EP.3

"It's cheating!"

Then, when the test paper he received showed 100 points, one child couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up from his seat and shouted.

It seems that no matter how young children are, they are not the only ones having fun.

Most people play, but there is only one person in the class. No, out of hundreds of students in a grade, it was possible to count them by hand, and a few people used to worry about their grades early on.

I don't know exactly if it's because they grew up early or because their parents pressured them to get good grades, but there are kids like that.

So, after giving up the top spot to a kid who only played around and got terrible grades, I got angry when I got an all-white score, which I had never been able to achieve before.

"What do you mean by kerning? What do you mean by kerning?"

The teacher opened his mouth with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"On the last test, I got an average of 30 points, but all of a sudden I got 100 points. That doesn't make sense!"

It is a valid opinion.

That's true, but I feel a bit bad because I feel like they're ignoring me without knowing why.

Isn't it?

Even though I'm not good at studying, I graduated from a university outside of Seoul in 3 semesters. I wonder if I can't even solve this level of problems.

and.

"That's true. The teacher was a little suspicious, too, but the test you took this time had essay questions that you couldn't cheat on, right?"

As I said, there was an essay problem in math.

There were even subjective answers to these questions written in English, as if asking the children to guess.

"There was an answer to that problem that both the teacher and other teachers were impressed with."

Even though problems with fixed answers were easily solved, writing essays was so difficult. I had quite a hard time there.

"Can this still be called cheating?"

"Uh, uhm…"

Fortunately, he was not the kind of kid who cries recklessly, and when the teacher said that, he nodded indignantly and glared at me.

It was glaring so sharply that I almost got cut.

"Wow... Jihoon is really amazing."

Nayoung, who has lost quite a bit of weight compared to the beginning and has lost some of the marks on her face that are hard to notice, but still doesn't have a pretty face, was impressed as she compared her test papers filled with rain and mine that she had received so far.

"It's no big deal."

It may not have been a big deal so far, but if you get a little older, it is clear that you will never be able to maintain the top rank unless you study like crazy.

"But… it's still really amazing."

Do you really want to praise me?

"thank you."

I smiled at the sensation, which wasn't as bad as I thought, and gently moved her front hair to the side.

Now, as if she had been washing it well at home, her hair, which was barely oily, was tilted to the side, and I could see her pretty eyes.

"Ugh."

When our eyes met, he blushed and turned his head away as if he was embarrassed.

As Nayoung expressed her emotions and spoke more, my mood improved.

If we just keep going like this, there won't be any problems. Then all that's left is appearance.

"I'll teach you when you need to study, so for now, let's just focus on losing weight and looking prettier, okay?"

To be honest, grades aren't particularly important right now.

First of all, I need to be pretty for my eyes, so taking care of my appearance comes first.

"huh.....!"

Nayoung smiled brightly and answered, "I really hate exercising because it's hard and painful, but it's also fun to do with me."

Seeing that innocent smile made me feel like an awl had been stabbed in my chest.

That's because I planned to bring tears to Nayoung's face today.

Completely for my desires.

'Sorry. 'Nayoung.'

I apologized in my mind, massaged her cheeks, one of her favorite things, and waited for time to pass quickly.

As time passed and the school day was over, Nayoung naturally came to my house.

First, I put down my bag, changed into my gym clothes, and went outside.

I'm planning to run hard to lose weight, but today I decided to try a different course than usual.

"Ji, Jihoon."

Nayoung, who was following closely behind me wondering what was so good, suddenly became anxious as the number of people around her increased one by one.

The kids in my class said they had gotten used to it, but they started to shrink from the many stares from people they saw for the first time, which were incomparable to those at school.

"Wow. It's really ugly."

"You're ugly, but you've gained a lot of weight."

"I feel like I should give up on life at that level."

Most people stared at Nayoung's appearance for a long time and passed by in silence, but some young gangsters criticized her openly as if they wanted everyone to hear her.

Nayoung was someone who thought she would not be able to tolerate being bullied by kids at school because she no longer cried.

But that couldn't have been a big misunderstanding.

