College ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Student.

We gathered in one spot, in front of Hagik Hall, to head out for the MT.

I wanted to take the Spotted One and go separately, but really, how many more chances would I get to ride a charter bus with this many people my age?

Da-yeon and I got on the bus and took seats somewhere around the middle.

"Oh... the bus is really nice~"

"Yeah, it's seriously nice~"

Thanks to professors threatening that missing the MT could hurt your grades, almost everyone showed up for this one, with just a few exceptions.

It was a trip all about having fun, but seeing a few people with their earphones in, studying, made me think they were seriously impressive.

Still, maybe because they dropped a lot of money on the bus for this MT, the ride wasn't bad.

And one good thing about being smaller than other people—everything was bigger than I was.

For instance... the seats felt insanely roomy...

Fuck...

There was a ten-centimeter height difference between me and Da-yeon at that point, which meant I was six centimeters shorter than the average female height.

If only I'd hit average...

Well, they say the male average is 178 cm, so people definitely have gotten taller than in the past.

I stared out the window, sipping the drink from the ice cup I'd bought with Da-yeon at the convenience store.

First MT. Da-yeon and I still only hung out with each other because neither of us had made any friends at school.

Da-yeon's the type who's somewhat wary of strangers, so she hadn't really put much effort into making friends either.

If anything, she looked like she found it just as hard as I did to meet someone she clicked with.

Well... who do you think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she was raised by...

Just as I was feeling irrationally proud that Da-yeon's standards for friends had gotten so high she couldn't make new ones, she looked at me and suddenly started patting her own shoulder.

Lately Da-yeon had been looking at me like a little sister, but I just smirked and leaned my head against her shoulder.

Da-yeon was sniffing at my hair, going *sniff sniff*.

"Si-yoon~ your hair smells so good~"

"It's the shampoo I bought with you before, remember?"

"Oh! I haven't tried it yet..."

Da-yeon smiled, touching my long pink hair that reached down to my waist.

Without really thinking, I let my gaze drop to her upper body, which was radiating major presence, and gave it a little *poing* touch—and Da-yeon freaked out.

Desperately slapping her hands over her mouth to stifle the scream leaking out, Da-yeon...

Watching her, I gave a greasy smirk.

"Gonna scream?"

"Heh-heh... wouldn't be so bad... if you want to get caught groping me, go ahead, heh-heh-heh..."

"Are you insane?!"

After messing with Da-yeon like that, I felt like I was about to get carsick, so I fell asleep pretty quickly.

The place we arrived at was Eurwangni.

It wasn't like all the first-, second-, and third-years went to the same place for MT; they all moved separately.

Something about preventing hazing or whatever...

Even so, a few student council officers were included.

The class rep plus one male officer and one female officer accompanied the first-year MT.

A downpour started, so we went straight inside the hotel.

We sat crouched on the floor of the wide auditorium, and Yoon Hyeong-seop went up on stage.

The rooms were doubles, and Yoon Hyeong-seop announced that he hoped we'd get close with our classmates, so room assignments were random.

The sight of us all gathered in the auditorium drawing slips of paper was something else.

There wasn't a separate recreation instructor; instead, class rep Yoon Hyeong-seop took the mic.

"Class A~ please draw first~"

When it was Da-yeon's and my turn, we drew our slips.

The woman I was paired with.

It was the person who'd been studying with a book open on the bus.

This female student looked like she'd only recently considered putting some effort into her appearance: her makeup didn't suit her face, and her clothes gave off a slightly forced-together vibe, like she'd tried to dress up.

More than anything, her expression was the highlight—it blatantly screamed that she'd never tried dressing up like this before.

Enough that the thought *Now this is a freshman...* popped into my head.

"How old are you?"

"U...Um?! M...Me?! Ah... I'm twenty."

"We're the same age, so let's drop the formalities~"

"Well... if you speak comfortably first, then I'll be comfortable..."

"Sure~ what's your name?"

"Na Yoon-seo..."

"You know my name, right?"

"Yeah..."

Compared to her clothes, she was a lot more timid than I expected.

Following Yoon Hyeong-seop's directions, we moved to a different spot.

People who come to the business administration department mostly fall into three categories.

A small minority, like me and Da-yeon, with a lot of money.

