Fashion Show
Haram and Yeon-a.
I listened to their conversation, calming my mind and body while waiting for Jiwoo and Minwoo to join us.
It felt like I was dreaming.
I didn’t have many good dreams, but I hoped today’s memories would fill my sleep with plenty of them.
If what I’m experiencing right now is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.
That was how good I felt.
The falling rain, the countless people passing by.
None of them whispered anything bad about me.
Occasionally glances came our way, but Haram and Yeon-a reassured me.
“It’s not because of you, so it’s fine.”
“If you stay behind us, no one can even see you… They’re probably just looking at our mom-pouch.”
“It’s because Kits and I are so pretty…!!”
“…No nicknames outside! My SNS could get doxxed and people might recognize me.”
“……Ah, sorry.”
They said it was the synergy of their combined looks.
Yeah, standing next to them, my existence would probably just disappear from everyone else’s view.
Even if my hair color was a little unusual, I was short and didn’t have a particularly eye-catching figure.
Phew… Thank goodness.
I let out a quiet sigh and, feeling a little more confident, blankly listened to the sound of the rain.
Staring blankly at the falling rain, I felt the wounded parts of me slowly beginning to heal.
It was starting to get a little chilly.
In the distance, two people in suits were walking toward us, looking sharp.
Minwoo and Jiwoo.
“Over here…!”
Happy to see them, I waved and called out—not too loudly, but with effort. They smiled and waved back.
At the same time, Haram and Yeon-a gently patted my head.
“You even raised your voice. Good job.”
“Unnie, let’s take it slow. It’ll be good for you to rack up lots of little successes today.”
They showered me with positive words. I smiled awkwardly.
It’s such a small thing… Do I really deserve this much praise?
That was what I thought, but my mood was genuinely wonderful.
“Shall we head in, then?”
Haram said, starting the car.
Minwoo quietly slid closer to her.
“…Noona, let’s go together.”
“Huh…? Oh, uh… Y-yeah!”
Haram looked delighted.
Smiling at them, I decided to stick with Yeon-a and Jiwoo so the two lovebirds could have their space.
It was a shame to be separated from the people I liked, but they’d probably rejoin us once they’d had enough time together.
“Unnie, hold my hand.”
“Then I’ll take the right.”
Jiwoo and Yeon-a stood on either side of me, taking my hands.
It felt like I’d turned into a little kid again.
“This reminds me of when we used to go to the mart together—Unnie, Minwoo, and me.”
“Ahaha……”
“You three did that?”
“Yeah. Since Unnie was the head of the household, she did all the grocery shopping too.”
Jiwoo smiled softly as she spoke.
Yeon-a grinned and said it was even more impressive than she’d heard.
Honestly, I was starting to feel embarrassed.
What do I do… The compliments feel so good I can’t even stop them……
Having been starved for affection in my past life, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse and just stammered helplessly.
It really did feel amazing.
Of course, my heart rate was climbing dangerously high, so I had no choice but to change the subject.
“Th-then… where should we go first…? Y-you said you’d buy me an air conditioner……”
“Jiwoo-ssi, are you sure? An air conditioner must cost a lot……”
Yeon-a looked at Jiwoo with a worried expression.
Jiwoo smiled awkwardly, knowing our family situation.
“How could I not? It’s something I should’ve done a long time ago. Doing it now is the least I can do.”
My chest tightened warmly as I watched her.
Yeon-a whispered to me.
“…You raised your little brother well. You’ve worked hard, Suhyun.”
“…!!”
Holding back tears, I hugged Jiwoo.
Startled but gentle, she hugged me back.
Seeing us, Yeon-a quickly clarified.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry…! Sorry, Suhyun-ah.”
“I-I’m fine… I’m not crying yet……”
“Unnie, it’s okay. I’m right here. Yeon-a unnie doesn’t need to apologize either. I know how much she cares about you. I’ve seen all the streams.”
“Ahaha……”
Yeon-a laughed awkwardly.
We spent about a minute calming down, holding each other tightly.
* * *
Once I’d gathered my emotions, we started planning again.
“Jiwoo-ssi, shall we go to the fashion show first?”
“Sounds good, Unnie.”
They both turned to me with mischievous smiles.
When I tilted my head in confusion, they grabbed my hands and started pulling me along.
“Let’s go do a fashion show, Suhyun-ah!”
“Unnie doesn’t have nearly enough clothes… We need to pick out proper outfits for when you go outside from now on.”
