Is It My Fault This Time Too?
“Are women supposed to try on underwear when they buy it?”
“Welcome, customer. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Normally, it would be smart to notice the signs in a lingerie shop, or maybe just because we stood out and she came over right away.
One way or the other, the employee in the neat women’s business suit that the next-door sister always wore smiled brightly and approached us.
Honestly, we had been walking straight toward the section anyway.
Oh, wait, we weren’t walking—we were rolling, right?
Wheelchair wheels rolled, not walked.
Anyway, from the department store’s perspective, they weren’t going to turn away customers wanting to buy something.
Since she spoke first, Gabi nodded in reply.
“Hello. Noeul wants to measure her size.”
“Hello.”
Well, the request was for me, so I meekly lowered my head.
I knew it wasn’t over-politeness; that was just what a department store employee was supposed to do.
Still, coming over like that in a lingerie shop felt weird.
I just wanted to browse with Gabi a little.
Or maybe even better, look around alone, pick something cheap that roughly fits, and be done with it.
Why come all the way to the department store just to buy underwear?
It was clothes no one would ever see anyway. I could just throw something on over my hoodie.
“Ah. You’re a really pretty little sister. Are you shopping for your first bra?”
“Ah, not a sister—just a friend. Yep, that’s right.”
The real trouble, though, wasn’t just the saleswoman’s kindness.
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about panties.
They were just like the boxer shorts I used to wear as a kid or the ones girls wore—whatever.
I figured wearing something that actually matched my size would be better than the loose men’s swim briefs or falling-down boxer shorts.
But a bra?
That was underwear only girls wore, wasn’t it?
Oh, well, I was a girl now, so technically it made sense.
It wasn’t like I had any flat chest that needed support anyway.
While the saleswoman got the measuring tape, I whispered to Gabi.
“Wait, Gabi. I don’t think I need a bra. My chest hasn’t even grown.”
“What are you saying? Even elementary school kids wear them. Precocious ones start at elementary school entry.”
“Why not?”
“Wouldn’t it be weirder if you didn’t? Even with thin clothes, you’d be basically naked underneath.”
“……”
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
When I was in middle and high school wearing uniforms, I’d always worn a running shirt under my uniform shirt in summer.
Showing nipples was embarrassing for anyone, boy or girl.
But if we were being honest, it was the same now.
I could have just worn a regular shirt underneath instead of proper underwear.
That’s why I’d only planned to buy panties.
“But if the shirt shows, doesn’t that make the underwear even more obvious?”
“No, wearing nothing underneath is way more embarrassing.”
“Really?”
Gabi immediately brushed off my reason without a second thought.
It was a completely illogical argument, but since Gabi had always been a girl, I couldn’t argue back.
So I ended up having to buy both a bra and panties.
Looking at the prices made me feel pretty deflated—ten thousand won was already the low end, and some sets went way over.
Of course, it was a department store; they carried all the good stuff.
But even the cheaper ones were two to three thousand won.
At least a matching set of panties and bra gave me something to feel okay about.
Still, these tiny little pieces of fabric cost that much?
If they’d been men’s panties, would they really be this expensive?
Well, they were expensive, and a set with a bra was definitely pricier than one panty, but… was it really that much?
Before, I hadn’t really understood when girls complained about how much underwear cost.
Now I saw why.
“Okay, customer, please just lift your arms a little.”
While that happened, the saleswoman came back and held the measuring tape against my chest.
Instinctively I flinched, and Gabi slipped in between us.
“Sorry, could I do the measuring instead? Noeul gets really shy about that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got too eager.”
“No, it’s fine.”
I hadn’t been scared of her or anything; I’d just been surprised when she suddenly popped out.
Gabi must have been worried about me.
She was overprotective, but I was grateful for the care.
I let Gabi handle it quietly.
She measured my chest, waist, and hips once around.
At the hips, I had to hold onto her shoulder and stand on one leg, but it only took a second to wrap the tape around.
When she finished, Gabi clicked her tongue.
“Twenty-five, eighteen, thirty… Noeul, you really need to eat more. Your bones are all sharp.”
Just hearing the numbers didn’t help me understand how small I was.
I only knew my waist had been twenty-eight inches as a guy. I had no idea what the other sizes meant.
If they’d measured in centimeters, I might have felt something, but why did they use inches?
Did girls even weigh themselves in pounds…?
Anyway, that was the point.
Gabi saying all that meant she was worried about how thin I looked.
Since I already knew I was skinny, I answered with a dry tone.
“I’ve been eating a lot.”
