SWNOVELXO Chapter 107
“Miss Blanca, you finally made it! Everyone’s been waiting.”
I almost ended up being late, but I managed to arrive just in time in front of the overwhelming giant dog statue that’s both amusing and embarrassing.
As soon as I got there, Ageha rushed out, grabbed my hand, and said that since the main character has arrived, there’s no reason to hesitate and urged everyone to get started.
“Before we do, though. I’m not trying to nitpick or anything, but why is Lucia here?”
But I couldn’t just ignore Lucia, who was so naturally mixed in.
“Oh, you mean Miss Lucia? Minho brought her along. I was surprised too, but it felt wrong to send her back, plus there’s no real reason for her not to join, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
Seolhwa was glued to Minho’s side, emitting a chill that almost made his complexion slightly worse.
Lucia looked a bit intimidated by Seolhwa’s icy demeanor, but she clung to Minho’s side to show she wouldn’t back down.
…Since he brought her along, it should be fine. Besides, the heroines have enough sense to not have an outright fight.
Even Seolhwa wouldn’t openly tell them to die in front of the kids. She did that in the chatroom, but that was just chatting.
Poking Minho’s shoulder a few times to imply he should manage the girls well, I took Ageha and Lapiz’s hands and headed towards the nearby department store.
Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa looked a bit closer than before, probably having said something at the café.
Or maybe it was just my imagination. Perhaps I was getting too excited and mistakenly thought they were closer.
It was about time for Yeonhwa to be happy too. A lot of it isn’t my fault, but she’s been through a lot of mental strain.
Seeing Yeonhwa actively approach Jinhyeon, I smiled like that was all I needed, and Lapiz shyly said,
“Um, by the way, I don’t have a swimsuit or anything… do I, um, need to buy one too?”
“Oh, you don’t have a swimsuit, Lapiz? That’s surprising; I thought you’d have at least one.”
“You don’t have one?”
As Lapiz panicked and scrambled for an excuse, she stammered, “I, I can’t float in water because I’m heavy…!”
It seemed like she was so embarrassed about confessing her weight that she mumbled it almost under her breath.
“…Ah, I see… Oh, that makes sense. Miss Lapiz isn’t just an ordinary person, after all. I’m sorry, I forgot.”
Now that I think about it, that was part of her character. It was mentioned that her maternal traits are quite pronounced, having metal-like bones.
“Even if we go to the beach, there’s no need to swim… So if you really don’t want a swimsuit, then you don’t have to buy one.”
“B-but, will you swim, Blanca?”
After I replied, Lapiz clenched her fists as if charging herself with courage, suddenly declaring she’d definitely get one.
It was obvious it was bravado.
She didn’t want to, but her desire to be with me was so strong that it was clear she was forcing it. Ignoring it felt like the polite thing to do.
“You know how to swim, right?”
“Oh, of course! You just properly secure yourself on a float and balance so you don’t tip over, right?”
Lapiz spoke with such confidence, it was as if she had no errors in her logic. Knowing that was absurdly confident, I gave up on correcting her.
Who knows? Maybe that is how Lapiz thinks swimming works.
“Hehe… Yes, that’s probably fine. We’ve arrived, what floor are the swimsuits on… Ah, here we go. Let’s go! I’ll be looking forward to it, Miss Blanca…”
…Looking forward to what?
Ageha’s grin felt oddly sinister, sending chills down my spine.
Even though I knew nothing about girls’ common sense, I could tell it wasn’t normal for girls to have that kind of smile.
But still… it should be fine, right? Ageha said she’d cover the expenses completely, and it’s not like she’d do anything weird…
I shook off the feeling of stepping into the lion’s den and waved to Minho and Jinhyeon, who said they’d wait on another floor.
And so, led by the girls’ hands, we reached the clothing section filled with women’s swimsuits.
As soon as I got there, a thought crossed my mind, wondering if I should really be here. The faded memory of being male cried out that this was not a place for me.
Regardless of the past, I was in a woman’s body now, so it shouldn’t matter, but I felt a bit uneasy.
Moreover, there were swimsuits on display that made it quite embarrassing just to look at.
