The large fashion store we all went to in Hwa-won’s car had clothes from every brand imaginable. I was a bit worried just by looking at the brands, but as Hwa-won said, most of them were affordable low-cost brands.
And I became a doll.
“Uh?”
“This one’s next.”
Both Hwa-won and Hye-won were not the type to force me into clothes I didn’t like. They hadn’t been that way until now, and today was no different.
The problem was that I didn’t dislike it too much. I had tried on several skirts that I would never have worn in the past. In that situation, the hurdles in my heart had drastically lowered, and the clothes chosen by Hye-won were not particularly burdensome and looked pretty good personally.
In such a situation, after taking what was given to me, I found myself trying on more than forty outfits. Realizing something was wrong, I tried to rebel timidly,
“Uh, it might be a nuisance to the store, so shouldn’t we stop…?”
“I’ve already bought at least one outfit from every store, so it’s okay.”
Hye-won was surprisingly firm.
“Yes! You can try on whatever you want!”
And somehow, all the store employees (who were all female) responded similarly.
“Red looks really good on you because of your hair color.”
I had already tried on more than one type of outfit. There were navy jumper skirts that looked like middle school uniforms, a red A-line? flare? skirt, and even the skirt pants I had refused before. For reference, those skirt pants were the only pants among the outfits I tried on today.
Of course, I hadn’t just tried on skirts all day; I had also worn many tops that matched them.
There were V-necks, crop tops, sweatshirts, thin hoodies, and ordinary T-shirts, and even sleeveless tops.
Wait, hang on, you shouldn’t be here.
“This is a bit too….”
“Why? It’s cute.”
“…It feels a bit revealing.”
“Isn’t it just cute? And you’re not just going to wear that alone; you can throw something over it too. Excuse me? I’m going to try this on.”
“Okay!”
A sleeveless top.
It looked refreshing, but this was a bit… revealing, wasn’t it? As I hesitated in the fitting room, it was hard to think of anything else.
Am I just being lewd? When I searched on my phone, plenty of photos of women with emphasized chests and shoulders popped up. It was revealing indeed.
Of course, the sleeveless top chosen by Hye-won wasn’t as thin as that, but my shoulders were still exposed. Honestly, I felt a bit uncomfortable. Up until now, most of my clothes had been warm and wrapped tightly.
If I said I disliked it, Hye-won would silently move on to another outfit. That’s just how she was.
But… I didn’t want to be rude, especially since she had picked out the clothes with effort, and I was already in the fitting room. Besides, when I thought about it, it didn’t seem that revealing after all.
Isn’t it funny to call this body revealing? If I went outside and said this outfit was too revealing, Hwa-won would probably laugh like crazy.
In the end, I put on the sleeveless top and wrapped my shoulders with the shirt I had originally been wearing.
“Wow, it really suits you. Let me see.”
Looking at myself in the mirror in front of the fitting room, it indeed looked good. But does this even mean anything? Every outfit I had worn so far looked good. Given that I had a good body type to begin with, I could pull off just about any outfit.
Still, my face flushed with embarrassment, and Hye-won snatched my shirt away.
“Huh?”
“If you cover up with this, nothing will be visible.”
Ugh, that’s true.
Looking in the mirror, it definitely wasn’t a revealing outfit. It was just a kid wearing a sleeveless top; how could that be revealing…? As Hye-won said, it just looked cute.
Glancing at Hwa-won, who was silently acting as a pack mule, I noticed he was looking at me but yawned with a tired expression, showing no reaction. Then Hwa-won caught my gaze and spoke.
“What are you looking at?”
Hwa-won seemed to have no interest. In fact, when carrying more than ten shopping bags on his arms, it was understandable that he wouldn’t be interested in anything. But why was I feeling… not bad?
At first, he had at least said it suited me somewhat.
“Uh, how is it?”
“Yeah, yeah, it looks good.”
