Ch.343338 – Errand

“Actually, if you think about it, don’t I have two birthdays?”

“Huh?”

“March 15th and April 9th. So next year, make sure to double my presents!”

“Have you lost your mind? Give me back that gift.”

“Taking back what you’ve given is cheating!”

Adella hugged the gift box tightly to her chest and turned away.

I can only sigh, wondering if her mental age regressed along with her physical body, or if she was always like this.

She frantically scratched at the wrapping paper with her nails and finally opened the lid of the box.

“Wow, really?”

I hesitated to answer, not sure what she meant by that question.

“Well, it’s not a knockoff.”

“No, I mean are you really giving this to me?”

“Yeah, I thought you might need it soon. Use it as your school bag.”

In Adella’s hands was a very simple black messenger bag.

“This must have been really expensive since it’s limited edition… Wow, sis, look how cute this is!”

Under the light, Adella’s cheekbones were practically ascending to heaven as she turned the bag this way and that.

There was one image where Adella pointed her finger.

A black mouse wearing red pants and yellow shoes was lying on a fluffy cloud, looking down at Earth.

“Sweet! Now I don’t have to worry if I get stranded on a deserted island. I can just draw Mickey Mouse by looking at this, and someone will come find me!”

It was the Prada Disney collaboration edition that’s trending among high school students these days.

A product that had effortlessly joined the proud lineup of Korean wallet-breakers.

Adults always disapprove of such luxury culture, but you need to see things from teenagers’ perspective too.

Just as parents discriminate based on wealth, education, occupation, salary, and residence, children similarly form hierarchies based on cosmetics, clothing, bags, and tech gadgets.

That’s all they can see right in front of them.

This custom isn’t unique to modern times but transcends eras and places, making it a perfectly natural human tendency.

The medieval period was actually worse.

In Korea, you might get socially excluded, but in medieval high society, wearing the wrong dress code could destroy an entire family’s business.

It’s undoubtedly wrong behavior.

But this gift was given with the hope that at least Adella wouldn’t fall victim to such discriminatory views.

“Hehe, thanks. I’ll treasure it.”

“Just a word of caution.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“If I hear that you’ve been bullying other kids at school? I’ll lock you in that capsule forever.”

“Eek…!”

“If you don’t want to lose that body you worked so hard to get, behave properly. Got it?”

“Yes, yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

Adella gave a sharp salute.

Well, I’m not too worried since Adella isn’t that kind of person.

She might even have better social skills than I do.

“Brush your hair, Adella. I’ll help you with the self-dye.”

“ID card, name, birthday gift, and now hair dye? We’re moving at lightning speed today! At this rate, we might even have a baby next?”

“…That joke isn’t funny at all.”

“Kahahah! Look at you getting embarrassed. Wait, NoName sis, I’ll go wash up first!”

Adella started to pull off her white t-shirt.

More precisely, I stopped her with both hands before her head could emerge from the shirt.

“Hold on, I told you not to wash your hair before dyeing it.”

“Oh really? I didn’t know.”

Adella sheepishly scratched her cheek and put her shirt back on properly.

* * *

[So give me some name suggestions with Cheon. I can’t think of anything.]

[Cheon Ji-won.]

[I don’t want something too common.]

[Cheon I-seul.]

[That’s ambiguous, and doesn’t it sound too weak?]

[Cheon Jin-ban?]

[That’s way too intense!]

[Cheon-yeop, Cheon-jamun, Cheon-wonman, Cheon-cheonhi, Cheon-bangjichu, Cheon-rigildo-hangeorembuteo.]

[This is getting further from human names…]

It wasn’t particularly surprising, but NoName had absolutely no sense for naming.

‘Come to think of it, her own name… how is “NoName” even a person’s name? Pfft!’

Of course, saying this to NoName’s face would be asking for death, so Adella kept these thoughts to herself.

Eventually, as karma for annoying NoName, she was kicked out of the house.

[Here’s a card. Go to the bakery in front and buy whatever birthday cake you want. Just so you know, I hate sweet potato cake but like chocolate or strawberry.]

[It’s my birthday, so why do I have to…]

[Just do as you’re told.]

The sun was still high in the western sky.

What should have been a touching first public outing had been reduced to a mere errand.

“Phew.”

Adella took a deep breath with her arms spread wide.

Looking at the clear, cloudless sky made her feel refreshed.

The streets were filled with people out enjoying the brief spring weather.

As soon as she left the apartment complex, the number of people suddenly increased.

High school students who had just finished school, couples walking together happily poking tteokbokki with toothpicks, families walking to the supermarket to shop.

Adella stood still in the middle of the crowd, taking in the real scenery.

Now she too would become part of this landscape.

Passersby glanced at Adella from the corner of their eyes but showed no further interest.

Her hair, which had appeared almost black in the shade, sparkled with a light orange-brown tint under the sun.

Her eyes also had a brown tint from the circle lenses she wore.

‘I should get going before it gets too late. I don’t want to hear any nagging.’

The bakery was located right on the main road to the left, just after leaving the apartment complex.

