Do You Like Cosplay?

A man and a woman were alone in a room. They were into each other and had already slept together, so it was only natural for their eyes to drift over each other's bodies.

That's how it would have been under normal circumstances, anyway.

I'd unloaded five times just that morning. Saying five times made it sound easy, but it was the kind of number that would leave most guys completely wrecked with exhaustion.

Fortunately, my stamina ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was apparently exceptional, so my physical condition was perfectly fine. But my libido was inevitably running lower than usual.

Given the situation, I carried on the conversation without a single ulterior motive. We were both hardcore otaku, and this room was packed with the kind of stuff otaku would kill for.

"Holy shit, isn't that the limited-edition figure that was sold at SeoCo?"

"Oh! You know about this?"

Ju Hana's eyes went wide as if she was genuinely surprised, but from my perspective, it was obvious. How badly had I wanted to go to SeoCo during all those years shut in my room? But I'd been too scared to go outside, so I'd had no choice but to voyeuristically lurk in the community posts and live vicariously through other people's convention reports.

Hana and I kept the hardcore otaku talk going—our favorite anime and manga, what other hobbies we had, and so on.

What I learned from the conversation was that Hana was even more of a shut-in than I was. Her hobbies were all concentrated entirely around fandom. Not that it was any big surprise.

So, while we were checking out her merch, cosplay costumes, and props, Hana spoke to me in a cautious tone.

"Cheol-jin, about the cosplay outfit you'll be wearing..."

"Yeah?"

"Is it... is it okay if I make it for you?"

"Oh, I'm the one who should be grateful."

I nodded without a second thought. To me, it was purely something to be thankful for. If anything, I was puzzled as to why she was asking so cautiously.

There was a reason.

Hana spoke again, as if she felt her explanation had been lacking.

"Usually, the club members' outfits are made by Saebyeok unni. Her skills are way better than mine. She's a third-year, and ranked first in her department..."

"...."

"But I asked because I want to make your costume, specifically."

Hearing that, I understood why Hana had shrunk into herself. She'd been worried I might not like it if she made it when there was someone more skilled available.

But from what I knew, Hana's workmanship was pretty impressive too. Looking at the feed on her main cosplay account "Juha"—not her alt—the detail work was on par with any professional.

"Aren't you good at making them too? Your work looks great."

When I asked about that, I got an answer I hadn't expected. Hana hung her head low and said,

"Saebyeok unni made those for me..."

"Ah."

I'd meant it as encouragement, but I'd stepped on a landmine. No wonder the quality had suddenly shot up compared to before—so she hadn't been the one making them. I'd just assumed her costume-making skills had improved since she started attending the Fashion Design department.

I was torn for a very brief moment.

Honestly speaking, I wanted to wear a high-quality costume too. I'd psyched myself up to lose over 15kg just for the concept profile shoot—there was no way I wouldn't be picky about the outfit.

But she'd told me upfront that she actively wanted to make my costume, so it wasn't easy to refuse. Frankly, I was grateful for the sentiment, too.

If I thought purely in terms of costume quality, leaving it to Han Saebyeok would've been the right call. But in the end, I made my decision based on how I felt.

"I'm counting on you, Hana."

"...Really? Is it really okay for me to take this on?"

Had she been expecting me to say no? Hana's eyes went wide as saucers.

Since I'd already made up my mind, I nodded without hesitation.

"If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word anytime."

"Okay. Thank you for trusting me..."

"Hey, I'm the one who should be thanking you."

I gave an awkward laugh. Honestly, I had my own calculations behind this decision.

Most of the club members were going to participate in the cosplay. The concept profile too. In other words, Han Saebyeok had ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠multiple outfits to produce.

Hana, on the other hand, would be focused entirely on me alone. So even if there was a gap in baseline skill, the odds were high the final product wouldn't end up all that different. Maybe it'd even turn out better.

But having her be so grateful was making me embarrassed. When really, I was the one who should be thanking her.

Feeling awkward, I averted my eyes and suddenly pointed at something that caught my attention.

"Hana, can I check that out?"

"Which one? Oh, this. I was going to show it to you anyway."

Hana picked up three swords that had been displayed off to one side and handed them over. They were the swords used by the swordsman character Zoro from One Piece.

"Whoa, these are really well made. They must've been expensive."

They looked like manufactured products, not self-made, and the patterns on the blades, not to mention the sheaths, had impressive detailing. As I was admiring them, Hana spoke up.

"I'll lend them to you when we do the Zoro cosplay."

"Seriously? Is that okay?"

"Yeah. It's better to have props than just wearing the costume. For the profile shoot, too."

"Thank you. Ah, I'm already excited."

I grinned as I imagined myself holding these swords. It was gonna look so damn cool during the concept profile shoot...

'Gotta lose weight hardcore.'

I guess I really was an incurable otaku. My motivation to work out was burning way hotter now than when I'd just been thinking vaguely, "I should lose weight," without any real purpose.

I was making private vows like that when Hana asked,

"How much are you planning to lose?"

"Hm. I'm about 92 kilos now, so I'll probably drop about 15 more."

"Th-that much?"

Hana asked back, visibly surprised, and then placed her hand on my shoulder. Then, all of a sudden, she started feeling around my shoulders and chest.

I flinched at the sudden contact.

But Hana kept moving her hands, examining my body with serious eyes. The vibe was completely different from usual. I looked at her with slightly wide eyes.

Hana kept feeling up my body as she spoke.

"Then I should make the costume a little smaller than I was thinking."

"Uh... is that going to cause problems for making the costume? If your body shape changes a lot."

"It's fine. I can adjust the size to some extent even after the main construction. I'll just make it with the margin of error in mind."

