Chapter 82
“Then, I’ll go change first…?”
Chocoa walked toward the back of the boxes with a somewhat reluctant expression, and soon the faint sound of clothes rustling could be heard.
Normally, I would try not to pay attention by talking more with my sister or thinking innocent thoughts, but right now, no sound reached my ears at all.
“Unnie?”
“…What…?”
“Are you okay? You’re sweating…”
Hearing her words, I steadied my blurry vision and brushed my forehead, only to find it covered in cold sweat.
I reassured Min-young that I was fine, handed over the clothes, and stepped outside the tent for a moment.
As I sweated and hurriedly stepped out, I could feel eyes turning toward me, but I ignored them and went further outside to catch my breath.
“No way… How am I supposed to wear something like that…”
I could vividly imagine how it would look and how I would feel wearing those clothes.
The slightly adhesive brown circles, extremely thin and translucent, seemed to stick precisely where they were meant to.
At least the long stockings seemed manageable—if I thought of them as thermal underwear, I could probably bear wearing them. But the underwear… absolutely not.
“Sigh…”
I kept brushing my hair back and sighing, which seemed to draw attention even outside.
One of the staff members who had been casually smoking looked my way and called out to me.
“Excuse me… Are you Baraa?”
“Yes…? Ah, yes.”
“Um… are you alright?”
“Uh… no, not really.”
The staff member, seeing me sighing again, cautiously offered me a cigarette.
“If you’d like…”
“Ah…”
For a moment, I reflexively reached for what he offered but then stopped my hand mid-air.
“Sorry, I’m okay.”
I immediately turned around and went back inside through the back door.
“I must be crazy, absolutely crazy… My sister is right there…”
I scolded myself, trying to calm my thoughts.
This was my way of thanking Chocoa, who had volunteered to change first for my sake.
It was also my way of fulfilling the wish I had promised to Min-young.
Resolving myself with such thoughts, I returned to see Chocoa already dressed in the outfit, admiring herself curiously.
“Whoa…”
“Does it… look okay?”
Chocoa asked while looking at me, and from the side, Seol-hwa’s camera shutter clicked incessantly.
Chocoa looked truly stunning.
Her usual bangs, which she normally kept down, were neatly pinned up, and her recently styled hair gleamed in radiant brown tones.
Her snow-white skin seemed to glow, and the slight nervousness visible in her trembling lips and restless eyes added a layer of endearing charm.
Yet, these were sights I could see on a typical day if I paid enough attention.
What made her beauty today stand out even more was something else entirely.
“…Will you marry me?”
“Huh?”
“A-ah, no, I mean… y-yes!! You’re really… really beautiful.”
I found myself talking to her endlessly, not even noticing when Min-young had started filming with a camera.
“Done?”
“Not yet?”
While taking a breather after showering her with compliments, Seol-hwa asked casually.
“Um… just hurry up and change back, will you…”
Her face turning red, she mumbled softly.
***
Lee Min-young POV
-An inexplicable, muffled scream-
“…Is she alright?”
We could hear strange noises continuously coming from the area where unnie had gone to change.
Honestly, I contemplated lowering the camera a bit to sneak a peek, but no matter how much I thought about it, that seemed like a terrible idea.
“Uh… unnie! If it’s too hard, do you want me to… help you?!”
“No…”
Well, I gave up.
***
Lee Su-yeon POV
“I’ll never do this again…”
As I struggled to erase the lingering soft sensations from my mind and refocus, I noticed people looking at me oddly.
Seol-hwa seemed startled to the point of almost dropping her camera, and Chocoa had her eyes wide open, her lips slightly parted.
“Adorable… Min-young, you’re drooling.”
“Huh? Oh… tastes… nice.”
“Alright!!! Look at the lens!”
Seol-hwa, with an enthusiasm unmatched until now, pressed her camera shutter over and over.
Chocoa and I exchanged awkward smiles as we watched Seol-hwa and my sister beside her, equally passionate about capturing videos.
“Now, both of you, hold the bouquet together!”
Following Seol-hwa’s direction, Chocoa, who had been gripping the bouquet tightly, pushed it toward me.
Unintentionally, as I reached for it, my hand overlapped hers, and I froze in place, my face turning bright red.
I had a feeling that today’s events would remain etched in my memory forever.
“…Unnie, I’m so full… but it was so good.”
“What…?”
