Chapter 17: Weekend department store date

The final bell rang on Friday, signaling the end of a tumultuous week.

‘Phew… I can’t believe it’s over…’

The days had flown by since I’d started high school. So much had happened…

The entrance ceremony, the student council invitation, volleyball practice, the infirmary incident…

Thankfully, the doctor had removed my cast quickly.

Oh, and the confessions. Sigh…

‘I’ve already rejected four confessions, and one of them was from a middle school girl…’

I chuckled wryly. High school life was far more dramatic than I’d anticipated. In my past life, it had been a monotonous cycle of classes, lunch, more classes, cram school, and repeat.

‘Come to think of it, is this what high school is supposed to be like?’

It felt like I was reliving my high school years, but my current life was anything but ordinary. When I’d first arrived at this school, I’d planned to live quietly as a background character. But somehow, I’d discovered I was in the world of a web novel, and I’d become friends with the two heroines.

Yukikawa Aya and Asakura Mizuki. The two elegant high school girls packing their bags beside me. Having become irrevocably entangled with them, I sighed and looked out the window. Cherry blossoms fluttered in the breeze.

‘I wish reality could just float away like those cherry blossoms.’

Speaking of cherry blossoms, when I first arrived, I’d assumed it was early March, since the story began with the entrance ceremony. But the Japanese school year started in April. I was surprised when I checked the date on my phone.

‘…I just want to relax this weekend.’

I stared out the window, lost in thought. But my peaceful weekend plans were shattered five seconds later.

“Rina~ what are you doing this weekend?” Mizuki asked, her cheerful voice and bright smile shattering my hopes for a quiet weekend.

“Th-This weekend? I was just planning to relax at home…”

Mizuki casually linked arms with me. “Aw, don’t stay cooped up at home! Let’s go out! Rina, how about the department store?”

The department store? I froze. In the novel, the “accidental weekend department store date” was a pivotal moment in the development of the protagonist’s relationship with Aya.

In the original story, the protagonist had gone to the department store on an errand and run into Aya and Mizuki by chance. But without the protagonist, that encounter shouldn’t happen… Had Aya and Mizuki planned to go to the department store this weekend all along?

Aya, who had been quietly packing her bag, looked up. “Mizuki wanted to go. Rina, if you’re free, would you like to join us?” she asked, a gentle smile on her face.

Looking at their expectant gazes, I found myself thinking, ‘I guess I have no choice.’

“Hmm… well, I guess I could do some window shopping.”

As I said those words, I was struck by a sudden realization.

‘Wait… I was a guy just a few days ago, and I’m thinking about window shopping?! And it feels perfectly normal?’

Stunned, I clamped my mouth shut. The thought of going to the department store with these girls felt… natural. Mizuki, mistaking my silence for agreement, linked arms with me and grinned.

“Yay! It’s settled! It’s a date this weekend, the three of us~!”

“A d-date?!” I protested, waving my arms, but Mizuki just giggled.

Aya, watching us, corrected her. “It’s not a date. It’s shopping.”

Aya, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter at Mizuki’s teasing… It seemed this weekend would be anything but peaceful.

****

Saturday morning. I woke up late and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my closet, lost in thought.

“Ugh… what should I wear…?”

I had two closets. The first one, the one I used every day, contained neatly folded uniforms and a few casual outfits: blouses, sweaters, skirts, T-shirts and jeans, and a couple of hoodies. Typical clothes my mother would buy, what my past self considered “feminine.”

“This isn’t bad…” I muttered, pulling out a shirt, then putting it back.

But… was this appropriate for a trip to the department store? And more importantly, I was going with Aya and Mizuki.

I sighed and opened the second closet. And there… a dazzling array of white frills and ribbons greeted me.

“Eeeeek?!” I shrieked, stumbling backward.

The closet was filled with pinks, whites, and lavenders. A-line jumper skirts, lace-trimmed blouses, cute ribbon headbands. It was a collection of lolita fashion.

“R-Rina… you secretly liked this kind of stuff?”

My past self would never have imagined wearing such clothes. I stared into the closet, then cautiously pulled out an outfit. A soft pastel frilly blouse and a lavender skirt. Wouldn’t this be too much?

