Ch.115Good grief, Ojou-sama (8)

I’ve seen Doha-min without his glasses quite a few times.

Even though it might not seem like it, this guy has had his face go through quite a bit of rough treatment.

Getting knocked out by a soccer ball to the face was just a regular episode,

and even after that, he’d frequently collapse with nosebleeds after hurting his face for various reasons.

Just yesterday, he fell face-first off the stage after getting hit by a button torn from his chest.

I wonder if there’s any other bespectacled protagonist in fiction

who has had their face abused this much.

Yet he’s not even a comedy character, but the protagonist of this world.

Thanks to that, whether I liked it or not, I’ve often seen Doha-min without his glasses.

To be honest, the bare face of Doha-min I’ve seen until now wasn’t what you’d call handsome.

He was the shortest among all the students in our class,

his face still had round lines as if traces of his elementary school days remained,

and his skin wasn’t particularly well-maintained, with many red pimples and freckles.

That common trope where a character who wears glasses takes them off

and suddenly looks completely different—that “beauty seal” effect—didn’t apply to Doha-min either.

It was as if the creator of “Half of Half-do” had absolutely no intention

of making Doha-min into an attractive character.

There was so little difference that I even asked him directly to show me his bare face without glasses.

Well, if that’s the creator’s intention.

What can I, who’s merely possessed the main heroine, do about it?

I just have to accept and adapt.

Even that nerdy face.

I didn’t have high hopes for the styling prepared with Sahyang and Hyerang’s help.

I already knew Doha-min’s bare face and features, so how much difference would a change of clothes or hairstyle make?

“…Hello, Ban Do-young.”

“Whoa…”

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s not that something’s on it, but rather that something that was there is gone.”

“W-what was there before? My glasses…?”

“Ugliness.”

“…”

Until then, I didn’t know.

That <Half of Half-do>’s beauty seal wasn’t the glasses, but the forehead.

“Everyone, we’ll arrive at our destination, Shizuni Land, in about 20 minutes. After arrival, please wait briefly in two lines by class in front of the entrance…”

“…Is that really the Doha-min we know? I’m so shocked that I’ve completely memorized his name now. Until now, I kept remembering it as Doha-jin.”

“Maybe the Doha-min we knew is already dead. He might have been beaten to death by the class president and others after yesterday’s ‘sex bird’ comment.”

“Then is that thing behind us some kind of Skrull? You’re talking nonsense.”

“Are you saying that guy sitting next to Ban Do-young looks like the Doha-min we knew?”

“Everyone! I’m explaining the schedule for the amusement park, so please focus!”

With Teacher Miso enthusiastically explaining the second day’s schedule at the front of the bus as background music,

most of our classmates’ attention was focused on Doha-min, yesterday’s heroine and today’s “sex bird.”

“Not bad, Doha-min. You’re the center of attention for two days in a row.”

“Ah, haha… I guess so. I feel a bit awkward too. These are clothes I’d never dare to wear normally.”

“Hehe, but it’s fortunate. You were basically guaranteed to be ostracized by everyone today because of yesterday’s ‘sex bird’ comment. But everyone’s so surprised by your style today that they seem to have forgotten about yesterday.”

“Phew…”

Doha-min sighed in relief at the news that yesterday’s commotion had been overshadowed.

Though he had bravely removed his glasses and revealed his forehead, the Doha-min I knew was still in there.

“Hehe, how’s our styling skills? Even Hamin-ssu can be transformed like this in our hands.”

Sahyang, sitting in the seat in front of us, turned toward us and spoke.

Her shoulders were raised proudly, gesturing as if demanding praise for herself.

“The concept was inspired by the stage outfits often worn by members of ‘Photons,’ the teen boy group you liked in elementary school, Do-young.”

“Ah… You mean the boy group on the posters in your room.”

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s room?”

So that’s why it looked vaguely familiar.

