Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Person Who Ordered Chicken
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We headed to Ga-eun's place to sort out our soaked clothes and bodies.
Ga-eun's home was a tidy officetel that stood in stark contrast to Su-hyeon's rundown villa.
The entrance lobby had automatic doors and even a security guard.
There was an elevator, too.
"Hoo..."
Su-hyeon stepped out of the elevator and stood behind Ga-eun, shivering nervously.
Beep beep beep beep beep bleep.
Click-clank.
The sound of the door lock disengaging rang out, and Ga-eun flung open the front door. She happened to glance back and caught sight of Su-hyeon's state.
...?
"What now?"
Her hands clasped tightly together, body rigid with tension.
Anyone would think she was about to step onto a stage.
"I-it's just... it's been so long since I've been to a friend's house... Do I have to greet your parents...? What should I say...?"
Out came her classic awkward, friendless loner personality.
No idea what had triggered her trauma this time.
A chuckle slipped out.
"No one's home, so it's fine."
Ga-eun gave Su-hyeon's back a light shove, ushering her inside.
"Ex, excuse me..."
Click.
A single pair of slippers sat alone in the dark entryway.
Beyond it, the living room looked clean and spacious, but with the lights off, it felt oppressively somber even in broad daylight.
Su-hyeon eyed the cavernous entryway.
"You live alone?"
Ga-eun slipped off her shoes and put them away as she replied.
"Yeah."
"Streaming? Or for college?"
"Huh? Oh... kinda both. Streaming makes noise, but it's not really college. My family's place is right nearby anyway. Just... things aren't great between us. Mom and Dad aren't too fond of me."
Su-hyeon, who had already forgotten her wariness of the unfamiliar space and was excitedly poking around, paused at Ga-eun's answer.
"I see... But why...?"
"Why what? Not every parent and kid get along. If things are bad, they're bad."
Ga-eun finished with her shoes and straightened up, giving Su-hyeon a puzzled look at the odd question.
Su-hyeon stammered under the intense stare, spilling her thoughts.
"No, I mean... From what I see, you've been streaming since you were a kid, making good money, getting along with people, acting all mature, and... you're pretty, too. What's there for your parents to dislike...?"
Her voice trailed off bashfully after saying it aloud.
Such a sudden, honest compliment.
Ga-eun blinked, then grinned.
"...Heh."
Click.
Ga-eun groped along the wall by the entryway and flicked on the lights, then padded over lightly.
"Hmm, that's how I look in your eyes? Come here."
Sensing something suspicious, Su-hyeon made a face like here we go again! and tried to flee, but no chance.
Ga-eun snatched her up right away.
"Heh heh, where do you think you're going? It's my house anyway."
Ga-eun slipped her hands under Su-hyeon's armpits and hoisted her high.
"No, why again! Eek!"
Su-hyeon shot up into the air, then plummeted back down.
As always, she flailed her limbs in resistance, only to grab on tightly at the sudden drop.
"One more time!"
"Eep!"
Ga-eun repeated the up-and-down a couple times before lifting Su-hyeon to eye level.
"Hah... hah..."
Su-hyeon was too dizzy to focus.
Seizing the moment, Ga-eun rolled her thumb over Su-hyeon's cheek.
"Mature and pretty, huh? I guess so. Heh, I knew it! That's why I show my face on stream."
"Nyaah..."
It was a mischievous grin she'd never show in her usual mature demeanor.
Different from the teasing faces she made for her viewers, too.
"Heh, thanks anyway. It's been ages since anyone said that to my face."
"...?"
A faintly wistful smile.
Ga-eun set Su-hyeon down and peeled off her wet cardigan, heading into the room with the attached bathroom.
"Shall we wash up?"
"...Huh?"
What?
Just like that...?
"You're a mess from that sprinkler. I'll run some hot water. Warm yourself up."
"Ah...?"
Su-hyeon caught on and waved her hands frantically.
"N-no! I'm fine! Just lend me a towel."
