Chapter 46
Once we arrived at the convenience store, we picked out all sorts of snacks, starting with drinks and chips: a drink with lemon slices in it, crunchy chocolate chips, potato chips, various carbonated drinks, and more... There was enough to fill two plastic bags.
"Oh, right! Let's pick out an ice cream or two as well!"
"This one says buy one, get one free. Let's get this."
What Yeji had picked up was ice cream from an overseas brand famous for being expensive. Since it was buy one, get one free, it seemed worth trying at least once. After that, the items in our basket kept piling up until we needed two more plastic bags.
Could we eat all this...? Even though we were all at an age when we could eat a lot, Jinwoo was the only boy here... And Jinwoo didn't seem like that much of a big eater either...
"Guys, do you think we can eat all this?"
"We did buy a lot, but can't we just invite everyone in our class tomorrow night?"
We had free time until bedtime, but we needed to shower beforehand, so we sent Jinwoo back to his room and returned to ours. We sorted out what we had bought and decided the order in which we would shower, but... Did we really have to decide that with rock-paper-scissors...? I didn't mind going last...
"Um, I don't mind going last..."
"Come on, this is how you have fun when you come somewhere like this."
"Is that so...?"
Since I had no way of knowing how girls usually hung out, I was suspicious of Yuna's claim, but all I could do was accept it with a, 'I see...'.
"I lost..."
"Then Jia showers first."
"Okay."
Well... The order didn't really matter. Since my hair was the longest, going first was probably best when I considered how long it would take to dry. As I gathered my clothes and entered the bathroom to shower, I had that thought.
The other kids were going to see me after I showered, weren't they? It was a little embarrassing... I should dry my hair more carefully than usual, dress properly, and then go out. Thinking that complete strangers would see me, rather than Minsu oppa or Jiyeon unnie, who were practically family, made me feel even more self-conscious for no reason.
"I'm done showering~"
"Jia, you're out? Come eat some snacks with us."
Yuna went in to shower after me. Once I had dried myself thoroughly, dressed carefully, and come out, I sat beside Yeji and began eating snacks.
"Jia, today must have been hard, huh?"
"Yeah. I spent the night at the hospital, had tests in the morning, and came straight here in the afternoon... It's really exhausting."
"Yuna was looking for you like crazy. Even this morning, she was really worried when she couldn't see you on the plane..."
"Really? I guess I made you worry."
"Are you okay now?"
"I'm a little better, but... I don't think I'll be okay until tomorrow."
"What a shame. You can't enjoy the trip comfortably on the day you came."
Yeji and I talked about this and that, and before I knew it, quite a bit of time had passed. Yuna finished showering and came out, then sat beside me and started talking while Yeji went in to shower.
"I heard you were waiting for me for a long time, Yuna."
"Yeah, I looked everywhere for you. I missed you."
Yuna worried about my condition, and I was about to say, 'Tomorrow is the last day, so it wasn't that difficult,' but she read my expression and, saying she knew those days were hard for me, worried about me before I could even open my mouth.
"Let's talk a little after Yeji comes out, then call Jinwoo too."
"Should I call him?"
"I have his number, so I'll call him."
After some time passed, Yeji finished showering and came out too. While drying her hair, she started touching mine.
"Huh? Why, what's wrong, Yeji?"
"It looks like you take good care of your hair."
"Do you think so?"
I had only followed Jiyeon unnie's instructions, but my skin and hair stayed in good condition with just a little care, which made taking care of them feel rewarding.
"It really is. It's actually really nice."
"...Is it that nice?"
Before I knew it, Yuna had started playing with my hair too and commenting on it. The two of them kept touching my hair and discussing how nice it was... They made me feel like I had become a toy.
"Guys... Stop touching it now..."
"Oh, it's just so silky."
"It's addictive."
"Is it really that nice?"
Yuna and Yeji nodded, saying that my hair was so touchable, then faced each other and began persuading me. All right, all right... If you two liked it that much...
"But shouldn't we call Jinwoo soon?"
"Should we?"
Yuna texted Jinwoo and called him over, but with the boys' and girls' floors separated, it probably wouldn't be easy for him to get here...? The students who wanted to switch rooms would switch anyway, but... About twenty minutes later, while I was thinking that, Jinwoo knocked on the door and entered.
"Jinwoo's here?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Why are Jia and Jinwoo being so awkward with each other?"