"Ji, Jihoon... ugh... Jihoon ah..."

Nayoung, who was crying and pulling my collar, did not reprimand me the day I brought her here.

I just wanted to get out of here quickly.

"Nayoung, don't cry."

There is no reason for Nayoung to be embarrassed by me.

This means that even if you regain your beauty thanks to me, you may forget your grace and leave for a handsome man.

So, is there a way to completely rule this out? A conclusion reached after much deliberation.

People often call it gaslighting.

No matter how handsome and cool a man approaches me, it makes me feel unimpressed and makes me rely only on myself.

But perhaps because the mind is still immature, the effect is amazing.

Even more so because they are isolated and even harassed.

So, she was already relying only on me, so even though there was no need to do it, I needed to solidify the ground just in case.

"W-Here… Si, I hate it…!"

He fell into my arms, tears streaming down his face.

When Nayoung, who was twice my size, was held in their arms, the girls burst into tears with laughter.

In some ways, it's a fantastic collaboration between the anchovy man and the pig woman, so I think I'll find it a bit funny too.

"Ugh... Ugh. Ugh."

I was crying bitterly and trying my best to ignore what was going on around me.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. No matter what those people say, there's nothing strange about you, Nayoung."

Just a lot of fat and a dirty face.

"Didn't I say I'd make it look pretty? When that time comes, it might be even harder than it is now, so what are you going to do?"

I pulled out her face, which I had buried in my chest because I didn't want to show her face.

He ran his thumb over the moist area around his eyes and then opened his mouth in a protective manner.

"Brothers, I apologize to Nayoung."

"Hahaha. Sa-ah, apple...? Hahaha."

"Ahhhhhh. Sorry. Sorry. Ahhhhh."

"We're so sorry, Nayoung. Hahaha!"

When I asked him to apologize, he said it as if he forced it, so it doesn't feel like I just received an apology.

Even though it was what I wanted, I was trying to make myself feel bad.

"Hey, you guys."

A man who looked unfavorably not only at me but at these guys came forward.

A grim face with lumpy muscles is something that should never be touched.

"What are you doing, making a child infinitely younger than you cry? Hmm... Hmm. Hmm."

I was about to swear for a moment, but I cleared my throat and swallowed, paying attention to how young we were.

Contrary to his appearance, he seems to be a very considerate and caring man.

"Anyway, apologize properly, okay?"

"..."

The gangsters, who were strong and weak, finally apologized with a slightly sorry face, but even that did not contain any sincerity.

"Tsk."

The man clicked his tongue because he didn't like it, but considering Nayoung was still crying, it wasn't desirable for him to keep holding her.

"go away."

The gangsters ran away as if they had been waiting.

"Never mind."

He took out a piece of candy from his pocket and placed it on Nayoung's hand, smiling.

It's a bad effect.

Smiling with an evil expression made me look even scarier, so even I was appalled, but what about Na-young?

He started crying louder and relied on me even more.

I hurriedly took her and returned home.

"Are you okay?"

"Hibb... Hibb..."

I cried and shook my head.

"I'm sorry. I changed the course because I was afraid that if we continued on the same path too much, I would get bored. I didn't know that would happen."

Doridori.

I shook my head and said it wasn't my fault.

"Starting tomorrow, let's not change course and go to the same place we always go."

Nod.

Even though I say this, I plan to go to places where there are a lot of people and not be able to cut it without relying on me.

"Okay then, shall we apply?"

"right..."

The time has come to apply the cream.

Nayoung really doesn't want to apply it, but it can't be helped.

Seeing that she doesn't like applying it, it seems like she probably didn't even open the foil on the cream she gave me to apply when I got home.

So, I felt like I had to apply it once a day.

I applied it thoroughly to her face, which boasts a large area, and applied more to areas I thought were particularly severe.

"Okay. Now let's take a shower."

"huh!"

With a bright white face, as if he had been waiting for a wash, he smiled brightly and ran to the bathroom with brisk steps.

The bathroom door slammed shut, leaving me alone to clean up after myself.

The sound of the door lock password being pressed reached my ears.

