Ch.173August Bride (4)

-Click

The sound of the glass case in the center of the store being unlocked.

The staff removed the pure white wedding dress from the mannequin inside the glass case and neatly arranged it as they came out.

“Wow, what a figure.”

The mannequin’s chest, now stripped of the wedding dress, was quite a sight to behold.

Had there ever been a mannequin design with such an emphasized upper body?

I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but I decided to dismiss it as just my imagination.

Even in my original world, I hadn’t attended that many weddings in my life.

“Phew… Sorry for the wait, Bride Ban Do-young. This dress is the so-called ‘Jung Sil-yong Wedding Dress,’ created by our store owner and famous dress designer, Jung Sil-yong!”

“That’s just her name slapped on the front.”

“That shows how much pride she takes in it.”

It certainly was an extraordinary dress.

Even the mannequin wearing it was a completely different size from ordinary mannequins.

I didn’t have a particularly discerning eye for design, so it was difficult to explain how it differed from other dresses, but it was clearly one that would catch anyone’s attention at first glance.

I couldn’t deny that there could be no better dress for a bride who needed to be the most beautiful and attention-grabbing person on her special day.

“What do you think, Bride Ban Do-young? Let’s try it on.”

“Is this really necessary?”

“Of course. Our purpose is to create the most beautiful moments for customers who visit our store.”

“But I’m not the one getting married, it’s my teacher.”

“But Bride-to-be Ban Do-young, someday you might meet someone you love and get married too. I won’t charge you anything, so why not try it on just once…?”

“…”

I briefly contemplated the dress the employee was holding, then glanced at Teacher Miso beside me.

Seeing Teacher Miso with her moist, reddened eyes and a shy smile in front of the mirror reminded me why we had come here in the first place.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll pass.”

“Y-you’re declining…? Jung Sil-yong’s dress?”

The two employees flinched, showing quite a surprised reaction.

They clearly hadn’t expected this dress to be rejected so bluntly.

“Bride Ban Do-young, this is a rare opportunity! During peak season, people want to wear this dress but can’t! I understand it might feel burdensome as a student, but wouldn’t it be worth trying on just once? I’m recommending it because I think it would suit you so well…!”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll pass.”

“W-why…?”

“We came here not for me to shine, but for our teacher to shine. I’ve already tried on other wedding dresses, and our teacher took photos for me, so I’m satisfied with that. Please focus on our teacher for the remaining time.”

“D-Do-young… Sniff!”

The waterworks that Teacher Miso had managed to contain burst open again.

Even I had to admit it was pretty cool of me.

“I hate to say this myself, but my family’s eldest son must be quite handsome. Make our teacher the most beautiful woman in the world so no one says the groom is too good for her on the wedding day. Our teacher definitely deserves that.”

“Indeed… Do-young. You may be mischievous, but you have the warmest heart of anyone. I’ve known that from the beginning! Teacher is so happy…!”

Teacher Miso, still in her dress, grabbed my arm and clung to me.

Seeing her tears, the employees couldn’t press further despite their disappointment, and quietly bowed their heads.

That’s right, today and on the wedding day, even Ban Do-young would have to surrender her title of the world’s most beautiful girl.

“It’s no use, rookie. Let’s give up.”

“Senior…”

The senior employee comforted the dejected junior, helping him stand up straight.

“We understand your feelings for your future sister-in-law. If you insist, there’s nothing more we can do. Regrettably, we’ll put this dress away.”

“Yes, please do that.”

“It’s such a shame. The owner said that when a woman who suits this dress perfectly visits our store, it would be such a joyous day that she would waive the reservation fees for all prospective brides who visit that day.”

“Wow… your boss is so generous… waiving fees for all brides that day, not just one…”

-Grip

Teacher Miso, who had been clinging to me and crying until just now, suddenly grabbed my forearm.

“Ow…! T-Teacher? Corporal punishment at this timing?”

“Do-young, please try on the dress as the staff suggests.”

“B-but… today should be the day you look the prettiest, not me…”

“I’m fine, so hurry up! We should save on wedding costs whenever possible, so I can save more for Sol-mi later!”

“You’re already thinking that far ahead?”

That day, I ended up protecting not Teacher Miso’s beauty, but her wallet.

In the end, I also managed to protect my title as the world’s most beautiful girl in this universe.

.

.

.

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations.

It’s true that I was unconsciously drawn to the dress,

but the mannequin with its extraordinary proportions played a part in that.

Even now, my eyes are drawn to the mannequin in the glass case, stripped of the dress and highlighting only its figure.

That familiar proportion, indeed.

“How’s the size? From the measurements we took earlier, it should fit almost perfectly.”

“Hmm… the waist seems to fit, but the chest area feels a bit loose. I’m worried it might slip down.”

“In that case, we’ll need to secure the waist area more firmly.”

-Squeeze

The employee tightened the waist strings more firmly based on the feedback.

The gathered strings forced my bent waist to straighten, fixing my posture.

“This way, we pull all the flesh from the waist upward with all our might…!”

“Ow…! It hurts! If you tighten it that much, I’ll lose the baby!”

“You said you were a virgin earlier!”

As the employees tightened the strings and pulled the shapewear with all their might,

what little flesh there was around Ban Do-young’s waist was pulled upward.

The raised flesh gathered inside the chest area, perfectly filling the previously insufficient cups.

It truly was an extraordinary dress.

To think it needed to gather even the waist flesh of the great Ban Do-young to barely fill the cups.

What kind of person was the bride who had worn this dress before?

