Chapter 50
I'm tired.
If I had to describe how my daily life has changed lately, with the distance between Hyunwoo and me shrinking as we spend more time close together, there have been countless words and a jumble of positive and negative emotions, but...
In a word, all I could say was that I was tired.
ㅡ Squeeeeeze
Even being held tightly like this didn't usually bother me much.
Of course, I don't dislike it now, either, but...
"Um... Hyunwoo...?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
"Aren't you holding me for too long...?"
"It's fine. You're not heavy."
"That's not what I mean..."
It's not like he's holding me for just ten minutes on a hot day like this... He's been doing it for three hours already. Three hours.
Hyunwoo has been holding me ever since I woke up this morning, and he won't let go.
At night, it's cool if we open the window wide, so I don't mind sleeping in his arms... but isn't this a bit much?
"No, I mean... I'm sweating so much right now... and this is the only decent thing I have to wear."
We've been stuck together so long that the clothes we're wearing have gotten sticky with each other's sweat. It's horribly uncomfortable...
Jimin gave me about three outfits, but one is in the wash, one is what I'm wearing now... and the last one is too small for me, so I can't wear it.
Since my only option right now is to alternate between a white and a black dress, if I put this one in the wash, I won't have anything left to wear.
I'd be completely naked.
I only have one pair of underwear, and it's in the wash right now.
Even though I've gotten used to going without underwear for long stretches, I'd still feel more comfortable wearing some. Yeah...
Hyunwoo couldn't possibly have girls' underwear, so there was nothing he could do about that.
"I bought an outfit. You can wear that."
"Huh...? You did?"
"I happened to buy one the day you left home, but I didn't have a chance to tell you... and you got some cute clothes, too."
Hyunwoo's words bring back the memory of that day.
The memory comes rushing back, and Hyunwoo's expression from that day flashes vividly through my mind.
His hair was a mess, his forehead was scraped, and his eyes were bloodshot as he yelled at me and forcibly overpowered me, completely on edge.
The atmosphere was so different from now that it stirred up my guilt toward Hyunwoo again, so...
"...I love you!"
Following the rule Hyunwoo set, I force myself to shout that I love him brightly, raising my voice instead of apologizing weakly.
"Pfft..."
As always, this way of doing things seems so ridiculous once I've said it that I can't help smiling.
Did Hyunwoo suggest this to me because he knew this would happen, too?
It's a little surprising to realize that Hyunwoo seems to know me better than I know myself.
"I love you too, Minseo."
"...? Why are you saying that all of a sudden...?"
"I feel like I brought that time back to mind for you."
Hyunwoo tells me he loves me with a smile that doesn't look like an apology at all.
Was that how I looked to Hyunwoo, too?
It's definitely several times better than just feeling depressed...
My only complaint is that when little old me says I love you, Hyunwoo doesn't take it to mean anything else, but up close, he could easily be misunderstood...
He's pointlessly handsome, and when he says he loves me so sweetly, it makes me feel weird...
I know that's not what it means, but still, it feels... weird.
Even though he made this rule for my sake, it feels like Hyunwoo says I love you much more often than I do...
"Hyunwoo, can't you just talk normally instead of saying you love me...?"
"Why all of a sudden?"
"Well... hearing 'I love you' right in my ear more than ten times a day makes me feel weird..."
"Hmm... I love you. But I can't do that."
"Why...?"
"There can't be any exceptions. That's our promise, right? I love you, Minseo."
He's already said it twice more just during this conversation...
Why does Hyunwoo feel guilty about every little thing...?
"Th-then can I see the clothes first? I'd like to change soon..."
"Want to take a shower first? I'll leave the clothes outside the door."
"Yeah... I'll be back..."
When I nodded and started to get up, Hyunwoo let me go.
I went into the bathroom and started taking off my clothes to wash when I felt the door open.
"...?"
"I feel a little sticky too. Want to take a shower together?"
"...Get out! Are you crazy?!"
I'd decided not to hide my feelings or force myself to rationalize that I was fine anymore.
So I shouted at Hyunwoo, unashamed of how embarrassed I was.
Even if I don't think of him romantically, I've become more self-conscious since turning into this body...
When it was Jimin, I had my eyes closed, and it was fine because Jimin was a child, but Hyunwoo is different.
"I love you. I'll leave it outside the door."
Only after reaching ten 'I love yous' for today did Hyunwoo finally quiet down.
It's not even noon yet, and at this rate... I might get twenty today.
Hyunwoo's I-love-you rush usually peaks in the evening, before it gets late.
"Phew... How did things end up like this...?"
