Chapter 57
* * *
···My daughter has been acting strange lately.
“···.”
Slurp—
Kim Boyoung, Isol’s mother, sipped her tea and glanced at the clock.
The hour hand pointed to 6. Six in the evening. If Isol were her usual self, this was when she would be lounging around at home.
But there wasn’t a sign of her anywhere in the house.
She had gone out shopping.
Right.
Shopping···!
“Hmm.”
Slurp.
She took another sip, calming her excitement with tea.
···Shopping.
Goodness. It was hard to call this anything but strange.
‘What should I do···.’
How should she deal with her daughter’s changes?
Kim Boyoung had been worrying about that lately. She couldn’t help but worry.
Isol’s behavioral changes were heading in a direction that was utterly impossible to predict.
‘She was always a peculiar child, but···.’
Lately, that tendency had grown even stronger.
She was buying clothes she had never worn before and trying to learn makeup.
···Even today had been like that.
She never went outside on weekends.
Yet she had volunteered to go out, saying she was going shopping.
“Phew···.”
A faint sigh escaped her.
It was certainly a good thing, but she couldn’t help feeling a subtle emotion she couldn’t put into words.
Especially since the cause was plain to see.
‘That boy···.’
That boy. His name was Lee Seungho, wasn’t it?
Ever since Isol had started interacting with him, she had changed at a rapid pace.
He was no ordinary child.
She couldn’t let her guard down. It was an instinctive sense of danger as a parent.
“···.”
Beep-beep-beep-beep—!
Just then, the sound of someone pressing the door lock came from the entrance.
“I’m homeee···.”
The front door creaked open.
Her daughter, who had left home early that morning, had returned.
Isol walked into the living room with unsteady steps.
“There you are.”
Her mother gave her a small welcome from the living room, then shifted her gaze.
Toward the shopping bags filling both of Isol’s arms.
“······.”
Her mouth fell shut.
Aside from snacks, Isol wasn’t one to overspend.
Just how many things had she bought? Her arms looked like Christmas trees.
“Uh, um···.”
Kim Boyoung watched her for a moment, then asked cautiously,
“···You bought quite a lot.”
“Yeees··· I kept finding more things that people recommended while I was choosing.”
“I see.”
Come to think of it, she had said she was going with a friend.
She had said it was a girl, not that boy. That was a relief, at least.
“It was the friend I saw last time, right?”
“Yes, one of the girls who came over to study last time··· The tall one.”
Isol’s face as she said this was···
somehow sullen.
Something must have happened while shopping. A strange wariness toward that girl was beginning to rise.
“···.”
Kim Boyoung could read all of it in her eyes.
But Isol herself seemed completely unaware that her feelings were showing.
“···All right, go on in.”
She didn’t hold Isol any longer and let her go to her room.
“···.”
Kim Boyoung watched her back in silence and lightly rubbed the space between her brows.
‘What should I do?’
It was the same worry all over again.
How should she treat her daughter at a time like this?
It was her first time too, so she was hardly adept at it.
* * *
Whooosh——
Isol stepped into the shower stall to wash up.
Her wet hair flowed softly along the curves of her body.
“···.”
As she pressed down on the shampoo pump,
his face came to mind. The events of today with Lee Seungho.
There wasn’t any particular reason. It had simply been happening often lately.
He kept popping into her thoughts.
“Ahem.”
She remembered him in cosplay and awkwardly cleared her throat.
Maybe it was because of the warm water. A faint heat seemed to linger on her face.
“Uuugh···.”
A groan escaped her as well.
At the same time, she worried that what had happened today might have made him dislike her.
And then there was the problem that followed.
Whooosh——
Using the sound of the falling water as white noise, Isol sank into thought.
“What should I do···.”
Isol wiped her face with both hands.
Today’s events had made her certain.
‘That Ayoung···.’
She had finally realized it.
Shin Ayoung definitely had feelings for Lee Seungho.
She could tell just by looking at her eyes.
Of course.
“···.”
The moment she thought of him, her reflection in the mirror···
looked far too similar to Ayoung’s.
It was so exactly alike that she even felt embarrassed.
‘The problem is···.’
Shin Ayoung didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.
But the same was true for Isol.
She had not the slightest intention of yielding easily.
‘I need a countermeasure.’
If so,
she needed a definite countermeasure.
A countermeasure. Yes, a countermeasure.
A countermeasure that would keep her from losing to Shin Ayoung.
······What did she have that could keep her from losing to her?
“Umm···.”
Isol looked at her reflection in the mirror and brushed her hair back.
She tilted her head from side to side.
Long eyelashes. Delicate features. A slender figure without an ounce of flab even when she ate snacks.
A natural appearance that required no maintenance. Good genes.
Had she ever felt so grateful to her parents?
Against most opponents, she was confident she wouldn’t lose in the looks department.
“Hmm···.”
Isol was well aware of what she looked like.
To be honest,
yes, I’m pretty.
“Hmm······.”
After staring intently at herself in the mirror,
Wink.
She turned her head and tried a slight wink.
“······.”
Silence followed.
“······!”
Urgh.
