How to Go on a Date (2)
For lunch, we ducked into a decent pasta place near Culture Street.
Even in a small restaurant, I steered Ma Nayeon into a slightly secluded corner and naturally took the lead in running the situation, building an atmosphere that was more or less a date.
Of course, even while doing all this, I never once used the word date. The most important thing right now was making sure Ma Nayeon didn't recognize this as one.
"Do you ever go out for meals alone with Han Jaewook, sunbae?"
"...Well, sometimes."
"I don't mean eating lunch together at the cafeteria. I mean going out like this, just the two of you."
"......"
"So you're not close enough for that yet, are you?"
—...Nod.
Her face was as expressionless as ever, but she gave a careful little nod, as if the thought displeased her slightly.
In her day-to-day life, she probably never had occasion to objectively examine her relationship with Han Jaewook, so she'd simply taken their closeness for granted. But making her consciously aware of where she actually stood, like this, was helpful in itself.
Once she realized just how little she meant to Han Jaewook, she'd grow that much more anxious. And an anxious person's behavior is far easier to steer in the direction I want.
"From what I can see, sunbae, you need to play up your feminine appeal around Han Jaewook sunbae. It's a fact that compared to Yujin sunbae, your feminine charm comes across as a little lacking."
"......What do you mean by that?"
"Yujin sunbae is outgoing by nature — she's the type to approach anyone, man or woman, first. So of course Han Jaewook sunbae can't help feeling drawn to her. Bright, friendly women start out with a man's goodwill by default. It's just how it works."
"...Oh. That's what you meant."
Apparently she'd taken my words as some kind of remark about her chest, because the faint tension in her expression melted away. Honestly — Han Sora was the same way. Flat-chested heroines are inexplicably touchy about that sort of thing.
Under the pretext of helping her appeal to Han Jaewook, I let slip a few pointers — how to approach men, how to catch their attention, things like that.
"So... I should be more proactive, like Yujin unnie?"
"I wish you'd started out that way, but not now. Han Jaewook sunbae already knows your personality, so suddenly coming on strong might just put him on his guard instead."
Naturally, I didn't teach her a single technique that would actually work on Han Jaewook. Who do you take me for?
Even a woman you'd never been interested in starts to draw your eye when she suddenly throws herself at you. Ma Nayeon's real handicap was her prickly personality compared to Im Yujin's — by any objective standard, she was a beauty anyone could see.
"For now, I think you need to learn more about men in general. Have you ever dated anyone besides Han Jaewook sunbae?"
"...No."
"Then let me teach you, while we have the chance. There are ways to appeal to a man naturally, without having to say a word. Trying a new hairstyle, for instance — or experimenting with a little perfume wouldn't hurt either. There's a department store right up ahead. Want to stop in for a minute?"
"...Now?"
"These things you do the moment they come up. Besides, it's hard to explain in words alone. You're free today, right, sunbae?"
"...I am, but."
"Then let's start right away."
I took hold of Ma Nayeon's hesitant wrist and lightly steered her along toward the department store.
And, just as smoothly, I let the way I addressed her drift from sunbaenim to plain sunbae, closing the distance one syllable at a time.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Daehyeon Department Store, just off Culture Street.
A little awkward as a first date venue, perhaps — but for dragging someone along without letting her register that she was on a date at all, it was definitely not a bad choice.
"Let's start with picking out clothes. Sunbae, where do you usually shop?"
"...Online."
"And sizing? What if something doesn't look right on you when you put it on?"
"......"
"Ah, I'm not criticizing, I promise. I'm just trying to get a sense of your usual style."
"...I don't really have one."
I knew. No matter that she'd come out to see me — a gray knit and jeans was, by any stretch of the imagination, simply bad dressing.
A light-colored top would have earned her at least a pass, but she'd gone and thrown on an achromatic one instead.
Inside a casual brand store on the second floor, I wandered her around the racks for a while before plucking a shirt off a hanger.
A plain beige oversized tee. Something safely flattering for Ma Nayeon, who was tall for a woman.
"Would you try this one on, sunbae?"
"...This thing?"
"These tones suit your frame. Beige, or a soft sky blue — brighter than that gray, anyway. And an oversized fit like this makes you look a touch shorter, which lets you come off as cute."
"...I've never worn anything like this."
"If it feels awkward, you just change right back out. Still, it's worth checking whether it actually suits you, isn't it?"
"......Fine."
Her answers were still half-hearted, but she quietly took the shirt from my hands all the same.
The moment she disappeared into the fitting room, I set off through the store again, hunting down a few more things that might suit her. If I could wake up some instinct for self-presentation in Ma Nayeon while I was at it, so much the better.
I'd just gathered a sky-blue cropped knit — cut to show just a whisper of skin while still reading as cute — and a pair of skinny jeans to show off her long legs, her best feature, when the fitting room door opened and she emerged.
"...I put it on."
...Yeah. It really does suit her.
She was an original-novel heroine, after all. She had the kind of proportions that made anything look good, so no outfit would ever be ugly on her — but the difference between the gray and the beige was enough to change her entire impression.
"...Why aren't you saying anything? Does it look weird?"
"Not at all. It suits you so well I was staring for a second there."
"......Really?"
"Compared to the gray knit you had on earlier, you look much more approachable now. It gives off an impression that's easy to walk up to."
"......"
"This is how you start — by closing the distance like this. That's what makes Han Jaewook sunbae want to approach you first, Nayeon sunbae."
"...That's true."
