Chapter 34
“Snrk…. Who even thinks of hiding in a refrigerator….”
“Shut uppp….”
After I was caught hiding in the refrigerator to avoid Haru and Juhyeok.
After being dragged out of the refrigerator, Juhyeok teased me for my lack of creativity.
“Ugh…. I thought it was perfect, so why….”
“I should've just told them to go to a café nearby…. Jeez….”
“Where else could you hide inside the house? You never stood a chance from the start.”
Even Hyeonwoo and Haru objected to my decision to hide in the refrigerator.
...Anyone but you, Hyeonwoo!
“Snrk…. Putting aside the hiding, of course they'd find it suspicious if you left all the side dishes out. Pfft.”
“But you guys came back sooner than I expected….”
Of course, although my body was small, I was still human, so I couldn't fit inside the refrigerator without taking everything inside out.
And Haru and Juhyeok arrived while I was taking it all out…. The rest is history.
“Whew…. I haven't laughed this hard in ages.”
“Ugh….”
Juhyeok finally stopped laughing, then gazed at me with a benevolent look, placed a hand on my shoulder, and spoke.
“By the way, congratulations, Seolhwa.”
“Congratulations? For what?”
“Already living with your boyfriend? You're moving incredibly fast. Pfft….”
“M-my boyfriend? What nonsense are you talking about!”
I yelled angrily at Juhyeok for suddenly spouting nonsense, but he continued to jeer and mock me.
“Haah…. I had a feeling it would turn out like this….”
“You should've just explained the situation from the start, then. We've known each other for years.”
“So what? If I'd told you, would you not have teased me?”
“No, we'd have teased you anyway. We've known each other for years.”
Beside him, Hyeonwoo was rubbing his forehead in distress, while Haru was grinning happily at the amusing sight.
“No, Seolhwa. Even couples have an incredibly hard time living together, you know? But you two are doing it so casually that maybe you're already a couple.”
“I've told you how many times, we're not! I'm only staying here because my air conditioner broke!”
Juhyeok enjoyed teasing both Hyeonwoo and me with his bizarre logic.
Fine…. If that's how you're going to be…!
I spread my fingers wide, placed a hand on my chest, and shouted.
“Look at me carefully! Who would date someone with a tiny little body like this?! Anyone who likes a body this tiny belongs in jail!”
“Khk….”
Hyeonwoo suddenly spat out the coffee he was drinking.
...What's his problem now?
“And besides, does it make any sense for me, a former man, to date another man? Especially one like this….”
I stopped there and looked at Hyeonwoo.
His face was handsome enough to rank among the top….
He was kind despite being a worrier, and took good care of me….
He was tall, with a sturdier build than I'd expected….
Does he have… no flaws?
Uh….
“...Anyway, I feel like I could date a man!”
“Didn't you leave something out in the middle there?”
“...I didn't leave anything out.”
Annoyed that Hyeonwoo seemed to have no particular flaws, I unconsciously whipped my head around and spoke.
I was full of flaws, so what was this guy, some kind of superhuman…. How could never having dated anyone be his only flaw….
...Could there be something strange about his sexual proclivities?
Suddenly having that uneasy thought, I looked at Hyeonwoo again.
“...What's with you? You keep shaking your head around.”
“...No, it's nothing.”
It didn't mean anything, though.
It wasn't as if I could tell anything just by looking at someone else's sexual proclivities….
Whatever Hyeonwoo's proclivities were, what did they have to do with me? It would only be his future girlfriend who'd have to deal with them.
“Well, Seolhwa, you definitely used to be a man….”
Juhyeok folded his arms and thought for a moment before continuing.
“But you're a woman now, Seolhwa.”
“No…. Well, biologically speaking, I am….”
“A man and a woman can end up doing that in an instant, you know? If it's just the two of you, before long you'll start seeing each other as members of the opposite sex. And once that happens, it'll be quick….”
“......”
Just as Juhyeok reached that point, Haru quietly walked up behind him and smacked him once on the back of the head.
Nice shot!
“Ow! What's gotten into you, Yu Haru!”
“...I don't know. Something about it annoyed me.”
“Why are you getting upset when I'm the one teasing them….”
“Hmph.”
Haru turned away from Juhyeok, clearly sulking, while Juhyeok, dazed after being hit for no apparent reason, could only stare at Haru's back.
Honestly, what a dense idiot….
======
"Well, that's enough teasing Seolhwa for now….“
A few minutes later, Haru seemed to have calmed down a little and clapped her hands, speaking brightly to change the mood.
“Now that we're all here, how about we discuss where to go on a trip soon?”