My father doesn't come home often because he is working hard to save the company that is currently collapsing, so it must be my mother.

"Have you been there?"

As expected, it was my mom.

"Who's here?"

I must have seen a small pair of shoes neatly placed in the front door that I had never seen before.

"yes."

"friend?"

"Yes. But you came early today?"

"Manager... No, the manager went first because he had some work to do, so we just came quickly. Ah. Jihoon, you don't really know what I'm talking about, do you?"

I can roughly understand it.

I don't have anything to do, but I can't go home, so I just sit there and bruise myself. The manager leaves work first, so I guess that means I'm home from work.

"Jihoon! I washed everything... Ah, hello...!"

"..."

Nayoung came out of the bathroom with her hair full of moisture and immediately lowered her head when she saw her mother.

"Is it a girl?"

"yes."

It is clear that he looks slightly embarrassed.

"I thought it was a boy because Jihoon's shoes were bigger than his shoes, but it turned out to be a girl…?"

He muttered with his voice muffled, but I could hear everything.

"Mom, can Nayoung eat at my house?"

"rice.....?"

"yes."

"Well... it doesn't matter."

Although I didn't like it, I willingly allowed it.

"Jihoon. Come here for a moment."

He carefully called me and came to the kitchen.

"Jihoon... she's not your girlfriend, right?"

"Nayoung?"

"Yeah. That's Nayoung. I don't really care about her as a friend. If we like each other, there's nothing we can do, but in my mom's eyes… I guess she can't be called a girlfriend. It's a bit like that."

From a mother's perspective, it would have been nice if her daughter-in-law was pretty.

Even if they weren't necessarily pretty, as long as they both loved each other, they would have been viewed favorably, but Nayoung's appearance right now was quite like that.

I could not accept her as a friend, but as my son's girlfriend.

"Not yet."

"Not yet.....?"

"yes."

"Are you saying you have a heart?"

"yes."

"Jihoon. Is Nayoung the last girl you're close with?"

"yes."

"oh my..."

Mom touched her forehead as if she had a headache.

"Why are you doing this?"

Even though I knew very well that it was because of the fact that she wasn't pretty, and that she had a fat body that weighed twice or even three times more than me, and a face with so many things that it was dirty and ugly, I shamelessly pretended not to notice and tilted my head.

"Jihoon. You're still young, so it's not time to make a girlfriend or anything like that. So just stay friends with Nayoung."

"Just as friends?"

"Only as a friend. When you grow up, you'll figure out how to draw attention to yourself."

Although we are just friends now, the moment Nayoung became pretty, I had no intention of being just friends.

Either I confess first or Nayoung gains confidence and confesses to me.

"Mom. I'm sorry."

"huh?"

"I like Nayoung too much to be friends."

"...!"

I'm already so infatuated with Nayoung from the future that I can't break away from her, so how can I just be friends with her?

"That's why I can't listen to what Mom says."

It breaks my heart because I feel like I'm driving a nail into my mother's heart, but this was also my mother's fault.

No matter how ugly or fat you are, even your mother shouldn't say that.

Above all, it's clear that Nayoung can hear everything we say, but I can't take my mother's side right now.

"sorry."

Since vacation was coming soon, I decided to take care of Nayoung's appearance to satisfy her mother during the vacation, which felt short and long.

Even if you don't understand it now, your mom will probably realize and understand that Nayoung is Wonseok by then.

Why did I make this choice?

I left my mother, who was looking at me with a confused face, and went to Nayoung.

Even though I came, Nayoung, who had a gloomy yet strangely happy face, made an effort to welcome me, pretending to be calm.

But I couldn't hide the fact that my eyes were moist.

"You can cry if you want to cry, Nayoung."

At these words, the tears I had been holding back finally poured out.

I hugged her gently and waited until she stopped crying.

A word from the author (author review)

I heard there were problems with the mother's remarks even before the remake, so I modified it a little. I tried to get rid of it, but despite my family's opposition, I only want you. Well, I thought that creating a dramatic situation like this would somehow increase the possibility of her becoming a woman who would understand even if she sets up a harem later, so I included it as is.