“Hmm…”
Bora felt relieved after looking at Hana’s medical examination report. Except for her body growing, there was nothing physically wrong. However, it seemed like she had developed some special ability. The growth rate of plants around the research institute had become strangely fast.
The evidence was right outside the window. Even though it was midwinter, the trees, which should have been bare, had all changed. They were lush with leaves as if it were midsummer. And where there should have been just soil in the flower beds, flowers were blooming brightly.
Anyone who saw it might have mistaken it for spring already.
“Sniff…”
Next to her, Hana sat with a gloomy expression. It seemed like she hadn’t adjusted to her drastically changed body. Her charming appearance made the male researchers glance at her repeatedly.
Of course, when they caught Bora’s angry glare, they quickly turned their heads, pretending not to look.
Men are all wolves, after all. Though most of them were looking at her with eyes filled with shock. Many couldn’t believe how much Hana had grown in just one day.
Bora gently patted Hana’s head. Hana was more confused than anyone right now, so some warm attention was necessary.
After finishing the examination, they returned to the room. There was nothing physically wrong with Hana’s body. In fact, it was confirmed that her body was overflowing with mana, almost excessively so.
As time passed, they noticed that the mana accumulated in her body was dispersing, so it seemed that she would eventually return to her original self.
Hearing this, Hana seemed to calm down a bit. However, there was a big problem: Hana had no clothes to wear. Her original clothes were out of the question.
If they tried to force her into the clothes she wore as a child, she wouldn’t be able to leave the room. It would look too indecent.
Even Haru’s clothes didn’t fit Hana properly. They were just a makeshift solution.
Hana was holding her stretched-out dinosaur pajamas, which were now too saggy to wear. Seeing her holding them with a melancholic expression made Bora’s heart ache.
Seeing this, Bora spoke up.
“Hana, should we go outside?”
“Ugh… I don’t wanna…”
But sitting here would only slow down the rate at which her mana dissipated, so they needed to go outside. The area around the research institute was too saturated with mana.
While pondering how to get Hana outside, Bora’s eyes fell on the dinosaur pajamas in Hana’s hand.
“Let’s go buy new dinosaur pajamas! This time, a different dinosaur!”
Hana’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked at Bora. She nodded and said,
“Okay! Let’s go get new dinosaur pajamas!”
Bora gave Haru a look, signaling her to get ready to go outside. Haru nodded and prepared to leave.
—
“First, we need to buy clothes.”
“Yeah. Since Hana is wearing my clothes, they don’t fit well.”
They managed to lure Hana outside with the promise of new dinosaur pajamas. But while her current outfit wasn’t entirely unflattering, they still needed to buy her new clothes.
So, Hana was dragged along by Bora and Haru. As soon as they arrived at the women’s clothing floor, Hana felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of clothes.
“Do I have to wear this…?”
Hana looked at the clothes in her hand and asked Bora and Haru. She had come to buy dinosaur pajamas, but strangely, Bora and Haru were insisting she try on other clothes first.
“Can’t I just try this on?”
“Please!”
Seeing the two girls clasp their hands in pleading, Hana nodded and said,
“If I wear this, will you buy me dinosaur pajamas?”
“Sure, sure.”
If Hana would just try on the clothes, they could buy her as many dinosaur pajamas as she wanted.
Entering the fitting room, Hana sighed. Kids’ clothes didn’t really show off her femininity, so she could wear them without much thought. But the clothes Bora and Haru had picked out were all distinctly feminine.
Do I really have to wear this?
Even though she really wanted the dinosaur pajamas, Hana was torn over whether she should go this far.
But she couldn’t give up on the dinosaur pajamas, so without a word, she started putting on the clothes. Thankfully, they had already bought underwear, so she didn’t need to worry about that.
Her drastically different body made her feel a bit guilty. Is it really okay for me to have this kind of body…?
The outfit Bora and Haru had picked out was a simple beige…
She wore a knit top with a flare skirt underneath. The women were amazing. Seeing them wear skirts even in the middle of winter was truly admirable. After nearly freezing to death during a harsh winter, I’ve been bundling up tightly ever since…
Once she finished dressing, Haru and Bora clapped their hands in delight.
“It suits you so well!”
“We should definitely take a photo to remember this…”
After saying that, the two women pulled out their phones and started snapping pictures of Hana in her outfit. Hana, seemingly embarrassed, lowered her head and waved her hands as if to say, “Stop it.”
But even that was adorable.
—
Kim Jin-cheol had arranged to meet his friends in front of Starlight Department Store. Hanging out with his crazy friends was as common as picking his nose.
But today, something felt off around the department store. The plants were in full bloom, and weeds were sprouting wildly between the pavement blocks. Of course, they weren’t as tall as a soccer field, but it was strange. It definitely wasn’t like this yesterday…
“Hey!”
Kim Jin-cheol met up with his friends waiting in front of the department store. Today, they planned to do some quick shopping and then catch a movie. When guys got together, that’s all they ever did.
“Is today some special day for plants or something?”
“Right? On the way here, I thought it was summer.”
Ever since the Gates appeared, a lot of unexplainable phenomena had been happening. So, an event like this seemed minor. But just in case it was dangerous, he pulled out his phone to check.
“Looks like there’s no Gate appearance or anything today, so it’s probably just a weird phenomenon, huh?”
With the advancement of science and technology, humanity had somewhat figured out the principles behind the Gates. While they couldn’t stop the Gates from appearing, they could predict where they might show up.
Of course, even if it seemed like no Gate would appear, there was no 100% guarantee. Just like in those common novels, a Gate could suddenly pop up.
Still, since they were in the middle of the city, there were plenty of Hunters around, so there was no need to worry too much. As long as they evacuated properly, there was no risk of getting hurt.
While Kim Jin-cheol was shopping with his two friends, he heard people murmuring around him.
“Did a celebrity show up or something?”
Usually, people would buzz like this when a famous person arrived. Regardless, Kim Jin-cheol stayed focused on the clothes in front of him. But his two friends must have noticed something because they tapped his shoulder and said,
“Hey, Jin-cheol! Look over there!”
“Is she some kind of model?”
Kim Jin-cheol thought his two crazy friends were overreacting. Sure, pretty girls were rare, but to make such a fuss…
However, the moment he turned his head and saw the group of women, he understood why his friends were so excited.
There were three women in the group, and each one had an extraordinary appearance and figure. Even from Kim Jin-cheol’s perspective, having seen a few celebrities before, these women were stunning.
The two women on the sides were already rare beauties, but the one in the middle with green hair stood out even more.
Not only was her hair color unique, but she was also far more beautiful than the other two. And for some reason, she looked quite young, like a child who had just grown up.
But what really caught his attention were the items she was holding. She was carrying a bunch of merchandise featuring a character that looked exactly like the one his much younger sister watched on TV.
Wasn’t it that Little Magician Lumi or something? It was surprising to see an adult woman with the same taste as his little sister. It wasn’t common for grown women to like children’s animation characters.
At that moment, one of his crazy friends, with no sense of shame, approached the group and asked the green-haired woman for her phone number. Naturally, the two women on the sides looked at him with utter disdain.
He was my crazy friend, but he was definitely missing a few screws.
