Top East Entertainment cafeteria.
I was eating lunch with Seoyun unnie and Ua unnie.
Ua unnie looked at the fried shrimp I was eating and said,
“Dohui, I’m jealous... You get to eat fried stuff every day.”
Seoyun unnie and Ua unnie were eating chicken breast salads.
“Agreed. We’re always stuck eating diet meals, but she’s the only one stuffing her face with tasty stuff.”
I grabbed my side and said,
“But I think I’ve put on a little fat around my waist too. I couldn’t grab anything at all before, but now I can.”
When I went to the uniform shop, they said I had a 23-inch waist, so I thought I was skinny, but seeing as I could grab some fat at my sides, I guess there was something to lose after all.
Ua unnie grabbed my side and said,
“You really can?”
Seoyun unnie laughed and said,
“Freaking nice. You’ll be on the rabbit-food path like us soon enough.”
“No, but isn’t this much just pretty?”
Even I admired my body when I looked at it in the mirror.
Seriously.
Of course, my chest was a bit lacking, but.
I was still growing.
It would grow.
Yep. It definitely would.
Seoyun unnie said,
“Look at me. You think I’m losing weight because I actually have fat to lose?”
“Unnie, your belly sticks out when you sit down.”
“Hey.”
To be honest, mine sticks out a little when I sit down too.
Should I start eating a bit less from now on...
Isn’t 23 inches skinny enough?
After lunch, I went down to the third floor and said to Team Leader Jeong Sohyeon,
“Team Leader, can I leave early today?”
“Why?”
“I have middle school preliminary orientation at two in a little while. Hehe...”
“Oh, really? Hurry up and go.”
“Yes! Goodbye.”
“Sure. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
I left the company, stopped by home, and put on a bag to carry my textbooks.
“I’m heading out, then.”
“Should Mom take you?”
“It’s fine. I need to go there myself to know where it is.”
“Okay. Then call Mom before it ends. I’ll bring the car and pick you up. Don’t force yourself to carry the textbooks back.”
“Okaaay~ I’ll be back~”
I left the house and headed to the middle school I’d be attending from now on.
Thankfully, I’d been assigned to the closest middle school, my first choice, so it only took ten minutes on foot.
The only sad thing was that the middle school was in the opposite direction from the elementary school I used to attend.
I won’t be able to hold Doa’s hand and go to school in the mornings anymore...
When I arrived, the school’s exterior looked clean.
The school field was artificial turf too.
The interior was as clean as the outside.
Oh, they even have a snack shop.
For some reason, I have a feeling I’m going to have to diet...
After roughly looking around the facilities, I went into the class I’d been temporarily assigned to.
When I entered the temporary classroom, the kids were already sitting there.
Some kids seemed to have come from the same school and were chatting with each other, while others seemed to have no friends and were just nervously fiddling with their phones alone.
But the overall atmosphere definitely seemed a lot calmer than elementary school.
I probably won’t have to worry too much about being bothered in middle school.
For now, I went to an empty seat by the window.
When I tried to sit down, I noticed a number stuck on the desk.
Oh, are we supposed to sit in number order?
What number was I again?
I went to the school homepage, checked the number next to my name, and sat down at seat number 11.
At 2 p.m., the preliminary orientation time, a young male teacher came into the classroom.
“All right, everyone, nice to meet you. Congratulations on becoming middle school students.”
The kids in the class clapped.
They must be excited and all that too.
“Now, first, you’ll be taking an aptitude test. The aptitude test has nothing to do with your school grades, so just take it comfortably.”
These days, they softened the wording and called class placement exams “aptitude tests.”
“You all brought OMR markers, right? If you don’t have one, raise your hand.”
The teacher handed them out to the kids who had forgotten to bring OMR markers, then explained the OMR answer sheet.
Once all the explanations were finished and it was 2:30, the teacher handed out the test papers.
“All right, the people in front, pass them back. The test time is one hour.”
The test paper I received consisted of two subjects, math and English.
When I solved the problems, the difficulty had clearly jumped compared to the usual ones.
They were questions that didn’t seem designed for everyone to solve them all, but rather to figure out each person’s level.
Of course, to me, who had already finished all the advanced study and had been repeating third-year high school mock exams for over three years, they felt easy.
After the aptitude test ended, it was time to receive our textbooks.
Following the teacher’s instructions, I went out into the hallway and found textbooks piled up like mountains.
After leaving and returning to the classroom three times in number order, there were fifteen textbooks stacked on my desk.
If I walked home without a car, my shoulders would definitely fall off from the weight of the textbooks.
Even after I forced twelve textbooks into my bag, no more would fit.
I guess I’ll have to carry three by hand.
I took out my phone and sent Mom a KakaoTalk message.
[Me: Got all the textbooks. Think it’ll end soon?]
[Mom: OK. I’ll head out soon. Wait inside the school so you don’t get cold.]
[Me: Yeah.]
Once the textbooks had been handed out to all the students, the teacher explained the things that would change in middle school.
Class times, schedules, clubs, exams, performance assessments, and so on.
He also told us what to bring on the first day of school.
Indoor shoes, an indoor-shoe bag, writing utensils, a locker lock, two ID photos in uniform to be used for our student ID cards, and so on.
