Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: You're Much Prettier
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Middle school was definitely different from elementary school, where everything had been so innocent and carefree.
Now that kids were starting to care about their looks, more and more showed up dressed to impress.
Some strutted in proudly wearing clothes stamped with famous brand logos you could spot from a mile away, while others wore just the plain, government-issued uniform fabric.
I fell into the latter group.
Even the same uniform came in wildly different qualities depending on the price.
Still, middle school life itself wasn't bad.
I hadn't realized it back in elementary, but all those tricks my biological mother taught me for seducing men actually worked way better on girls my age.
"Seo-yoon! Can I borrow your gym uniform?"
"Huh? You forgot yours again?"
"I brought it, but mine's so worn out it stinks... Mind if I wear yours?"
"Uh, um... Sure."
"Really? Thanks! I just can't bring myself to wear anything but yours."
"Uh, wait? You've got tons of friends."
"Still... I like yours best."
Seo-yoon's gym clothes must've been expensive—they felt premium, no smell at all.
And best of all, they fit my body perfectly.
"R-Really?"
Seo-yoon, my classmate, avoided my gaze.
"Yeah. Because it's yours, Seo-yoon."
"W-Well then, Sarang. Wanna swap? You take mine, I'll take yours?"
"...Huh? Mine's beat-up and reeks."
No matter how many times I'd hand-washed it with soap, those lingering odors wouldn't budge.
Then again, you can't turn a dirty rag into a towel just by rinsing it.
"It's fine! I can drop it at the cleaners."
But Seo-yoon didn't seem to mind at all.
No reason to turn down trading my rag for her high-quality one.
"For real? Then yeah, I'm in. Thanks, Seo-yoon. You're the only one for me."
I whispered in her ear, out of earshot from the others.
She seemed pretty pleased.
With the shy ones, I'd approach first and keep chatting them up.
With the outgoing types, I'd cheer them on from the side and laugh along.
Stick to those two tricks, and middle school let me rack up friends faster than expected.
Girls only, of course.
I never pulled that on boys.
I knew I was pretty—self-aware on that front.
And having been a guy once myself, I didn't want to mess with the boys' heads by getting too close.
Last thing I needed was some confession complicating everything.
But with girls? Total safe zone.
No issues there, at least.
Guilt-free fun, maybe? Nah, not quite.
Whatever you call it.
"Sarang!"
"Ji-hye!"
After school, as the sunset faded.
A girl with permed brown hair came running, flinging her arms around my waist in a tight hug.
This sunshine-smiling girl was Park Ji-hye.
Nicknamed the "goddess" at our school.
And she really was cute. No surprise—she was an idol trainee.
Word was, she'd sign a full contract with her agency right after middle school graduation.
Personally, I wasn't big on idols.
Honestly, I even saw them as a bit frivolous.
Didn't mean I looked down on them or anything.
The job I was gunning for—game streamer—was in the same boat, after all.
Bottom line: one thing mattered.
How much cash you could make for the effort invested.
"Hey, Ji-hye! Off to practice again?"
"Yeah... I'm seriously dying here."
Ji-hye pouted and whined.
Trainee life sounded brutal all around.
Slog through boring classes all day, then head solo to the practice room while everyone else went home.
Yeah, I got it—nodding along automatically.
Intense as hell. No wonder not just anyone makes it as an idol.
"Sigh... I wanna hang out with you tons, Sarang."
Ji-hye leaned into me, arms linked, grumbling.
Classic idol.
So cute.
"No way. Practice time! You said you wanna be a famous idol, right?"
I poked her nose with my finger.
Ji-hye whined "Hiiing, that's mean!"
Classic idol.
So cute.
'You get famous, then I can play the 'close friend' card.'
If things went well, maybe one day we'd collab on a stream titled [Idol Collab] or something.
For that future, better keep things smooth with Ji-hye.
"Yeah... I'm debuting for sure."
Ji-hye clenched her tiny, adorable fist, dead serious.
How we got close was simple.
Ran into each other a few times by chance, I'd chime in on her stories each time.
That was it. After that, we just naturally clicked.
"Sarang, seriously—wanna debut with me?"
Ji-hye looked up at me with wide, sparkling eyes.
Pretty intense stare.
But no need to show it.
"No way. I'm terrible at dancing."
Singing? Decent confidence there. Dancing? Hard no.
Even in my past life, I was a hopeless klutz.
And this body? Stiff for a girl—zero flexibility.
"It's okay! You don't need to dance! Just you being there would steal the show, Sarang."
"Pfft..."
"No, really! You'd grab all the attention."
Ji-hye's confident shout threw me off.
Why was she more hyped than me?
We're friends, sure, but this excited?
"Nah, not that much."
"What do you mean? You're so charming. Ditch those pants for a skirt, and every guy's eyes would be on you."
Ji-hye grabbed my pant leg and shook it.
"Hm. Skirts don't suit me."
"Why not?"
Because I was a guy in my past life.
...Can't say that.
Apart from that, pants were just comfier.
Skirts felt wrong—exposed, unsettling even.
"A skirt would look so good on you, though."
"Hey, Ji-hye!"