I sigh and toss the sticky white dress into the laundry basket.
Oh, come to think of it, if Hyunwoo bought clothes, could he have gotten underwear too...?
ㅡ Knock, knock.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hyunwoo, I'm not trying to say anything weird, so don't misunderstand, okay...?"
"Yeah."
"By any chance... any chance at all... did you buy girls' underwear too? I only have the one pair I came here in, so I don't have anything to wear now..."
"......"
"Hyunwoo?"
"...I love you. I didn't get any. I didn't buy underwear."
I guess even Hyunwoo couldn't bring himself to buy underwear...?
Well, I should be grateful that an adult man went out alone and bought children's clothes in the first place.
Honestly, even I would feel too guilty to buy girls' underwear... even in this body.
If anything, Hyunwoo was impressive for making himself buy girls' clothes despite how much it must have messed with his head. I couldn't criticize him at all.
"I guess it'll be fine..."
Hyunwoo wouldn't have bought anything weird.
As long as I had clothes on, you couldn't see down there.
I'd been doing just fine without underwear until now, so it wasn't as if anything had really changed.
***
I, too, once thought that.
At least, until I checked the clothes left outside the door after my shower.
I don't have anything else to wear, so I have no choice but to put it on...
But this is too much...!
"L-Lee Hyunwoo! What is this...?"
The skirt flared out massively to the sides, with cute ribbons all over it... and the scratchy material was horribly uncomfortable.
It was uncomfortable to look at and uncomfortable to wear...!
This is obviously a maid outfit, isn't it?! Right? I'm not the weird one here, am I??
And why is the skirt so short...?
My body isn't big by any means, but the short skirt only came halfway down my thighs.
If a child of the right size wore it, it would barely cover half her thighs. It was a dangerously short design.
I couldn't even imagine what kind of perverted bastard made this, though Hyunwoo was bad enough for buying it.
"Wow... You're cute."
Hyunwoo looked at me as I stormed out to protest and sincerely told me I was cute.
Hyunwoo was staring blankly at my chest, so I lowered my gaze a little, too...
"...Don't look! I said don't look...!"
The neckline was normally cut open around the collarbones, but since it was a little too big for my body, it hung lower, beneath my collarbones...
In other words, there was an opening that showed a little of my upper chest.
I couldn't help being horrified.
Couldn't the police arrest whoever made clothes like this if I reported them...? Whoever it was seemed seriously dangerous...
He must be some bald, potbellied middle-aged guy with glasses...
"What's wrong? It's cute, and it suits you."
Hyunwoo smirked and started coming closer to me.
I could see him sliding his hands toward my armpits, probably planning to pick me up.
"Don't... I really told you not to..."
"Why? I'm just going to hold you like always."
"Don't...! Um... the skirt's short right now..."
The outfit was much more revealing than I'd expected.
On top of that, there was no lining around the armpits and shoulders, just thin fabric.
And the skirt was so short that if he lifted me like usual, my... lower half might be exposed...
So I blocked every little move Hyunwoo made to touch me.
"It'd at least be okay if I had underwear on... What is this...?"
Even with a friend like Hyunwoo, seeing my underwear or bare skin would still be embarrassing.
Think about it. Could you suddenly expose your private parts to even your closest friend?
That meant my reaction wasn't an overreaction at all.
"So if you had underwear on, it'd be okay for me to pick you up?"
"...It's in the washing machine right now, so I can't take it out. I can't wear it."
"Anyway, as long as your underwear covers you down there, I can do it, right?"
"I guess...? But do you want to hold me that badly?"
No matter what I said, that condition was impossible, so Hyunwoo wouldn't be able to pick me up anyway.
Did my body feel that good to hold?
My skin was definitely soft, though...
"Wait. I think I have some I bought earlier..."
"...?! Wait, Hyunwoo, you said you didn't have any...!"
"...Ah. I mean, that..."
A brief silence fell, and Hyunwoo seemed to be thinking hard about something.
Didn't he just say he hadn't been able to buy any underwear...?
"...I forgot. I love you, Minseo."
"No... that's not something you can forget..."
"I love you."
"Hey, Lee Hyunwoo...!"
"I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Hah..."
Unbelievable.
It was like he'd turned into an 'I love you' bot, answering everything I said by telling me he loved me.
It was ridiculous how he tried to dodge the question like that.
"Here. Girls' underwear."
"......"
White, yellow... pink...
Five pairs of underwear in all sorts of colors were spread out before my eyes.
Thankfully, these looked pretty ordinary...
"Why didn't you give them to me from the start...?"
"I told you, I forgot. I love you."