A Heartwarming Memory
Flustered, Mari blushed and shouted on his behalf. "O-Oh my!" The other employees in the Support Part were also stunned by the sight.
"Forced cross-dressing!" Lupinus's face was completely flushed with excitement. Since teasing pretty boys was her greatest joy in life, this was one temptation she simply couldn't resist!
"Ah! Lady Lupinus!" While a thoroughly flustered Yunjae blushed and didn't know what to do with himself,
"But he's so pretty! It suits him so well!" "Right? He's prettier than Mari!" "Why, you...!" Akemi and Taerin gasped in admiration at the unexpected sight, prompting an indignant cry from Mari.
"How could this happen...!" As the embarrassed Yunjae instinctively covered his face with his hands, Rosamy's eyes suddenly went wide. "...Camu."
"Pardon?"
"You look so much like her... like Camu." She had felt it from the moment they first met, but Yunjae truly resembled someone from Rosamy's past. He looked like her normally, but now that he was forced into a maid outfit, it was no exaggeration to say he was her spitting image.
"Sniff..." Overcome by longing and sorrow, tears began to stream down Rosamy's face.
"Camu!" Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into his arms.
"Ah! No! Rosamy! If you do this, it makes it really awkward for me to change out of this!" Despite his panicked cry, how could he possibly push away a girl who was already weeping so pitifully?
"I'm sorry..."
"Ah... No, it's alright." Creating a scene that looked exactly like a senior maid comforting a junior maid who had just been scolded, Yunjae consoled her with a helpless expression.
"Please don't cry, Rosamy. It's okay." Lupinus wore a thoroughly pleased smile at the sight!
"How heartwarming! What a beautiful picture!"
"Don't look so proud, you pervert! What on earth do you think you're doing!" Mari scolded Lupinus, but the goddess remained entirely unbothered.
"But you think he's pretty too, don't you? Right? Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Don't you want to dress him up in other outfits too?" Lupinus countered with absolute confidence.
"Ugh, who would..." Looking at Yunjae—who was, in all honesty, prettier than most actual women—Mari couldn't bring herself to refute Lupinus's words.
"Ugh..." It was the universal urge to dress up a Barbie doll in new clothes.
"W-Well, that might be true, but..." Seeing her flinch so visibly, Lupinus chuckled and gave her a wink.
"Just embrace your desires! Opportunities like this don't come around every day! Besides, this is much better for Yunjae than letting him stress over all those headache-inducing problems. It'll make for a wonderful memory!"
"Ah..." Mari looked at Lupinus with a fresh perspective. Indeed, after going through something this absurd, he probably wouldn't even have the mental capacity to worry about the "Slender Forearms" conspiracy theories. Even if it was embarrassing now, it would likely become a memory they could laugh about later. Besides, though Yunjae was flustered, he didn't seem to genuinely hate it.
"Wait, why is Oppa prettier than me?" "Ah! Akemi! I didn't mean for it to be like this!" "Well, your chest sizes are about the same, so it's fine!" "Uwah! That's so mean!" Especially with naturally cute and lovely girls like Akemi and Taerin around, the atmosphere was lively.
Mari even began to wonder if Lupinus, who usually seemed like a total idiot pervert, had actually done this to make Yunjae laugh—and perhaps even to help Rosamy, who had been struggling with her grief.
"Killing two birds with one stone. That's what it is." Of course, seeing the goddess coolly admit that her own selfish desires were also mixed in made Mari burst into a chuckle.
"Rosamy! Can I please change my clothes before we continue?" "...Can we stay like this just a little longer? I missed Camu so much." "Ah! Who on earth is Camu...!" Of course, the victim himself was still unable to change because of Rosamy, looking thoroughly perplexed.
"I don't know anymore, you idiots." In any case, Mari shook her head, resigning herself to the incredibly warm and harmonious atmosphere.
And...
"That place is heaven! Cross-dressing! Maid cross-dressing! I want to see it up close too!" Meanwhile, Renge, who was spying on the scene from the adjacent building, looked incredibly envious.
"Sigh, should I just throw everything away and transfer over there?"
"Today felt like a really long day!" Back home, Yunjae let out a weary groan for the first time.
"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you tired." When Mari looked at him with concern, Yunjae chuckled softly.