The style and color scheme had something in common with the outfits worn by the boy group on the posters in Ban Do-young’s room.

It was quite a high-quality reproduction.

Except for Doha-min’s clunky black glasses hanging around his neck.

“Fufu, feel free to praise us all you want, Sister Do-young-ssu.”

“Tsk, aren’t you being too proud when you’ve left such a flaw around his neck?”

“Ah, that…”

“That glasses design is too plain to leave as a fashion statement. It doesn’t seem to match the current outfit. Why did you deliberately leave it?”

“Ah, we also suggested removing the glasses since they might get damaged, but Hamin-ssu…”

“I refused. I wanted to keep these glasses somehow.”

“It was your request, Doha-min?”

“Yes, even if they’re clunky and plain… I feel like I need to have them with me.”

Doha-min held the glasses hanging around his neck as he spoke.

“Because they were a gift from you, Do-young.”

“…Oh! W-well, then it can’t be helped! So I unknowingly had a stake in Doha-min’s nerdiness too! Hahaha!”

I laughed away my already precariously wavering heart before the most important event.

If I were to knock down Doha-min, who had just finished his styling with such effort and was trying to desperately fill his nerd quota, the event itself might become pointless.

“Oh, look over there! There are lots of rides and castles across the river!”

“The Ferris wheel is huge…! And the roller coaster too!”

That’s how the second day’s bus arrived at the battlefield where our main stage would begin.

“はい、マジックパスのチケット、確認しました。中で楽しい時間を過ごしてくださいね~。”

(Yes, Magic Pass tickets confirmed. Have a great time inside~)

“Arigato, guide noona!”

“Th-thank you.”

“バイバイ、きれいな韓国のお姉さん。イケメンのぼや。”

(Bye-bye, pretty Korean sister. Handsome boy.)

“H-handsome…?”

“Haha, I thought I’d understand what she was saying, but surprisingly, I don’t get it at all. Doha-min, did you hear what the guide was saying to us?”

“Um…? A-a little bit.”

“Ah, don’t subtitles appear at the bottom when they talk?”

“Th-this isn’t an animation.”

“You never know. It might get an anime adaptation someday.”

“Hmm…?”

After having our wristband passes checked by the guide noona in a flashy outfit that looked severely lacking in ventilation,

but which made her look all the more full of dreams and fantasy, we entered the amusement park scheduled for the second day of our school trip.

I thought I had decent listening comprehension from watching quite a bit of anime and manga.

Like a Korean abroad craving kimchi when overwhelmed by local food,

Miss Ban Do-young abroad demanded subtitles when overwhelmed by the local language.

“Every hour, you need to either come to the central plaza where the teachers are, or those who can use phones or text messages should send a photo to the teachers’ contact numbers. The final meeting time is 5 o’clock, so don’t be late!”

“Understood!”

The schedule at the amusement park consisted mostly of free time, including lunch.

With one condition: we had to report our current location or status to the teachers at designated times.

Since this was a school trip and it was taking place abroad, some minimum safety measures were necessary.

“Where should we go first, Do-young-ssu? Since we got Magic Passes, should we start with the roller coaster that has the longest line?”

“Hey, where do you think you’re following? We all know each other. Sorry, but from here on, we need to split up.”

“Tsk, seems like it wasn’t just Hamin-ssu who had plans.”

“What did you think I was wearing these clothes with tags still on them for?”

I pushed away Sahyang and Hyerang, who had also received Magic Pass tickets as benefits.

Doha-min, who had become the official accident-free goddess, received two Magic Pass tickets as the winner’s prize to go on a date with Miss Ban Do-young,

but Ahn Seong-gyeong, who had hosted the event, and Sahyang and Hyerang, who had contributed to creating Doha-mi-jjang, were also given the same tickets.

It wouldn’t be bad to go around the amusement park together,

but unfortunately, this was the world of a youth romance webtoon, not a youth friendship webtoon.