They held my hands and walked slowly while I limped along behind them.
“F-fashion show…?”
My anxious voice echoed, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Anyway, we entered a clothing store.
Next to it was a luxury watch shop.
Plenty of bad memories there.
…My mom in my past life used to work at a place like this.
If I went to her after being bullied, hoping for comfort, she’d treat me like a stranger. At home she’d scold me without caring about my wounds, and she never called for me unless it was to nag.
…Thinking about it just makes me gloomy. Let’s not.
Muttering to myself, I looked away from the watch shop and turned to the clothing store.
It definitely felt more comfortable.
How long has it been since I came here?
The last time might have been when I bought women’s underwear for the first time.
Just as I was thinking that, Yeon-a and Jiwoo asked if shorts were really off the table.
“Unnie, shorts are really no good?”
“…Yeah. I still want to change out of these. I’d rather just take them off.”
Anything too girly—except skirts and underwear—didn’t feel right. In that sense, the dolphin shorts I was wearing right now were something I really wanted to get rid of.
“…Skirts and long pants are okay.”
“Then let’s just pick out skirts, Jiwoo-ssi.”
“That sounds good, Unnie.”
They spoke with a hint of disappointment.
I wanted to ask why long pants had been completely removed from the options, but before I could, the two of them disappeared.
“…Hueh?”
Flustered, all I could do was make a dumb sound.
* * *
The two returned with an armful of clothes and began the fashion show, dressing me in one outfit after another.
“Next, this one…!”
“Th-the skirt’s way too short……”
“It’s fine, I think it’ll look pretty…!”
Yeon-a said she’d help cover me and told me to come out wearing it.
I didn’t think anyone would look at me with lust, but even so, a short skirt just didn’t feel right.
It was like wearing something that didn’t feel like it was actually covering me.
“…Okay, fine.”
I nodded obediently and went into the fitting room.
First, I undid the dumpling buns on both sides of my head.
Then I took off the hoodie, revealing my body—covered in scars, though I no longer wanted to call it hideous.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I smiled faintly and quickly reached for the top.
“…Is this the top?”
When I looked at the clothes, a top I’d seen somewhere before caught my eye.
A vivid orange color.
And it was a sweater.
The skirt was black.
“…Couple look.”
Yeon-a probably wanted to do a matching outfit with me.
Or maybe she just wanted to see her own version of me.
“…E-even so, you don’t wear anything this short yourself…!”
Feeling wronged, I grumbled while struggling to put on the sweater and skirt.
Just then, a pair of disposable stockings slipped in from below.
“……”
“I-I’d really appreciate it if you used those too!”
“Yeon-a… You just want to satisfy your own desires.”
“Ugh……”
With a sigh, I reluctantly put on the stockings as well and stepped out.
Since Yeon-a seemed to want me to look like her, I left my hair down with the hair tie around my wrist.
“H-how is it…? Does it look a bit like you…?”
“Ooh…!!”
“Auuugh… D-don’t stare so much… The skirt’s too short, it’s embarrassing.”
Blushing, I redid the dumpling buns on both sides and looked at Yeon-a.
“You’re so pretty…! As expected, clothes really suit you.”
“R-really…?”
“Yeah. I should start buying you clothes on a regular basis, huh?”
“I-it’s not that serious… Thanks……”
When I smiled, Yeon-a emphasized again how pretty I looked.
Just as I was feeling overwhelmed, Jiwoo, who had picked out even more clothes, showered me with praise too.
“Unnie, you look so pretty!”
“R-really…? Ugh… Th-thanks……”
When I thanked her, Jiwoo told me to try on the ones she’d brought too.
Smiling brightly, I hurried back into the fitting room.
…She said I’m pretty and cute. It’s probably just empty flattery, but……
Those words made me incredibly happy.
Wearing the khaki long skirt, dress shirt, and black cardigan Jiwoo had chosen, I stepped out and received another round of compliments.
“Kyaaah…! So pretty.”
“Jiwoo-ssi, you’ve got a good eye for clothes. Wow……”
“Right? Should we just buy all the clothes we picked out?”
“Sure, I’ll pay.”
Yeon-a held up her card.
Jiwoo jumped in surprise and tried to stop her.
Meanwhile, I just stood there happily receiving praise, staring blankly at my reflection in the mirror.
This… is me…?
It felt like I’d been reborn.
* * *
As a bonus, four whole photos of Suhyun!
Suhyun with her hair down
SuhyunSuhyun
