chapter_0084

84 – Who is it?

84 – Who is it?

Here is the English translation of the Korean novel excerpt:

The Journey to Find My Outfit.

The boss looked excited from the first step.

“I have a lot of ideas, how many outfits should I put together?”

She already had many images in her mind, and meant to carefully select only the best ones.

What’s this?

She’s talking as if she’s been observing my usual attire and coming up with various ideas in advance.

Moreover, not only was there excitement, but also a considerable sense of relief.

As someone who dresses well, was my monotonous style that hopeless?

But if we spend all our time buying clothes, there won’t be enough time to hang out with the boss.

Here, as originally planned.

“I think three will be enough.”

“Three. Okay. Let’s go.”

We could have killed some time over a cup of tea.

But the boss seemed to think even that time was precious.

As her long legs strode forward, I had to scurry to keep up.

There’s no need to complain about the speed.

I’m always the one who goes along with wherever the boss goes.

After circling almost an entire floor of the wide figure-8 shaped mall like that.

“Here it is.”

The boss entered a store as if entranced.

I didn’t realize at first because the entrance looked similar to other clothing stores.

Only after going inside did I realize.

…It’s a children’s clothing store?

I was momentarily confused by the sophisticated-looking clothes meant to satisfy children who want to look like adults.

But in the end, since they need to appeal to parents’ hearts, most of the clothes were cute.

I tugged on the sleeve of the excited boss picking out clothes and asked accusingly:

“This place sells kids’ clothes.”

“You’re a kid.”

“I’m not a kid…”

“Your height is a kid’s. Excuse me, can we try this on?”

“The fitting rooms are over there.”

“Thank you, let’s go.”

“No, wait a second.”

The boss dragged me to the fitting room and said:

“You said you’d leave it to me, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t say anything about putting me in kids’ clothes.”

“It’s just called kids’ clothes. I’m just finding the coordination that suits you best, aren’t I? And really short people actually do wear kids’ clothes sometimes. It fits them best.”

“…Is that so?”

“If you wear regular clothes, the size won’t fit and it won’t look good. Really.”

I think I finally understood why this version of me insisted on wearing suit sets even as I gained more experience and got used to the company.

Not only was it annoying to rotate through different outfits, but I also didn’t like being treated like a kid at work.

I was living my life properly as a working adult, but people kept treating me like a kid, so I showed them clearly through my clothes.

I’m an adult! That’s what I was saying.

But I made a promise with the boss, and it’s annoying to insist on wearing different clothes now.

It’s just casual clothes anyway.

I don’t often wear casual clothes.

And the boss will surely recommend at least one formal outfit.

The reason we came clothes shopping is ultimately for the Ppajijik year-end party in a few days, so…

…So where do I start putting this on?

If I said I had no ulterior motives in taking charge of Dohee’s coordination today, it would be a lie.

I mean, what kind of person is Majiya?

She’s practically the company’s sole source of cuteness.

Originally, when a small girl wanders around a space full of serious adults, she stands out.

When such a person also fits in well and is considerate, she naturally becomes the mood maker.

To the point where even when two people are in the middle of an argument, the moment Majiya appears to mediate, a mood of reconciliation sets in.

Just seeing Majiya makes you smile, and you feel bad for making her come over, so you end up resolving things in a positive way.

That’s why even if Majiya doesn’t attend company dinners, there’s never been a dinner where she wasn’t talked about.

And what always came up as a topic then was Majiya’s fashion.

Everyone was curious.

What would Majiya look like wearing something other than her suit set?

Only Dohee had seen Majiya’s casual clothes a few times while hanging out at PC cafes.

And she immediately realized.

Majiya.

Fashion sense zero.

She had been stubbornly sticking to suit sets because she clearly didn’t know the first thing about fashion and was just wearing the safest option.

As someone who pays a lot of attention to casual outfit coordination, Dohee couldn’t help but notice.

