“Haa, haa…”
Tuck, drip drip…
Before I knew it, my bottom was soaking wet with sweat.
I had laid out a towel in advance, but it had been a long time since the towel had become so wet that I had to wash it.
“Ah, you bitch! Your bones are decaying, decaying! Just a little bit!”
“Just a little… haa… more…!”
The grandmother who was moving kimchi to the kitchen scolded me, but I couldn’t stop.
I had promised myself that I would achieve my goal.
“Ah, I can’t do this anymore…”
However, I eventually reached my limit and collapsed on the floor, limp and helpless, like a doll whose strings had snapped.
My breathing was ragged and my heart was pounding so hard that I felt like I would lose consciousness at any moment.
“…Exercise is pretty hard, too.”
I had no connection with exercise in my previous life, but after I decided to survive, I started exercising every single day without fail.
At first, it was just light sit-ups, but since my new body had a talent for exercise, it had now turned into quite a serious workout.
‘I wish I could go to the gym…’
Exercising alone by searching the internet would have its limits, so I wanted to go to the gym and get coaching from an expert, but I had to give up when I thought about the danger.
I heard that people who exercise have a huge sexual desire, so I’m going to a place where those people gather…?
Even if I try my best, I’ll have to shower after exercising, and I’ll be defenseless then…
Ah, this world really sucks.
I’m just trying to live a normal life, but why do I have so many things to worry about?
Tiring, tiring-.
‘… Seoyoon’s calling.’
I didn’t even check the number, but I knew who it was.
Seoyoon is the only person who would call me in the middle of the night.
In the first place, the numbers I had saved were Grandma and Seoyoon…
‘… Video call.’
I was about to answer right away, but when I saw that it was a video call, I stopped myself.
I wasn’t wearing glasses right now, and my whole body was soaked with sweat, but I hadn’t washed it off.
Tsk-.
‘I’m dirty right now, so later, I’ll… call you.’
Sent.
Tiring, tiring-.
As soon as I sent the text, I got another call. Since Seo-yoon had never been like this, I started to feel anxious, wondering if something had happened.
…There’s nothing I can do.
I’ll just put on my glasses and answer.
“Seo-yoon? What happened?”
Seo-yoon on the other side of the screen was wearing cute rabbit-shaped pajamas.
The light pink rabbit pajamas matched Seo-yoon’s usual image very well, and I thought it was adorable.
As expected, Seo-yoon is a special pretty girl in a world full of pretty girls.
“Gyah~~ang!”
“…What, what is it?”
Seo-yoon, who was blankly staring at me, let out a final word that I couldn’t tell if it was a scream or a cheer, and kept nodding her head.
I was taken aback by her sudden transformation, but after a while, she raised her head again and just smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
…What was it?
“Miro, how was the convenience store today? Was it okay?”
“I called to ask you that?”
“Yeah, yeah! I’m curious~!”
The convenience store wasn’t exactly… there, but I could have asked tomorrow morning, so why did I have to call her on a video call in the middle of the night?
Hmm…
Just curious, like Seo-yoon said?
I also heard reviews from my friends when they worked part-time in my past life.
If it was okay, I was going to try it too…
Should I think of it that way?
I don’t know because it’s my first time with a female friend.
“It was just like that. Except for the weird couple.”
“Strange customers…? Tell me more, more!”
“It’s not fun.”
“I’ll be the one to decide~! Hurry up, Miro~.”
Seo Yoon’s head-shaking and exaggerated gestures looked funny, but even that look was more adorable with the addition of her shaking rabbit ears.
“Okay, I’ll do it, so just be quiet.”
“Yahoo!”
When I reluctantly answered, she nodded playfully and smiled bashfully.
… It’s like looking at a puppy.
The puppy I raised before felt just like this.
A small, cute poodle…
I loved it so much that I wanted to do anything for it.
“It’s nothing, but a couple of customers who were doing something lewd came to the store.”
“At the convenience store?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you do to Miro?”
“No.”
“… What did you do to Miro?”
“Yeah? I kept my head down because I didn’t want to see you. It was a bit burdensome.”
“I see~! Miro must have had a hard time because Jinsang came, but you’re going to keep working?”
“Yeah. The store manager wasn’t bad, and the other customers were okay. Oh, there was one great customer.”
The person who gave me the motivation to work out even harder.
Since I’m still growing, if I eat well and work out hard, I can grow to that level. And build muscle quickly.
“A great customer…?”
“Yeah. A tall and pretty person. She worried that I was still young and was being forced to work.”
“…Miro, you didn’t fall in love with that person, did you…?”
“No way.”
She seemed cool, but it was only out of admiration.
In a world where the news is always about who killed who and who went missing, how cool is it to have the luxury of worrying about others?
“I see. Hey, Miro. Do you have time after school tomorrow?”
“Yeah? Why tomorrow? I don’t have a part-time job, so it’s okay.”
