Episode 39. Date
Episode 39. Date
March 20th, Friday.
"Wow......"
It might sound obvious, but it's really tough.
For a college student who had already grown accustomed to carefree freedom, school life (forced) from 9 AM to 5 PM was just too harsh.
How did I even survive my senior year of high school... I'm amazed at myself.
Moreover, regular high schools usually have 6 class periods on Wednesdays or Fridays, but here... the entire afternoon is dedicated to training, which is most crucial for Hunters... so it's 7 periods every day.
Anyway, I somehow managed to get through today's schedule as well.
The shower room was filled with pure white steam as usual. When I turned the faucet, a fierce stream of water came pouring down from above.
As the warm water touched my skin, the areas where I got hit during sparring throbbed faintly, making me unconsciously furrow my brow.
I clean my entire body with body wash. Thoroughly, even in easy-to-miss areas like elbows or armpits. I paid a bit more attention to my chest and lower abdomen.
"......"
Seeing myself mindlessly rubbing my body like this, I realize how well I've adapted.
It feels like just the other day when I was staring at my female self in the school bathroom on the first day, cursing out loud.
Now I touch my body all over without any embarrassment.
...Well, maybe just a little bit awkward.
"Hoo."
I don't know why, but I always end up thinking a lot during showers. Like right before falling asleep.
Mostly just random thoughts though.
Anyway, at first I really thought my life was ruined.
Getting hit with the triple whammy of TS, being an orphan, and poverty all at once......
But the reason I can still manage to get by decently is probably thanks to the girl next to me.
I'm practically relying on her for survival.
I turned my head to look at Seyeon, who was touching up her hair.
Noticing my gaze, Seyeon soon looked back at me and grinned.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I turned to face forward again.
♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥
After finishing my shower like that, I changed into my uniform that had become clean as new after just ten minutes in the state-of-the-art washer.
As I was about to quickly head outside as usual, Seyeon stopped me.
"Yubin-ah...! I told you to wait for me yesterday......"
"Ah, right."
I turned to look at Seyeon with an awkward smile. She had a slightly incredulous expression.
"Sorry. I keep forgetting."
Seyeon just nodded and grabbed my wrist, leading me outside.
Since Seyeon walks so fast, I had to move my feet quickly too.
In no time, we were out at the school gate.
'She definitely said we were going clothes shopping.'
Where are we going?
If it's somewhere nearby it should be fine, but if it's far...
I don't have a bus card or cash right now, what should I do?
"Seyeon-ah, where are we-"
"Ah, it's here."
Before I could finish my sentence, Seyeon approached a car.
It was an orange-glowing taxi.
'A taxi......'
I just stayed silent, firmly closing my mouth.
I felt a bit stupid for worrying about bus cards and cash in my head.
As Seyeon gestured for me to get in quickly, I hurriedly squeezed myself inside.
'This must be expensive.'
The words were about to come out of my mouth, but I stayed quiet thinking it might sound a bit pathetic. Besides, it would be meaningless to say it to Seyeon anyway.
So I just casually asked.
"...Do you always take taxis everywhere?"
"Eh, not really. It's because you're with me today."
"Ah, okay."
I answered like that and turned my head to the window.
Vrooom-
The taxi moved smoothly along the road as if gliding on ice. Fading twilight flickered through the slightly dirty window.
Smelling the cheap air freshener after so long felt strangely nostalgic.
While lost in thought, I remembered the question I couldn't ask earlier and immediately brought it up.
"But where are we going that we need to take a taxi?"
"Ah......"
Seyeon quietly told me our destination.
It was the university district Eunbyeol had mentioned yesterday.
"...Isn't that where we're supposed to go with the others tomorrow?"
"Right."
"Hmm......"
Words bubbled up in my throat but didn't come out. I just blinked and stared at the window again.
As we crossed a large river and approached the city center, the surroundings began to change gradually. The roads became wider and the crowds walking on sidewalks grew larger. The red sunlight shattered into tiny fragments as it hit the tall buildings.
"Wow......"
I found myself pressed so close to the window that my nose almost touched it, marveling like a country bumpkin. I hadn't been to Seoul many times in my previous life either, so that's probably why.
Of course, this isn't Seoul, but essentially it only had a different name while looking pretty similar.
Not long after, the taxi stopped and Seyeon naturally took out her card to pay the fare.
"Let's go, Yubin-ah."
"Okay."
Seyeon grabbed my wrist and took the lead.
♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥
"......"
Gulp-
I unconsciously swallowed once.
It was fine when we were on the main road, but as we got closer to the university district... there were more people.
No, to be precise, the density increased.
The crowds that were sparsely spread out on the wide road had gathered in narrow alleys, creating an optical illusion that made it seem like there were even more people.
"Huuuuh......"
A deep breath came in and went back out.
Given my personality, this was really not the right place for me.
My gaze naturally drifted downward and my pupils darted around as I carefully scanned for any signs.
This was almost an instinctive defense mechanism that manifested unconsciously.
'No wonder it feels like people are glancing at me.'
It's not just excessive self-consciousness - it's really happening.
Even with my head down, my eyes met others several times. Mostly with guys.
"Haa......"
The feeling I always get when coming to places like this inevitably surfaced again.
To summarize this anxious and scary feeling in one word... it's the feeling of being awkward and out of place.
Like wearing a rainbow hoodie and jeans to a funeral, the thought that 'this space isn't for me' keeps coming to mind.
Since that's the underlying mindset from the start... I can't help but interpret the occasional glances directed at me negatively.
"What's wrong?"
Seyeon, who had been walking fine, suddenly turned to look at me and said that.
Could she sense the ominous loner energy radiating from behind me?
I raised my trembling head and spoke.
"No, it's just... a little......"
"A little?"
"Here, uh... there are a lot of people."
"I knew it."
The word "knew" stabbed into my chest.
"No need to feel intimidated, especially someone like you, Yubin."
"......"
Something seemed to flash through my mind.
What makes loners shrink like salt-sprinkled snails in bustling places like this?
Roughly 95% of it is because of appearance.
But right now I'm... it's a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but I'm a beautiful girl.
A high school girl as pretty as a succubus hybrid.
With your level of looks, shouldn't you be able to walk around with your shoulders back?
That's what I think Seyeon meant.
'She's not wrong.'
I felt confidence rapidly rising within me.
Seeing my slightly brightened expression, Seyeon laughed and stood up again, leading me as we walked energetically.
Pushing through diverse crowds of people, we arrived in front of a small building.
'A clothing store... right?'
Obviously it should be, but the sign looked somewhat unusual......
Just by looking at the sign, I would never have known it was a clothing store.
The store was underground, so we carefully descended the steep stairs.
"Welcome~"
As we opened the glass door with a bell, a female employee with remarkable fashion sense came out to greet us.
Unlike Seyeon who greeted back with a bright smile, I just nervously nodded my head.
It was a cozy, modest-sized store with a warm atmosphere. The distinctive artificial scent that could only be described as the smell of clothes filled the interior almost visibly. Free jazz music that would fit anywhere drifted through the air like a ghost. We were the only customers.
'Is this a place Seyeon comes to often?'
"Yubin-ah, do you have anything in mind?"
"No... I don't know much about clothes or fashion."
"Hmm, then should you just try on what I suggest?"
"Sure."
As I nodded, Seyeon positioned me in front of a full-length mirror.
"Hmm......"
Seyeon rolled her eyes as she scrutinized my body from head to toe without missing a spot.
"From what I see, uniforms suit you best, Yubin."
"Uniforms......"
"Things like blouses with skirts and jackets like you're wearing now. I think we should go in that direction."
"Okay."
'If we're going to dress like uniforms, wouldn't it be better to just wear uniforms?'
We could just replace the school-marked jacket with something else......
Seyeon told me to wait a moment, left me standing in front of the mirror, and went roaming around the store.
"......"
I stood there blankly, listening to the continuously ringing ride cymbal sounds.
How much time had passed like that?
While I was spacing out, several hangers suddenly appeared before my eyes.
"How about these?"
There were so many items that I just froze like ice.
"Hmm... let's try them on first."
As she said that, Seyeon slightly opened the door of the dressing room in front.
...I wondered why there was a handle on the mirror - turns out it was a door.
"Come out after trying them on. I'll be looking for more meanwhile."
I nodded and closed the door.
"Hmm......"
But, how am I supposed to wear these?
First, I decided to sort the clothes.
Number 1, a pure white blouse.
Compared to my uniform, it's a bit shorter.
Number 2. A skirt... but it's a flowy pleated skirt like our school uniform.
The color is slightly darker, with no patterns.
Number 3. Hmm... I'm not sure what this is. It's gray and looks like a short coat from the outside. Or maybe a long uniform jacket.