Jinwoo opened the door and came in, I greeted him awkwardly, and he awkwardly returned my greeting. That must have seemed strange to Yuna. It was understandable, since we had been getting along and talking just a moment ago, but everything had suddenly become awkward after he entered the room.
"..."
"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything, Jia?"
"I-it's just kind of a strange sight? The only boy in a girls' room... you know."
"...Is that so?"
After I answered Yuna's question, Yeji also seemed to come to her senses and spoke. When I looked at Jinwoo, he was standing stiffly in place like a wooden mannequin, without moving at all. Jinwoo, you can't get embarrassed too...
"Why are you standing there like that too, Jinwoo? Come eat snacks with us."
"Y-yeah, I... should."
Jinwoo belatedly came to his senses, sat down, and started eating snacks. The atmosphere was still awkward, but Yuna and Yeji handled it so well that nothing strange happened.
"By the way, do Jia and Jinwoo like each other?"
"Pfft! Cough, cough! What, what are you talking about, Yeji?"
"N-no! We're not... that kind of relationship...!"
Yeji dropped a bombshell, and I spit out the drink I had been drinking. Jinwoo was also incredibly flustered, and we both spoke at the same time.
"Ooh~ So Jia's type is a guy like this?"
"N-no!"
"S-someone like me and Jia..."
Why were you getting embarrassed, Jinwoo?! Answer like a man, I mean it... Saying things like that only made the atmosphere even stranger...
"Oh... I guess Jinwoo really does like Jia a lot...?"
"...Yeah..."
"What?"
Yuna gently dangled the bait, and Jinwoo bit down on it immediately. I froze where I was.
*
I got a text from Yuna saying that I could come to her room now. Naturally, the school had separated the boys' and girls' floors, so I had to go down one floor to reach Jia's room. The other boys didn't seem interested in me at all... I should sneak out quietly.
"I'm going to meet someone."
"Okay~"
As expected, my roommates were busy calling other students over to hang out and paid little attention to me. Watching my steps and keeping an eye on the people around me, I went down one floor and carefully knocked on the door of the room Yuna had told me about. Yuna opened it for me.
"...!"
Yeji seemed to have just showered and was drying her hair, while Jia and Yuna also looked as though they had washed not long ago, their hair fluffy and fresh. Jia was all I could see, and I froze in place. Yuna and Yeji toyed with the embarrassed Jia and me in all sorts of ways, but I really did like Jia, so I had nothing to say.
"Looks like Jinwoo likes Jia?"
"I-I don't think that's something I can answer here..."
"Who's prettier among us?"
"That's obviously Jia..."
I had gotten that far before covering my mouth with both hands. No, I had decided to keep it hidden, so how could I immediately say Jia when they asked me that?! Jia's face had turned bright red too. I just hoped she wasn't angry...
*
In that increasingly strange atmosphere, Yuna suggested that we play a truth game. A truth game in this situation...? This was bad...
"All right, first question! Jinwoo, does your heart flutter when you see Jia?"
"......Yeah, it does."
I didn't feel that way about Jinwoo... but judging by the way he answered the others' questions, he really did like me, which was troublesome... I still had absolutely no desire to date a man or anything like that. If anything, I disliked men enough that I would rather date a woman...
"Then my question: Yuna, where did you first meet Jia?"
"I attended my older brother's college graduation in his place, and Jia was sitting beside me."
"What happened between you two that day? Did you at least say hello?"
Yuna made up a story about how she had spoken to me but I hadn't answered, so we had simply parted ways. She finished by saying that she had been so, so happy when I transferred to our school afterward.
"This time I want to ask a question. Yeji, did your heart flutter when you saw Jia?"
"With a face like that, how could I not get butterflies?"
Yeji pulled me against her side and answered like that. Yuna and Jinwoo also nodded as they looked at my face, so I supposed they agreed with her.
"It's getting late. I'll get going."
"Bye, Jinwoo. See you tomorrow."
The usual farewells about seeing each other tomorrow continued, and then Yeji looked at me and spoke.
"Aren't you going to say something nice to Jia?"
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"Never mind. It's fine. Sniff..."
Did she want me to say that I had gotten excited when I heard Jinwoo liked me? When I didn't say anything to Jinwoo and ended things with a simple, 'Goodbye,' she looked back and forth between Jinwoo and me as if she were disappointed.