Ma Nayeon nodded carefully, as if conceding that my words themselves made sense.
The moment she turned back to the fitting room and reached for the door, I handed over the cropped knit and skinny jeans I'd set aside.
"Change into these this time, sunbae."
"......Again?"
"You're supposed to try clothes on multiple times. What you're wearing does suit you, but you can't know which style is best until you've tried a few."
"...I don't really care. This one's enough."
"You have to think about when you actually go on a date with Han Jaewook sunbae. If you show up in the same outfit every single day, he might start thinking you don't care enough to make an effort."
"...Is that so?"
"Try it on first, then decide. Your mind might change once you actually see yourself in it."
"......Okay."
Worn down by my persistence, Ma Nayeon slipped back into the fitting room and began changing again.
The fact that, inside the Academy, she only ever wore her uniform or training gear — that clothes never really mattered — I made a point of not mentioning until the very end.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Once you take the lead, carrying the mood from there isn't particularly difficult.
After that first outfit, she changed clothes three more times, checking each style against my judgment.
"This one leaves my stomach showing."
"That's how it's meant to be worn. You're slim, so showing a little midriff actually looks better on you."
"...I don't know. Not really my type."
The cropped knit and skinny jeans combo — a guaranteed win on a slender frame — looked great.
"My lower half feels way too exposed."
"That's exactly what makes it pretty — it makes your legs look even longer. Your legs are your best feature, sunbae. You have to wear at least this much for it to register with Han Jaewook sunbae."
Hot pants over leggings, hidden under an oversized sweatshirt — naturally, that suited her too. Her long legs meant the style really did throw the proportions of her upper and lower body into sharp relief.
"I don't think I like this one. Can't we just skip it?"
"I'll be the judge of whether it's good or not."
"...I really don't like it. It doesn't suit me at all."
"Fine, fine — just show me. I'll take a look and tell you."
"...Okay."
When I put her in a long shirt dress with a faintly sheer quality, Ma Nayeon got rather flustered. Predictably, it looked good on her, and the protest amounted to nothing.
"S-still, dresses aren't really for me..."
"Honestly, this one works too, sunbae. It's a different feel from your usual vibe, and it makes you look cute, so I'd say it's a keeper."
"...It makes me look cute?"
"One-piece dresses look cute on anyone who can pull them off. Han Jaewook sunbae's type is probably the cute style too — like Yujin sunbae — so Nayeon sunbae can't just concede the ground, can she?"
"...But Yujin unnie just is cute-looking. I'm tall, so a style like this—"
"Being tall doesn't mean the cute style doesn't suit you. Honestly, for a woman, merely looking cute already gets you eighty percent of the way there."
"...Isn't that just your personal opinion?"
"If you doubt it, shall we post a photo of what you're wearing right now to the club group chat? I'm curious how Han Jaewook sunbae would react."
"Th-that's not— no..."
I never had any intention of doing it. Why on earth would I show her off to that Han Jaewook bastard?
If his eyes wandered to Ma Nayeon — the girl he'd been ignoring all this time — things would only get complicated for me. Better that he stay dizzy over Im Yujin, too preoccupied to care whether I wooed Ma Nayeon or not.
Dressing and undressing Ma Nayeon however I pleased, molding her to my taste — that alone was satisfaction enough. Once her style was set like this, the next time we met, she'd at least make an effort to look put-together before showing up.
"You're this pretty — start putting some effort into yourself when you go out. It'd be a waste of that face."
"...That's none of your concern."
"Anyway, sunbae — hand me everything you tried on except what you're wearing now. I'll sort it out at the counter, so get changed and come out."
"...Mm."
At my words, Ma Nayeon nodded obediently and gathered up the clothes she'd worn, passing them over to me.
Once I'd confirmed she'd gone back into the fitting room, I carried the stack of clothes straight to the counter.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
An afternoon of clothes shopping she'd never seen coming.
And yet at some point, Ma Nayeon had begun trying on outfits with the corners of her mouth turned up. It was only a tiny smile — one so faint that even she hadn't noticed it on herself.
He's right. Seeing it like this... I guess it really is kind of cute.
She'd assumed, vaguely, that dresses simply weren't for her — but wearing one like this, it seemed surprisingly fine. At least, that's what Lee Seonho had said.
I'll just buy the dress, and that beige tee from the beginning.
The skinny jeans and the hot pants felt like a bit much. But these two, she could wear out casually without any awkwardness.
"For a woman, merely looking cute already gets you eighty percent of the way there."
She didn't know about that. She'd never once tried to impress a man other than Jaewoo-ki.
Come to think of it, had she ever really done anything to win Jaewook over? Not especially.
She'd just fallen in with him during the entrance exam, trailed after him eating meals together, doing club activities — that was about the extent of it.
But if she did exactly what Lee Seonho said... it might actually work on Jaewook, she thought, unexpectedly.
"You're this pretty — start putting some effort into yourself when you go out. It'd be a waste of that face."
...She wasn't sure why, when she'd been thinking about Han Jaewook, Lee Seonho's face suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Still, he was a man too — maybe that was why his advice genuinely did seem helpful.
Stepping out of the fitting room with that thought in her head, she spotted Lee Seonho up near the register, talking with a clerk about something.
"Ah, sunbae. Everything you tried on earlier is all paid for, so bring it back with you when we head out today. That dress in your hands included."
"......What?"
At Lee Seonho's sudden, unannounced gift, Ma Nayeon's eyebrows rose a fraction.