While reviewing some video footage on her camera to recharge the battery, Min-young muttered something strange.
I shrugged off her incomprehensible comment and let out a sigh of relief at being back in comfortable clothes.
“I never want to wear that again…”
“You’ll wear it when you marry Ga-young unnie.”
“W-w-what…? M-marry?!”
I fanned my flushed face with my palm at her teasing remark.
“…Hold onto your coins… It’s going to skyrocket…”
“What?”
I scolded her for their absurd comments while waiting for Seol-hwa, who had gone off to fetch the clothes for my Legendary Six cosplay.
Although Min-young tried to explain it wasn’t what she meant, she didn’t clarify well enough, so I could only take it as an excuse.
“Phew… Finally, it’s happening…”
“You’re really not going out in the dress? I’m sure it would win first place! No, it’s not just about winning—offers and sponsorships would come flooding in!”
“Who would even like something like that…”
I mean, who would be fond of a suspicious silver-haired, red-eyed woman in a wedding dress wandering around a daytime event?
Of course, there were other reasons too, but I firmly refused and inspected the cosplay outfit.
“Whose is this?”
“…? It’s yours, Baraa-nim.”
“No, I mean… whose operator’s outfit is it?”
Honestly, I had my heart set on cosplaying as Sledge.
The massive, muscular frame and every man’s dream—a huge, thick hammer ♥—were alluring.
The baldness was a minor downside, but I had always wanted to cosplay a powerful character rather than something delicate.
“This is… Caveira. I thought it would suit you best, Baraa-nim, since she’s the operator you play the most and are the best at! This outfit has a military vibe with boots and accessories, so the heels make you look taller. There’s even a slightly sexier version, but since this is your first time, I brought the most classic, authentic one! It comes with a beret and even a decorative pistol!”
Seol-hwa explained enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling, as if waiting for praise. I couldn’t bring myself to criticize her.
“Still… I like it.”
I was slightly disappointed not to wield the massive, heavy ♥ hammer, but holding the surprisingly high-quality pistol made me feel good.
“Wow… it’s so detailed!”
The pistol was incredibly well-made, as if straight out of the game.
Its sleek black finish, perfect grip, and silent-looking suppressor seemed optimized for assassinations.
I turned it over in my hands, examining every angle.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! It looks exactly the same! The outfit is spot on, too!”
This wasn’t some embarrassing underwear or stockings; it was an outfit I could actually wear.
Feeling relieved by the decent costume, I excitedly showed it off to Chocoa, who was nervously fidgeting with her legs crossed.
“Unnie! Look at this! Doesn’t it look just like the real thing? I don’t even care if we don’t win any prizes with this!”
“Unnie… oh, it looks like it’ll suit you. Are you going to do the makeup too? You know, with all the lines on the face?”
Legendary Six operators rarely had normal-looking faces.
Most of them wore camouflage paint or gas masks, and Caveira was no exception, with intricate face paint.
“That… I’ll skip. It feels too much like going to the army.”
“Really?”
After chatting with Ga-young unnie for a bit, I went behind the box to change.
This time, I didn’t need to take everything off—just my t-shirt and pants, slipping the costume on over them.
I attached a radio-like prop to my belt, tied my hair back tightly, and put on the beret.
Even with my hair tied, a few strands poked out, so I tucked them neatly.
Carefully slipping my feet into the high-heeled combat boots, I found they were slightly larger than my size but not difficult to walk in.
After tying the long, cumbersome laces and putting on the vest, the outfit started to take shape.
Each step echoed with a heavy thud, and the high heels made walking feel unfamiliar.
I wobbled a bit, but with Seol-hwa’s help, I stood in front of the mirror.
“Want to try walking outside once?”
***
Eun-ah POV
“Haaah… yawn…”
I was lazily swinging a toy fishing rod to entertain the cat when it happened.
I had been basking in the warm sunlight streaming into the living room, but someone nearby felt oddly out of place.
“Meow.”
“Ah. Ack, AAAAAH!”
The cat, initially chasing after the toy, turned to slap Aro when bored.
“Hey. You.”
While rubbing his head, Aro, who had been scrolling through his phone, called out to me.
“What.”
Without a word, Aro held up his phone screen for me to see.
“…What the hell…?”
Real-Time Search Rankings
– Silver-Haired Woman at Glare Event
– Baraa
– Silver Hair, Red Eyes
– Geum Sa-hyang