Chapter 31
The cohabitation that had begun because of the air conditioner had already lasted more than a week.
Fortunately, since we'd known each other for a long time, we were now able to live together normally without any trouble or conflict.
Even counting that as a blunder, aside from the time I saw Hyeonwoo washing up, we'd been living quietly without any trouble.
"Seolhwa. Get up now. It's already morning."
"Mmm…. Just five more minutes…."
"Five minutes, my foot. If you don't get up soon, there won't be any breakfast."
"Ueh…."
Hyeonwoo seemed to have adjusted quite a bit over the past week. Unlike at the beginning, when he had acted somewhat awkwardly, he was back to his usual self.
At first, he'd been fretting with an unusually troubled expression that didn't seem like him….
Whatever it was, I'm glad it seems to have been resolved.
"...Don't lie back down. Get up."
"Ueh…. Just a little moooore…."
"Get up!"
"Aah!"
I tried to sleep a little longer, but he smacked me.
Fortunately…. I guess?
======
In the end, as someone who's weak in the mornings, I couldn't get up all the way.
Hyeonwoo dragged me to the table, and only then did I barely regain consciousness.
"Seolhwa, give me some ice."
"Yaaawn…. Here…."
I made a few tiny ice cubes and put them in the cup Hyeonwoo held out.
After I'd made ice for him once or twice, he started having me dispense it whenever he wanted, like I was a water purifier.
I'm afraid he'll ask me to make shaved ice when summer comes….
“Refreshing. Thanks.”
“It's nothing…. Yaaawn...”
I yawned and turned my attention to today's breakfast menu.
Today's breakfast was pancakes and milk.
Sweet syrup had been drizzled over the pancakes, making them look delicious at a glance.
“Thank you for the meal!”
I immediately cut into the pancake and took a big bite.
The combination of syrup and pancakes multiplied the sweetness…. No, squared it, and conquered my taste buds with sugary goodness.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah!”
As I ate, I happened to look up at the clock and saw that the hour hand was pointing to eight in the morning.
"You woke me up awfully early today…."
"I have class in the morning. I'll be back soon, but…. Don't make a mess while I'm gone."
"I know."
Even I wouldn't make a mess around someone else's house like I did at home while freeloading.
It was a hassle, but I did my best to clean up and keep things tidy in my own way!
Of course, Hyeonwoo cleaned more neatly than I did….
"And don't eat too much ice cream even if you buy some, don't flop down and fall asleep again, and don't open the door for strangers-"
"I'm not a child…."
Lately, I've been thinking that Hyeonwoo treats me more and more like a child.
He started teasing me about being short after my transformation, and recently he's been treating me especially like a kid….
Do I really look that much like a child…?
...Well, I am short, and a lot of other things are small too, but I'm still an adult….
"Huh? Why aren't you eating, Seolhwa?"
“No, it's nothing…."
Being twenty-one and treated like a child left my emotions in turmoil.
“Hyeonwoo, give me some milk.”
With my thoughts unsettled in all sorts of ways, I downed my milk and asked Hyeonwoo for a refill.
My senior once said that women stop growing taller in middle or high school, but….
Still, you never know!
Growing just two centimeters would put me in the 150s! You never know what might happen if I put in a little effort!
Thinking that, I gulped down the milk.
======
After breakfast, Hyeonwoo got ready at lightning speed and left the house.
By contrast, I ate leisurely and slowly saw Hyeonwoo off.
Heh heh…. Look at you, a student… off to school. How pitiful.
If you took a leave of absence like me, you wouldn't have to go to school.
With those thoughts, I saw Hyeonwoo off, then yawned widely, lay down on the sofa, and stretched.
Hwaaah…. With no one keeping an eye on me today, I'm free. Free….
Thus, left alone in the house without Hyeonwoo—the person watching me and my landlord—I decided to lie comfortably on the sofa and enjoy my freedom.
A darkened house, with me alone inside.
The only sounds in the quiet house were my breathing and the cars outside.
This house truly suited the word silence; unlike when the two of us were here, it felt empty and lonely.
It's quiet….
Too quiet….
I must have always been alone like this in my studio apartment….
But now, this kind of silence feels stifling and lonely too, so I can't say I like it….
"Should I have a snack or something…."
Wanting to fill at least a little of this boredom with food, I walked from the sofa to the kitchen.
Then I opened the cupboard where I assumed the snacks would be, but there was nothing there except dust.