“Sounds good. I did want to go have some fun before finals.”
Juhyeok apparently wanted to go too, because he immediately agreed and joined the discussion.
“Now that we have an even split between men and women, we can get lodging without wasting money.”
“At last we can avoid three men having to sleep crammed together…. Phew….”
Until now, because there were three men and one woman, whenever we stayed somewhere overnight, the men had always been extremely uncomfortable….
But now that the gender ratio was even, if we rented two rooms, both groups could stay equally comfortably.
“Hehehehe…. A room with Seolhwa….”
As soon as lodging came up, Haru's eyes somehow grew frightening, and she wore the expression of someone hatching a suspicious scheme.
“...Um, I suddenly feel like my life is in danger. Can't I sleep alone?”
Somehow, being in the same space as Haru seemed more dangerous than being in the same space as Hyeonwoo.
You like someone else, so why are you doing this to me….
“Love and like are different things, Seolhwa.”
“Don't read my inner monologue….”
Haru secretly leaned in from behind me and whispered into my ear.
It felt like the devil whispering in my ear, and the sheer physical fear was overwhelming.
Eek….
“Putting sleeping arrangements aside…. Where are we going?”
As I pushed away the clinging Haru, Hyeonwoo scratched his head and suggested we decide on a destination.
He had a point—the most important thing was deciding where to go.
“It's been pretty hot lately, so how about the beach?”
Haru, who had been clinging to me, raised her hand and suggested the beach as if she'd just thought of a great idea.
“The beach….”
I don't dislike the beach.
Swimming is fun, walking along the shore in the cool sea breeze is enjoyable, and eating fresh, locally sourced seafood is fun too.
If there's one problem…. it's the swimsuit, of course.
A skirt or dress at least covers the body, but a swimsuit is, for all intents and purposes, clothing that exposes everything except the important parts.
Wearing something like that with this body feels psychologically burdensome in all sorts of ways….
“It may have been especially hot lately, but May is still a little early for the beach.”
“True…. I guess it is….”
Before I could refuse, Hyeonwoo dismissed the beach idea on the grounds that it was too early.
Thank goodness…. I was worried what we'd do if everyone voted for the beach….
“Oh, come to think of it. My uncle runs a campsite in the mountains. Want to go there?”
Juhyeok, who had been racking his brains, offered an idea.
"There's a big valley nearby, and the equipment's still there, so we can go and come back without much hassle."
Camping…. If it's in the mountains, I won't have to worry about my outfit, the air will be nice, and stargazing at night sounds great.
It is a shame we can't eat warm barbecue, but we can bring naengmyeon and put the meat in it!
"But now that I think about it, there's something more problematic than the location…. ”
Haru glanced at me and continued.
“Would it be okay to bring Seolhwa…. What if she melts while we're there?”
“Don't worry, in that case….”
When Haru expressed concern about me melting, Juhyeok firmly told her not to worry.
“It's a remote place, so if we let the ground absorb her properly, there won't be any evidence left.”
“Don't start with hiding the body!”
I hurled a huge chunk of ice at Juhyeok, who was casually planning to kill me and hide me.
Honestly, he was asking for it. He really was.
“Oh! I just had a great idea. How about we put Seolhwa in a cooler?”
“That's a good idea.”
“It's not!”
At this point, they were treating me like luggage.
A cooler…. What, do they think I'm frozen food….
“We don't need ideas like that. The mountains should be perfectly fine…. The breeze will be cool too.”
I couldn't be certain, but the mountains should have cool breezes and plenty of shade between the trees, so I could probably endure it better than in the city.
And if I brought a mini fan and some ice cream, I should be able to manage...
“Then it's settled! We're going camping!”
When I, the final hurdle, gave camping my approval, Haru excitedly declared the discussion over.
So we're going camping this trip…. It'll be my first trip since becoming a Snow Woman, so I'm looking forward to it.
Come to think of it, there was something I'd been curious about for a while….
I looked at everyone and spoke.
"What are all of you doing at Hyeonwoo's place anyway?"
"Huh? For the group project, obviously…."
The moment Haru mentioned the group project as if it were obvious.
All three of them wore desperate expressions, as though they'd just realized something.
"W-what do we do? We haven't done any of the group project!"
"This isn't the time to make plans for a trip! Lee Hyeonwoo! Let's start researching!"
"I can't believe we forgot why we came here until now…. This is bad…."
The three of them hurriedly pulled materials from their bags and began preparing for the group project.
"Nom nom. Snacks are yummy."
As a student on leave, I leisurely ate snacks while watching the scene.
A leave of absence is the best….