WTFUDLS 35

Chapter 35

From afar, Hansol was walking toward them.

Jiu waved her hand at Hansol.

Jiu watched Hansol carefully.

Glossy hair, cool-toned makeup that suited her perfectly, a pendant necklace that might have looked too much on anyone else but fit Hansol beautifully, the elegant shoulder line accentuated by her halter top, her tiny waist, and the toned thighs revealed beneath her short shorts…

Jiu had thought Hansol was pretty before, but it felt different now. Back then, Hansol was the only one in her head — now, she was comparing Hansol and herself side by side.

Was her hair as shiny as Hansol’s? Would that kind of makeup suit her too? Would she look pretty in that necklace? How about her shoulder line? Was her waist thicker than Hansol’s? Did her thighs have that same healthy tone?

In some ways, Hansol seemed better. In others, Jiu thought she might be.

They each had their own kind of beauty — but even thinking that didn’t help.

“Their own kind of beauty” sounded like an excuse. Something people said when they couldn’t meet the absolute standard of beauty.

Of course, if there were ten people, some might think Jiu was prettier, and some might prefer Hansol. But more people should think Jiu was the prettier one.

There was such a thing as a more beautiful face. Jiu believed her face had to be the most beautiful.

“Ah, it feels so nice to finally be done with the semester.”

Hansol crossed her legs as she sat next to Jiu.

“Yeah, it does.”

Jiu looked down at Hansol’s swaying legs — slender and graceful like a ballerina’s.

Then she looked at her own. Her thighs weren’t as slim as Hansol’s; they had a little more flesh. When she crossed her legs, the angle didn’t look quite the same.

Is it because Hansol works out?

Jiu asked,
“Are you going to keep working out during vacation too?”

“Yeah. I’ll probably do even more since I’ll have more time.”

“Ah…”

“Why?”

“No reason…”

Then Jiu asked carefully,
“Maybe I should start working out too?”

“Oh, wow. You? You always say you hate hard things.”

“I do, but…”

Jiu hesitated to add ‘I want to lose a little weight’, because she suddenly remembered what she’d said last time:

“Looks don’t really matter that much anyway, right, Hansol?”

What would Hansol think if she said she wanted to lose weight now?

So Jiu said instead,
“I just thought I should take better care of my health.”

She felt a little guilty, but it wasn’t a total lie — she had thought about getting healthier.

Hansol nodded.
“That’s good. Hmm… what about hiking? It’s great for stamina, and it helps tone your thighs.”

“Wouldn’t that make my legs thicker?”

“Well… maybe your calves would get a bit more muscle?”

Seeing Hansol’s puzzled look, Jiu quickly added,
“That’s fine. As long as I get healthier…”

“But you know, women don’t bulk up like men just from exercise. It’s more like… the volume goes down, and the muscles get denser.”

“Oh, really? Well, that’s fine. I’m only doing it for health, anyway.”

Jiu felt she was rambling out of guilt.

Hansol just looked indifferent.

Then Jiu asked,
“Do you hike too?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t care about health.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I only work out for beauty. If you want to be healthy, you shouldn’t diet like I do.”

“Ah… I see…”

Jiu actually admired Hansol’s honesty. There was something cool about it — that attitude of ‘Yeah, I care about my looks. So what?’

Why had Jiu said that before — ‘looks don’t matter’? When she clearly did care.

Now she had to keep pretending she didn’t. She blamed her past self for being so short-sighted.

“Ugh, look at her pretending.”

Hansol spoke in a displeased tone.

Jiu followed Hansol’s gaze.

From a distance, Noeul had been walking casually, but as she got closer to the meeting spot, she suddenly started jogging as if she were rushing.

She exaggeratedly jogged up to them and stopped in front.

“Phew, I ran so hard to get here early. I’m completely out of breath. It’s so hot, I’m even sweating!”

Noeul wiped her perfectly dry forehead with the back of her hand while fanning herself.

Jiu giggled.
“You barely made it. How do you always show up one minute before?”

“That’s just how J-types are. By the way, that’s a new outfit, isn’t it? It’s really cute. Pink looks good on you.”

“…Huh…?”

Jiu looked down at her short-sleeved knit top.

Then asked,
“You think it’s cute?”

“Yeah.”

“Did someone steal all your other clothes or what?”

Hyunsoo looked at Jiu curiously.

“Huh? Oh, no, they’re all different clothes.”

“…Different? How?”

