Chapter 6
In the end, after Haru threatened to cut my hair off if I didn't let her undo it, I barely managed to take out the twin tails.
Haru was terribly disappointed, but I stood firm.
There was no way I could accept that hairstyle while in my right mind....
Anyway, after that little incident, we headed to a nearby mall to buy clothes.
I did wonder if we could just go to a nearby clothing store, but as Haru put it,
“Do you think clothes are all a girl needs? There are lots of other things she needs, like cosmetics, so we'd better go to a mall.”
she said.
Honestly, I was a little terrified by the thought that Haru planned to put makeup on me, who used to be a man.
I went along, planning to run away once we'd bought a reasonable amount of clothes.
Well, that's beside the point.
We've arrived.
“It's been ages since I last went shopping. Where should we start? Clothing? Accessories? Ngh... It's so hard to decide....”
Seeing Haru ponder where to go with sparkling eyes, I could tell Haru was incredibly excited to be shopping again after so long....
Compared to that, I, who was standing behind Haru—
“Hweee.... I'm dying.... I'm going to die soon.... I'm going to die....”
...had been defeated by the sun and reduced to a half-dead state.
“...Seolhwa, isn't your stamina a little too low?”
“It's not weak.... It's because of the sun....”
I had felt it when returning home from university last time, too, but with this body, walking around while the sun was out was difficult.
It felt hotter than walking around in midsummer, and drained my stamina at an incredible rate.
Why is being a snow woman so inconvenient....
“Spring is a little hot this year, but.... Isn't this a bit much?”
“It's not like saying that helps me....”
I never understood why every snow woman in old folktales lived deep in the mountains where blizzards raged, but now I knew for sure.
They weren't living there by choice.
They had no choice if they didn't want to die....
“Hweee....”
Since my stamina was completely depleted and I could no longer move, I had no choice but to slump down onto a nearby bench.
“Good grief....”
Despite looking exasperated, Haru began fanning me with a nearby flyer folded into a fan.
Thanks to that, I felt a little better than before, but it still wasn't enough....
Something cold to eat might help....
I looked around for something cold to eat, and—
right in front of us, I spotted a huge ice cream shop.
Ice cream!
The ultimate dessert, made by combining milk, sugar, and various sweeteners, then freezing the mixture.
It melted the moment it entered my mouth, filling it with a sweet, rich flavor.
“Gulp....”
I had no evidence, but I felt like eating that sweet, cold food would make me feel better.
“Haru! That one! Let's go eat it!”
“Whoa! You suddenly came back to life...?”
“Never mind that, hurry! I need to eat it right now!”
“W-Wait! Don't pull on my sleeve! It'll stretch!”
======
I immediately dragged Haru into the ice cream shop.
“Welcome.”
As we entered the shop, dozens of different kinds of ice cream were waiting to greet us.
Strawberry ice cream with an exquisite refreshing flavor.
Sweet and rich cheese ice cream.
And Star ice cream, filled with popping candy that burst in my mouth.
Seeing such an excellent lineup, I was almost disappointed that my wallet wouldn't let me try everything.
“Ngh.... What should I get....”
Should I go with strawberry? Or rainbow ice cream for a change? Or the dependable chocolate....
I was carefully choosing what ice cream to eat, like drawing an opponent's card when only the final two remained in a game of Joker.
“Hey, hey, Seolhwa, Seolhwa.”
Haru, standing beside me, poked me and spoke.
“How about that one? It's my favorite flavor.”
I looked where Haru was pointing and saw mint chocolate—
“......”
“Huh? Seolhwa, why are you looking at me like that?”
“...Haru, that's an insult to ice cream.”
“Why?! It tastes good once you get used to it!”
Haru began frantically singing mint chocolate's praises beside me, but—
I simply ignored Haru and ordered cheesecake ice cream.
======
“Haaah....”
The chill of the ice cream began healing my body, which the sun had warmed.
The melted cream that had lost its chill slid off the rest and landed on my tongue, bringing sweetness.
And because it was cheesecake ice cream rather than ordinary ice cream, it was rich, but its sweetness was even more pronounced, delighting my tongue.
“Hehe....”
I'm happy.
This perfect combination of cold and sweetness—
put me in such a good mood that even trivial concerns no longer mattered.
[Click]
“Hm?”
At the sudden sound of a photo being taken, I turned and found Haru holding up their phone with a strange smile.
“Huh? Why did you suddenly take a picture?”
“You'll understand when you see it.”
When I looked at the screen of the phone Haru handed me, I saw myself eating ice cream with an incredibly bright, innocent smile.
“You were so cute I took a picture without even thinking!”
“Aww....”
For some reason, I felt terribly embarrassed....
I was a little embarrassed to realize that I'd been smiling so innocently over nothing more than eating a single ice cream.
