Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Confession
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The cold dawn air seeped through the cracks in the window.
A hush hung over Ga-eun's room.
Su-hyeon quietly got up and tiptoed over to the vanity.
She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and was so startled that her mouth fell slightly open.
"It's really grown long..."
Su-hyeon murmured in a small voice.
The face staring back from the mirror was familiar yet strange.
It was still the same cherubic face with its strikingly white, plump cheeks, but the hair framing it had changed completely.
As she adjusted the white tracksuit Ga-eun had lent her as sleepwear—it was slipping off her shoulders—Su-hyeon examined her hair more closely.
Normally, it barely covered her eyebrows in front and grazed her wingbones in the back, but now the untrimmed pale green locks reached down to her eyes, and the hair in the back had grown astonishingly all the way to her tailbone. Cautiously, Su-hyeon reached up and touched her hair.
'I never imagined this.'
Su-hyeon turned her head side to side, exploring her new look. With every movement, a faint forest scent wafted through the air.
It felt like she'd turned into a phytoncide totem.
...How many more secrets did her body hold that even she didn't know about?
A rustling sound came from the blankets behind her. Su-hyeon jumped and whipped around.
Fortunately, Ga-eun was still fast asleep.
"......What do I do?"
Su-hyeon turned back to the mirror.
The sun would rise soon, and Ga-eun would wake up. She'd have to explain this somehow when that happened.
Su-hyeon let out a deep breath and racked her brain.
As if to signal her furiously spinning thoughts, the tiny leaf sprouting from her crown swayed gently side to side.
'Should I run before she wakes up?'
Sometimes running away was the smart choice.
Kiiiii—click
Su-hyeon slipped quietly out of the room, holding the doorknob all the way to close it without a sound, and headed to the living room.
She planned to grab the clothes and bag she'd worn over yesterday and head out.
The clothes were probably in the dryer.
But no matter how she looked around the apartment, she couldn't spot her bag.
"Where is it...? Did she wash the bag too?"
It only had thick textbooks and a pencil case inside, but it was her only one, so losing it would be a hassle.
But where could she even look?
"First things first, let's change clothes."
Right now, she was in the tracksuit Ga-eun had given her.
And down below... She'd never worn any originally, but Brüel had bought her some girls' panties, so she had those on.
Either way, it wasn't suitable for going out.
Su-hyeon headed to the kitchen where the dryer was.
No matter how fancy the officetel was, it was still an officetel.
There wasn't enough space to separate the laundry area.
"Ah."
But in the kitchen, she faced a new problem.
The dryer was stacked on top of the washing machine.
"Ughhh..."
Su-hyeon strained on tiptoe, but her hands still couldn't reach.
Since it wasn't her house, there was no living box to stand on.
As she looked around, her gaze stopped. An island counter sticking out like a room divider and the chairs around it caught her eye.
No living box, but thankfully there were dining chairs.
She hurried over to one.
The moment she lifted it slightly to move it, the chair leg scraped the floor, making a fairly loud noise.
Dragggg—
Su-hyeon froze in shock.
"......"
She held her breath and glanced at the bedroom door, but there was no sign of Ga-eun waking.
She was just breathing a sigh of relief when—
Slam
"Nngh... What've you been doing since earlier?"
Ga-eun came out of the room, rubbing her eyes.
"Ah, y-you're up?"
"I heard you wandering around."
"Sorry..."
"No, I slept early last night anyway. Yawwwn—"
Ga-eun roughly ran her hand through her messy bedhead as she headed to the kitchen.
"Already time for breakfast? Well, if you woke up early, skipping till lunch might be too much."
"Y-yeah, uh, I usually eat breakfast early anyway."
"I normally just have something light or a cup of coffee... What're you doing?"
Ga-eun spotted Su-hyeon edging away backward.
"Huh...?"
"Uh......"
Ga-eun blinked a few times, her eyes growing wider and wider. She stared at Su-hyeon in disbelief.