Or people who come because of the high employment rates.

People who want to start a business.

They say business administration, by nature, centers on group activities, but so far there'd been a lot of individual work.

I dragged the suitcase I'd brought into the assigned room.

Na Yoon-seo was sitting on the bed, sneaking glances at me.

Like a security camera that senses when something's alive.

To get a little friendlier, I called Yoon-seo over.

"Come sit here."

"Huh? Okay..."

Yoon-seo sat down cautiously beside me.

I pulled cotton pads and toner out of my bag.

"You're going to... take off my makeup?"

"I basically grew up living with makeup artist aunties, you know? I'll teach you twenty-first-century makeup techniques."

"But you... don't wear makeup."

"Wait and see."

Physical contact is really the fastest way to get close.

I opened up the pouch I always carried around for doing Da-yeon's makeup—the one that looked like it'd be gathering dust otherwise.

And then I started painting my own face with the cosmetics.

As I did my makeup the way I usually do whenever I appear on broadcasts, Yoon-seo zeroed in—like she'd caught the scent of a pro from my hand movements.

"Wow..."

"Sit down."

After confirming my own skills were sharp, I started doing Yoon-seo's face in earnest.

First, I took off Yoon-seo's glasses... considering she didn't seem to take care of herself, her base features were better than I thought.

"Do you always... do your makeup by yourself?"

"Me? Have you ever seen me wear makeup at school?"

"...No."

I quickly looked at Yoon-seo, whose style was now complete.

"Oh... wanna check the mirror?"

"Yeah..."

Maybe because her eyesight's bad, she squinted at the mirror I handed her.

The moment she saw her own reflection, Yoon-seo's eyes sparkled.

Behold the essence of the JSM makeup techniques that raised the most famous idol of the twenty-first century.

"Wow..."

"Perfect. Without me and Da-yeon around, you'd have easily snatched the top spot in the department, huh?"

"Come on..."

"This is the kind of makeup you do when you're going somewhere important. A little too heavy, right?"

"I don't know..."

I set up the camera beside me and spoke to Yoon-seo.

"They say the more you put it on and wipe it off, the better your makeup skills get. Hang on."

I wiped off Yoon-seo's makeup and started doing a simpler look that just emphasized the key points.

Massively shorter completion time.

Of course, if a beginner tries it, it still takes a while.

When Yoon-seo checked the mirror again, she was impressed all over again.

"Incredible..."

"I think this one's better, don't you?"

I saved the video I'd recorded so Yoon-seo could easily follow along by herself, then asked for her phone number.

"Uh... okay."

Na Yoon-seo must've been nervous, because she kept showing a slightly dorky side.

After we exchanged numbers, I looked at Yoon-seo.

"Next time, wear contacts."

"Okay."

"Study the makeup tutorial with the video I recorded for you."

"Ah... okay..."

"What's with that response? You hate it?"

"Th... no."

I scanned Yoon-seo from head to toe.

Not a single accessory put together properly.

To be honest, even her clothes didn't look like something she'd actually liked—she'd probably just picked the cutest thing she could find for cheap.

I ran a quick mental estimate and spoke.

"Say it. The person right in front of you is one of the richest people not just in Korea but in the whole world, okay? Practically at a wish-granting-genie level."

"N... no."

After agonizing for a long while, once I kept pestering her, Yoon-seo eventually started to talk, little by little, looking embarrassed.

Starting lightly with the fact that her family was poor, Yoon-seo talked about herself.

But the more she talked, the more her emotions got intense.

And eventually, Yoon-seo started crying.

She said that as soon as she became an adult, she started holding down three tutoring jobs, but even doing all that, it sounded like she was still seriously short on money.

Yoon-seo started speaking again about her family's poverty...

The family situation was so bad it genuinely seemed like they were about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to fall apart at the seams.

She said the household debt alone was three hundred million won, and the lease on the place they'd been living had ended, so they'd had to move out and were crammed into a relative's place.

The deposit from their old place was so small that Yoon-seo's family couldn't even find another house...

And in that situation, her family had gone all-in on Yoon-seo.

I don't know the full details of her family's circumstances, but it must be absolutely miserable for her parents to have to lean on their daughter like that.

