Chapter 22
“Seolhwa, I'm here!”
Not long after I sent a KakaoTalk message, Haru barged into my house.
Carrying an enormous number of paper boxes.
Ugh.
“...I'm only asking to be sure, but those aren't all clothes, are they?”
“They are clothes, though?”
“...Whose clothes?”
“Yours, from now on, I suppose?”
So my ominous premonition had been right.
Apparently, Haru planned to play dress-up with me from now on.
...I should've run away the moment I got her message.
“Come on, let's hurry up and try on some clothes! We don't have much time, you know?”
“Ugh….”
Haru slowly approached me, eyes sparkling, carrying paper boxes full of clothes.
Aaaah….
“D-do I really have to match the dress code…?”
“Of course. You want to eat delicious food, don't you?”
“Urk….”
As a man, I didn't want to wear clothes like those…. But if I didn't wear something proper, I couldn't enter the gathering…!
And there wasn't enough time to go buy new clothes now…. Ugh….
“J-just one outfit….”
“Hehe…. One outfit will be plenty, so don't worry.”
I'd said I would only wear one outfit, and she'd replied that one would be plenty.
...I'm scared.
“More importantly, where did you get all those clothes in such a short time…?”
“These? They're all clothes I used to wear. I was going to give them to my younger cousin, but I thought they'd suit you better, so I brought them.”
With that, Haru showed me the clothes inside the paper boxes.
Inside were piles of slightly worn-looking, small-sized women's clothes.
...I don't need that many, though?
“...By the way, how long ago is ‘used to’?”
“Middle schoo…. I mean, high school! These are clothes I wore in high school!”
...I could've sworn I'd just heard her quietly say middle school.
“Come on! Don't worry about the little things! I'll do your hair first, so sit here.”
“It's not a little thing! Hurry up and tell me exactly when you bought them!”
I was furious at Haru for treating me like a shorty again, but she covered her ears and pretended not to hear me.
How infuriating!
======
After several minutes of mayhem, the fight ended with me giving up.
She'd pulled out a curling iron, saying we might as well do my hair too while she was at it, but-
because my hair started melting, she was brushing it with a comb instead.
What is it with women from Seoul….
“But do we really have to go this far…?”
“Of course. Just trust me. I'll make you look so pretty they won't dare kick you out.”
...Looking pretty would be a problem in its own way.
I glanced to the side and saw the women's clothes Haru had laid out in advance, which made me feel even more unsettled.
I was so embarrassed that I wanted to abandon everything and run away this instant.
That was only natural, since even though I looked like this now, I had been a man just a month ago.
There was no way I was used to dressing up. It wasn't my taste, either.
And yet here I was, all dressed up to go to a gathering…. You really never know what life has in store….
“Phew…. I'll bear it if I think about the food...”
To calm my troubled mind, I imagined the fancy dishes I'd seen in the photos last time.
Steak with juice glistening all over it….
Salmon sashimi sushi tossed in a special sauce….
Ice cream with MAX-level sweetness, something I normally couldn't afford….
“Hweee….”
Just imagining it made me drool, lifting the corners of my mouth into a smile.
I want to eat it soon….
“What are you thinking about to make such a cute expression!”
“Ueeeh?! D-don't rub my chee…”
(Ugh?! Don't rub my cheeks…!)
Once I'd calmed myself down, Haru couldn't resist my expression and started rubbing my cheeks.
“Ah…! What am I going to do with these mochi cheeks! They're so cute I can't stand it! Seriously, how was this kid ever a man!”
“Ueeeh….”
As a result of Haru suddenly going wild and rubbing my cheeks mercilessly,
my hair got completely mussed up, so she had to style it from scratch.
...Shit.
======
“Ahem…. Ahem…. Well, there was a little commotion, but anyway, your hair's done!”
“You're calling that a little commotion?”
In the end, having to redo my hair from scratch only wasted time,
leaving about an hour before the gathering started.
“...I'll pay for the taxi.”
“You'd better.”
Haru must have had at least a scrap of conscience left, because she held out a ten-thousand-won note to me.
“Still, still! I did style your hair prettily, so isn't that okay?”
“It's precisely because it's pretty that this is so embarrassing….”
My hair was styled by gathering part of my long hair to the left, pinning it, and tying it up.
According to Haru, it was called a side-up ponytail….
Honestly, I had no idea what that meant, and I wanted to take it down as soon as possible because it was embarrassing.
“Do I really have to do my hair like this?”
“I told you, trust me. Going there looking neat and proper…. Pfft…. That's going to be important!”