So Dohee’s goals today were simple and clear:

One perfect coordination that suits Majiya best.

One formal outfit for the Ppajijik year-end party.

And lastly, putting together a coordination that the fashion-challenged Majiya can wear comfortably.

While this order follows Cheon Do-hee’s inner fashion king’s primal instincts…

Creation always requires strong desire as a foundation, and becomes perfect when appropriately restrained and infused with popular elements.

And thus was born.

The cutest Majiya in the world!

“Wow.”

After adjusting Majiya’s outfit as she walked out of the fitting room, Dohee was at a loss for words.

She had simply put a suspender skirt and thick blouse over the fleece-lined leggings Majiya was already wearing, and added a knit sweater on top, but the parents shopping for clothes kept glancing at Majiya.

They seemed to be taking notes to dress up their own children.

After taking photos enthusiastically for a while, Dohee said to Jia:

“Hey. You look like a completely different person when you dress up properly.”

Majiya walked over to the mirror and tilted her head.

She turned back to Dohee and said something striking:

“It doesn’t seem that different from before?”

“What do you mean not different? It’s totally different.”

“I really can’t tell.”

“That’s because you’re fashion-challenged. This. Please ring it up right away. We’ll wear it out.”

“What? Just like this?”

About 150,000 won.

Dohee coolly paid by card and picked up the paper bag containing Majiya’s original hoodie.

“Why are you paying for my clothes?”

“What. I can’t buy clothes for my employee?”

Jia snatched the receipt from Dohee’s hand and muttered the amount under her breath.

It was to donate more than twice that amount when Dohee streams.

But if she said it out loud, she’d get a smack on the head, so Majiya just glanced around and kept her mouth shut.

The next clothing store they went to.

It was full of formal-looking clothes, but of course it was a kids’ brand again.

Majiya grumbled with a disgruntled expression:

“Kids’ clothes really do come in a lot of varieties.”

“Of course, how else would they satisfy all the parents? Let’s go in.”

“I guess so. In this era of low birth rates, they probably need to sell three outfits per family to make a profit.”

“Hey hey. This kid never runs out of things to say.”

But despite her sullen expression, from the moment she changed clothes, Majiya naturally drew attention from those around her.

Since yesterday was Christmas, there were many parents and children who had taken the day off.

Many people commented on Jia as they passed by.

Dohee kept hearing “Your mom looks so young” along with it.

But what did it matter that she was mistaken for a mom right now?

Dohee was just happy that she had found the perfect coordination for this hopeless fashion-challenged person walking beside her, enough to catch people’s attention.

Anyway, at the second clothing store as well, Dohee quickly put together an outfit for Majiya.

It was a pleated skirt that flared out beautifully in a trapezoid shape, with a slightly decorated blouse, and a ribbon necktie.

Finally, adding a beret would be the finishing touch, but…

Majiya took it off soon after, saying it was uncomfortable.

Then she said:

“Isn’t this a school uniform?”

“It’s not a school uniform.”

“It looks exactly like a school uniform. If we’re buying this, couldn’t I just wear my usual work clothes?”

As Majiya pointed out, you might think her regular suit set would be fine, but the problem is the “imbalance”.

Majiya in her work clothes looks like a child cosplaying as a mom, no matter how much you try to age her up.

People at the company are used to it now, but strangers still ask sometimes.

Why is there a kid at the company?

Ironically, Majiya dressed similarly to a school uniform looks like a student.

By setting her style around her teens, the strange phenomenon of her estimated age actually going up was occurring.

In any case, Dohee wanted to convey this opinion, but lacking the ability to persuade Majiya with words…

She had no choice but to go back to the promise she made with Jia as soon as they met today.

“You promised earlier that you’d wear what I coordinated, didn’t you?”

“Hmm.”

Though she showed skepticism with her eyes half-closed, Majiya listened well.

They stopped by the last store and finished today’s third coordination.