Stripping naked and showering in a twenty-something girl's place alone?
No way that was easy.
Ga-eun emerged from the room, one eyebrow arched.
"What? Fine for showering, but what about your clothes?"
"Uh... They'll dry on their own?"
"More nonsense. Strip and leave 'em for the washer. Wiping down or showering, you're using a towel either way. What's the big deal? Gross."
Ga-eun planted her hands on her hips, firm and resolute.
Like a kindergarten teacher scolding a stubborn kid.
"Still... it's just..."
"Do you hate washing that much? Get in, come on!"
As Ga-eun moved to scoop her into the bathroom, Su-hyeon clung to the doorframe.
"Gaaah! No! I said no!"
"This is ridiculous. You'd think I was dunking you in boiling water."
A creak came from the doorframe, and Ga-eun relented first.
"Ugh, such a weirdo stubborn streak... Are you really twenty-three, or just two-plus-three? What now, Su-hyeonnie?"
Switching tactics to provoke her.
"Hmph... Provoke me all you want, it won't—"
"Arms up!"
"Hyaaah!"
Catching Su-hyeon off-guard, Ga-eun yanked up her top.
Her pale, cabbage-white belly was bared to the world.
Her chubby arms flailed to cover herself and grab the shirt.
"Wh-what are you doing...! Y-you...! Se, se, sexual ha—!"
"Pfft, as if there's anything to see. Hurry up and strip the bottoms too. Then I can start the laundry."
Shock, shame, panic, guilt, injustice—a whirlwind of emotions burst Su-hyeon's tear ducts.
"Ugh... ughh..."
"Ah, no, crying...? Why... Sorry, I'm sorry! Okay?"
Ga-eun watched the bathtub faucet suddenly turn on like another one had opened.
This was her second crisis of the day.
Thank goodness no one else was home.
Su-hyeon was washing her hair before getting into the tub.
...How did it come to this?
Showering at someone else's place, and bawling like a baby at that.
Eventually, Ga-eun coaxed her tears to stop, and she made it into the bathroom.
...Her burning face wasn't just from the steam.
"Sigh."
Still, seeing the tub half-filled with hot water lifted her spirits.
Her own place didn't even have a shower booth—just a hose.
A real soak after so long.
She'd thrown a fit about not wanting to get in, but now Su-hyeon smiled contentedly.
That's when it happened.
Bang.
"You in yet?"
"Eh...?"
She'd just been savoring a moment of peace when an unexpected intruder appeared.
Not really an intruder—the homeowner—but still.
Crash clatter.
Su-hyeon shot up, and the plastic stool skidded with a racket.
"Aaaah! Why are you coming in?!"
"What now...? It's my house."
Ga-eun entered with the chill outside air.
Her long hair was tied up high with a scrunchie.
And below that...
...!!
Su-hyeon quickly averted her eyes.
Ga-eun was exposing herself so casually because she saw Su-hyeon as a little girl.
She knew Su-hyeon's body had changed, but it probably never crossed her mind that she'd been a guy before.
If she knew Su-hyeon had been male prior to the change, she'd never approach so defenselessly.
Too scary to reveal the past yet, but staying brazen pricked her conscience.
"I'm still in here..."
"We save water and time together. Good, right?"
Creak.
As Ga-eun approached, Su-hyeon whipped around to face the tub, eyes shut tight.
"Ughhh, do girls normally bathe together like this...?"
"Girls...?"
Ga-eun tilted her head.
Realizing her slip, Su-hyeon added hastily.
"N-no, I've never shared a tub with anyone..."
Even back home, they'd set out a big basin in the yard.
For baths, she'd sit in it while Grandmother ladled water over her.
"Grown women don't share with each other—it's gross. But you going in alone? You might drown. You're too short."
"..."
She wanted to call it nonsense, but yeah, sitting in there, the water might cover her head.
"Wait there first."
Ga-eun dragged over the stool Su-hyeon had used and sat to wash up.
"Ah, I-I'm mostly done, so I'll just go..."