But it's definitely outerwear.
Number 4. A necktie. But it's not a clip-on tie - it's one you have to tie.
I don't know how to tie it......
'But wouldn't it be better to just wear a real uniform?'
Harboring such thoughts, I changed into the clothes one by one. I took off all my uniform, buttoned up the blouse, put on the skirt, and wore the outerwear. I just left the necktie aside. I'll have to ask Seyeon to tie it for me.
Meanwhile, I could hear murmuring sounds outside. Seyeon seemed to be talking with the employee.
'How does she do that?'
As someone who's scared of talking to strangers and only goes to places with kiosks, I found it simply amazing.
Anyway, after trying everything on, they all fit okay but the skirt was a bit loose. Maybe the size is wrong?
"Yubin-ah, are you done changing?"
Right then, Seyeon knocked on the door.
"Uh... yes, but the skirt is a bit big."
"Huh? That can't be. I know all your sizes."
How does she know?
"Can I come in?"
"Ah, uh-huh. Come in."
When Seyeon came in too, the space became much narrower. My previously empty field of vision was filled with Seyeon's appearance. She smelled nice.
Unlike me with my slightly pounding heart from how close we were, Seyeon looked me up and down and let out a hollow laugh.
"...Yubin-ah."
"What?"
"Take them off. Let's start over from the beginning."
"......?"
Though tilting my head slightly in confusion, I took off the clothes.
Then Seyeon personally dressed me. The blouse was the same, but the skirt went up a bit higher.
"You have to wear it pulled up like this to make your legs look longer......"
Explanations murmured from Seyeon's mouth.
Ah, and... I realized why the skirt felt big.
"It felt big because you didn't tighten the belt."
"Ugh."
When Seyeon pulled the belt attached to the side of the skirt tight, my stomach got pressed and I let out a gasp. Fortunately, it was slightly above my lower abdomen so I didn't end up moaning.
Next, she picked up the necktie that had been thrown on the floor and tied it for me herself. The sensation of her fingers lightly brushing against my neck made my body flinch. The swishing sound of the fabric rubbing seemed unusually loud.
After putting on the outerwear (I think it's called a blazer), we went outside.
"How is it?"
"...Insane."
A bad word unintentionally slipped out.
Somehow it's incredibly... differently pretty, should I say? Normally I'm just ordinarily pretty, but now it feels cool......
When I honestly shared my impression, Seyeon laughed and replied.
"Probably because of the blazer. Plus we matched all the colors to achromatic tones."
"Aha......"
"Wait a moment."
Seyeon said that and brought another outfit.
It was a grayish cardigan.
She told me to take off the blazer and try this on, so I followed along. The way the skirt fluttered with every movement felt somewhat provocative for some reason.
"Look, this is also achromatic, but the feeling is completely different, right?"
"Yeah... something fresh...? I think."
"Just changing the outerwear can give a completely different feeling."
"Outerwear?"
"The clothes you wear over others."
After that, Seyeon brought more clothes and had me try them on. So many times that I lost count of how often I went in and out of the dressing room.
The common feature of all the clothes I tried on was that they were all skirts.
Long skirts that reached my ankles, skirts that flight attendants often wear (I think I heard they're called H-line skirts), and even dresses.
Setting aside my masculinity that had plummeted to the abyss, I felt like I would die from exhaustion. Even though I was just changing clothes......
Moreover, the employee said the fit was so beautiful and asked if she could take photos for Instagram promotion... so I became a subject for several shots with my face not showing.
She was probably the owner rather than just an employee. Since she was talking about promotion and all...... Anyway, it was too exhausting.
But I couldn't possibly stop midway because of how genuinely happy Seyeon looked every time I came out of the dressing room.
After that storm passed, I returned to my uniform.
"So what are you going to buy? You tried on so many things."
"All of them."
?
While I was momentarily stunned, Seyeon quickly finished paying with her card.
"Let's go, now."
"Ah, okay......"
I thought I heard a sound like "hundred..."
I didn't even catch the number in front.
And so we emerged back onto the street.
We now carried numerous shopping bags in our hands.
"Seyeon-ah, even so, this is a bit..."
"Why? What about it?"
"Didn't you think I might feel burdened by this...?"
"Well......"
Seyeon started to say something but stopped. By this point, even my common sense had disappeared, so I just followed behind Seyeon.
"Are you hungry? Should we get dinner?"
I nodded.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Just, whatever you want."
"Okay."