When I asked timidly, the words were devoid of any spirit. It was a bit annoying. Of course, the outfit I was wearing was just a basic sleeveless top, so I shouldn’t expect too much…
Finally, after gifting Hwa-won with the 11th shopping bag, we moved on to the next store. The next store was…
“Should we get some shorts too?”
Like before, I didn’t really refuse. There was no reason for me to decline the request to buy pants. Of course, I already had some shorts at home. However, the ones I had felt a bit small, so I had been thinking about getting new ones.
“These shorts are a bit… too short, don’t you think?”
No, still, even though they were denim shorts, this was a bit too short. They were practically hot pants.
“True. Do you have any longer ones?”
“This is the only one left right now.”
Fortunately, Hye-won didn’t make me wear this one either. But since there were no longer styles available, I had no choice but to give up on the denim shorts.
Still, isn’t this a bit much? As I gave Hye-won a look, she already had another outfit in her hands.
“Then how about trying this on?”
It was a pair of dolphin shorts.
“…No, this is a bit much.”
“Why?”
“It’s too revealing….”
I could say that outright. That was the image. These were the clothes that girls would wear when they were trying to be sexy. The images online were similar. Wasn’t this just an outfit for sexual appeal?
“Oh? No way.”
But Hye-won denied it.
“Sure, some people might wear it like that, but the outfit itself isn’t strange, right? I wear this at home often; does that make me a revealing girl?”
I recalled my first meeting with Hye-won. When I first saw her, she was lounging around in her underwear in Hwa-won’s room.
“Ugh, she’s a revealing girl… isn’t she?”
“Wow, that hurts my feelings.”
Before I knew it, I had spoken, and Hye-won pretended to cry, as if she genuinely felt hurt. She definitely treated me like I was her younger sibling. Who would fall for something like that? Wait… is she really crying?
“I’m, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
As soon as I saw Hye-won actually crying, I panicked and started apologizing and soothing her. Thinking back, it was normal to feel hurt by those words. I had carelessly spoken without thinking about how she usually acted so spoilt.
“Really?”
“Really. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll try on everything.”
“Then you’ll wear all the outfits I pick out?”
I should have caught on there…
“Yeah, I will, so stop crying.”
“Okay.”
Uh…? Hye-won wiped her tears and smiled as if a sense of achievement washed over her. It wasn’t the expression someone who had just been crying would have. Feeling something was off, I looked back. Hwa-won, seeing me, bluntly remarked.
“She’s good at faking tears.”
I was… set up, wasn’t I?
Looking at Hye-won with a face full of betrayal, she seemed completely unaffected. Instead, she smiled more cheerfully. But still… well, she hadn’t really picked anything weird up until now, so it should be fine.
I regretted that thought after trying on the dolphin shorts, less than ten minutes later.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
“This doesn’t seem right, Hye-won.”
“Was your promise earlier a lie?”
Hye-won pouted, pretending to be hurt. Of course, knowing it was an act, I wasn’t about to let that slide. It shouldn’t have come to this…
“Stop crying.”
No, she’s really good at fake crying. I almost fell for it again. No, wait, is this for real this time? I can’t tell. Why aren’t you acting yet?
“We had a deal…”
“B-but…”
“You’re a liar.”
I felt like a fool. Ugh, seriously.
In the end, even though I knew it was an act, I had no choice but to give in again. Honestly, it didn’t seem remotely like a performance. It didn’t even feel like a prank. Plus, since everyone around us was staring, I couldn’t just let her keep crying…
“Isn’t the reason they’re staring because of you?”
“Be quiet, Gang Hwa-won.”
No, this really doesn’t seem right.
“Do I need a swimsuit?”
There was still more than a month until summer, and I had no plans to go to the beach.
“Aren’t you going to the beach? Summer is coming soon.”
“…I’m not going.”
Clearly, I don’t look like the kind of person who goes to the beach, right? It shouldn’t be hard to recognize. Or is it? Maybe Hye-won doesn’t know since we haven’t met that often.
“Then let’s go to the pool.”
“I’m not going, I said.”
“A bathtub.”
