Chapter 33
“Hey, you little brat!”
As soon as Hyemi entered the study room, she shouted at Jiwoo.
Jiwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Huh?”
Hyemi gave a sly grin, as if to say, look at this, and said,
“Who are you trying to charm dressed up like that?”
“Me? What are you talking about? I’m just wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.”
Jiwoo said, pretending not to understand, but she actually knew exactly what Hyemi meant. How much the white T-shirt and jeans made her stand out.
Jiwoo often drew attention, but when she wore a white T-shirt and jeans, she could feel male gazes lingering on her more than usual. Some men even turned their heads to look at her as she walked by.
At first, she had wondered, Is this outfit really that pretty? But over time, she realized that what women consider “pretty” isn’t always the same as what men do.
The white T-shirt and jeans were fitted just right, simple in design, and highlighted her curves and figure. It wasn’t necessarily that the clothes were pretty—it was that they perfectly showcased Jiwoo’s figure.
That morning, as she chose her clothes, Jiwoo thought,
Today… I want to wear something intentionally. I feel like dressing up for no reason in particular.
She rummaged through her closet, trying various outfits.
A floral dress? A bustier? A pink cardigan? A blouse with frills?
“Hmmm…”
Jiwoo frowned at her reflection. Honestly, she wasn’t very good at picking clothes. She hadn’t realized it while wearing a uniform, but after coming to college, she learned the truth: the clothes she thought were pretty often didn’t impress her friends.
-
“If you’re going to wear that, just give us your face and body instead.”
-
“Jiwoo, if you don’t know what to buy, just get something plain with no patterns or writing.”
-
“Are you trying to balance out how pretty you are with your clothes?”
After that, Jiwoo only bought “best-seller” clothes online or simple T-shirts and shirts. They looked plain and boring to her, but her friends’ reactions were explosive.
She shoved all the other clothes back into the closet and pulled out the white T-shirt and jeans.
Today, this is the outfit.
She applied a “natural beauty” makeup that men liked, just lightly because her friends had always warned her, Don’t ruin your pretty face with too much makeup.
Ready, Jiwoo stood in front of the mirror. She turned left, then right, flicked her long hair, and even tried a wink. She nodded and whispered to herself,
“Perfect…”
Even a stoic guy like Noeul wouldn’t be able to ignore her today.
…?
Not that she was dressing this way to show Noeul specifically. But if someone like Noeul—normally indifferent to most things—noticed her, then surely most people would find her attractive. Noeul was just her standard for comparison; she wasn’t seeking his attention in particular.
Jiwoo nodded to herself in agreement.
Let’s be clear: she was dressing this way for her own satisfaction. It felt good to look nice. Enjoying attention and gazes was thrilling. Life should have such pleasures, she thought.
She slung a mini handbag over her shoulder, carried her tablet and textbooks in her left hand, and thought that if she had an iced Americano in her right, it would be perfect. Then she left the house.
Her prediction more or less worked. Male classmates instinctively checked her out as she walked down the hallway. One even asked, slightly dazed, “Uh… Jiwoo… where are you going?”
Jiwoo responded casually, “To the study room.” She smiled sweetly at the still-half-dazed classmate and walked on.
With every step, she felt her hair brushing against her shoulders and back. The subtle scent around her and her light, cloud-like steps—everything pleased her.
A woman knows her own beauty best.
Hyemi immediately noticed the change in Jiwoo as soon as she entered the study room.
Sitting down, Hyemi took a deep breath and said,
“Hmm~ look at you, even wearing perfume. What’s going on today?”
“What are you talking about? Nothing’s going on.”
“Oh, you sly thing. Nothing’s going on, huh? Clearly, you planned this.”
“Really, I’m going home after class.”
Before Hyemi could say more, Noeul and Hansol entered the study room. Jiwoo greeted them casually.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah.”
Hansol sat in his usual corner of the sofa. Noeul sat diagonally across from Jiwoo and opened his laptop.
“I’ll handle the tricky assignment~ better than anyone in the world~,” he hummed while clicking the mouse.
Jiwoo pretended to fiddle with her tablet while glancing at Noeul. He didn’t even look up, completely focused on his laptop.
“Doing your assignment?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“…What assignment?”
“Uh… not school work. It’s TOEFL prep homework.”
“Oh right, you said you joined a TOEFL class.”
“Yeah.”
He only answered, without looking at her.
Jiwoo tried again.
“How’s the class?”
“Class? Sucks.”
“Seems tough.”