‘Aya and Mizuki would look elegant and sophisticated in anything, but I’d just look like I’m wearing a costume…’

I closed the terrifying closet and returned to the first one, pulling out a T-shirt and jeans. It was a safe choice, but it felt… wrong. Going to the department store in a T-shirt and jeans? I could already imagine Mizuki’s reaction.

“Rina, that’s so boring~ Don’t you want to dress up a little?” Her cheerful voice echoed in my head.

“Ugh…” I groaned, clutching my head. I’d look weird no matter what I wore! But then… a thought occurred to me. If Rina had so many of these clothes, it meant they probably suited her, right?

I opened the second closet again and ran my hand over the frilly garments. They showed signs of wear, indicating that Rina had actually worn them.

‘Maybe… only at home?’

I could ask my parents, who were home for the weekend, but that might seem strange.

‘Whatever, I’ll just go with my gut.’

I pulled out a white blouse and a lavender skirt with lace frills. Rina, with her last name Kurosawa, probably liked characters like Ku○mi, right? I chuckled at my own silly thought.

‘Yeah, this should be… okay, right?’ I reassured myself, trying on the outfit.

The frills were a bit much, but it wasn’t bad. I looked at myself in the mirror.

‘Cute! I look like a Japanese girl!’

I looked like a perfect Japanese girl. It was surreal to see myself dressed in clothes my past self would never have worn. The soft, flowing fabric felt strange against my skin, but I was getting used to it.

I tied a lavender ribbon in my hair and looked at myself in the mirror, muttering, “Oh… this isn’t bad… it’s cute, so it suits me…”

Dressed in the typical cutesy outfit, I grabbed my phone and took a picture of my reflection in the mirror, carefully angling it so my face wasn’t visible.

“Wow… so cute,” I muttered, admiring the picture.

Scrolling through my photo album, I found pictures Rina had taken. Pictures of her wearing similar outfits, with light makeup, posing with what seemed to be her middle school friends. Seeing those pictures, I felt reassured. It seemed like this outfit was acceptable.

‘Wait.’

Makeup?

I’d been looking at Rina’s face so often, I’d become accustomed to her bare face. But looking at the pictures from middle school again, I noticed something. Her clear, natural skin tone, her slightly glossy lips, her subtly defined eyes… It wasn’t just a bare face. It was perfectly applied natural makeup.

‘Wow… that’s some serious skill.’

The base makeup was so subtle, it was almost invisible. Kurosawa Rina, you’d been honing these skills since middle school? Of course, she wouldn’t wear makeup to school, since it was prohibited…

“…Can I even do that?”

I looked at my vanity table, at the items I’d been ignoring. A variety of makeup products, neatly arranged. Foundation, cushion, tint, eyeshadow, brushes… Just reading the labels felt like deciphering an alien language.

‘Hmm…’

But this was the age of YouTube! Beauty tutorials were everywhere. I searched for one that resembled Rina’s makeup style.

Following the video, I picked up a small sponge and began dabbing it gently on my face. I shaped my eyebrows, applied a touch of mascara, carefully applied tint…

‘Why does this feel so familiar?’

Like with volleyball, my hands seemed to remember. I applied powder and used a brush for light contouring, my movements fluid and practiced. I glanced at the mirror.

“…”

My face, subtly enhanced, stared back at me. It didn’t feel strange at all. It felt… right. The makeup was barely noticeable, but I knew I’d applied at least six or seven different products.

‘Is this… basic for girls…?’ I shook my head, trying to regain my composure.

“Okay… this is perfect!”

I finished with a touch of pink lip gloss. The color looked intense in the tube, but it was barely noticeable on my lips. Looking at my reflection, I realized I looked almost identical to the pictures from middle school.

‘I… really am a pretty girl.’

I hadn’t thought I was that pretty, not enough to warrant so many confessions… but with makeup, I felt confident enough to stand beside Aya and Mizuki, even without their natural radiance.

“Shall we go?”

I slipped on my lavender loafers, called out to my family, and headed out.

“I’m leaving~”