"Jinwoo's gone, and we've finished all the food, so should we go to sleep?"
"Yeah, let's brush our teeth and go to bed."
After brushing my teeth in the order we had showered earlier, I lay down on the single bed and tried to fall asleep...
"Huh? Jia's going to sleep alone?"
"I think it would feel nice to sleep while hugging Jia..."
"Is that so...? Since I'm bigger, I thought it would be more comfortable for you two if I slept alone..."
Yuna and Yeji seemed displeased by my answer. They gradually moved closer to me and touched my chest.
"?! Wh-where are you touching...!"
"......"
I was so startled that I hugged my chest with both arms and stared at Yuna and Yeji, but... for some reason, their faces had turned bright red.
"It feels like we're committing a crime... I'm sorry, Jia."
"Yeah... Sorry, Jia."
"N-no, it's okay."
Had I overreacted...? From a guy's perspective, it was probably like touching a friend's arm when he was showing off his muscles...
"They really are big. If Jia's uncomfortable, we can sleep separately, but..."
"But?"
"Whoever wins rock-paper-scissors gets to sleep with Jia."
"Fine, bring it on, Choi Yuna."
Yeji played rock-paper-scissors with a solemn expression, and Yuna faced her just as solemnly, but Yuna ultimately lost and cried out in despair. Her rock was brutally torn apart by Yeji's scissors.
"Yes~ Jia's mine tonight~!"
"Grr, how frustrating...!"
"I'm not an object, you know..."
After I moved to the double bed and lay down, Yeji happily hugged me and started asking all sorts of questions, like what shampoo and body wash I usually used. Yuna lay on the single bed and looked at me mournfully.
"You still have a chance tomorrow, and I won today, so don't look at me like that, Yuna."
"You may have won today, but I'll win tomorrow!"
Yuna ground her teeth and warned Yeji about tomorrow. Was sleeping with me really that enjoyable...?
"Could you answer what I asked earlier, Jia?"
"Um... It's a secret."
It felt wrong to tell them something like that, and I was having one of those special days that could affect my body odor... Even if they used the shampoo and body wash I recommended, they might find it strange if the scent coming from my body were different.
"Mmm~ Jia's body is soft everywhere, so it feels nice."
"D-don't touch there...!"
"Gah!! That's not fair!! Let's have a best-of-three rematch!"
"I won earlier, Yuna. Pfft."
Yeji kept touching me here and there, saying my soft body felt nice, while Yuna watched me with pity, as if a woman had had the man she liked stolen by another woman... Sorry, but Yeji really did win today...
*
Morning came, and Yuna was nowhere to be seen, presumably because she had gone to shower first. Yeji was still asleep, hugging me.
"Yeji, I need to get up and shower, so could you move over a little...?"
"Mmm, no... I want to sleep more, Mommy..."
"I'm not Mommy, I'm Jia, Yeji. Could you move over?"
Yeji kept talking in her sleep without letting go of me. It wasn't until Yuna finished showering and vigorously shook her awake that she finally opened her eyes and released me.
"Sorry, Jia. You were so warm and cozy that I thought you were my mom."
"It's okay. You might be tired since you went to bed late."
I struggled to get my body moving, entered the bathroom, washed quickly, and came back out. We had sightseeing scheduled for the morning, and with three girls needing to shower and dry their hair, it would take a while. It would be most efficient time-wise to wash as quickly as possible and focus on drying my hair.
"What are you going to wear today, Yuna?"
"Clothes...? Oh, right."
For a moment, my mind went completely blank because I thought I hadn't brought any clothes, but fortunately, Jiyeon unnie had packed some for me when I left the hospital, so it wasn't a problem. Fortunately, even though I was still having one of those days, there hadn't been any leakage. Phew... What a relief.
"Oh, this is pretty too! They say the wind won't be as strong today, so let's wear a skirt, Jia."
"A skirt looks pretty on Jia too, but the lines of that slim figure of hers would look good in pants as well."
This time, Yeji and Yuna looked over the clothes I had brought, held various items against my body, and began choosing an outfit. When they picked out a white T-shirt, they even recommended a different color of underwear, saying that its color must not show through.
'Please let me go, guys. I'm not a dress-up doll...'
Caught in an inescapable trap, I watched the clock as the schedule drew closer and had to soothe Yuna and Yeji, whose excitement had them going wild.
*