“You know I see you eat like a mouse at lunch? We really should go to the hospital together. We need to figure out how to gain weight.”
“Ugh… I did gain some, though. I ate half a chicken. But if I force myself too much, I’ll throw up. And the hospital… I’ll go later.”
“When later?”
“Um, the viewers set a mission too. I’ll go soon.”
“Promise me you’ll go with me. No, let’s pick a date when we buy underwear. I’ll go with you.”
“I’m not your kid…”
“If the underwear needs to be bought, you have to come with me. So kid, what?”
Hmm. We used to argue equally, but when I got logical, Gabi would throw emotional tantrums and dodge everything.
Now that she went to university, she’d become surprisingly logical.
I couldn’t argue back at all.
So it looked like the hospital trip would happen with her after all.
I knew she had homework and everything weighing on her mind, but I was just sorry and grateful.
After Gabi threatened to come with me to the hospital, the saleswoman was told my measurements.
She gave me one pitying look before bringing back three sets of underwear.
“We brought the ones that are easiest to wear first. Try them on? Ah… if the fitting room is too small, then…”
“Thank you. I can manage. Here, Noeul, take my hand.”
“Eh…?”
Gabi suddenly held out her hand to take the underwear.
After awkwardly grabbing her hand and standing up, I went into the fitting room and asked her.
“Wait, these are underwear. Do women have to try them on when they buy them?”
“You try them on when you buy clothes. If they don’t fit, it’s annoying to go back for a refund.”
“No, she could have just picked the right size. Just try them over my clothes, right?”
“How would you know if it fits over clothes? You have to try them on directly.”
“Well, then what if I try them on and don’t buy them? Who’s supposed to pay for this? I can’t just return them to be washed and put back on display.”
“Huh…?”
Gabi tilted her head, clearly not understanding a word I was saying.
Did girls have no shame about wearing other people’s tried-on underwear?
Then that meant Gabi’s underwear had probably been tried on by someone else too.
The weird unease hit me, but conversations where neither of us understood each other just went in circles.
I finally gave up and pointed at one of the sets Gabi was holding.
“Um, no pink. Just the black one.”
“That’s your taste, Noeul?”
“White shows stains right away. Black stains less.”
“Hmph.”
Gabi handed me the black bra and panties with a puzzled snort.
I took them and fiddled with the bottom of my hoodie.
“Can you turn around?”
“You’re girls together. Why be embarrassed? And if you fall while I’m looking away, I can’t catch you.”
“Ugh…”
Yeah, Gabi had only come this far out of pure kindness, so there was no way she had any inappropriate thoughts on that serious face.
Feeling embarrassed would be worse, so I held my breath and stripped.
That made Gabi let out a long sigh.
“Sigh. If you can’t eat much, at least pack some snacks. You’re just bones left.”
“……”
I wasn’t happy about the worry, but what could I do when she’d already seen?
I tried putting on the bra first, but the hook was surprisingly hard to fasten from behind—my shoulder joints were stiff, and my fingers weren’t that dexterous.
“Look. If I hadn’t been here, you’d still be struggling with the hooks. Turn it around and hook it from the front. Then flip it back and put the straps on your shoulders.”
“Oh.”
Following Gabi’s advice, I didn’t even need to twist my arms all the way around.
I could just connect the hooks at the front and see, then flip around and hook the straps from the elbows to my shoulders.
“How is it? Comfy? Turn your body a little. If it’s even slightly too big or small, it’ll catch when you move. If you’re home, sure, but if you’re out for an hour or two, you don’t want to be uncomfortable.”
“Yeah… it feels as comfortable as not wearing anything.”
It was an overstatement, but the feeling of the fabric pressing against my chest was only vaguely unfamiliar compared to the discomfort.
Once my tolerance rose, I probably wouldn’t feel it at all.
“Good. Let’s buy that and wear it home. Try the panties too. We’ll switch if they’re too big or small.”
“Yeah.”
Next, the panties.
It felt awkward having to take them off and put them on, but… well, we were girls, so it was fine.
Still, embarrassed, I first threw my hoodie back on.
From Gabi’s angle, my legs would be hidden, so when I pulled the swimsuit down to my thighs, she panicked.
“Wait, why did you take off what you were wearing?”
“Huh? To try them on, I have to take off what I’m wearing, right?”
“You’re wearing something on top of them.”
“Ah…?”
I stared blankly at Gabi for a second, then hastily pulled the swimsuit back up, turned my back, and left.
My face was burning, so for a while I probably wouldn’t be able to face her.