Ch.2424. Swimsuits Have Magical Powers

Swimsuit.

Not just anyone’s, but Hwa Nabi’s swimsuit.

The overwhelming impact of that word momentarily froze my thoughts, but I quickly regained my composure and responded.

“…You want me to go look at swimsuits with you?”

“Yes. It’s better to have someone else’s opinion when choosing clothes.”

I completely agreed with that theory.

However, I wondered why she chose me as her companion.

Let’s say I had no choice because I’m a loner. But doesn’t Hwa Nabi have plenty of female friends who could help her choose clothes?

“Um, are you sure that’s okay?”

“Huh? What would be okay?”

This is a bit awkward to say myself.

After hesitating briefly, I felt I needed to say something and finally opened my mouth.

“You might be mistaken because you’re too comfortable with me, but I am a man, you know.”

“Of course Siwoo is a man. What else would you be, a woman?”

Chromosomally speaking, I’m obviously XY. But that wasn’t my point.

“Yes, I’m a man. So, well… I might look at you with inappropriate eyes.”

“Inappropriate eyes?”

“……”

Is she pretending not to understand on purpose? I unconsciously furrowed my brow suspiciously, but Hwa Nabi just looked up at me with innocent eyes.

Hmm, this is honestly very awkward. Expressing my honest feelings would just make me sound like a scoundrel. But I had no choice.

I was quite resentful of Nabi’s apparent cluelessness, but as they say, the thirsty person has to dig the well.

“…What I mean is, I can’t help but look at you in a sexual way.”

I couldn’t bring myself to continue and covered my eyes with my hand.

What am I saying? No matter how I try to dress it up now, I’m basically confessing to being a pervert who wants to leer at her in a swimsuit.

Regret washed over me, but it was too late to take back what I’d said.

“Ah….”

Perhaps because of my statement, Hwa Nabi’s face turned bright red, and she lowered her gaze to my feet.

She was the one who asked me to help choose a swimsuit, but now she’s embarrassed after I spoke directly.

That makes sense. She probably didn’t expect me to be so blunt.

She likely made the request with innocent intentions, but I immediately twisted it into something inappropriate.

Thinking about it again, I’m truly despicable. I could have just agreed to help and moved on, but I had to point out something that didn’t need pointing out.

But… I had to do it for this oddly naive young lady.

We’ve only known each other for a few days, yet she invites me to her home, makes me wear couple pajamas, and now asks me to help choose a swimsuit…

She completely lacks any sense of boundaries or caution.

She needs to experience the malice of the world and men’s ulterior motives at least once, so she doesn’t say strange things to the wrong people.

So my words and actions were, without exaggeration, for Hwa Nabi’s own good.

“…”

Though making excuses doesn’t change the fact that I’m acting crazy.

Anyway, I glanced at her. After my warning, I expected some kind of response, even if it was cursing.

I deserve to be cursed at for my behavior. Prepared to accept whatever came, I added one more thing.

“So, at least for swimsuits, go with another female friend instead of me.”

She should understand by now. But.

For some reason, Hwa Nabi remained quiet.

Not just quiet. Her fidgeting hands and feet had stopped, and she just stared at the ground.

“…”

Suddenly, an uneasy feeling crept up my spine.

Could it be that she’s so angry she can’t speak? You know, like in TV dramas when elderly people get so angry they grab the back of their neck and collapse. Could Hwa Nabi be like that?

Growing anxious, I bent my knees slightly to look at her.

That’s when it happened.

“…I don’t want to.”

“Huh?”

“I… don’t want to.”

“…What did you just say?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Did she just say she didn’t want to? As if to erase my doubt, Hwa Nabi raised her head and met my gaze.

“I don’t want to. I want Siwoo to help me choose.”

“W-what? …Why?”

“Well…”

Just then, the store clerk who had gone to find other clothes returned, carrying a bunch of items as she walked toward us.

“How about this? It just came in today…”

Then, sensing something was off, the woman stopped in her tracks.

She looked back and forth between us and muttered:

“Did you two… you didn’t do something while I was gone, did you?”

“…No, we didn’t.”

“N-no, we didn’t!”

***

We moved to a nearby swimsuit store.

Hwa Nabi took several swimsuits into the changing room, saying she wanted to try them on and compare. I’m waiting outside.

“Hmm.”

It’s taking longer than expected to change. It must have been about ten minutes already. I unconsciously tapped my foot impatiently.

-Tap, tap.

“…Sigh.”

After fidgeting nervously for a while, I suddenly sighed and tried to calm myself down.

Don’t be nervous, just stay calm. It’s not like this is my first time going to the beach, so why am I so anxious?

I tried to reassure myself, but the tension wouldn’t subside.

Of course it wouldn’t. While going to the beach isn’t new, helping a woman choose a swimsuit up close certainly is.

I’ve heard somewhere that if you don’t know what to say, start with a compliment. But I’m more worried about whether I’ll be able to speak properly at all.

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”

-Siwoo, what did you say?

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything. Are you done changing?”

-Almost done! Just a moment!

For men, it’s simple—just take everything off and put on swim trunks. But for women, it’s different. There are undergarment issues and other complications.

But even considering all that, it’s taking too long.

Standing outside the changing room for over ten minutes, tapping my foot, I could feel the stares of passersby fixating on me.

“Ahem.”

I was about to take out my phone to pretend I was on a call to make the situation less awkward when—

Creeeeak.

The changing room door opened with a squeak.

“Siwoo, how does this look? I think it’s a bit strange…”

Finally appearing, Hwa Nabi’s first choice was a one-piece swimsuit that completely covered her stomach.

The color was navy, almost black. A very safe choice, if anything.