I should go to a photo studio later to take an ID photo.
.
.
.
When I got home, I put down the textbooks and changed into my school uniform.
“Should Mom come with you?”
“It’s fine. Doa will be back from academy soon too, so stay home. I’ll just take the picture and come back.”
“Okay. Get plenty of photos.”
“Okey.”
It was my first time stepping outside the house in my uniform.
I never thought the day would come when I’d wear a school uniform again.
It felt strange and new.
Okay.
Today’s selfie is a uniform shot.
Because of my selfie lessons, I’d taken selfies every single day for over eight months without missing a day, and now I ended up taking selfies all the time, no matter when or where.
I took a selfie so that the uniform was slightly visible and sent it to Manager Soyeong on KakaoTalk.
[Me: (photo)]
[Me: (photo) Today’s selfie~]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: What! Dohui, are you wearing a school uniform?]
[Me: Yup haha. First outfit shot today.]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: Pretty, pretty.]
[Me: Then did I pass today too??]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: N]
[Me: ㅠㅠ]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: In honor of wearing a uniform, full-body mirror selfie go go.]
[Me: Yes. I’ll take one in a bit and send it.]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: Okaay~]
A photo studio should have a full-length mirror, right?
When I entered the photo studio, the photographer ajusshi got up from his seat and welcomed me.
“Welcome~ Are you here to take a student ID photo?”
He must have known at a glance because I was wearing my uniform.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then first, look in the mirror here and fix your hair~”
“Yes.”
I should take the selfie first.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror and took a picture of my whole body reflected in it, then sent it to my manager.
[Me: (photo) In my opinion, this is a pass.]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: OK, pass. Saved to unnie’s phone.]
[Me: ;;]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: But Dohui, you shortened your skirt? You always wear pants to the company~ So you actually liked skirts? ><]
[Me: My mom shortened it. Not me.]
[Manager Jo Soyeong: lol Let’s go with that~]
[Me: It’s true though;;]
But a thought suddenly occurred to me: at this point, I think my manager probably takes worse selfies than I do.
I should ask her to show me a selfie she took herself next time.
The photographer ajusshi must have been ready to take the picture, because he called me.
“Student, are you ready?”
“Ah! Just a moment. I’ll fix up quickly.”
Looking in the mirror, I began tidying my hair with the comb placed next to it.
Having long hair makes even brushing take ages.
Should I just cut it into a bob?
Mom and the company both said long hair was pretty and told me to leave it, so I was growing it out for now, but there were so many inconvenient things about it.
First of all, washing it takes ages, drying it takes ages, when I dance it hits my face, chewing on my hair while eating is a daily occurrence, and if my hair gets dipped in soup, ugh.
Anyway, it’s no small hassle.
In any case, after I finished tidying my hair, I sat in the chair facing the camera to take the photo.
The photographer ajusshi said,
“Now, first, place your hands comfortably on your legs and lift your chin just a little.”
“Raise the corners of your mouth a bit~”
“All right, I’ll take it.”
“Now, this time, we’ll take one more with a neutral expression.”
“This time, smile brightly so your teeth show. One, two, three.”
“All right, we’re done. Come over here and choose which one you want printed.”
Hmm... Since it’s for a student ID, would the neutral expression be better?
“Then I’ll go with this one.”
“The neutral expression is pretty too, but in my opinion, this one where you’re smiling brightly is prettier, you know? Let’s do this one.”
Then why did you ask?
“Yes, then please do that one.”
After the photographer ajusshi finished some simple retouching, he handed me the photos and said,
“But student, you’re so pretty. I’m not just saying that, I think you’re the prettiest student I’ve ever seen. In today’s terms, you’re a goddess, a goddess.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“So, about that, would you be interested in modeling for our studio? I’d like to hang these photos up. In exchange, I’ll waive the photo fee.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t usually say things like this, but you’re just so pretty. Think about it again.”
I took out my card, handed it to him, and said,
“No, it’s all right. Please charge it to this.”
The ajusshi sighed regretfully and processed the payment.
“What a shame... You’re welcome anytime, so tell me if you change your mind.”
“Yes, understood. Then goodbye.”
Getting displayed forever just to save a photo fee is a bit...
Doa should be home by now, and since it’s been a while since I’ve been home like this, I should hurry back and play with her.
.
.
.
Dinnertime.
I handed my ID photo to Dad as if I were doing him a great favor and said,
“Dad, I took this at the photo studio today. You can have it.”
Dad must have grown used to Mom’s and my little skits too, because he received the photo with trembling hands and said,
“Is it really all right for Dad to accept something this precious?”
“This is to commend you for your contributions to the family so far.”
“Thank you, my daughter.”
“Treasure it well.”
Doa commented from the side.
“Now Dad’s weird too.”
I deliberately ignored her and looked at my ID photo again as I said,
“But honestly, didn’t this ID photo come out really well? Even I think it’s so pretty.”
Mom replied,
“That’s because it only shows your face. Imagine if it included your chest too.”
Ah.
I took out my phone and bulk-ordered pomegranates on a home shopping app.
I’ll definitely surpass it.
I will.