Chapter 4
Once the mood loosened up, the awkwardness from earlier vanished, and we quickly returned to our usual atmosphere.
My friends seemed to have taken the situation in stride, too, and were treating me as they usually did.
...Or maybe it was a little different from usual.
Because, right now-
Rub rub rub rub-
“Haa…. Your cheeks are so soft, I just want to keep touching them….”
“Aah….”
As punishment for losing the game, Haru was rubbing my cheeks.
...Haven't you gotten a little too comfortable?
“S-Stop touching me now….”
“Ah…. Sorry, they were so soft that I couldn't help myself….”
When I protested that the cheek-rubbing had gone far beyond the allotted punishment time, Haru finally came to their senses and stopped rubbing my cheek.
...Although Haru still looked at me with an expression that seemed to say it wasn't quite enough.
Are my cheeks really that addictive…?
Seeing Haru's expression made me curious for no reason, so I started touching my own cheeks, too.
Yeah…. They are definitely soft, but….
Honestly, I could put up with having my cheeks rubbed, but the friction heat was making my body warm, which was getting a little difficult to bear….
...I feel like I've melted a little, but that's just my imagination, right?
While I was fiddling with these bewitching cheeks and checking whether they had melted, Hyunwoo, who had been playing Mario Kart beside me, opened his mouth.
“By the way, you suddenly changed like that. Are you having any problems?”
“Not particularly…. Other than being a little more sensitive to heat, nothing has happened yet.”
Actually, even if there were a problem, less than a day had passed since I changed, so there was no way to know what might happen….
“I see…. Anyway, have you told your parents that you changed like that?”
“Not yet. I do need to tell them…. Hmm…. I'll wait for the right time.”
I'd somehow already told four people about my transformation, but I still felt a little reluctant to tell anyone about it.
The four of them had accepted it well, but there was no guarantee that everyone else would do the same.
It was also true that I still felt hesitant, since news of mutants being kicked out of their homes was hardly unusual anymore.
It should be fine to tell them after I've adjusted to this body a little more.
That would be better for both my family and me.
“...But then you might forget and end up in trouble later.”
“Oh, come on. No way.”
I had a feeling Hyunwoo had just jinxed me, but I decided to ignore it.
There was no way I was that stupid, and I would tell them soon anyway, so that wouldn't be a problem.
...Right?
While we were talking, Juhyeok, who had come in twelfth without even crossing the finish line in Mario Kart, threw down his controller and spoke.
“Ah, I'm getting hungry…. Seolhwa, do you have any snacks?”
“Oh, there should be some snacks in the kitchen. Just a second.”
Come to think of it, I'd only eaten chocolate since getting up, so I was getting hungry, too. I headed toward the cupboard to get some snacks and fill my stomach.
Sure enough, the snacks were in the cupboard, just as I remembered.
In the very top compartment of the cupboard where I'd kept the chocolate.
“......”
I think it's time I broke my habit of hiding snacks in high places.
...Not that I can hide them anymore.
“Hnnngh…!”
Once again, my only strategy for getting them down was to try my best.
I'd gotten the chocolate down earlier, so if I tried hard enough, I could probably reach these, too.
So once again, I rose onto my tiptoes and stretched toward the snacks.
Just a little…. Just a little more…!
But the snacks seemed to be pushed farther back than the chocolate, because no matter how far I reached, I couldn't get close to them.
Nngh…! Just a little, just a little more…!
“...What are you doing?”
“Eek…?”
Just as my efforts to grab the snacks were proving futile, Hyunwoo came over, easily took them down, and handed them to me.
“You've gotten shorter, too. What are you doing? If you can't reach them, just ask.”
“Ngh….”
Faced with such an undeniably correct argument, I couldn't say anything and had no choice but to accept Hyunwoo's lecture.
Watching Hyunwoo easily retrieve something from a cupboard I had to work so hard to reach made me feel like I'd lost somehow.
It also made me realize anew just how small I had become.
“......”
I raised my head and stared at Hyunwoo's face.
My friend's face, which had once been at eye level with mine, was now so high above me that I had to look up just to see it properly.
I was 148 centimeters tall and Hyunwoo was 178, so that was roughly a thirty-centimeter difference…. That's huge….
“...What? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
Now that I was looking at Hyunwoo's face like this, I realized it was better-looking than I'd thought.
It was almost strange that Hyunwoo still didn't have a girlfriend.
“It's nothing….”
Maybe I was feeling jealous for no reason, but I answered curtly without meaning to and headed toward the game console.
“Ah! I really can't play Kart anymore! Let's play something else!”