Su-hyeon scratched her cheek, itchy where the long hair brushed against it. The soft texture of the strands on her fingertips felt unfamiliar.
Ga-eun rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the sight before her hadn't changed.
"Your hair... what happened?"
Ga-eun said, sounding confused.
Su-hyeon fiddled with her long hair and gave an awkward smile.
"I don't know. It just grew when I woke up."
Ga-eun was startled by Su-hyeon's suddenly long hair at first, but only for a moment.
She quickly calmed down and approached Su-hyeon, gently touching the extended locks.
"...You're not hurt anywhere, right?"
"Yeah..."
Su-hyeon nodded in response.
But she's not as surprised as I thought? She is surprised, but she accepts it so quickly.
Su-hyeon was more flustered by Ga-eun's calm adaptation.
Ga-eun peered at Su-hyeon's face and said,
"After all we've been through together. It's a bit late to make a fuss over some hair growth now."
"Ah, right."
Su-hyeon finally got it.
Yeah, after her body changed, what was a little hair growth?
Still, she read my mind from my face again.
Pourrrr
Filling a cup with water from the purifier.
Pat pat pat
She crossed the room barefoot to the balcony.
There was a neat-looking dining chair Ga-eun had brought out onto the balcony.
"You really just need that stuff?"
"Yeah."
And with that, she began her daily routine of photosynthesis.
Now that her hair was longer, maybe it'd work even better?
Hmm...
"But you really eat only that?"
What Ga-eun brought as breakfast was a plastic container full of cherry tomatoes and chopped cabbage.
She'd glimpsed it earlier— the fridge was stocked full of that kind of thing.
Guess this is what comes from taking good care of yourself. Su-hyeon gave Ga-eun an appraising look.
"I can tell what you're thinking, but it's just that heavy food first thing in the morning makes my stomach feel bloated. It's convenient to chop up cheap veggies and cherry tomatoes and make a big batch at once."
Slurp
Sip
Ga-eun took a sip of her coffee as she said that.
Su-hyeon took a sip of water in response.
"But we woke up so early today, I might get hungry before lunch."
"......"
Is she blaming me...?
When Su-hyeon flicked her eyes to gauge the mood, they met Ga-eun's.
Ga-eun giggled mischievously and popped a cherry tomato into her mouth.
"I'm kidding."
Crunch crunch
Su-hyeon had nothing to say, so she just took another sip of water.
Slurp
Ga-eun, munching on her tomato and eyeing Su-hyeon's hair intently, stood up from her seat. Her salad bowl was already empty.
"Wait here."
?
Ga-eun went back into the room and returned with a box full of combs and a mirror.
"It's too long to just leave as is now, right?"
Clatter—
Ga-eun dumped the combs on her own chair and came around behind Su-hyeon.
She carefully removed the hairband Professor Ah-young had given her and picked up a round brush to start combing Su-hyeon's hair.
"You have a lot of comb types."
"Of course. Don't tell me you only use one?"
"...Yeah, kinda."
What do you mean 'only one'? She didn't even have a single comb at home.
"Ugh, I can see how you lived before. Let me see."
Caught off guard by Ga-eun's words, Su-hyeon hiccuped while drinking water and started choking.
"Hic—cough! Hack!"
"Oh no, you okay?"
Thump thump thump thump
"F-fine, cough cough!"
"Drink slowly. No medicine if you choke on water."
* *
Swish— swish—
Once Su-hyeon had calmed down, Ga-eun resumed combing her hair.
With her head in Ga-eun's hands, drowsiness naturally crept in.
As her head bobbed, she felt a slight tug on her scalp and opened her eyes.
Ga-eun was standing in front of her, grinning and holding her phone.
"What're you doing...?"
"Hee hee."
Instead of answering, Ga-eun held up the mirror.
There was Su-hyeon with her long hair tied up high in a ridiculous ponytail using colorful rubber bands.
Straight up vertically.
"......Hey."
What the hell is this?
