The TS Memoir of a Misogynistic Novelist

I placed a cool drink against my cheek. It was just cold and only made me feel worse, so I stopped.

Since I didn’t look very well, Hye-won insisted on bringing me to the café area and sat me down, telling me to rest before she went to buy drinks. I had an iced Americano, while Hye-won had an iced chocolate latte.

Looking at Hye-won sipping her chocolate latte with a happy face while forcibly swallowing the bitter taste, I turned my head to see my reflection in the mirror beside the store.

Even while drinking chocolate latte, Hye-won looked mature, while I just looked like a kid even drinking iced Americano. It was frustrating that even trying to drink something that didn’t suit my taste made no difference to my appetite. I should have just ordered a chocolate latte that suited my taste.

But if I did that now, I would really look like a child…

“Thank you.”

“Why the sudden gratitude? You’re not getting a fever, right?”

Probably, Hye-won’s way of speaking wouldn’t change until I became a real adult. So maybe my goal was to see Hye-won’s elongated way of speaking disappear. It was just a trivial thought.

“It’s okay. I’m just… a little okay. Still, it’ll be hard to go buy swimwear before finishing this, right?”

“I’ve already finished mine!”

“Huh?”

What’s this? Isn’t it usual for girls to drink these kinds of drinks slowly? All the girls I had seen until now made it last for two or three hours over a single drink.

“I just drink it right away.”

“…I-I’ll drink it right away too.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

I wondered why she didn’t add an elongated tone there. In a fit of stubbornness, I took a sip of my iced Americano through the straw, and my expression contorted immediately. Ugh, it’s really too bitter.

“Is it very bitter?”

“…About as bitter as my life.”

“Ehe, that’s strange.”

Indeed, such silly comments weren’t received by anyone except Hwa-won.

I had some left, but I could finally down the iced Americano successfully. Thanks to that, my expression was all twisted, and my mouth was open in disgust, but at least I had almost finished it, so it was a success.

“Then let’s go.”

“You suddenly seem motivated.”

“Yeah… just suddenly feel motivated.”

More than motivation, I was just acknowledging my state.

“…I’m going to choose some swimwear other than a rash guard.”

“Oh! Sounds good! What do you think is nice? What style do you like?”

…There wasn’t such a thing. If I were a man, I would have said I liked curvy bikinis (at least visually), but now I was in a position to wear.

And of course, I had never thought about what kind of swimwear I would want to wear; there was no need to. The important thing is only… one thing.

“T-This is…, I’m just asking…”

“What is it?”

“…What kind of swimwear would Hwa-won like?”

Hye-won paused for a moment. Then her lips slowly curled into a mischievous smile, and she started teasing me.

“Aaaah, I see. You guys are going together. You’re going to the beach together.”

This was so obvious anyone would know it was not me but Hye-won who was making it blatantly clear. She looked like she had discovered a really good toy and, without a hint of hesitation, began to tease me wholeheartedly. No, seriously, this was too much.

“A fun vacation for the two of you~ A bit early, but going to the beach~ Wow… when are you going? When? When?”

“Tomorrow…”

“Ehehee, then you’ll have to pick the cutest and prettiest one, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Which would Hwa-won oppa like?”

“Yeah… ah, no, it’s not like that!”

Well, it was true. But the intensity of her teasing was so high that I couldn’t help but deny it. At this point of asking, denying it was meaningless, but it was too embarrassing.

“Hehe, don’t be shy. Good things are good, right? Wear pretty swimwear, have fun at the beach, hold barbecues, and also charm Hwa-won oppa.”

“T-That’s not it!”

I’m sorry. It was 200% true. Now my denial had no meaning, and it was just a period for Hye-won’s playful teasing.

Still, I was relieved that my reaction wasn’t negative. If Hye-won had shown a negative reaction… I might have been hurt a bit. If it had gone in a different direction, I might have started to be wary of Hye-won. As I sat quietly, Hye-won shouted as if she realized something.

“Oh! You don’t have to worry because I’m no longer interested in Hwa-won oppa! I also watch the internet to some extent!”

“Don’t look!”

…Still, I was grateful for that statement.

I couldn’t respond verbally, but… I really felt relieved. But please, don’t watch the internet. There are really only weird people there.

“Your sister has a lot of interesting nicknames too. Seol-jjuk. I don’t know what it means, but it sounds cute. Nung…? I don’t really know what that means.”

“Seriously, don’t look! That’s what only perverts call her!”

“Still, Seol-jjuk is kind of cute, isn’t it?”

“Not cute!”

…Is someone going to see this quarrel and post it on the internet? I looked around but didn’t see anyone paying attention to us. But since there were many people around, it felt like many had overheard our conversation.

“I’ll make sure to make Hwa-won oppa happy with a cute and pretty look!”

“…Alright.”

“But in return, you have to wear everything I tell you to without protest.”

“I won’t wear anything weird.”

“No way! I’m not the kind of person who would make you wear weird things.”

“That may be true… But why aren’t you elongating your words?”

I just realized it, but for a while now, Hye-won hadn’t been using her usual elongated speech. When I asked why, Hye-won smiled mysteriously and said.

“That’s a secret?”

“…This time, you’re lengthening it again.”

Hye-won burst into laughter. I genuinely didn’t know what was going on. I was confused. Without realizing it, it felt like I had already achieved my objective.

“Okay, let’s go! The store is spacious and there are plenty of swimsuits!”

“I don’t think you were originally this kind of character.”

Anyway, anyway.

Isn’t this a good thing?

I hope so.

~

“So, the important thing is that Hwa-won oppa subtly likes a younger sister type. When dating or….”

“Be indirect about it!”