And to think they'd even taken a picture....
“Nom.”
My head felt hot, so I took another bite of ice cream to cool it down.
I felt better.
“But why did you suddenly get so excited about ice cream? You never used to like it that much.”
“Hmm....”
Before my mutation, ice cream was just something I ate if it was there, but otherwise wouldn't give a thought.
But now, for some reason....
“The moment I saw ice cream, I felt like I had to eat it....”
“Really? Did your tastes change when you became a snow woman? How fascinating....”
There were quite a few examples of people's eating habits changing after mutation.
Like a vampire mutant starting to drink blood.
Or a vegetarian mutating into a tiger and craving nothing but meat.
So I suppose I did start to like cold things, too....
“Nom”
I put more ice cream into my mouth.
Its sweet, nutty flavor swirled around my mouth and filled me with happiness.
What was there to think about so deeply? It was only ice cream, after all.
If it's delicious, that's all that matters. Hehe.
======
After finishing our ice cream, we could finally head to the clothing store.
Only then did I realize I'd made a huge mistake.
“Seolhwa, Seolhwa! Isn't this pretty? It has lots of frills, so it'll look good on you!”
I realized that my chance to run away had been before choosing clothes, not afterward.
“H-Haru.... Over there....”
“Hm? What's wrong?”
The clothes Haru had brought over definitely looked like outfits that would suit my current style.
The problem was....
“Why does everything you picked out have a skirt...?”
Every one of them was covered in frills, and each had either a skirt on the bottom or was a one-piece dress.
“But they're pretty, aren't they?”
“Even so, a skirt is a little much.... I was a man to begin with....”
“But, but biologically speaking, you're a woman now, aren't you?”
Ngh....
“So there wouldn't be anything wrong with wearing one, right?”
That was true....
...No, why am I being persuaded?! Get a grip!
“...Ah! Regardless of that, this is a matter of personal feelings! Anyway, I'm never wearing a skirt or anything like it!”
When I folded my arms and declared this firmly, Haru stopped holding one-piece dresses out to me.
By now, anyone else would have given up....
But Haru wasn't anyone else.
“...Then how about we make a bet?”
“A bet?”
Haru took a coin from their wallet and showed it to me as they continued.
“It's a simple bet. I'll hide the coin, and you find where it is.”
With that, Haru hid the coin behind their back.
“If I win.... You'll wear the clothes I pick out for you today.”
Oh, now I suddenly didn't want to.
“If you win, I'll pay for all of today's shopping.”
...What did they just say?
They'd pay for it instead...?
“You have to keep that promise, okay?”
“Of course, of course. But if I win, you'd better be prepared, too.”
Ngh....
If I lost, would I have to wear that incredibly frilly dress Haru had brought over earlier...?
To be clear, I really didn't want to wear it.
I was far too embarrassed to wear such a fluttery dress or skirt.
Especially in front of a friend.
But....
Haru had said that if I won, they'd pay for all of today's shopping.
Even fifty-fifty odds were a great deal! This was worth trying.
More importantly—
They'd challenged me to a bet. I couldn't run away!
When I put on a determined expression, Haru held both hands out toward me,
and the game began.
The odds were fifty-fifty.
Left or right? Think. Think...!
Haru was right-handed. So if I went with the obvious choice, it'd be their right hand, but.... This punishment would hurt Haru quite a bit, too....
It was hard to believe Haru had challenged me without thinking it through.
So should I choose the left...?
But what if Haru had seen through that and hidden the coin in their right hand?
Think, think...!
I have to outwit Haru, who I thought had seen through my attempt to see through their thoughts!
Right, left, right, left...!
“...Hurry up and choose. I'm going to close my hands.”
Hearing that, I finally said—
“The answer is.... Right!”
“You won't regret it... right?”
......
I didn't say anything in response.
I merely nodded in confirmation.
“The answer is....”
Slowly, Haru's right hand began to open.
And inside was....
“Wrong! You lose!”
...Nothing.
“Ngh...! It was the left hand....”
I'd agonized over it, but in the end, I couldn't beat fifty-fifty odds.
I really have no luck.... I'm so sad....
“Huh? There isn't anything in the left hand either?”
“...What?”
Flustered, I watched Haru open their left hand.
There really was no coin.
“I never said the coin was in either hand, did I?”
“Oh.”
Come to think of it, Haru's condition had only been that I find where the coin was.
Haru never said anything about the coin being in either hand.
I've been had...!
“I win.”
As Haru said that, they pulled out the coin they'd hidden in their back pocket and held it up.
Ughhh....
“Then I'll go get the clothes I want Seolhwa to wear, so wait here a moment!”
As I watched Haru's back disappear at lightning speed, only one thought came to mind.
Should I make a run for it now...?