“Why do I need a swimsuit for that?”
That’s just unreasonable, honestly.
“Isn’t it sad not to go to the beach in the summer?”
“Who would be sad about that?”
The assumption that everyone must go to the beach in summer comes from a socialite’s mindset, and there’s no one to feel sorry for. Plus, the beaches are filled with jellyfish nowadays.
“You should feel sad that Hwa-won oppa isn’t taking you.”
“No, why would I be the one suddenly getting dragged into this?”
Hye-won’s words drew an exasperated shout from Hwa-won, who was now carrying sixteen shopping bags. No matter how tired he looked, those words reached him.
“Oppa, you should support me at times like this.”
“Why would I do that for a girl who has a boyfriend now?”
Hye-won has a boyfriend? I had heard before that she didn’t have one yet. That’s not necessarily strange, but it felt a bit surprising. It made me feel uneasy for some reason.
“Ah, she broke up because he was cheating.”
“…Yeah, good call.”
Hwa-won looked at Hye-won, seemingly dumbfounded. Why did his expression change for a moment? Hwa-won’s face changed slightly? No way? Could it be?
“Why are you shocked?”
“Please tell me it’s not you?”
“I wouldn’t do that anymore. Be quiet.”
You wouldn’t do that? Suddenly? Hwa-won, not dating? That was even more frightening. It scared me, but I didn’t ask for the reason. I suddenly felt bad; it seemed like trying to figure it out would only make me feel worse.
The atmosphere calmed slightly. My state, too. In the midst of that, Hye-won made an additional strike.
“Oppa, don’t you want to see Seol-guk in a swimsuit?”
“What store are you trying to place me in now? Wanting to see me would make you a crazy pedophile.”
Ugh, why did that make me angry? I shouted without realizing it.
“I’m not that small!”
“You’re small, idiot.”
Yeah, I am small.
Hwa-won’s remark brought back bad memories. Yes, I was small. That’s why things happened like that.
Because I was small, I was bullied. Because I was small, I was a target for such crimes.
I hated being small. Ever since I was a child, I had always wanted to be a big person. But now, I couldn’t be that kind of person at all. Maybe I had been that kind of person once. But no longer.
I didn’t want to be small because I chose to be.
I felt like a fool for shopping happily and then acting like this. But I couldn’t control my emotions in that moment. Something welled up in my eyes.
“Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“Huh…?”
“Stop crying. I’m sorry. You’re not small.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
Coming to my senses, I found Hwa-won had come closer and was wiping my tears. I had only a little bit of moisture in my eyes, but it was comforting. Behind Hwa-won, the shopping bags lay abandoned.
“I don’t want to wear a swimsuit.”
“Okay, don’t wear it. Hye-won, you went too far.”
“I’m sorry. I was too pushy.”
Hye-won also recognized that I wasn’t doing too well and apologized. She didn’t drag things out like she would with a child. She had been a bit mischievous today, but I knew she had no bad intentions. I shook my head.
“No, it’s okay. As long as it’s not a swimsuit, I’ll wear anything else.”
This should satisfy Hye-won. Well, wearing clothes isn’t that big of a deal. A swimsuit is just too much, but I decided to wear whatever else she wanted. Hye-won smiled at me.
We went back to the car to unload our shopping bags for a short break. After sharing some desserts, we resumed shopping. After all, we had already bought all the necessary clothes. We had bought quite a lot, but we could afford it.
So, I would try on the clothes Hye-won wanted once, and then we would relax and roam around.
With that thought of “Ending,” I felt a sense of relief. As long as it wasn’t something like a swimsuit, I felt I could wear anything.
When Hye-won suggested a strange outfit at the cosplay shop, I didn’t resist too much and tried it on willingly. The color was still a bit much for my taste.
“…Isn’t this too pink?”
“At least it’s not revealing.”
That much is true.
Hwa-won looked at us with a face that seemed surprised.
I didn’t really understand, but they said such outfits were called ‘minefields.’
It was a strange name.