“Don’t even…”
“…Really tough, huh.”
She wondered if Noeul hadn’t noticed her because she was seated, or if her full figure had been blocked by the desk.
Jiwoo got up and walked slowly to the bookshelf, pretending to search for something.
“What are you looking for?” Hansol asked.
Jiwoo turned back.
“Uh… the advertising psychology book… wasn’t there one here?”
“Ah, maybe.”
Hansol’s expression was strange, like someone trying to hold back a laugh before playing a prank.
Jiwoo asked,
“Why?”
“What?”
“Your expression… did something funny come to mind?”
“No, no.”
Hansol went back to looking at his phone. Jiwoo felt something was off but let it go.
Noeul, meanwhile, was still staring at his laptop.
“…Noeul, did you see the advertising psychology book here?”
“Huh?”
He finally looked at her.
“….”
“….”
“…Was there even an advertising psychology class book?”
“….”
Crap.
Jiwoo said,
“Oh right. No, there wasn’t. I got confused. What was I looking for again? It was… a class with a similar name, I think. What was it…”
She turned back to the bookshelf, her face feeling hot.
“Similar name… Persuasion Psychology?”
Noeul pondered seriously, which annoyed Jiwoo even more.
“Oh, was that it…? I don’t remember. I’ll check next time.”
She muttered and sat back on the sofa.
Noeul seemed entirely oblivious—he didn’t glance at her outfit, didn’t get momentarily distracted. He didn’t even notice she looked unusually pretty today, how the clothes suited her, or how her gaze unintentionally caught his. His mind seemed to contain nothing but the advertising psychology book.
Jiwoo suddenly felt embarrassed for dressing up. Everyone else was in comfortable sweats and slippers, while she was overdressed, in tight pants, carrying a tiny handbag barely fitting her phone and lipstick, and smelling strongly of perfume.
People would probably think, Wow, she really dressed up, like she was going on a blind date or something.
She wanted to go home immediately. The thought of sitting in class like this made her face burn.
“Jiwoo.”
At that moment, Noeul suddenly looked up and called her.
“…Huh?”
She answered.
“I have the Persuasion Psychology book. Want to borrow it?”
“….”
“…Why? Isn’t that it?”
“…I told you, I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
Jiwoo, almost irritably, turned back to her phone.
Noeul felt like an idiot.
He had pretended not to notice when someone was upset before, but he almost always knew why.
Recently, though, he had no idea why Jiwoo was acting this way.
She would seem fine, then get annoyed, then act playful, then genuinely mad, then apologize, then pout again. Not to everyone—just him.
Noeul pretended to take it as a joke, but he sensed that it wasn’t entirely playful. Jiwoo was clearly upset with him about something, but she refused to say why. She seemed to want him to apologize or soothe her without her saying a word, but he couldn’t do that if he didn’t know the reason.
Some friends are sensitive and easily offended. That’s one thing.
But Jiwoo wasn’t usually like that. Even when she made a teasing or critical comment, she often didn’t notice it herself. Noeul usually just accepted it with a bright-eyed, Oh, I see~.
So why was she angry now?
Earlier in the study room, even others noticed her irritation. She snapped at someone out of nowhere, with no real reason.
Until now, Noeul had thought, There must be a reason, but this time he was annoyed. Why was she snapping at him in front of others? Did she even notice him?
Hansol and Hyemi, caught in the middle, seemed awkward. Noeul didn’t want to worsen the mood, so he joked and left the study room.
He strode down the hallway.
“Han Noeul!”
Hansol seemed to have followed.
Noeul stopped and waited.
When Hansol caught up, Noeul asked,
“Why did you come out? There’s more.”
“What’s fun there?”
After walking a bit, Hansol said,
“Jiwoo’s been acting weird lately, hasn’t she?”
“…You think so too?”
Hansol chuckled.
Noeul asked,
“Do you know why Jiwoo’s acting like that?”
“Uh… not really…”
Hansol’s reaction was vague. He seemed to know something.
“What is it? Tell me. It’s frustrating. I won’t give it away. I’m good at hiding it.”
“Uh… right… That’s the problem, she’s too good at it.”
“Hmm?”
“What do you mean…?”
Hansol suddenly asked,
“Jiwoo was really pretty today, right?”
“…She’s always….”
Noeul kept that thought to himself.
She was exceptionally pretty today, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He avoided thinking, She’s pretty, I’m not. In fact, he hardly thought that way, which was a relief.
Hansol added,
“But anyone looking would think you didn’t even notice her.”
“…?”