“You're not just bad at Kart. You're bad at everything.”
“Fine, come play Smash. I'll crush you.”
When I approached the two of them, they seemed to be arguing over their gaming skills.
Well, gaming skill was a serious matter.
Of course, if Juhyeok could beat Haru based on skill alone…. There was no chance.
“Seolhwa, want to play too?”
Haru noticed me approaching, handed me a controller, and spoke.
I took the controller, sat down beside them, and began choosing my character.
“Hey! Don't either of you pick a character that counters mine!”
“Then don't pick yours first.”
“That's true.”
“Nngh….”
In the end, Juhyeok came in last that round, too.
======
As we spent time playing games and having fun, the sun had gone down before we knew it.
I was having so much fun with my friends that I didn't even notice time passing.
By the way, there's something I'm curious about….
“Why did all of you come to my place together? You were carrying all sorts of things, too….”
The three of them suddenly froze, as if time itself had stopped.
“...Good question?”
“Why did we come again?”
“I feel like there was something important….”
......
They'd forgotten why they'd come while they were hanging out….
“Oh, right, right! Your birthday! We came to throw you a birthday party, Seolhwa!”
“Huh? My birthday?”
Haru clapped their hands as if they'd just remembered, and the other two seemed to recall their purpose only then.
Now that I think about it, today was my birthday.
I'd been so frazzled all day that I'd forgotten.
“Now that you mention it, I'd forgotten all about your birthday. Here, this is for you.”
Hyunwoo scratched his head as he handed me a present.
“It's the headset you said you wanted before. Put it to good use.”
“Thanks. I will.”
“Mine is this!”
Haru immediately handed me the present they had brought and spoke.
“A phone case! You said your case broke last time, right?”
“Thanks. You remembered?”
The two of them had both given me exactly what I needed, which left only….
“Um…. I originally bought this just to prank you…. But given the situation, maybe something more appropriate would be better…. Um….”
When I looked at Juhyeok, Juhyeok seemed to be muttering to himself and making no move to give me the present.
...You're not going to give me a gift?
“Whatever! I can still put this to good use. Here, take it.”
After thinking deeply, Juhyeok finally handed me the present with a bright expression.
“Uh…. Thanks…. But what is this?”
“What is it? Don't be surprised.”
Juhyeok struck a strange pose and said-
“Feminine wash! Exactly what you need right now.”
“......”
Juhyeok handed me a bottle of feminine wash with a proud expression and an even stranger pose.
I pointed at Juhyeok and said,
“kill him.”
“I'm sooo sorry!!”
On my signal, Hyunwoo and Haru began stomping on Juhyeok at the same time.
Giving me something like this when I was already distressed... You're the worst.
By the way, for him to have bought feminine wash with such perfect timing….
Could he be the mastermind behind all this…?
======
After thoroughly beating up Juhyeok.
We took out the cake we'd bought earlier for the final event of the birthday party.
The usual ritual of lighting the candles on a birthday cake and blowing them out.
“I'll light them.”
Hyunwoo, who had bought the cake, was in charge of lighting the candles. Meanwhile, we sat quietly and talked as we watched the flames flicker.
“But Seolhwa, you're a Snow Woman. Is it okay to light candles?”
“This much is fine, okay? And the air conditioner is on, too….”
I had been a little tired in the morning, too, but I hadn't melted, so I should be able to handle it.
...Probably.
“The candles are all lit.”
A moment later, Hyunwoo finished lighting the candles and turned off the lights, leaving only the candle flames shining brightly in the dark studio apartment-
...It feels weird, like the power's been cut.
Putting those feelings aside, my friends immediately began singing the birthday song.
Now it was time to blow out the candles.
“Seolhwa, Seolhwa.”
As I approached the cake to blow out the candles, Haru tugged on my sleeve and spoke.
“Don't forget to make a wish, okay?”
A wish….
My wish right now was to return to normal…. But realistically, that seemed impossible….
In that case….
“Hoo-”
I blew on the candles and silently made a wish.
I hoped I could get through the future without anything going wrong-
“...It's cold!”
“Eek?! Wh-What was that?! Something came out of Seolhwa's mouth!”
“What the heck? The cake's frozen.”
“What?”
When I opened my eyes at the sound of my friends' flustered voices, I saw the frozen cake and Juhyeok shivering from the cold.
Huh, wh...? Could this be because of my breath…?
While everyone stood there too flustered to say anything,
I said something to change the mood.
“Uh…. Ice cream cake complete…?”
With the frozen cake as the finale,
the birthday I could never forget came to an end.