“Hmph.”
Friday night. Arna stood in front of the closet, humming a tune.
Tomorrow is the day we’re going to the movie theater. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out, so I should prepare what I’m going to wear in advance.
Squeak—
The closet was filled with numerous clothes, ranging from ones she purchased online herself to those she received as sponsorship items.
“Let’s see…this one…and this one too…”
She picked out the clothes she’d most recently bought and laid them on the bed.
“Hmm.”
Which one should I take out?
It’s getting hotter these days, so I should probably pick something a little more revealing.
Swoosh—
Arna first grabbed a gray knitted dress.
She put it on immediately and stood in front of the full-length mirror.
“Ugh….”
Looking in the mirror, Arna instinctively twisted her lips. There was no way around it—this dress was far bolder than she had anticipated.
The tight fit accentuated her curves, unabashedly emphasizing her chest and hips.
I never imagined I’d see this kind of Dongtan housewife look here. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
“Ah, as expected, I shouldn’t wear this…!”
There’s no way I can wear something like this to meet Shin Yoon-seong. He’d definitely call me a pervert or something right away.
I can’t hear that kind of comment in public.
“Next…!”
Arna quickly took off the knitted dress and moved on to the next one—a black sheer blouse that revealed her underwear.
“Why does my closet only have these wild clothes!? I don’t remember buying such items at all!”
If I keep going like this, I might as well be branded a slut. And this is the outfit I have to wear in front of Shin Yoon-seong. I really need to choose something more appropriate.
“Another one… another one…”
Arna hastily searched through the rest of her wardrobe, looking for something less revealing and tidier.
“Hmm…?”
Suddenly, her hand paused.
“Wait a moment. Why do I have to care so much about what he thinks?”
Thinking about it, she realized that she didn’t need to. After all, it was her who would be wearing the clothes. Why was she getting so worked up about Shin Yoon-seong’s opinion?
This is my outfit I’m deciding to wear.
“Hmph! I’m not going to let that guy dictate my choices!”
Arna picked up the gray knitted dress she had tried on earlier.
“I can wear this! A dress like this!”
Saturday afternoon. As planned, I visited the movie theater to meet Arna.
Being a weekend, the crowd in the lobby was particularly dense. The ticket kiosks were already crowded with people.
“Hmm…”
I wondered when Arna would show up. It was getting to be about time.
“Excuse me….”
At that moment, someone tapped me on the back. It was Arna who had just arrived. I turned around.
“Hmph, hmm.”
Arna cleared her throat a couple of times. This was the first time I saw her in casual clothes instead of her usual uniform.
The fit of her hoodie was relaxed, and her bottom was a pair of slacks. She also wore a bucket hat and sunglasses to hide her face.
It was a very casual outfit.
“Come on, I have no choice! There are so many people watching here… and… and…”
“Who said anything? Why are you getting so worked up all by yourself?”
Of course, I understood her situation. Arna is a celebrity, after all. When she appears openly in a place like a movie theater, naturally, she’d attract people’s attention.
Moreover, requests for autographs and other nuisances are bound to happen.
Today’s casual choice of Arna’s outfit could be considered quite appropriate.
“I wanted to show something more beautiful originally…”
“Hmm? Did you say something?”
Because of the crowd, I couldn’t hear her clearly. I tilted my head.
“It’s nothing! Anyway, hurry up and go buy popcorn!”
“Popcorn? Am I buying it?”
“Of course! I’m paying for the movie ticket, right?”
“…Alright. I’ll go and get it.”
With no choice, I headed toward the snack stand, leaving Arna behind at a distance.
I called the snack stand employee.
“I’d like to place an order.”
“Oh, sure, come on then… Aaaahhh!”
The moment our eyes met, the snack stand employee screamed in surprise upon recognizing me.
I was equally surprised to see a familiar face here.
It was Kim Han-bit, the information communication officer from the Technical Division, at the snack stand.
“Are you working part-time here? You must be working hard even on weekends.”
“Why, why are you here….”
Kim Han-bit’s voice trembled as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. Did she find it so strange to see me at the movie theater?
Well, I guess I’m not exactly the type who’s often associated with such outings.
“While you’re standing there dumbfounded, why don’t you just take the order?”
“Ah… I feel so embarrassed… getting caught working here by someone I know…”
“That’s enough. Hurry up and take the order.”