A hologram emanating from the floor displayed newly released breads.

The subtle aroma of baking bread made Adella’s mouth water.

She cleared her throat and entered the store.

“Welcome!”

Adella jumped at the female part-timer’s enthusiastic greeting.

“Oh yes, welcome…!”

Where had her initial confidence gone?

‘Wait, I’m the customer, why am I saying welcome…! I should have said hello, won’t they think I’m weird?’

Adella frowned as she realized her mistake.

Pretending to look around at the bread, she made up her mind and scurried over to the counter where the part-timer was.

“How much is this Happy Birthday Fraisier cream cake?”

Suddenly, Adella’s vision went dark.

[One tuna baguette sandwich, and umm, a sparkling wine too? How much is it?]

And then she remembered the intense nightmare she had forgotten.

[I asked how much?]

The expressionless shopkeeper like a wooden doll, the customers stiffly circling the store.

In that fake game world, she had repeated an eternal loop.

That terrible nightmare continued daily until Adella escaped from virtual reality.

“Haa… haa…”

“Excuse me, customer?”

Bright light entered her eyes again.

‘Ah, so this is what anemia feels like.’

Adella calmed her startled heart at the sudden anemic symptoms.

“Yes? What did you say earlier?”

“It’s 36,000 won. Would you like this wrapped?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Do you have a discount or membership card?”

“What? I want to pay with this…”

Brain-frozen Adella showed the card NoName had given her.

“You have 2,000 points. Would you like to use them?”

“Uh… yes.”

Now she just nodded automatically, not knowing what was what.

“How many candles do you need?”

“Candles? Oh candles… how many candles do I need…!”

Adella didn’t have a definite ID card yet.

From what she’d heard, she was entering high school as a first-year, but she didn’t know exactly how old she was.

Not wanting to keep the part-timer waiting any longer, Adella requested:

“Just give me one for now.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, no, please give me enough for under twenty years old.”

“Then I’ll include 2 large ones and 9 small ones.”

After much trouble, she was able to get the birthday cake.

‘Hey, that wasn’t so bad after all!’

The first time is always the hardest.

“Hmm?”

[Bet Your Life on Salmon – Salmon Special Sushi (24pcs) 35,000]

With newfound confidence, Adella was hypnotically drawn into an unplanned visit to a sushi restaurant where she recklessly swiped NoName’s card.

“Chef! Give me lots and lots of salmon sushi! To go, please!”

* * *

The next morning at dawn, Adella woke up clutching her stomach.

“Ughhhh my stomach hurts…”

Adella’s birthday party had been magnificent.

However, she might have overeaten, as her stomach felt bloated and her lower abdomen was stabbing with pain.

‘Maybe I should just try to sleep through it.’

After thirty minutes of groaning and rolling around in bed.

The sun was about to rise.

Finally, Adella rushed out to the living room and carefully opened the door to NoName’s room.

She went to the bedside of the girl who was sleeping soundly and whispered softly in her ear.

“Sis…”

“…”

“Sis.”

“Mmm…”

“I’m really, really sorry to wake you up while you’re sleeping… but do you have any stomach medicine? My stomach hurts so bad.”

NoName shifted her body and asked, still half-asleep.

Her cute little mouth opened wide in a yawn.

“Yaaawn… where does it hurt?”

“Here, my lower abdomen.”

“Come up and lie down.”

“Okay.”

Adella burrowed into the blanket.

The blanket was warm from the child’s naturally high body temperature.

NoName spread a thin layer of forsythia-colored aura on her palm, then gently rubbed Adella’s stomach.

“How is it? Feeling better now?”

“Whoa. I finally feel like I might live. I should have asked you earlier.”

The pain disappeared like magic.

‘When I learn to use aura later, I should definitely learn this type first.’

Because she couldn’t keep relying on NoName forever.

“Better? Now go.”

“It’s only 6 AM. Can’t we just lie together for a bit? You’re going to shower soon anyway.”

“Fine…”

“Hehe. Thaaanks.”

Adella smiled as she neatly arranged NoName’s bangs.

At that moment, NoName’s eyes flew open.

“Don’t touch my hair.”

“Oh sorry, sorry! I was just—”

“Kuuul…”

“What’s that, sleep talking? Or not?”

It was impossible to fall back asleep after waking up at such an awkward time.

Finally fully awake, NoName and Adella stared at each other for a long time.

“Adella, did you open the bag I gave you yesterday?”

Shake shake—

Adella shook her head.

“No. Was there something inside?”

“I thought you might need it by now, so I bought a large size and put it in. You’ve been so carefree without a thought in the world.”

“Large size? What large size?”

NoName tilted her head as if to ask if she really didn’t know.

“Did you think you wouldn’t get it?”

“Wouldn’t get what… wh… what… ahhh…”

Adella had a deep realization and stammered, unable to continue.

“Ah… no way? Come on! I’ve never had it in my life…”

“If you need more pads, order them online or buy them at the convenience store up front. You do know the basics, right?”

The next day, Adella experienced what it truly meant to be a woman.