It was the casual style that Jia loved so much.

Baggy pants with a fleece-lined crewneck, and a scarf purchased as a set to complete the shopping.

As soon as she returned to comfortable clothes (especially pants), Majiya’s mood seemed to improve right away.

In a way, Cheon Do-hee’s shopping strategy had worked well.

“How is it? Do you like the clothes we bought?”

“If I don’t like them, my head will split open, so I have no choice.”

“Someone listening might think I’m always smacking you on the head. It’s mostly because you’re messing around…”

“I’m joking. I know you dress well, Boss. I should trust that you chose well for me.”

“This kid, till the end.”

“Ack. I’m against violence.”

Majiya ran away on her short legs, giggling.

Unlike when she was wearing a skirt, she was incredibly agile despite her small size.

After playing tag for a while, the two sat down on a bench next to the fountain in the mall.

As soon as they sat, Majiya said:

“Since you got me winter clothes like this. Please do spring, summer, and fall clothes too.”

“…You want free styling every season?”

“It’s not free. It’ll all come back as donations to you, Boss.”

“Oh my.”

Dohee pretended to hold her forehead while smirking.

It was two days later when Iona contacted me via Talk Code.

It was December 28th, the day before the year-end party.

Not knowing that I sleep straight through the morning, there were missed calls at 10 AM and 12 PM.

[Iona: Jia-nim]

[Iona: Can you let me know when you’re available to talk?]

[Iona: I have something to ask]

So after finishing my preparations for work and putting my bag on my back, I put on my earbuds and called right away.

VTubers’ streaming times and sleep schedules are all similar, so 2 PM was more than enough time to be awake.

“Iona-nim. Can you hear me?”

Iona spoke as if she had come back from the dead.

[Phew. I was worried you had blocked me.]

“…? Why would I?”

[Well, you know. We’re from different companies. I keep contacting you and stuff. If it’s uncomfortable, you might…]

This person seems outwardly normal, but her inner workings are strangely twisted.

I had a feeling from when we met in Wicker Town and she didn’t accept the move-in support money.

Judging by her pathological obsession with taking sides, I wonder if she was betrayed by someone in the past.

“If I block someone, I explain the reason before blocking, so don’t worry. It’s become natural after being a manager for a long time.”

[Ah I see…]

“If you ban without explaining, the boss’s inbox and official mail just explode. Though sometimes they explode even if you do explain.”

[Haha. It’s not easy.]

“So what did you contact me about?”

Iona hesitated and answered:

[It’s nothing much. I was wondering if you’re coming to the year-end party tomorrow. If you are, I wanted to come say hello.]

“I didn’t mention it anywhere specifically. Has news spread that I’m going?”

[Not exactly, but your official channel is a Ppajijik partner, right? Even though you’re not the channel owner specifically, there’s no reason Ppajijik wouldn’t invite you.]

What incredible insight.

Well, this is why she firmly holds the #1 spot for Rapitz.

“As you said, I was invited too. I’m planning to go to expand my network. That way I can promote the members more enthusiastically.”

[Ah I see. That’s the reason. Just like you, Jia-nim. Anyway, I’ll come find you tomorrow then.]

“How will you know where I am?”

[Well. The year-end party venue is just a hotel banquet hall, right? It’s one floor. I’ll find you.]

I tilted my head.

“Do you know what I look like?”

I couldn’t help but smack my forehead at Iona’s next words.

[Serena said I’d know as soon as I see you?]

Since Maru and Serena are close, I guess they naturally talked about me while chatting.

I’m not particularly upset that Maru leaked my real identity – I’m not a VTuber anyway – I just got annoyed remembering shopping at kids’ clothing stores with the boss a few days ago.

It’s like they’re saying a little kid like me will obviously stand out anywhere.

“If you recognize me right away, I’ll buy you pizza.”

[Haha. Okay. I’ll look forward to it.]