“The one I wore Monday was baby pink, Tuesday’s was dark pink, and today’s is coral pink. If you look closely, the designs are slightly different too.”

Hyunsoo gave her a baffled look.
“Do you really need that many similar ones?”

“Ah… I just thought this kind of top suits me.”

“…Well, if you like it, that’s all that matters. Wear it as much as you want.”

Jiu smiled brightly and smoothed down her shirt.

Noeul pretended to be absorbed in her laptop, ignoring their conversation.

This pattern felt familiar.

When Noeul was all anxious and trying hard, Jiu would act cold and distant — but when Noeul started to give up, something would happen to make her hope again.

Noeul couldn’t help connecting Jiu’s behavior to her own words.

Jiu always got compliments — “You’re so pretty,” “That suits you.” But she didn’t go out and buy multiples of everything people praised. That’d empty her wallet fast.

So why, of all things, did she keep wearing the outfit Noeul said was cute?

This was too much. It was like Jiu was chanting, ‘Have a misunderstanding, have a misunderstanding.’

How could Noeul not hope she’d see Jiu in that pink knit again? And when one day Jiu wore something else, she’d think, ‘Ah… I guess it meant nothing after all,’ and feel disappointed.

Noeul tried to convince herself, ‘Maybe other people said it looked good too,’ but deep down she knew that was useless.

Sometimes she wanted to open Jiu’s head and see what was going on in there.

“Since you said it looked good, she’s been wearing that same top every day.”

Hansol muttered softly enough that only Noeul could hear.

Noeul said,
“…Maybe other people complimented her too.”

“No. You’re the only one who did.”

“Come on…”

Noeul brushed it off awkwardly.

Hansol glanced at her and murmured under her breath,

“So annoying.”

“…Huh?”

Noeul looked at her, startled by the sudden insult.

Was that aimed at… me?

Hansol just hummed a tune and looked at her phone like nothing had happened.

Noeul wondered if she’d misheard.

She stared at Hansol blankly.

What’s wrong with her lately?

“Ri~ver! Ri~ver! Ri~ver!”

“Be~ach! Be~ach! Be~ach!”

Hyemi and Hyunsoo were shouting their preferences at each other — one wanted the river, the other the beach.

Then Hyunsoo said,
“What river? We’re not old people. We should go to Yangyang, surf all day, and party all night.”

“Do you even hear yourself? That’s the most old-man thing I’ve ever heard. Let’s just go to a quiet valley. There’s shade, you won’t get sunburned, and after a swim in the cold stream, we can eat some warm duck stew — that’s a real vacation.”

“Hey, Noeul, tell her — summer means the beach, right?”

Hyunsoo looked to Noeul for support.

Noeul said,
“What are you talking about? You have to float watermelon slices in icy stream water. That’s summer.”

Hyemi smirked in triumph.
“See? Told you. Only losers like you wanna go to the beach.”

“Jiu, where do you wanna go?”

Hyunsoo switched targets.

Jiu said,
“Hmm… I like both.”

“You can’t like both.”

“No, really. I don’t mind either.”

Jiu didn’t actually care whether they went to the beach or the river.

All her attention had been on Hansol — because today, they were wearing almost identical outfits.

As soon as Jiu walked in, Hyemi had said, “Did you two plan your outfits?”

Black shorts, black t-shirts, and ball caps — a common summer look. If Jiu had seen a stranger dressed like that, she wouldn’t have thought much. (Though she’d still think it looked better on herself.)

But because it was Hansol, it was different.

Jiu kept sneaking glances at her.

Does Hansol have better proportions? No, she’s taller, but our proportions are similar. My face is smaller… right? Or is hers? Maybe it just looks smaller because of her short hair. Why do I look… kind of fat? Is my shirt too baggy?

No, it’s because… it’s because my chest is bigger!

She straightened her back and nodded confidently.

Yeah, that’s it. My upper body just looks fuller. But hey, a bigger chest is a good thing.

…Or maybe not. Clothes don’t fit as nicely because of it.

Ugh, so who’s actually prettier?

Jiu felt childish for even thinking that. And the fact that Hansol seemed completely unconcerned made it worse.

Don’t care. Don’t care. Whoever obsesses loses. Look, you already feel like you’re losing.

But seriously, what was with Hansol? Did she really not care at all? Or was she just pretending? Did she assume she was the prettier one?

“Hey, Noeul, look at this.”

Hansol called out to Noeul, trying to show her something.

Noeul, still focused on her laptop, said,
“Wait a sec…”

She’s not even looking when Hansol calls her…