Ch.7272. Bigger Isn’t Always Better

…I don’t know how much time passed after that. It felt like almost an hour had gone by, but I wasn’t fully conscious for the middle part, so I can’t be sure.

“…”

I’m not usually someone who loses control of myself. But somehow, whenever I’m alone with Hwa Nabi, I feel like my restraints keep coming loose.

If we were truly somewhere private, that would be one thing, but this isn’t appropriate in a place where others might pass by.

Anyway, after taking our sweet time in the empty classroom, we came down the stairs and returned to Class A.

“Phew.”

Judging by the noise beyond the back door, there were still quite a few students inside. Since I couldn’t show up looking disheveled, I paused to check my appearance.

As I was adjusting my school uniform shirt, I felt hands fixing the back of my collar.

“What are you doing?”

“Your collar is messed up in the back.”

“Oh, is it? I can do it myself.”

“Just stay still. I’ll fix it for you.”

I could have easily reached it myself, but Hwa Nabi insisted on doing it for me.

Come to think of it, she really enjoys doing things for others. Seeing how she acts with our classmates, it seems like it’s just her nature rather than something special she does for me.

“There, all done.”

Hwa Nabi lightly patted my shoulder with a tap, signaling she had finished fixing my collar.

Not wanting to just receive her help without giving anything in return, I turned around to check her appearance as well.

“What is it?”

But I couldn’t find anything out of place. Except for her slightly flushed white cheeks, she looked perfectly put together as always.

“…You’re a bit disheveled here too.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Here, around the shoulder.”

“It looks fine to me… Where exactly are you talking about?”

“Hold still, I’ll fix it for you.”

“Okay.”

Hwa Nabi nodded without any suspicion. Having been waiting for this moment, I pretended to adjust her collar while gently placing my hand on her shoulder.

Then I leaned in closer and…

*Smooch*

I kissed her forehead.

“…Huh?”

A deflating sound escaped her lips. She stared at me with blank eyes, as if she couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. I met her gaze and smiled.

“Thank you.”

As I fixed her bangs with my hand and added that word, her cheeks instantly turned bright red. Clearly, judging by her reaction, even Hwa Nabi hadn’t anticipated this.

Caught off guard, she glared at me. But with her blushing face, it only looked like she was asking for more.

So I did it again.

“…Ah, you’re really something.”

Hwa Nabi rubbed her forehead where my lips had touched. But no matter how much she rubbed, my mark wouldn’t disappear.

“Seriously. Don’t do this in front of others. What if someone sees us?”

“Next time, I’ll do it somewhere private.”

“Th-that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean?”

“Siwoo… you’re pretending not to understand on purpose, aren’t you?”

I guess my smile gave me away. Let’s stop pretending. I moved my hand to the back of her head and gently stroked downward.

“Sorry, you’re just too cute.”

“…Is that something to say in a school hallway? And you shouldn’t touch a girl’s hair carelessly.”

Her words were sharp, but her actions were the complete opposite. With her eyes slightly widened, enjoying my touch, Hwa Nabi gently grabbed my wrist and guided my hand to a different spot.

“I prefer it here.”

The boundary where her bangs meet behind her ear, the area with untamed baby hairs in front of her ear.

I caressed her face as she requested, and while I was at it, tucked her hair behind her ear. Hwa Nabi seemed to really enjoy that, as her shoulders trembled slightly.

“Alright, I’ll remember that.”

Next time, I’ll focus on the area around her ears. Making a mental note of this, I withdrew my hand. As much as I wanted to do more, I had to restrain myself given our location.

“Shall we go in now?”

“…Yes, everyone’s waiting.”

“They’re probably waiting for you, not me.”

Since I was on the operations team, there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to show my face in class on the festival day. So far, the class atmosphere had been treating me as practically non-existent.

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

Like someone plotting something suspicious, Hwa Nabi smiled meaningfully.

“…Why?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.”

I’m not sure what she’s talking about, but I can tell it’s probably not good for me.

“I don’t know what it is, but if it’s something weird…”

Just as I got that far in my sentence, the back door of the classroom burst open.

“Alright, I’ll go find… Oh? Here you are.”

The person who emerged from the classroom was a familiar male student, Im Hansol. As soon as he saw me, he patted my shoulder.

“Where have you been? Everyone’s been waiting for you.”

“What? Why would everyone be waiting for me?”