“When meeting night partners, they tend to be younger. I don’t think he dated anyone older. I’m not 100% sure, but I’ve heard.”

“Where did you hear such things?”

“Hwa-won oppa told me. At that time, I was with another girl too.”

“…Is that okay?”

Trying to find Hwa-won’s taste seemed to be turning more into worrying about Hwa-won’s playfulness.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. He has everyone’s permission. Hwa-won oppa doesn’t meet girls that cross the line.”

…I felt like I might have crossed the line a lot. That too, pretty strongly. It’s just that I knew Hwa-won wouldn’t abandon me, but even so, hearing these words made me worry.

“Oh, there was a time when the three of us were together.”

“Pfft!!!”

No, damn. This is moving way too fast, teacher.

And Hwa-won, no matter how I think about it, this is just nonsense. Should I hit them up about it later…

But, what if Hwa-won wanted to do such things when we were alone together? Honestly, I really didn’t want to, and it scared me. I didn’t want to share Hwa-won with someone else.

“This is just because it’s a partner, and when dating, it’s usually just one person, so it’s okay. I heard that even when juggling relationships, permission is obtained first.”

“I know that…”

“Hwa-won oppa is like a ghost when it comes to intuition, so he can sense when someone is dangerous and avoids those kinds of people? Anyway, among the girls I’ve seen, they generally all have one common trait, even though there are only two; they resemble a younger sister.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I told you. They’re like younger sisters.”

But Hwa-won… actually has a younger sister. And their relationship isn’t great at all.

“Hwa-won has a real younger sister…? I heard they don’t get along well. Isn’t it a bit concerning? Is she in elementary school?”

“Of course, he would hate that if she were his real sister. Brothers and sisters are programmed to want to kill each other, so there’s nothing they can do. It’s important that she’s not a real younger sister but just younger sister-like. A bit playful, clinging to him calling him ‘oppa’, and just a little carefree.”

“But I’m the same age as Hwa-won.”

“Hey, let’s overlook the trivial things.”

“It’s not trivial…”

No matter how it is, I can’t call Hwa-won “oppa”. And my feelings aren’t light at all. Can I… be playful in such a way…? I might be able to… I don’t know. No, maybe not?

“So even if Hwa-won likes big breasts and tall girls, my strategy is to go for the younger sister type for effectiveness!”

…Should I say it honestly? A sigh escaped me.

“Hye-won, I don’t think your strategy will be much help.”

“Trust me?”

“Let’s just choose a swimsuit.”

“Oh, right. That’s important. So, I’ve already picked out some while looking at this. Try them all on?”

“…This? All of them?”

“There are only seven outfits!”

“Um… do I really need to try them all on?”

“Oh, it’s okay. You can’t be seen from the outside.”

“You’re not too, you know…”

“I have the right to see.”

Just now, you seemed a bit like Eun-a there… And saying that is mostly not a compliment.

I was already familiar with the precautions of going swimsuit shopping. Even so, trying on things that come in direct contact with the skin is different from buying new underwear, as I’d wear something over my underwear.

As I examined each piece…

“Let’s skip this one.”

“Why? It’s cute.”

“It looks too childish.”

A pink one-piece swimsuit with frills. If I wore that, I might really be treated like a baby. Pink just looks too childish, so I dislike it.

“And… let’s skip this one.”

“I specifically prepared this one so you could look mature.”

“…Bikinis are a bit too, um, provocative.”

The black lace bikini was also out. Why on earth is a swimsuit that fits my body shape here in the first place?

However, the rest all seemed okay. I tried on all five swimsuits, and Hye-won said everything looked pretty.

“Saying everything is pretty doesn’t help!”

“It’s okay. It’s already been decided.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go with this!”

The swimsuit Hye-won chose was a white bikini with frills. It was the most plain and innocent-looking type. Most importantly, the frills at the top and bottom covered a good amount of skin, which I liked. But it also covered too much of my body, so I worried it wasn’t that great.

“Can I speak honestly?”

“I’m a bit anxious, but… yeah.”

“Seol doesn’t have a chance in terms of figure, so we should aim for this area.”

…I should have asked you not to say that.

“To awaken the protective instinct, we want something cute, innocent, and younger sister-like? So don’t think of wearing something sexy to appeal sexually.”

“I-I didn’t think of that! And can you be a bit…!”

What if someone hears? And really, I didn’t think like that. I was just a little… contemplating it. But in the end, I decided not to, so I didn’t do it. I knew I had no chances in that area. It’s a little pitiful, but…

“…But then, why did you bring that black bikini earlier?”

“I just wanted to see it.”

…Why are the women around me like this? Hye-won, Han-bom, and even Seo Eun-a. Mira didn’t seem purely innocent either when she had me do doll play.

But at least they were better than puppets or stuffed dolls.

In the end, based on Hye-won’s strong recommendation, my swimsuit was decided to be a white frilled bikini. Also, I bought a beachwear cardigan that could be worn at the beach, and something like a pareo to wrap around my waist? Unlike when she recommended pink, all of them were in shades of blue.

“Blue gives a cool impression. So it’s a bit light too. This kind of image might sell. You said you don’t like pink because it’s too childish.”

“I don’t think I’m just hating it for looking childish anymore.”

Hye-won, because of the clothes you gave me as a gift.

After successfully finishing shopping, it had already been four hours since we first met. I never liked shopping for that long, didn’t understand it, and never joined in before, but here I was.

People change, I guess.

We bought some light snacks together and headed to the station. And we ended our meeting, which was short yet long.

No many words were needed when parting. Hye-won gave me a thumbs-up.

Good luck.

Yeah, that’s enough.

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