As someone who had become a resident of this world and a heroine, I had to fulfill my role.

“Let me tell you in advance, don’t follow or stalk me and Doha-min. That guy is weak to such things, and if he knows others are watching, he’ll get too self-conscious and won’t be able to do what he planned. Maintain romantic distancing. You know what I mean, right?”

“No, I don’t.”

“What’s romantic distancing?”

“Anyway! Don’t be within eyesight of me or Doha-min!”

It’s already hard enough that I’ll have to hold back my laughter when Doha-min confesses.

If these chicken-cats are stalking and Doha-min gets startled and bites his tongue in the middle of his confession,

I’ll definitely burst out laughing.

“Well then, I’ll be back before the Magic Pass expires. Later.”

“Magic Passes don’t expire.”

So I briefly parted ways with Ban Do-young’s best friends

and returned to Doha-min who was waiting for me.

Whether they would actually keep their word or not, I didn’t know,

but at least they understood that I was strongly wary of them.

“Sorry, was I a bit late? Had to shake off some annoying ones.”

“N-no, I was just looking at the pamphlet, so time passed quickly.”

“Really? That’s good then.”

Having already sent several signals about the confession,

it was already an established fact that it would happen today.

Knowing this, both Doha-min and I

had prepared our best appearances for the most ideal moment.

“D-Do-young…”

But, no matter what,

the determination to achieve it today naturally created fear about it.

“S-so… you probably already know, but today…”

The same was true for the current Doha-min.

The pressure to accomplish this task today made his mouth heavier than usual,

despite having come with thorough preparations.

“I really want to tell you…”

“Just a moment, young man.”

“Uwup…!”

Recalling Yeol Do-young’s memories,

I gently pressed my finger to Doha-min’s lips, stopping what he was about to say.

“Don’t be too nervous and hasty. We still have plenty of time.”

“Uwup…”

“Calm your mind and wait for the most important moment to come. And until then, just enjoy being here right now, understood?”

“U-um… I got it.”

“Now then, what should we ride first? Let me see the pamphlet too! Oh, it’s written in Korean too?”

“Y-yeah. They say many Korean tourists come here.”

That’s right, there’s no need to rush.

We still have a lot of time today.

So, until then.

So that even after I return to my original world, I can remember this moment as enjoyable.

Make some memories with me too.

You nerd that I raised.

“Let’s see… what should we enjoy first…”

“P-please go easy on the scary rides.”

“Gasp!”

“W-what’s wrong?”

“This is no time to be standing around! We need to hurry to the X Collaboration Stage Zone! There’s no time!”

“J-just a moment ago you said we had plenty of time!”

I grabbed Doha-min’s hand and ran past the central plaza,

heading toward the X Collaboration Stage Zone listed in the pamphlet.

[From 10:30 AM, there will be a live-action performance of the popular hit “Magical Girl Marina★Farina” at the X Collaboration Stage Zone!]

[We look forward to your interest!]

“Ch-cheese…!”

“Cheese!”

“チーズ!”

(Cheese!)

*Click*

“Kyah, I’m glad we weren’t late. Farina-chan! Thank you for taking a photo with us! Arigato!”

“公演見に来てくれてありがとう！パンパンな韓国のお姉さん!”

(Thank you for coming to see the performance! Voluptuous Korean sister!)

“Did the photo turn out well?”

“Yeah…”

“Let me see, let me see.”

The first photo at the amusement park

became a commemorative picture with the live-action actors of [Mari★Fana], which had been the catalyst for my first date with Doha-min.

“Wow, coming to the homeland really lets us see such rare performances. Marina-chan and Farina-chan’s live-action stage was super kawaii.”

“Y-yeah. Even though they must have compressed the original episode content for the stage, it was quite good. The live-action quality too.”

“I know, right? Especially Farina-chan. Her chest was so big, it was great.”

“…Huh?”

Doha-min tilted his head as he looked at the photo of me and Farina-chan.