Uncharacteristically, she wasn't stammering or dragging out her words. It was an unfamiliar sight, but that serious look in her eyes was incredibly attractive.

I stared at Hana with an odd feeling.

Then our eyes met, dead on.

In that instant, Hana let out a little gasp and yanked her hands away as if startled.

"S-sorry. I was, was touching you way too freely, wasn't I? I was thinking about the sizing..."

"Hey, it's ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fine. What's a little touching."

The corner of my mouth twitched upward. I made a point of grinning teasingly as I added,

"Touch me all you want. We've already done way more than that, so what's the big deal."

Hana's face flushed bright red in an instant. Maybe it was because her skin was so pale, but the change in her complexion showed up dramatically. It was fun to tease her.

But wait, huh?

Hana, who'd hung her head low, reached her hands out again. Her hands were moving in direct opposition to her embarrassed expression. She grabbed both my forearms with both hands and started squeezing and kneading them.

"Th-they're firm. You're working out really hard, harder than Hana."

"Uh, yeah. I'm doing personal training (PT) with Seora nuna. She says I've got a talent for weight training."

I regretted saying it as soon as it came out. Had I sounded like I was bragging? Normally I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but when I talked with Hana, weird things kept making me self-conscious.

Probably because of the atmosphere.

For some reason, the vibe whenever I was with Hana was distinctly different from when I was with other girls. Come to think of it, it had been like this the first time we had sex, too.

'Hana's so nervous it's making me nervous too.'

Was embarrassment contagious? We'd already slept together, so what the hell was a little forearm kneading.

"You said... you were doing personal training (PT) with Seora unnie, right?"

"Yeah. So I figured while I'm at it with the working out, I'd try to carve out a six-pack. Abs'd look cool for the Zoro cosplay, right?"

"Yeah. But isn't losing that much weight bad for your health? You look good already now... I think if you lose 15 kilos, you'll be way too skinny."

"Don't worry. One of my few strong points is being sturdy. And being skinny is something you should be concerned about, not me, Hana."

It wasn't a joke—Hana had a build that was skinny to the point of seeming excessive. Extreme slender, I guess you could say. But despite that, the fact that her pelvis was wide and her butt was plump meant she had an honestly unfair figure.

"No matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight. I wish they'd get bigger..."

Hana said in a glum voice. At some point, the hands that had been kneading my arm had migrated to her own chest.

Wait, I hadn't even brought up her chest...

I felt kind of bad for no reason and said jokingly,

"Once my diet's over, we should do some joint eating broadcasts. I'll take responsibility and fatten you up."

"...Broadcast? Cheol-jin, you do streaming too?"

"No, not that kind of eating broadcast. I meant we should stuff ourselves together."

"Ahhh."

"If you eat as much as I used to eat, there's no way you won't gain weight, right? Let's go on food tours together."

"Okay! Definitely!"

Hana beamed and held out her pinky. It had just been an offhand, joking comment, but her face was full of serious anticipation.

I couldn't exactly back out now, so I hooked pinkies and made the promise. Well, eating wasn't exactly hard, and there was no reason we couldn't do it.

Ju Hana wore a loose, goofy smile on her lips as she fidgeted with her hands.

'Hehe. I got us a date...'

Since he'd said he was going to fatten her up, it wouldn't end with just one outing. A food tour... Honestly, she didn't have much personal interest in culinary pursuits, but just thinking about doing it together with Kang Cheol-jin made her feel purely happy.

'Ah, but if it's after his diet's over... that's so far away.'

It was at least over three months away.

The moment that fact registered, Ju Hana's face instantly crumpled into gloom.

"Whoa, you've got this too. Damn, I really wanted this one."

Meanwhile, Kang Cheol-jin was looking through the merch and cosplay props with the excited face of a kid who'd discovered a toy. Left to his own devices, he looked like he could keep going for hours.

Ju Hana quietly shifted position and approached Kang Cheol-jin from behind. She leaned her body in as if pressing up against his back and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Wha-what are you looking at?"

"This! A limited edition Kamen Rider belt, right? I've got a different version at my place too."

"Oh, I seeee..."

Ju Hana responded just enough while pressing her body as close as possible. Though she was timid, her instincts ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as a woman were alive and well. We've already slept together, so what's a little contact like this? She kept repeating this to herself as she subtly made her appeal to Kang Cheol-jin.

But something was strange.

Today, there was practically zero reaction coming back. Last time, when she'd seduced him in the clubroom, he'd fallen for it instantly...

'...Is it really because my boobs are small? Is small the problem? No, but I'm above average.'

Sure, she was an A cup, but she prided herself on being nicely full for what she had. The other club members just had abnormally large chests—she, too, was above the South Korean female average in size.

But was that not enough?

Even pressing tightly from behind, her chest barely touched him, and even when it did, Kang Cheol-jin had no notable reaction.

Ju Hana suddenly recalled what Han Saebyeok had said—that Kang Cheol-jin and Pi Ah-reum were dating.

'Ah-reum's chest was huge...'

Pi Ah-reum was a good 20cm shorter than Ju Hana. But her chest, in inverse proportion to her height, was incredibly large.

And what about herself?

Ju Hana looked down at her own chest.

"N-no way."

A battle fought with chest size would be a guaranteed loss.

Ju Hana restlessly hovered around Kang Cheol-jin. Had showing him her merch been a mistake? Or was he already bored with her? The embodiment of lust that was Kang Cheol-jin was way too impassive today.

'How did I do it last time?'

In the clubroom, next to Kang Cheol-jin, she'd pulled down her panties and taken a selfie. She had no idea what had possessed her to do that.

Compared to that, what was she doing now?

Just rubbing up against him with a chest that wasn't even that big. There was a gap in intensity from last time. So did she need to take another selfie this time?