Su-hyeon murmured, sneaking past Ga-eun's back.
"Nonsense. You're done washing, so get in the tub now."
"Eek!"
Ga-eun turned, and Su-hyeon slapped her hands over her eyes.
"What're you doing?"
"Uh, um... something in my eye."
"Let me see."
Ga-eun spun fully around and closed in on her flimsy excuse.
"Don't rub. Open your eyes."
Ga-eun lifted one of Su-hyeon's hands with her own.
The other gently pried at Su-hyeon's eyelids.
'Aaaah!'
Eyes open, Ga-eun's face was right there.
Ponytail exposing her graceful neck, giving a fresh vibe.
Her skin, damp and clinging to cheeks and nape, felt raw and real.
And below, those violent orbs...
Her body scent cut through the steamy water smell.
"I-it's gone...! I'm getting in!"
Su-hyeon fled Ga-eun's presence, face beet red, and turned to the tub.
She tried climbing in, gripping the edge with both arms and heaving her short leg up—but only her big toe caught.
To Ga-eun, it was just her pristine little butt sticking out pathetically.
"Heh heh heh."
Ga-eun laughed at Su-hyeon's solo struggles and lifted her into the tub.
"Ah, hold on."
After settling Su-hyeon, Ga-eun leaned in again, something remembered.
She used a rubber band from her wrist to tie Su-hyeon's hair up high.
"Forgot. There."
Su-hyeon patted her crown.
A small bun had formed.
"Topknot...?"
"You call it a messy bun, right?"
Ga-eun rinsed the stool roughly and handed it over.
"Sit on this. You're still too short."
Then she stood and started showering.
"Ugh."
Su-hyeon's head felt ready to burst, but she sat in the tub and slowly calmed down.
...Glance.
Sidelong peek: Ga-eun washing her face, arms raised high.
Mana-infused, flawless white skin. Smooth shoulders dangling enormous droplets...
But more striking: the faint 11-shaped abs peeking on turns, sharply defined thighs, developed lats.
Hmm...
Suddenly, Su-hyeon recalled the stalker guy Ga-eun had pummeled earlier.
Especially that final body shot.
The sound alone made her doubt if his organs and ribs were intact.
Su-hyeon imagined her own overinflated-balloon body popping and shuddered.
Keep the guy thing from Ga-eun at all costs.
"Hoo..."
Bubble.
Shoulders relaxed, her body sank to her neck.
Even on the stool. Good thing Ga-eun hadn't overfilled it.
Su-hyeon sank into the warmth, lost in thought.
Man, I really am a girl now.
Until now, it felt more like becoming a short kid, so the gender swap hadn't sunk in.
No big incidents to drive it home.
But Ga-eun treating her so casually? Yeah, the change felt real.
...Just 'cause she sees me as a little kid?
No, she knows I'm twenty-three. Would she strip naked in front of a guy, no matter how young-looking?
Groan.
Su-hyeon's mind tangled.
Afterward, Ga-eun squeezed into the tub with her, leading to some awkward bare-skin bumps in the cramped space, but they managed to wash up and get out.
Su-hyeon, now in a tracksuit top from Ga-eun, yawned on the sofa.
"Haaah... Mm."
Soft and toasty, drowsiness crept in.
Ga-eun, prepping stuff in the kitchen, noticed.
"Tired? Just crash if you want."
"No... I'm good."
She'd even pulled out the beam projector for movie time—no sleeping through that.
Ding-dong.
"Coming?"
Chicken!
Had to be the chicken ordered right after they got back.
"I'll get it."
"Sure~."
She saluted lazily while browsing movie lists—then a piercing scream erupted from the entryway.
"Kyaaah!"
Su-hyeon's hair stood on end.
"Ga-eun!"
She bolted toward the cry.
"You okay!?"
There stood Brüel at the door, holding the chicken bag they’d clearly ordered. Water dripped from under her helmet.
"Did you order chicken?"
Ah, her voice was shaking...
But we definitely said leave it at the door.