I yanked the convo back on track.
Leaned in close, eyes wide, right up to her face.
"Eep?"
So close our breaths mingled—her body twitched.
"Practice hard and get famous, okay? I'll cheer you on big time."
Ji-hye froze for a sec.
Then her cheeks flushed pink.
"O-Of course! I'll make it huge—like Baek Yeon-hwa!"
Baek Yeon-hwa.
That name spilled from Ji-hye's lips yet again—I'd heard it a million times.
Please don't start.
"Oh yeah! Sarang, did you see Baek Yeon-hwa's comeback stage?"
Damn. Here we go.
As Ji-hye's voice ramped up, I glanced sideways.
"Look! She's insanely pretty, right?"
Ji-hye kindly pulled out her phone and played the stage video.
I half-heartedly pretended to watch.
A girl smiled and sang on screen.
"What do you think? Super flashy, huh?"
"Yeah. Pretty."
Baek Yeon-hwa.
True to her name, she had near-silver hair.
Child actress from a young age, then skyrocketed to fame winning first on an idol survival show three years ago.
Why did I know all this, idol-hater that I was? Park Ji-hye—her die-hard fan.
Couldn't count how many Yeon-hwa stories I'd endured.
Now her name alone triggered an inward sigh.
"She's goddess-tier. I'll make it big and meet her someday."
"Yeah, but Ji-hye."
I shut off the phone screen in her hand and pocketed it for her.
Summoned the smile I'd practiced a hundred times, lips touched habitually.
Grabbed both her hands, faced her straight on.
"I think you're much prettier."
"H-Huh?"
"Baek Yeon-hwa's pretty, sure. But my friend Ji-hye sings way better and is cooler."
Total lie, obviously.
Beauty-wise, Yeon-hwa pierced the screen with her glamour.
But that wasn't the point.
I'd nailed touching Ji-hye's heart.
Her eyes were losing focus—tell-tale sign.
"Ugh, so cheesy, Sarang~"
Ji-hye covered her face with one hand, couldn't meet my eyes for ages.
Finally yanked her hands free and stepped back.
"I-I gotta head to practice... See ya!"
She bolted without another word.
I grinned and waved lightly at her back.
"Bye."
I unlocked the door to the underground studio apartment, hit by a musty dust smell first thing.
"I'm home~"
No one around, so no reply—as expected.
Not that I wanted one; just habit.
Opened the fridge, pulled out the leftover side dish from my biological mother's drinking.
Whelk salad. Luxurious, relatively.
Grabbed a glass of water and headed back to the room.
Click—
Powered up the computer; light slowly filled the dark monitor.
The money from So-yul's dad.
Splurged 200k on a PC and some gadgets—big decision.
Surprisingly, biological mom stayed out of it.
[What's with the cash? Scammed it from some guy? Just like your mom, huh.]
She mocked me instead.
But didn't dig deeper—small mercy.
Honestly, I'd worried she'd try to snatch it.
Then again.
A woman who'd never given me the time of day obsessing over this? Weird.
Click—click—
Popped whelks in my mouth one by one, scrolling SNS.
One of my few hobbies.
Reincarnation or not, on anonymous SNS, we were all just teens.
Nice that my old community site still thrived after ten years. Checked my game—servers shut down.
Swimming the endless internet sea, a familiar name caught my eye in the trending tab at the bottom.
[Baek Yeon-hwa is freaking insane]
My face scrunched involuntarily.
Pumped-up Park Ji-hye popped into my head.
Too nagging to ignore—I clicked.
Yeah, nose and eyes are plastic
Next in line after Han Sea-ah?
Mockery, criticism, praise.
Comments swirled endlessly, emotions clashing.
I hovered the mouse over the comment box, typing my own take on Baek Yeon-hwa—objective, my style.
'Gotta admit, prettier than most idols.'
Her pale skin made even tough-to-pull-off silver hair look natural, like it was always hers.
No way she wouldn't blow up.
But her standout feature? Her eyes.
Emotionless, faintly blue-tinged.
Gaze like she wouldn't flinch from a knife stab.
Fans dubbed it the "ice queen" concept.
Probably why Ji-hye was obsessed—those sharp eyes.
Me? Not a fan.
Finished typing, popped the last whelk, closed the tab.
"Done for today."
Time for games.
Under bright sunlight, students laughed and headed home after school.
Uniform skirts fluttered in the breeze, scattering the scent of youthful energy.
"Another bust today, huh."
Park Sung-chul, casting and promo manager at BlueNMI Entertainment.
Scoured middle schools for talent again—no luck.
He lit a cigarette in his car.
Exhaled smoke to soothe the bitterness, scanned outside once more.
Pulled out his phone, opened his memo app.
A list crammed with school names.
Crossed off Yeongrim Middle School.
"Gonna have to check high schools at this rate."
High schoolers had paths set—tough sell.
Timing was late already.
Plus, big agencies snatched most talents pre-high school.
Middle school was prime target.
But no standouts.
'Hit the rest first.'
About five spots left on the list.
No dice? Move regions.
What a grind.
But for a mid-tier agency, no choice—Park Sung-chul sighed shortly.