"I guess it's because so many things happened at once. But Anton's situation was resolved well, and I won't be misunderstood as 'Slender Forearms' anymore, so it's fine."
"And you looked pretty in that maid outfit, too."
"Ah! That was...!" If there was a highlight of today, it was definitely that. Thanks to Lupinus wasting her divine power on something so useless, he had been forced to cross-dress right in the middle of the office.
"...I've gained a deeply embarrassing memory."
"Pfft, but everyone said you were pretty. Though you always were. Anyway, Suyeon was really sad she missed seeing it in person."
"Ah! But I'm seventy-seven years old! Cross-dressing at my age?!" It was true that he had debuted at age twelve and done plenty of cross-dressing and girl group dances during his two years as an idol. But perhaps as a reaction to that, ever since retiring from the entertainment industry, Yunjae had strived to live the life of a manly man. Since there were always so many women around him, his speech patterns had a slightly gentle, feminine touch, but at least his lifestyle was anything but.
"Well, despite that, I was shocked because you were so pretty. Even though I knew it was you, it felt really strange." At Mari's chuckling words, Yunjae let out a long sigh.
"Surely they won't claim that the identity of the 'Girl' has finally been revealed because of that, right?" At that moment, Mari froze.
"...It's a world full of idiots, so I'm a bit anxious." After all, wasn't the public currently running wild with their own ridiculous misunderstandings?
"No way, surely not? You said you explained everything."
"Because some people just can't be reasoned with." Yunjae then opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of beer.
"What's this? That's usually my job."
"Ah, I thought I deserved a drink on the day I was forced to cross-dress." When he chuckled and tossed her a beer, Mari smiled and caught it. Unlike ordinary women, she caught it easily with one hand. Seeing her athletic reflexes, Yunjae said with a faint smile,
"Mari, your reflexes are definitely extraordinary."
"I've spent more than half my life working as a hunter. If I couldn't even catch this, I'd be in trouble." *Crack.* Mari popped open the can and took a long sip.
"Ah, now it feels like I've actually clocked out." To think she felt like she had truly finished her day only after coming home and having a drink.
"I guess I'm slowly getting used to this life." It was an office job she had never even imagined at first, but now she found it rewarding and familiar.
"The portals are disappearing, but is that a good thing?" When Mari brought up a realistic concern, Yunjae opened his beer, took a sip, and replied,
"Well, if the portals disappear and monsters stop coming out, wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"If that happens, the Blast Guild might actually disband." She could lose her job. Of course, it would be solved if Ariel and Demian opened their cafe, but still.
"I don't think so. The Guild Leader isn't that careless, and since the Blast Guild itself is a famous brand, it will probably naturally transition into a professional security firm or another form. They have a lot of corporate connections too." When Yunjae shared his thoughts, Mari nodded, finding his reasoning sound.
"But you're really mysterious. Come to think of it, you entered Mamon Saga when you were twenty, but you know so much about how the world works. Did you do something before you were a b-boy?" The period before his b-boy days.
"Mari, please stay strong!" With those words still lingering in her mind, she brought it up, and Yunjae chuckled softly.
"...I just learned how the world works early on. That's why." It seemed he had no intention of telling Mari about his debut at age twelve, keeping it a secret shared only with Akemi.
"Hmm..."
"What is it?"
"Just curious." Mari looked at him. "I'm curious about how you lived and how you grew up." Rather than beating around the bush, it was better to take a direct approach. Yunjae was the type to always respond with sincerity, after all. When Mari asked, Yunjae took a sip of his beer with a slightly troubled look.
"Ah, there's really nothing special..."
"Hmph, so you know everything about my life, but you won't tell me a single thing about yours?"
"But I don't know anything about your childhood either, Mari." He knew she had lost her parents when she was ten and thirteen, but he didn't know the stories before that. Knowing that asking someone who had gone through such a tragedy about those times could be rude, Yunjae answered carefully.
"It was just normal. I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a quiet town, so nothing special happened, and I was just a normal kid who liked teddy bears. Since it was just me, my mom, and my dad..." Mari answered without any hesitation, taking another sip of beer.
"Ah..."
"I don't tell this to just anyone. I'm telling you because it's you. Consider it an honor."
"Ah, yes! Mari!"