When Su-hyeon glared at her, Ga-eun had the nerve to look shameless.
"Hee hee, who told you to doze off? But it looks cute even like this. Your face is such a cheat."
"...Don't play with my hair."
"Aw, don't get mad again. Next time I'll do it pretty."
"What next time."
"Ah, wait! Hold on, we gotta take the rubber bands out!"
Ga-eun grabbed Su-hyeon as she tried to slide off the chair.
Ga-eun sat her straight again and carefully undid the rubber bands without hurting her.
Then she twisted sections of hair around her fingers experimentally.
"You used to look just like a baby before, but now with longer hair, you have a more mature vibe?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, like the difference between a kid studying Hangul and one playing princess?"
"What does that even mean."
Never mind, it was going well.
Do I want to look like a mature woman...?
And how old is the gap there??
As she frowned at the confusing analogy, Ga-eun had already started braiding her hair.
"But what time's your lecture? Is it okay to do this?"
"It's not even 7 yet? And it's at 11, so plenty of time."
"Ah, right. Friday, so major class?"
"Yeah, I wanted to take Friday off with an elective, but no—first-years have required majors on Fridays."
"Hee hee, the bald prof, right? I remember."
"Pfft, not bald exactly, but like the negative of a two-block cut."
"I got an A+ in that. Want past exams later?"
"For real...? I'd love that. Aww, so pretty! Good girl!"
"...Forget it, no."
"Ah!"
And so they chatted idly.
Ga-eun kept her hands moving the whole time.
Sometimes she'd twist Su-hyeon's hair into loops, other times comb it straight down neatly.
Pigtails, ponytails, braids, half-up, buns...
Ga-eun tried all sorts of styles on Su-hyeon's hair, and whenever she liked the result, she'd come around front to snap a photo.
Often shoving her face next to Su-hyeon's for selfies too.
And those photos went straight to the group chat.
Of course, healthy normal college kids were still deep in dreamland, so no responses came.
Still, it was pretty fun.
"But it's really amazing. Did you eat something weird yesterday? Though I feel fine."
"Hmm......"
Times like this, when her sharp intuition kicked in with questions, were tricky.
"It reminds me of when we first met. That was so magical too. I thought I'd met a fairy from the forest or something."
"Uh, um... Haha."
"Even after posting the video, you kept popping into my head. So when you walked into the lecture hall out of nowhere, you have no idea how shocked I was. Hee hee, I thought I was dreaming. Got so lost in those memories I even dreamed about it."
"Ah... Yeah, back then... I was a total mess."
"Right? Acting like some tragic kid with a backstory—I couldn't just leave you alone."
"Ah."
So that's why she clung so desperately.
Did I really look that pitiful...?
Well, Ga-eun had cleaned me up and dressed me to look halfway human now. Without that, I might still be living without a care even if crisis struck.
Back then, I'd given up on pretty much everything.
Su-hyeon pondered.
It hadn't been long since meeting Ga-eun, but she'd already become someone special.
Like those close friends from long ago that time had faded but not erased, Ga-eun had burrowed deep into her heart.
She didn't want to lie to a precious friend. Especially since Ga-eun was more like a benefactor.
Her mouth itched to tell the truth.
Honestly, it was too big a secret to bear alone.
Being different from others often brought aching loneliness.
Without Brüel, her mom, and grandma, she might not have endured.
But at the same time, she worried their relationship might change, or how Ga-eun looked at her.
Whoosh—
Even as she let out a short sigh, she felt Ga-eun's hands still fiddling with her hair.
When Ga-eun's fingers gently parted the strands, it tickled not just her scalp but her heart too.
"Ga-eun."
"Yeah?"
Ga-eun responded flatly to her call, then shifted to meet her eyes properly upon seeing her serious face.
"What is it?"
Su-hyeon took a deep breath. She'd made up her mind.
"Actually... I have a confession to make."
As Su-hyeon slowly opened her mouth, Ga-eun's eyes widened in tandem.