Unnecessarily advanced in technology, they showcased real models wearing the swimsuits in holograms right next to them.
I couldn’t help but wonder if those models even had a sense of shame, or if they were even real people…
All these thoughts were so overwhelming that I felt like my brain might short-circuit.
“Let’s go, Miss Blanca. Let’s check this place first!”
“Uh, um…?”
Ageha led me by the hand toward a nearby store as if this was nothing at all.
Then the staff hurried out and started chattering away. It was definitely Korean, but somehow, I couldn’t quite understand.
“We’re not buying everything here, just looking for something that would suit this friend. Do you have any new arrivals or something that might fit?”
“Oh, I see! Then just a moment~ Let me check… Yes, please wait a moment!”
The staff suddenly thrust some kind of pad at me and started measuring me all over before disappearing into the store.
“What did they just do…?”
“You’ll find out.”
“Find out?” That didn’t sound reassuring at all, especially since Yeonhwa and Seolhwa were standing by quietly. It didn’t seem like it was anything too strange.
“Such a waste… to have a body like that and not even have a swimsuit…”
“Honestly, that’s true.”
As I overheard Seolhwa and Lucia muttering something cryptic, the employee popped back out from the back of the store.
“Thank you for waiting! Based on your body information, we’ve picked out a few things that would suit you! I’ll show you some wearables now, so take your time to see~”
“Wait, what?”
Body information? I never gave that!
Oh.
Did they really just use that pad for…?
“Wait—”
And just like that, before I could finish my sentence, the employee skillfully manipulated the pad, bringing up multiple holograms around me.
The shapes, the faces of the holograms were all undeniably me. And those fake me’s were wearing things that I would never wear willingly in my right mind.
“Oh, that’s pretty! How about this, Miss Blanca? I think it suits you well.”
Ageha, seemingly unbothered by my shock, checked out the holograms, pulling one closer to me.
Before I could even grasp how to grab it and move it, I was horrified by the swimsuit’s appearance.
“H-how am I supposed to walk around in something like this?! This isn’t even an outfit!!”
As I yelled about how this was something you’d wear to lure guys at the beach, Ageha simply replied, “But it’s cute!”
Like it was necessary for me to wear it or something.
When I said I didn’t have a hobby of buying things I wouldn’t wear, Ageha just clicked her tongue, saying it can’t be helped.
…Maybe I should have come alone?
For a moment, that thought flitted through my mind.
Ageha started asking what I would wear to a certain degree now, bringing me various holograms.
However, no matter how I looked at it, there was nothing that seemed appropriate for a casual academy outing. From bizarre designs shaped like X’s to all kinds of outlandish swimsuits, it was ridiculous.
“Ugh.”
“Wow.”
“The power of genes…”
In the end, the only thing I gained from the first store was pure embarrassment. The other girls seemed to have gained or felt something, but…
Without rest, we headed to the second and third stores, continuously seeing swimsuits that made me wonder what on earth were they thinking when they designed these.
Even though it was just a hologram wearing them, thinking about myself wearing that in front of others made me feel dizzy.
Was every swimsuit originally meant to look like this?
“Oh, right. We decided Lapiz would buy one too. Um, would it be alright if she buys after you get yours, Miss Blanca?”
“Uh, sure. But, um, not all swimsuits look like… what I’m, um, wearing, right?”
“Of course not! I have a design that would really suit Lapiz, so you can look forward to it! And of course, it’s nothing like the one I recommended for you.”
“Could you recommend me something like that too?”
“No way, Miss Blanca. With that body, if Lapiz wore what’s for you, it would tear! Besides, every body type has its own suitable clothes.”
“Yeah, that’s right, every body type… I want to wear something like that too…”
Yeonhwa mumbled in a gloomy voice, but I couldn’t quite read her feelings.
“Then let’s keep searching, Miss Blanca. There has to be at least one design that both you and I would like!”
Ah.
So that’s the criteria—something that they like.
So that’s why she offered to pay, huh.
If I had known, I would’ve just said I’d buy it with my own money. Now it was way too late to regret that as I sank deeper into Ageha’s schemes.