "youth" fit perfectly. Staying up late studying with friends, sports festivals, and—most importantly—dating. My own youth had ended the day I was transported to another world, right on my middle-school entrance ceremony.
I had wanted to be a high-school student too….
'…Should I try going to college?'
I had never considered it before, but now I regretted not fully enjoying my youth.
'Whatever. I'll think about it later….'
Attending college would inevitably mean taking breaks from streaming. It had only been about two months since I started, and I had promises to keep with my viewers. I had to avoid breaks as much as possible.
The GED ended without incident. After leaving the test center, I checked the time. I had far more free time left than expected.
'Should I go buy a swimsuit?'
The only clothes I owned were the ones I'd bought while shopping with Ha-im. There was definitely no swimsuit among them.
I stopped by a nearby department store. The swimsuit section displayed all kinds of swimsuits. I checked each one on the racks.
'Wow, I can't wear something like this….'
All I could do was marvel. For some reason, every swimsuit either showed way too much skin or was covered in frills.
'Wearing this would make me a total perv!'
Even after living as a woman for a long time, my male pride couldn't accept it. Just as I was about to leave, a swimsuit on a mannequin caught my eye. This one had less skin exposure than the others.
'The price… Gah!'
Surprisingly, it was over six digits. That was enough to pull two new characters and still have change left over.
'Is it expensive because there's more fabric?'
I turned to look at the other displayed swimsuits. No matter how I looked at it, wearing any of them was out of the question.
I walked out of the store with a shopping bag.
"I ended up buying one after all."
It was the first time in my life I'd spent this much money on clothes. The only consolation was that the support funds had just come in.
'I was planning to fully upgrade the character I liked this time….'
Unfortunately, for now, having no cards was my limit.
As I walked, I heard a familiar voice.
"How about this swimsuit?"
"Isn't it too flashy? How about this one instead?"
I turned my head to find the source and spotted a familiar silhouette.
'It's Rona and Ha-im!'
They were at the swimsuit store, probably here to buy swimsuits like me.
'Hmm, I'll just go.'
I didn't want to greet them—then I'd have to hang out with them. As I stepped onto the escalator, a voice called out.
"Oppa?"
'Ah, I'm screwed.'
I had walked so quietly. How did she notice?
The two of them came over.
"Unni, what brings you here?"
"I just came to buy a swimsuit."
Rona made a gloomy face.
"That's too bad. If you'd told us earlier, we could've shopped together."
"It's fine since you'll see the swimsuit when we go to the sea anyway, right?"
"Still, I wanted to shop together!"
Rona pouted again. I didn't get it. What was the big deal about shopping together?
Ha-im, standing beside her, focused on the shopping bag in my hand.
"By the way, what swimsuit did you buy? A bikini?"
"Do you think I'd buy something like that?"
I'd thought about it many times, but a bikini was impossible. How was I supposed to wear that scrap of fabric?
"Show me. I'm curious."
"No. Look later."
I hid the shopping bag behind my back. It was the best among the ones on display, but clothes that exposed this much of my body were out by my usual standards.
"Then I'll be going now."
"Huh? You're not shopping with us?"
"Forget it. It's a hassle. You two have fun."
As I tried to get on the escalator, they grabbed my arms.
"What are you doing! Let go already?"
Ugh! No matter how hard I pulled, turning red in the face, they wouldn't budge. It was impossible to overpower the two of them with strength. Left with no choice, I tried negotiating.
"Sigh, what exactly is the problem?"
"Shop with us. Then we'll let go."
"No, I want to go home."
It was getting close to May, and the weather was warming up. I wanted to go home and rest.
"Are you really going to do this? Let's just shop together."
"What are you going to do if I refuse? What can you two do?"
I threw a cheap provocation at them. The two exchanged glances.
"…?"
Suddenly Rona hoisted me onto her back and ran off somewhere with Ha-im. Unfortunately, I didn't have the strength to resist.
The place we arrived at was the gym run by Su-ha's family. Inside, only Su-ha was there, coolly leg-pressing 350 kg. She stopped her workout when she saw me and approached with a smile.
"You're here. I heard you wanted to work out together."
"Huh? What are you talking about, mmpf!"
Suddenly this crazy sister covered my mouth and forced me to nod with her strength.
"I was feeling lonely because Ha-im and Rona said they were busy and couldn't come to work out much. This is great."
'No! That's not true!'
I wanted to shout it out loud, but the hand over my mouth made it impossible.
Su-ha took my hand with a joyful expression.
"I understand the passionate heart Ha-im sent about you. I'll definitely repay that feeling!"
'No! You don't have to repay anything!'
I was dying to know what that girl had sent.
Su-ha grabbed my shoulder and gave me a bright smile like the sun.
"For today, let's start light. How about running just 50 km?"
Noooooooo!!!!!