"It's empty here…. Then…."
I turned my gaze from the empty cupboard toward the refrigerator.
There should at least be something in here….
Hoping there might be some ice cream or something, I approached the refrigerator and opened the door, but-
"Oh…. It's empty…?"
But the refrigerator was empty too, with hardly anything to eat inside.
If I remember correctly, there had at least been all sorts of things on the first day…. Had we eaten it all already?
“My snacks…."
I'm getting depressed...
I was already bored from being alone, and now there weren't even any snacks….
Ugh…. Hyeonwoo, you should've bought something….
“Can't be helped…. Shall I go grocery shopping…."
Since things had turned out this way, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to go grocery shopping and give him something in return for letting me stay here.
Besides, I had nothing particular to do and was bored.
Thinking that, I first scampered toward the window—pitter-patter—and threw the curtains wide open to check the weather.
A gloomy street lay beneath a sky thick with clouds, with not a ray of sunlight.
“What nice weather for going out.”
It might have been a gloomy, unpleasant day for ordinary people, but for me, as a Snow Woman, it was perfect weather for going out without the bothersome sun.
After confirming the weather was fine, I hurried to the bathroom to get ready to go out.
======
“Once I dry my hair…. I'll be ready to go out!”
It took nearly two hours after declaring that I was going grocery shopping before I finally finished getting ready to go out.
The reason was this long, straight hair, which was exhausting even to talk about.
Because it was so long, washing it with shampoo and drying it were both difficult.
Long hair was hard enough to manage on its own, but not being able to expose it to heat made it even harder.
If I had my way, I'd really cut it, but….
“Even if I cut it, it'll regenerate the next day…."
A little while ago, my hair had been bothering me so much that I'd taken the scissors I had at home and chopped it off.
Since I'd hacked it off like an amateur, the back of my hair had become a complete mess, but I was still satisfied with having shorter hair and went to sleep like that….
When I woke up, my hair had returned to its original state.
“I never expected a Snow Woman's characteristic regenerative ability to apply to hair too…."
On top of that, all the hair I'd cut melted away, and I even slipped and got hurt after stepping in the water it had melted into.
After that, I simply gave up and was stuck maintaining my long, straight hair.
Do I have no freedom to choose my hairstyle….
Sob…. How sad….
“Anyway…. I should be heading out soon.”
Now that my two-hour preparations to go out were finally complete, all I had to do was leave.
Hehehe…. Hyeonwoo will be surprised when he finds out I went grocery shopping, right?
This time, I should make absolutely sure to let him know that I'm a proper twenty-one-year-old adult.
All right, then, let's go!
======
A lone girl was walking down the road beneath a gloomy sky thick with clouds.
She wore the short-sleeved shirt and shorts she usually wore at home, with only a snowflake hairpin adorning her head, and walked along with her long hair streaming in the wind.
Who could this girl be, walking along while humming happily?
That's right, she's a Snow Woman.
“It's nice and cool today.”
A day without sunlight was already good weather for me, but with the wind blowing too, it was the icing on the cake.
“It'll be hard to go outside once summer comes, so I should enjoy it while I can.”
Things might be a little better now, but right after my transformation, even mildly warm spring weather had left me helpless against the heat.
I had a pretty good idea what would happen if I went outside in summer without even having to imagine it….
I'd probably wilt the moment I stepped outside and then evaporate…. Or I'd end up like dried squid, or turn into dried filefish….
To avoid such a disaster, I was planning to remain sealed inside the house throughout this especially hot summer unless something special came up.
“My senior said they were researching something, but…."
A few days ago, while my senior was experimenting on me, I heard they'd discovered a way to alleviate my constitution.
They said they'd figured it out because the Snowman mutant's constitution was similar to mine….
That didn't mean the medicine would be ready right away, so I'd probably be confined indoors this summer….
“Sigh…. At least winter will be my world, so I should take comfort in that.”
Winter, the opposite of summer, was sure to be the perfect weather for me as a Snow Woman.
Unlike summer, it would be cool and snowy—in short, winter was the best season for me….
Hurry up and come, winter…. Please…!
As I walked down the road thinking that-
Drip-
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a cold drop of water fell onto the bridge of my nose.
...This feels ominous somehow.
Drip-
Drip-drip-
Drip-drip... whooosh-
Sure enough, one drop soon became two, then three, gradually increasing until it began to rain.
...I should've checked the weather forecast before coming out.