No wonder they couldn’t dare offer it to other prospective brides and kept it displayed in a glass case.

I could understand why they would waive reservation fees for all prospective brides when someone who could wear this dress appeared.

Otherwise, who knows when such a person would show up again.

“Phew… at least I can still breathe.”

Since the dress tightly constricted the waist rather than the chest,

it wasn’t as difficult to breathe as the butler uniform that had squeezed my chest before.

However, it was clearly a dress that fit my body almost too perfectly,

so there was a risk of the tightened waist bursting if I moved too freely.

“How is it, Bride Ban Do-young? Doesn’t it feel different from the dress you tried on earlier?”

“Well, it does look prettier than the one I wore before.”

“Hehe, right? So what else? Tell us more of your impressions!”

“Huh? I don’t have anything else to say.”

“Why not!”

There was no need to stare intently at the mirror to appreciate it.

I had been checking my reflection in the mirror with half-open eyes while the staff helped me put on the dress.

Yet unlike Teacher Miso, no particular emotion welled up from within me.

“Really, you don’t feel anything? We thought Ms. Jung’s dress would surely have an effect…”

“That’s right. We’ve heard that all brides who see themselves in front of the mirror are overcome with emotions about childhood memories or thoughts of their parents, leaving them unable to do anything but cry.”

“The staff here must really enjoy making people cry. Anyway, I’ve tried it on, so we’re done, right? Now please make my teacher’s dress free.”

“W-wait a moment! At least look at the mirror in front of you once!”

“Why? I’ve already looked at it plenty.”

“Well… Ms. Jung said! When you wear a dress made by her and gaze into the mirror, your destined partner will appear in the reflection!”

“What is that?! That’s not a dress, it’s practically a ghost story!”

While I might have been willing to believe the part about heightened emotions with some suspension of disbelief,

the story the employee blurted out at the end was beyond reasonable.

Even with webtoon-level acceptance, there should be limits.

I was so dumbfounded that I was about to ignore the employees’ words and leave.

“Wait! There’s no harm in trying it once! If nothing happens, we’ll apologize by offering free makeup and studio photography!”

“You’ll really make it free?”

“Of course! If you don’t believe me, shall I call the owner right now?”

“Sigh… just this once.”

These employees were incredibly dedicated to their profession.

I suppose this is what makes my mother’s recommended wedding shop stand out.

“Is this okay, Teacher? You should be the main character today.”

“I’m fine. The staff just wants to give Do-young a meaningful experience. Try it once, even if it’s just playing along. Who knows? Maybe your destined partner really will appear…?”

I don’t know when such a fantasy setting was added to “Half of Half-Do,” but

I stood in front of the mirror once more.

Again, standing before the mirror, I felt nothing special.

All I saw reflected was the world’s most beautiful girl Alpha Plus, Ban Do-young, in a wedding dress.

“Just one minute… or even 30 seconds, look slowly!”

“Yes, yes… I understand.”

Let’s think positively.

If I can earn my teacher’s makeup and studio photography costs just by having a staring contest with a mirror for 30 seconds, that’s a good deal.

I stared blankly at Ban Do-young in the mirror as instructed by the employees.

10 seconds passed, then 20 seconds, and following the ticking of the mental stopwatch in my mind, I stared into the eyes of Ban Do-young in the mirror until I felt it was enough.

“Hmph, see? Nothing’s appearing. My eyes just hurt.”

As the 30 seconds were almost up,

staring at the mirror without even blinking made my eyes start to sting from the lighting.

This would definitely make anyone cry even if they tried not to.

I closed my eyes briefly to wipe my dry eyes,

then opened them again.

“…Huh?”

And at that moment,

just as the employee had said, Do Ha-min’s face was faintly reflected.

“Do Ha-min…? No way, that can’t be…”

“What’s wrong, Do-young? Did you really see something in the mirror?”

“No, it’s impossible. There’s no way anything would appear.”

Thinking I was seeing things, I wiped away the tears in my eyes and stared at the mirror again.

Yet the faint image of Do Ha-min’s face around the edges of the mirror remained.

“No, there’s no way that guy could be here right now… Wait?”

Do Ha-min in the mirror was moving.

He was turning his head, taking out his phone, checking for signals around him.

“Could it be…”

“B-Bride Ban Do-young! If you go out dressed like that!”

I ran out of the fitting room and out of the store entrance, still wearing the dress.

“Hey, Do Ha-min…!”

I shouted toward Do Ha-min, who was about to cross the street on the opposite side of the wedding shop.

“…Do-young?”

The guy in a white shirt with a black book bag turned his head at the sound of my voice.

Indeed, it wasn’t just a hallucination visible only to me.

The real Do Ha-min was standing at the intersection reflected in that mirror.

“You jerk…! Why are you in my neighborhood without telling me!”

“I-I came to return books I borrowed from the library before vacation… But more importantly, what are you wearing… Oof!”

I crossed the crosswalk in my dress and threw myself into Do Ha-min’s arms.

“The dress performance is definitely real.”

“Puhah…! W-what! Why are you running at me in a wedding dress!”

“Um… practicing in advance?”

Whether it was a simple coincidence,

or if the dress really did bring my destined partner here,

I had to admit that it had allowed me to meet the person I wanted to see most right now.

“Bride Ban Do-young…! If you move vigorously in that dress, the strings on the back might burst and the carefully gathered chest will spill out…!”

-Pop!

“…Whoa! Q-quick! Do-young, cover yourself with my bag!”

“…The dress performance really is real.”

Judging by the reaction from below.