“Let’s go shopping at the department store together~! Huh? Huh!? There’s something I want to buy for Miro!”
“Shopping…”
After becoming friends with Seo-yoon, I went to many places, but most of them were places near the school. I had never really gone out anywhere.
It would have been fun to go out with Seo-yoon, but I had aversion to going to a department store where there were a lot of people.
Maybe it was because I saw the woman who got beaten up at the market before.
Considering reality, I should have refused.
“Miro…”
I couldn’t open my mouth when I saw Seo-yoon staring at me. Seo-yoon had finally suggested it, but was it the right choice as a friend to coldly reject her?
“Okay.”
“Whoa! Miro is the best after all!”
I thought about it a lot in a short while, but I decided to give it a try.
I couldn’t avoid crowded places all the time,
and I thought I could get through it without a hitch if I relied on glasses and other tools.
However.
“But, there’s a condition.”
“What, what? Walking around holding hands with Miro?”
“That’s not it. My condition is that Seoyoon wears a mask while walking around the department store.”
“Huh? Why the mask?”
“Because you might catch a cold.”
In this case, I was more worried about Seoyoon than me.
Seoyoon, who possessed a sparkling beauty that would not be outdone no matter where she was put, would be more likely to become the target of a yandere wandering the streets than a bespectacled girl like me.
“Miro is also cool… I’m strong so I don’t catch a cold.”
“If you don’t want to, I won’t go.”
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it! Miro is sometimes cruel.”
I felt relieved only after getting a definite answer from Seoyoon.
If you cover your beauty with a mask and I stay by your side to keep an eye on you, you’ll be able to finish shopping without any problems.
“Then I’ll hang up. Tomorrow at school…”
“Sleep tight! It’s a little early for you, so why don’t we chat? Hehe.”
“…Okay. Just a little bit.”
After that, I was able to have a small talk with Seo-yoon.
What happened today, what dramas are popular now, what food I’m into recently…
Literally just small talk.
However, for me, it was a precious and enjoyable time.
I was a mutant who had memories of being a man in my past life and was born as a woman, so I couldn’t make proper friends, and in the meantime, my mother was murdered, so I had no one to talk to except my grandmother.
To me, Seo-yoon was special in itself.
Seo-yoon ranked first in the dangerous person ranking, but she also ranked second in the precious person ranking, so she was a double crown winner.
Of course, first place was my grandmother.
“I should hang up soon. It seems my grandmother is about to fall asleep.”
“Oh… Really? I can’t help it. Then, see you tomorrow. Miro!”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
After confirming that the call was completely disconnected, I plugged my phone into the charger and headed to the bathroom.
The call was long, so my body got dry, but I feel a little uneasy, so I should wash up and go to bed.
School felt particularly long today. Is it because I have an appointment with Seoyoon after school?
Or is it because I’m sitting alone in a noisy classroom?
‘…I’m nothing without Seoyoon.’
My only friend, Seoyoon, was dragged away by the teacher since first period and couldn’t come back.
Didn’t Seoyoon say that she had something to do but hadn’t done it yet?
At first, Seoyoon said she’d do it later, but when she was told that if she couldn’t do it by today, she’d have to stay after school and do it, Seoyoon was held back tears and held back in the teacher’s office.
…I don’t know what happened, but she should have done such important things on time.
I’ll have to give her a harsh word when I get back.
‘Anyway, you’re really treating me like an invisible person…’
Even though my seat was in the center of the class, right in the middle, no one tried to approach me.
Each of them just chats and chats with their lovers and friends.
Even if I make myself look a little ugly with glasses and a hair style, how can I not be this interested?
I wonder if I react more sensitively in a world where the average beauty is high…
I don’t know.
It’s the result I wanted, but the effect is too good, so it’s uncomfortable in reverse.
If Seo-yoon wasn’t here, I would have seriously thought about whether I really became an invisible person.
Oh, come to think of it, it was the first time a student from another class came to visit me yesterday.
I think her name was Yoo Seo-ran?
Seo-yoon chased her away, but it was a refreshing experience.
Thud.
Rolling…
During break time, I was staring blankly at the blackboard, when I saw a cute teddy bear eraser lying next to my leg.
I saw the child who was presumed to be the owner of the eraser right next to me looking around, so I reached out to pick it up without thinking.
“Ah…”
“Is this yours?”
I tried to talk to him to hand him an eraser, but the moment I spoke to him, his face turned pale in an instant.
Where had his lively appearance disappeared until just now? His hands were shaking, and anyone who saw him looked full of fear.
“Oh, that’s right…”
“Here.”
“Thank you, thank you… uh…”
The student stuttered several times and handed the eraser over.
After accepting it with both hands, she got up from his seat and quickly left the classroom.
I wondered what I had done in the sudden incident, but since the other students around him didn’t react at all, my doubts were growing even more.
…Is she afraid of glasses?
She’s a strange kid.