And judging by Na Yoon-seo's personality from what I'd seen so far, the pressure she felt from having to succeed must have been crushing.

"It's more than I thought...? I figured it'd be a few thousand at most..."

"*Hic*... sorry..."

"Look, you're gonna cry off all the makeup I worked to put on. Quit it."

"Okay..."

"Give me your account number."

".....Huh?"

I crossed my arms, holding my phone in one hand and propping my chin on the other.

"Three hundred million? Hmm. I feel like I might get scolded by my dad?"

"Are... are you crazy?!"

I glanced at Yoon-seo's horrified expression and smirked.

"Sorry to say, but 'getting scolded by Dad'—that's about all that kind of money means to me."

"....."

"And I told you, didn't I? I'm practically at wish-granting-genie level."

Yoon-seo stared up at me, her pupils shaking.

And then, like she'd made some sort of resolution, she gave a solemn nod.

"I'll pay you back..."

"Sure~"

"Two times the amount."

Six hundred million, huh... it was ridiculous that she could just say that so easily.

When she'd been struggling so hard just moments ago because she didn't have three hundred million.

"Go for it~"

I practically snatched Yoon-seo's account number from her.

And sent it immediately to Jong-hyeon.

Yoon-seo was sniffling, then she checked the amount showing in her bankbook.

She started panicking the moment it sank in that I'd sent four hundred million in less than five minutes.

"Wh...why?! It's f... four hundred million...!"

"Mm, consider a hundred million a friend fee? So, now quit the tutoring and instead, use that time to follow me around. A hundred million per year, deal?"

"You're insane..."

"Insane? Honestly, I don't know when it'll happen, but isn't it a total steal if I put down four hundred million now and get eight hundred million back later? The money just duplicates? Good lord."

"....."

I wiggled my fingers and gave a greasy smirk.

"So then, our Yoon-seo, shall we take some measurements...? Heh-heh-heh-heh...."

After intensely messing with Yoon-seo, I flopped down and stared up at the ceiling. Yoon-seo lay down next to me and spoke up.

"If I... if I ran away, what were you going to do...?"

"You're making me repeat myself, aren't you?"

"....."

"Unless it's in the hundreds of millions, I can spend money on whatever every single day and no one says boo to me."

"....."

"When I get home, Dad'll go, 'Kim Si-yoon! Why did you spend so much?!' and that'll be the end of it. I don't know about other people, but at least to me, that's not big money."

I looked over at Yoon-seo, her makeup smeared from tears.

"So then, if someone catches the eye of a wish-granting genie but runs away, whose loss is that?"

"Thank you... really... truly... I'll definitely... definitely pay you back..."

"Go for it~"

I'd wondered why she was so timid, and it was probably because of her parents drowning in debt and her own appearance, which looked tacky even when she tried to dress it up.

Time passed and we came back out to the auditorium, where the recreation activities started in earnest.

Seeing Da-yeon smiling and chatting with her own partner, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked like my kid's attempt at making friends was going well.

The class rep passed around alcohol, telling us to drink with our partners.

As everyone got a little tipsy, the mood started to heat up.

"It's talent show time! If you have a talent you're confident in, please come up to the front!"

People dancing up on stage.

Honestly, they were shit at it.

People sang, too—a few looked like they had some talent—but by JSM standards, they fell way short.

In this kind of atmosphere, playing the piano felt like such an ironic situation.

But the person playing was seriously, unbelievably good.

I checked the face to see who it was—one of the female officers who'd been with Yoon Hyeong-seop.

The sound of the piano rang out, and people were in awe.

""Oh...""

She played the piano well enough that even I, who'd listened to my dad play all my life, could acknowledge it.

Right around the time they were running games where all kinds of alcohol were on the line, Yoon-seo looked at me.

"Si-yoon, you're not drinking?"

"Me? I'm insanely bad with alcohol."

"Really...?"

"Why? Do I look like a boozehound?"

Yoon-seo smiled and shook her head.

"Even if a quarter of my blood's supposedly Russian, I still can't drink."

In the end, I did drink a very small amount.

I got drunk and messed with Yoon-seo so much in bed she was practically flailing, then passed out.

We enjoyed the MT right through to the end, then headed home.