“Ugh….”
She was not remotely trustworthy as a stylist, but for now, I had no choice but to endure it.
For the sake of delicious food…. I'll put up with it for just one day….
“All right, now let's try on the clothes!”
Haru approached me with a sky-blue dress, smiling as if she was having the time of her life.
I can't take it anymore. Time to escape.
My dress trauma, etched into my mind, was triggered, and I immediately tried to escape the house, but-
Haru caught me right away.
“Come on, these are clothes I carefully selected as a fashion major, so they'll look good on you! Hurry up and try them on!”
“N-no! I don't care about anything else, but I hate skirts and dresses!”
“Unfortunately, that option doesn't exist! Now, you'd better put it on nicely, Ms. Snow Woman!”
“S-save me….”
In the end, Haru overpowered me with her greater strength and forced me into the clothes.
======
“Haa…. As expected, clothes look even better on a good hanger!”
Haru seemed pleased with the outfit and smiled happily, as innocent as could be.
“Today's concept is purity! You're a long way from sexy, so I designed it to bring out your cuteness. What do you think?”
“...I'm so embarrassed I could die.”
This was only the second time I'd worn a dress, but I still hadn't gotten used to it, and it felt unbearably awkward.
On top of that, seeing myself dressed up by Haru made me even more embarrassed.
As if to prove it, when I sneaked a glance at the mirror, my already flushed cheeks grew even redder, showing how much my embarrassment had intensified.
“...Do I really have to wear heels too?”
Unlike last time, when she had at least left my shoes alone, this time Haru had brought heels too and put them on me before I even realized it.
...She's incredibly thorough.
“Heels go with this outfit, okay? Sneakers with a dress just don't work.”
I had to admit sneakers with a dress looked a little wrong.
I did think that….
“It's almost time for the gathering. I'll just take one picture, then…. Have a good time!”
“A picture? Yoo Haru! Hey!!”
While I was agonizing over my outfit, Haru snapped a picture before I even had time to say anything and hurried me out of the house.
...I got kicked out of my own house.
======
In the end, with no other choice, I took a taxi to the gathering while still wearing the dress.
I really didn't like the clothes, but thinking about the fancy food I'd soon be eating still kept me from hiding my smile.
Hehehe…. I'd skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning for today, and even put on a dress….
Today, I'm going to eat until I'm stuffed…!
Fancy food, you're as good as dead!
Thinking that, I sat comfortably in the air-conditioned taxi. As we neared the venue, I began to see more and more mutants who looked unusual compared to ordinary people.
“There are so many….”
I had seen quite a few mutants when I went to the hospital before, but today there were even more of them, and they were more varied.
The venue itself was correspondingly enormous, on a scale grand enough to be called a party hall.
...What kind of person was the grandfather who made something like that on the spot just because his granddaughter wanted it….
As I marveled at the extravagance of the rich and looked toward the windows, I spotted Ms. Chaeyeon waiting for me in the distance.
“Please let me off here.”
Seeing a familiar face, I immediately got out of the taxi, walked briskly over to Ms. Chaeyeon, and spoke to her.
“Ms. Chaeyeon! I'm here!”
“Oh, Seolhwa, you're here…. Hmm?”
In response to my call, Ms. Chaeyeon looked at me, then suddenly stared at me with a baffled expression.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no…. It's just, you really dressed up…. You even wore a dress….”
“Well, that's because….”
When I had my period, I'd ended up telling Ms. Chaeyeon that I was a man.
Given that, it was only natural that I looked strange to her.
I was deeply embarrassed too, but I'd psyched myself up for the fancy food and put on the dress anyway…. The problem was—
“Um…. Ms. Chaeyeon, why are you wearing casual clothes?”
Unlike me, all dressed up for the occasion, Ms. Chaeyeon was standing there in the hoodie and short shorts she usually wore.
“No…. I'm the one who wants to know why you dressed up that much….”
“M-my friend said I had to match the dress code….”
“Dress code?”
Ms. Chaeyeon spoke with an expression that said she didn't understand.
“This is a casual event. There isn't a dress code or anything like that.”
“Huh?”
“Mutants already have trouble buying clothes because of their bodies. There couldn't possibly be a dress code. Look around.”
Hearing that, I looked around.
Most people were wearing comfortable clothes you might see on the street, and only a few were dressed up like me.
“Yoo Haru…!!”
The realization that Haru had tricked me, combined with my embarrassment at showing up among people in these clothes, made my face burn red, and I sank to the ground and covered my face.
I'm so embarrassed...