As night fell, the atmosphere of the streets gradually felt more heated. The crowds became much larger, with everyone's conversations merging to create a buzzing white noise. I could also hear the sound of buskers playing guitar. Some people were already red-faced and drunkenly rambling.
It suddenly occurred to me that today was Friday.
If there's one thing I realized while walking through the university district on a Friday evening... it's that introverts definitely shouldn't come here.
Thanks to what Seyeon said earlier, I'm managing okay, but the energy radiating from everywhere makes me feel somewhat overwhelmed.
Anyway, we kept walking and arrived at a pasta place.
It was just as small as the clothing store we had just left.
"How about pasta?"
"Hmm... I've never tried it so I don't know."
"Then, let's try it this time."
When we went inside, a peculiar spice scent wafted strongly. Especially the tomato sauce aroma was powerful. There was no background music here. If I had to say there was any... it would be the clattering sound of utensils.
There was exactly one table for two left, so we immediately sat facing each other.
We leaned in to look at the menu together.
[Ricotta Cream Pasta]
[Vongole Pasta]
[Shrimp Rosé/Cream/Tomato Pasta]
[Bacon Rosé/Cream/Tomato Pasta]
[Anchovy Oil Pasta]
[Bolognese Pasta]
.
.
.
'...I have no idea what any of this means.'
Ricotta? Rosé? Anchovy?
They're all words I'm seeing for the first time.
After a while, Seyeon looked up and asked.
"Did you choose?"
"Actually I'm not sure. Just... I'll have whatever you choose."
"Then we'll do that."
"Sorry for always leaving it to you."
"No. Actually, you know, I really like doing things for other people. So I was really happy dressing you up today too."
"Th-then that's good. Thank you."
I said with an awkward smile.
The menu items Seyeon ordered were shrimp rosé pasta and chop steak.
"What's chop steak?"
"Think of it as stir-fried beef with vegetables."
"Ah."
Korean is indeed much easier.
"Think of it as a practice run."
While waiting for the food and lost in thought, Seyeon suddenly murmured.
"Practice...?"
"When we meet friends tomorrow, imagine walking around with your head down, completely intimidated like today."
"Ah......"
"Since I'm giving you the experience in advance, you can thank me."
"...Thank you."
"That's right. Let's try to smile more tomorrow. Like this."
Then Seyeon smiled brightly. I smiled along with her.
Not long after, our meal arrived. The steam rising from it looked incredibly appetizing.
And the pasta was as delicious as expected. It had a slight milky taste that was refreshing, with a slightly pungent sensation too. This was probably because of the rosé sauce.
The steak literally melted in my mouth. The flavor was tender yet intense.
Twirl twirl-
"Ah."
I tried to twirl the noodles around my fork like they do on TV, but it wasn't working well.
"Yubin-ah, give it to me."
Seyeon, unable to watch anymore, snatched the fork.
"Oh."
Sure enough, the pasta immediately twirled around the fork.
When she brought the fork close to me, I reached out to take it, but Seyeon shook her head.
"Open your mouth. Say ahhh-"
"......Really?"
"Really."
...When she says it like that, there's no point in arguing.
I briefly looked around to check if anyone was watching, then tightly closed my eyes and opened my mouth.
The warm pasta noodles touched my tongue and went inside.
Seyeon looked at me chewing the noodles with a satisfied, lingering gaze. Her eyes felt somewhat burdensome, so I turned my gaze to the corner.
After having one more forkful of noodles, we got up from our seats. Seyeon paid, of course.
♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥
"Could you stop here for a moment?"
"Understood."
We took a taxi again and returned to our neighborhood. Since our house and school were on the same route, I decided to get off first.
"See you tomorrow, Seyeon-ah. Thank you so much for today."
"Eh, it's nothing. Be careful going home, Yubin-ah."
As the door slammed shut and I was about to head home, the window zzziiipped open and Seyeon peeked her face out.
"Let's go on another date, just the two of us!"
Looking at Seyeon saying that while waving her hand, I nodded blankly.
'A date......'
Walking slowly along the street where streetlights had turned on but was still dim, I kept thinking about Seyeon shouting about a date.
I think it's because that word perfectly encapsulates everything that happened today.
A word that instantly brings back memories of the bustling crowds, the fresh scent of new clothes, and the taste of pasta and steak.
What Seyeon and I did today was definitely a date.
Feeling my chest tingling for some reason, I raised my head upward. The night sky was unusually bright.