“Are you really going to tell me how to do my job!?”
At my prompt, Kim Han-bit shouted angrily.
“Hey. How dare you speak disrespectfully to a customer? Is that how you’ve been trained?”
“Iiiek….”
This isn’t a school but a workplace. We’re not students now but a customer and an employee. Certainly, Kim Han-bit knows this fact.
Eventually, despite her reluctance, Kim Han-bit forced a smile.
“Yes, yes sir… What would you like…?”
Though her mouth was smiling, her eyes weren’t. She looked ready to hit me with a frying pan any moment now. Several prominent veins bulged on her forehead.
Scary indeed.
“One large popcorn and two large colas.”
“Would you want to consider our combo set? It’s a little cheaper.”
“Combo? Just choose whatever you want, then.”
“Rrrr….”
Kim Han-bit gritted her teeth but didn’t say anything further to me because, after all, she was just a part-timer now.
Next, Kim Han-bit executed her “angry popcorn scooping” technique with a vengeance.
“Could you be a little gentler? The popcorn will all crumble.”
“I know what I’m doing, so you might as well just keep quiet and wait there, customer.”
“Wow, what elegance from a part-timer.”
After scooping enough popcorn, it was Kim Han-bit’s turn to pour cola into two cups.
During this operation, Kim Han-bit asked me:
“Who are you going to watch the movie with? Is it your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? Are you kidding me?”
“Then, a friend?”
“Not exactly.”
It felt a bit odd to call Arna a friend. She’s just… an acquaintance, for now at least.
–Excuse me!
As the saying goes—when you talk about the tiger, it comes. Arna, wearing her cap pulled down low, quickly approached the snack stand.
“Is it so hard to buy one popcorn? Are you frying it manually or something?”
“Huh? This voice….”
The voice was familiar. Kim Han-bit, who had been standing in front, blinked her eyes a few times and then began to stare directly at Arna by my side.
And then,
“A-A-A-Arna Kristin Dotir…!”
Kim Han-bit burst into a shout. Even though Arna was wearing sunglasses, her face wasn’t completely hidden. A detailed observation could reveal that it was Arna.
“Shh.”
I signaled Kim Han-bit to keep quiet. We couldn’t let anyone else know that Arna had come at this moment. If someone found out, it might turn into a fan event.
“Ah, I-I’m sorry….”
Kim Han-bit lowered her voice quickly upon realizing this.
“Ehh, how….”
But she was still clearly in shock, shaking her head. She hadn’t expected Arna to appear in such a place.
“Why, why is Arna here with someone like you…?”
Kim Han-bit repeatedly rolled her eyes, alternating between me and Arna. While finding it surprising that Arna was at the movie theater, what shocked her more was that Arna had come with me.
She signaled to me with her eyes to explain the situation.
“Ah, nothing special.”
According to this, I decided to mention the incident from the lecture hall the other day.
“Arna suggested we come watch a movie… Hmmph…!”
When I tried to continue speaking, Arna suddenly clamped her hand over my mouth.
“Aha! The movie is about to start! We’ll be late if we don’t hurry!”
“Hmph! Huff!”
“Here, I’ll give you my card for payment! I’ll come back and pick it up after the movie ends!”
Without picking up the ordered cola and popcorn, Arna began dragging me off somewhere.
Well.
Anyway, since we didn’t pay for the popcorn, it saved some money, didn’t it?
But the joy from saving on popcorn didn’t last long.
–Creeeeek!
“Aaaaaaah!”
When a ghost jumped out on the movie screen, I shrieked loudly.
The movie we’d come to watch turned out to be a horror movie. What a trick by a lecherous ghost. I can’t watch horror flicks.
“Are you really so afraid? You even fight monsters.”
“Monsters and ghosts are different!”
–Creeeeek!
“Aaaaaaah!”
When the ghost reappeared, I couldn’t help but turn my body and fled straight into Arna’s embrace.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Just for a moment! I just need to borrow your shoulder for a moment!”
“That’s my chest you’re burying your face into! What gives you the right to do so? Get off right now!”
…
…
After the movie ended, I learned a fact: throughout the movie screening, I clung tightly to Arna like a man clinging to his lover.
And every time a ghost appeared, I hid my face in her chest.
…
This.
I have a feeling that I might soon get a call from the nearby police station demanding I show up.
Since it was clearly sexual harassment, after all.
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