It makes sense for Hwa Nabi since she’s on the kitchen team and needs to exchange ideas, but why me?

But the classroom atmosphere was too unusual for this to be a casual remark. Looking past Im Hansol’s shoulder, I could see all my classmates giving me expectant looks.

“Oh, it’s Han Siwoo.”

“Hey, come quickly!”

What’s going on with everyone? My classmates greeted me with almost alarming enthusiasm. Though confused by this unprecedented reaction, I entered the classroom.

“What’s this all about?”

“The class shirts and hospital uniforms arrived while you were gone. We saved yours, so go check it out.”

Thanks to Im Hansol’s kind explanation, I understood the situation. The festival clothes we ordered last week must have arrived today.

But would everyone be this excited over just a class shirt? Something seems off.

“You guys are hiding something, aren’t you?”

“What would we be hiding?”

“Yeah, it’s just clothes, what’s the big deal?”

At this point, I’d be a fool not to notice. Whatever’s in that box, it’s probably something that will shock me. With a mindset of playing along, I approached the package.

Did they put firecrackers in it or something? Making such guesses, I slowly opened the folded box.

And what was revealed before my eyes was…

“…Isn’t this women’s clothing?”

It was a nurse uniform. Not a male version, but a female set with a top and skirt.

A surprise box would have been better than this—women’s clothes? I was so dumbfounded that I looked up and asked, and all my classmates started laughing. Some were even holding their stomachs.

“This isn’t my outfit, right?”

Wanting to deny this reality, I questioned Im Hansol. But this guy, barely containing his laughter, answered:

“Well, you see. Since you’re on the operations team, you didn’t participate in the costume lottery, right? So we saved a lottery ticket for you, and it just happened to be the crossdressing ticket.”

“…What did you say?”

There was such an event while I was away? I was stunned by this revelation, but once I understood the full picture, I was simply speechless. It felt like I’d been blindsided.

…Actually, it wasn’t just a feeling—I really had been blindsided. Without me there to verify, they could have easily rigged it.

“Hey, this is invalid. How can you hold an absentee vote without the person present?”

“Heh, what can you do? This is the result of the draw. Just accept it gracefully.”

“That’s right, Siwoo. I saw the lottery drawing myself. It wasn’t rigged—you really did win.”

Ah, if even Hwa Nabi is saying this, I can’t argue anymore. The atmosphere doesn’t allow for backing out.

Giving up resistance, I picked up the nurse uniform top with trembling hands.

“Sigh.”

After letting out a deep sigh, I tried to put my arm through the sleeve of the nurse uniform.

But.

“Wait, isn’t this too tight?”

“Hey, the clothes are going to tear at this rate.”

I had barely inserted one arm when the fabric stretched taut. When I tried to force it anyway, alarmed classmates stopped me.

“Hey, hey! Han Siwoo! Just take it off!”

“Who ordered these clothes? Isn’t the size too small?”

“We ordered the largest size available on that site! That’s an XXL.”

My shirt size is XXL, but this is an XXL? I held up the clothes to Jinhee and asked:

“Did you buy a women’s XXL by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s why it doesn’t fit.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Men’s and women’s clothes have different sizes even if they’re both labeled XXL.”

After my explanation, Jinhee nodded in understanding. Well, it can’t be helped. This is something you wouldn’t know if you’ve never bought clothes for the opposite sex.

It happens quite often if you look at shopping mall reviews. There’s quite a gap between women’s and men’s clothing sizes.

“Oh, I see… But what should we do now? We can’t return it since we’ve opened the packaging. Does anyone else want to wear it?”

Jinhee asked, but no one volunteered. That’s understandable—a women’s XXL is too small for most men and generally too large for most women.

So finding someone who fits it perfectly would be difficult…

Just as I was thinking that.

“Then, shall I wear it?”

Someone raised their hand with a bright expression.

When I turned around, sure enough, it was Hwa Nabi.

“This might be quite large, are you sure about the size?”

“It’s fine. I usually wear about that size.”

“…You wear XXL?”

Judging by her waist, shoulders, and overall figure, she looked like an M at most. When I asked, she suddenly came closer.

And in a voice only I could hear, she whispered in my ear:

“Don’t worry. You know, I’m a bit bigger than others? So I usually buy larger sizes and then have the shoulders and waist tailored.”

“…”

Ah…!