“It suits you. But…”

They say the finishing touch to fashion is the face, and for swimsuits, it’s the figure. In other words, if you have a good figure, almost any swimsuit will look good on you.

Hwa Nabi is naturally so attractive that she looks good in anything. Even this swimsuit she’s wearing now.

I think this type of swimsuit is called a school mizugi or something? I’m not sure of the exact term, but Hwa Nabi was pulling off the one-piece with an adorably cute appearance.

But. At the same time. There was definitely something awkward about it. The reason was probably…

“It looks a bit like a competitive swimming suit?”

It wasn’t the kind of swimsuit you’d wear to play at the beach with friends.

It’s hard to describe in words, but it gave the impression that she was about to take swimming lessons.

“…Wait a minute. Are you saying it looks outdated?”

“That’s not what I meant. Why? It’s cute. It suits you.”

“C-cute? This swimsuit?”

“Not the swimsuit. You.”

“W-what are you saying? I asked you to evaluate the swimsuit, why are you evaluating me?”

When I gave my honest opinion, her face turned bright red, and she glared at me. But in a swimsuit, she only looked cuter.

“Anyway, I think it suits you well. Do you want to go with that one?”

“Ah, wait a moment. I’ve only tried on one so far, it’s too early to decide. I need to try on others too. Why are you so hasty?”

She’s grumbling even after I complimented her. Well, whatever. I nodded to indicate she should continue, and Hwa Nabi turned around and went back into the changing room.

-Rustle, rustle.

She seems to be changing clothes without further comment, but the sound of her changing was distracting, so I took a step back.

After waiting for a while…

This time, the door opened much faster.

“What, why are you out already…”

I was turned around, but I froze mid-sentence.

“Then, how about this one?”

The swimsuit Hwa Nabi came out wearing was a monokini, something between a bikini and a one-piece.

She probably thought a bikini would be too bold, and a one-piece too old-fashioned, so she compromised somewhere in between…

It suits her. Very much so.

If the previous swimsuit showcased her cute charm, this one highlighted a much more feminine appeal.

I found myself staring in a daze.

“Siwoo…? How do I look?”

Perhaps because I had frozen mid-sentence, Hwa Nabi was looking at me with slightly anxious eyes.

If I don’t give my opinion soon, she’ll continue to feel uneasy.

I finally snapped back to reality and managed to form words.

“It… suits you. Really well.”

“…Is that all you have to say?”

Hwa Nabi muttered with disappointment at my brief comment.

Well… I would have liked to express my thoughts with all kinds of flowery language. The problem was that my body wouldn’t cooperate. I was frozen by the sight of Hwa Nabi in her swimsuit.

The harmony created by her pink hair, refined features, and the black monokini was so perfect it almost gave me goosebumps.

“And, you’re beautiful. Really.”

“…Y-you’re just saying that. Don’t say things like that, I asked you to evaluate the swimsuit.”

But it’s true.

Whether it’s the swimsuit or whoever is wearing it.

“I mean it…”

“…Sigh. Fine. Let’s say you do. It was my mistake asking you.”

Though her words were dismissive, there was an unmistakable hint of a smile on Hwa Nabi’s face.

After all, no one dislikes being complimented.

“So, do you want to go with what you’re wearing now?”

“Huh, I’ve only tried on two so far. Aren’t you deciding too quickly? I still have a bikini and many others.”

“No, just go with that one.”

If the monokini has this much impact, who knows what chaos might ensue if she wears a bikini.

I was almost insistent, and Hwa Nabi reluctantly nodded.

“Well… okay. Since you’re so adamant, I’ll go with this one.”

“Good, I’ll pay for it, so change and come out.”

“…I told you that’s not necessary.”

*

“I’ll pay for this.”

If nothing else, one good thing about having a lot of money in my account is that I can spend freely without worry.

With that thought, I handed my card to the employee at the counter. Hwa Nabi stood beside me with a sullen expression.

“I really could pay for it myself.”

“I chose it, so it’s right that I pay for it.”

“Fine, if you insist on spending your money, who am I to stop you?”

You’re going to accept it anyway, so why the act? While we were chatting, the clerk finished the transaction and handed me the card and shopping bag containing the swimsuit.

“Ah, thank you.”

I stepped forward and took both. I kept the card since it was mine and handed the shopping bag to Hwa Nabi.

“Here, take it.”

“…Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

Saying she’ll “use” the swimsuit well sounds a bit odd, but whatever.

We left the swimsuit store. The current time was around 6 o’clock.

Normally, I’d be thinking about dinner by now, but I had company. So as we walked, I asked:

“Aren’t you hungry? Want to go eat something?”

“I am a bit peckish. Is there anything you’d like to eat? If it’s something I know how to make, I can cook it for you.”

Is she inviting me to her home again? For a moment, my heart raced, but today I felt like I shouldn’t go.

No, this definitely wasn’t just a feeling.

In reality, every time I glanced at Hwa Nabi, I kept having visions of her in that swimsuit I saw earlier.

With these fantasies running through my mind, honestly, I wasn’t confident I could maintain my self-control if we were alone.

It’s a rather shameful admission, but I am a man after all…

“Um… let’s just eat out since I feel bad.”

“What’s there to feel bad about? You bought me a swimsuit, so think of it as my way of thanking you.”

That’s exactly why it’s dangerous… If it weren’t for what just happened, I wouldn’t have declined.

“No. I’m in the mood for eating out today.”

“…To me, that just sounds like you want to waste money unnecessarily.”

“It’s my money, not yours, right?”

“Why isn’t it? When we get married, it’ll be joint property.”

…Stop coming at me so suddenly like that.

It makes my heart race.