Overcome by embarrassment, Isol grabbed the sink and crouched down.
Her fingers and toes curled from embarrassment, and she couldn’t stand it.
‘···Even so.’
If it was this much,
‘wouldn’t it be enough to give it a try?’
That was how she felt.
But even as she did······.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung’s face flashed into her mind.
“Sss···.”
Given who her opponent was,
it made her a little uneasy to think she could win with her looks alone.
Maybe.
She might need some other kind of outside help.
······.
The next day.
The classroom early in the morning.
“···You want me to help you with your makeup?”
Jinuri sucked on her Chocomong and looked at her quizzically.
“Mm-hmm.”
Isol bobbed her head up and down.
That was why she had arrived earlier than usual.
She had even deliberately bought Chocomong for that purpose.
“What about what I taught you last time?”
“It just··· didn’t really work out.”
Isol’s eyes drooped dejectedly.
It had been a complete failure.
Just as knowing a recipe didn’t mean you could cook well,
maybe it was because she wasn’t used to it. It hadn’t turned out as pretty as she had hoped.
If anything, it had only detracted from her natural looks.
“But you said you were practicing makeup because of your modeling work. If I help you, doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Huh?”
“What? You said that last time. You said you were practicing.”
“Ah···.”
Right. She had said that.
She had momentarily forgotten that she had used learning makeup as an excuse.
“It’s just··· I thought it would be good to see it done once in person.”
Isol awkwardly came up with an excuse.
“······.”
Jinuri blinked.
“···Oh.”
Soon, as if convinced, she let go of her suspicion. It was an easy acceptance.
“All right.”
She accepted Isol’s request, saying it wasn’t difficult.
“Here, sit down.”
She lightly patted the seat beside her.
Isol took small, quick steps and sat in Lee Seungho’s chair.
Since Lee Seungho and Shin Ayoung hadn’t arrived yet, she could sit there comfortably.
“···.”
Fidget, fidget.
Isol’s fingertips toyed with Lee Seungho’s chair.
Hmm.
Thinking that she was sitting in his seat made her feel strange somehow.
“···.”
She pressed her lips tightly together.
If she relaxed, she felt she might let out a silly grin.
“Close your eyes.”
Whether she knew that or not, Jinuri opened her pouch with a serious expression.
“···.”
Isol obediently closed her eyes.
Tap, tap. She felt the soft bristles brush over her face.
“Wow··· Makeup really suits you.”
Jinuri’s admiration came through clearly.
Curiosity began to creep up on her as she wondered what was being done,
but she held it back. She needed to wait for the final moment.
“At this rate, I ought to charge you···?”
Jinuri praised herself, apparently impressed by her own skill.
She patted Isol’s shoulder, saying she was done.
Isol slowly opened her eyes.
“Here.”
Jinuri held out a mirror, telling her to check.
“How is it? I kept it light, so it’s not super obvious.”
“···.”
Isol’s eyes widened.
Of course, it wasn’t the sophisticated makeup she wore for modeling.
That makeup was meant to make an impression properly.
But this had the fresh, youthful atmosphere of a high school student.
Made-up yet not made-up.
It had a charm of its own.
She wondered how the other girls would react.
“Good morning~”
Just then, Shin Ayoung entered the classroom.
It was perfect timing.
“···Huh?”
She froze midway through her greeting.
Her face became one of surprise.
“You’re here?”
Jinuri gave her a small wave.
“Oh··· Sol, you’re wearing makeup?”
“How is it? It came out well, right? I did it for her.”
“Mm-hmm··· It came out really well.”
Shin Ayoung nodded.
However, a faint tension showed on her face.
She seemed to know why Isol had put on makeup.
“···.”
“···.”
Isol and Shin Ayoung met each other’s eyes in silence.
Then they smiled sweetly at each other.
“Heh.”
Jinuri swished the brush around and shrugged smugly.
“···.”
Isol felt a little relieved.
Judging by Shin Ayoung’s expression, the makeup seemed to have worked properly.
Now all that remained was for him to show up······.
“Hi.”
Just then, Lee Seungho slowly entered the classroom.
“···!”
At that moment.
For some reason, Isol covered her face and turned her head toward the window.
Her body moved on its own.
‘Uh···.’
Her face had gotten seriously hot.
Since she had put on makeup to show him,
it was paradoxically difficult to show it to Lee Seungho.
What if he didn’t react at all?
That was her first concern.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, Jinuri came into Isol’s view.
“···?”
She had seemed strangely restless. Ever since Lee Seungho arrived.
She glanced around, checking everyone’s reactions, then
rose from her seat with a determined expression.
Looking around, she whispered something to him.
Lee Seungho nodded in response.
Her voice was quiet, and the distance was too great, so Isol couldn’t hear properly.
Then,
“Here.”
Jinuri took a chocolate bar from her bag and handed it to Lee Seungho.
It was an ordinary chocolate bar, but···
at that abrupt sequence of events,
“···Huh?”
not only Isol’s eyes but also Shin Ayoung’s, as she watched, widened.
Isol’s expression went blank.
‘No, what?’
···Why is she acting like that again?