“Ugh…”
As I opened my eyes, a completely different scene of my room came into view. It felt empty, probably because there was just a bed sitting there all by itself. But I couldn’t blame anyone for it. After all, I was the one who had turned my previous room into a complete mess.
So, it was my own doing.
Today was a special day to go out. I went into the bathroom and quickly washed my face. It was a classic “cat wash.” I also rinsed my hair under running water. Even though I had cut it yesterday, by morning, it was already long enough to reach my waist.
How do women manage to maintain such long hair? Honestly, it took way longer to wash than when I was a guy. And that wasn’t the only thing. Drying it required even more effort.
Using just one towel to dry my hair was impossible. I needed at least two to stop the water from dripping everywhere. Back in the day, one towel was enough to dry both my hair and body, but now, being a woman was just plain inconvenient.
After drying my hair somewhat with a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom. Bora was waiting for me in the room. She was already neatly dressed, completely different from me, who was just standing there in my underwear. With my messy, ghost-like hair, I approached her.
“Bora, help me dry my hair.”
Even though there was a hairdryer, drying my hair by myself was such a hassle, so I asked Bora for help. She chuckled at my request and said, “Come here, Hana.”
*Tap tap tap!*
I ran over to Bora, who was holding the hairdryer. With her skilled hands, she started drying my hair. Maybe because she was also a girl, her technique was no joke. As she dried my hair, she occasionally massaged my scalp with her fingers, making it feel cool and refreshing.
“Ah! Ah!”
I quickly realized that too much coolness could turn into pain. My sensitive scalp mistook Bora’s massage for torture. But since it still felt refreshing, I endured it and let her work her magic.
Once my hair was fully dried, Bora roughly dressed me in the clothes scattered on the floor. Then, she picked me up and headed somewhere familiar—the room where my clothes were stored in a closet. I tensed up in her arms, feeling stiff.
“What should we dress Hana in today?”
Bora’s fashion coordination was still unfamiliar to me, even though I’d worn her outfits a few times before. In winter, I usually just threw on a long-sleeve shirt, pants, and a padded jacket.
“Just put anything on me…”
I voiced my wish, but Bora completely ignored it. In her mind, she probably already had an image of me dressed in pink, frilly clothes.
“Gyaaah!”
I was dragged around by Bora, becoming a human doll for her to dress up. I lost count of how many times she changed my clothes.
“Ta-da!”
After being toyed with for what felt like hours, I ended up back in the first outfit she had picked—a pink pleated skirt, a cozy brown sweater, and even stockings. I walked around awkwardly. No matter how many times I wore women’s clothes, I just couldn’t get used to them.
The skirt was comfortable to wear, but when I walked, the breeze coming up from below just wasn’t my style. Holding Bora’s hand, we headed to the elevator. Every time I thought about it, my heart would race whenever I left the building. Exploring the unknown world was always thrilling.
“Good work!”
I waved energetically at the building security guard. It’s good to get familiar with them for when I need to sneak in or out later. The guard smiled and waved back. Being a kid definitely had its perks—no matter what I did, people just found it endearing.
We made our way to the parking lot and got into Bora’s car. Being a well-behaved kid, I properly fastened my seatbelt. Bora adjusted the seat to make sure I was comfortable.
“Hana, you’re not uncomfortable, right?”
“Nope!”
Once everything was set, the car roared to life and smoothly glided forward.
The research institute was located far from the city, so it took a good half-hour by car to get there. Of course, from the top of the building, you could vaguely see the city in the distance, but…
“Where are we going, Bora?”
I hadn’t been told about our destination. All I knew was that we were going out. At my question, Bora smiled and said, “We’re going to buy a new TV and computer monitor for you, Hana.”
“Ah!”
It was because of my mistake that the electronics had broken. The previous TV and monitor had been ruined by water. I heard they were pretty expensive, and now I just wanted to hide somewhere. I had done something so childish, even though I wasn’t a kid anymore.
“It’s okay. The company…”
“Since I have a lot of money, if it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just use Hana’s card, right?”
“I’m fine!”
Since it was my mistake that caused the damage, it was okay to use my card. But Bora just said that, and it seemed like she had gotten a card from the company separately. I took out the card from my bear wallet and handed it to Bora, but she didn’t take it.
While talking about the delicious pudding and the dalgona we made yesterday, we suddenly arrived at our destination. The destination was a huge store selling electronics. The store was prominently labeled “Starlight Electronics.”
Bora held my hand and we entered the store.
“Welcome, customers.”
A neatly dressed store employee greeted us. The vibe from their outfit suggested they knew a lot about electronics.
“Hello!”
I greeted the employee with a bow. Greetings should be as polite and respectful as possible to make adults happy. I don’t know why such greetings are good, but still.
“Oh! Hello, little lady!”
The store employee smiled and waved at me. My greeting must have had some incredible power. Nine out of ten people who received my greeting would loosen their guard and greet me warmly.
“Hehe!”
I laughed and walked into the store. There were many dazzling electronics in sight. Looking around, I lost track of time. The ones I had in my room before were good, but the ones here were just as impressive.
“Hana, come with me.”
Bora was following me. I dodged her hand like we were playing tag. But after a few tries, it was impossible to completely escape an adult’s steps. Soon, Bora caught me and dragged me around.
“Is there anything you particularly want, Hana?”
Hmm… Bora seemed like she wanted to buy me something, but I didn’t know much about TVs. I just watch whatever TV is available. That’s it. There were important details like pixels and inches, but they didn’t interest me much. However, something else caught my attention completely.
“I want to buy this monitor!”
I found a new monitor to replace the one ruined by the water splash. The screen wasn’t too small or too big, and the design was nice. While Bora was talking to the employee earlier, I quickly looked around the monitor section, and this one caught my eye the most.
“Really? So, any TV will do then?”
“Yep!”
She’s really generous. Not knowing Bora was using a corporate card, I imagined her swiping her card for items worth millions. And from what I’ve seen of Bora, she seemed quite wealthy. Her car, the clothes she wore—they all looked expensive.
We bought a monitor worth a few million and a huge TV whose price I didn’t know. The employees’ treatment of us improved dramatically. How expensive was the TV for the employees to care so much?
I overheard something about a thousand. Normally, TVs cost a few hundred, so Bora must have bought a really expensive one.
“Please deliver this here.”
Bora gave the employee the address while paying. The employee paused for a moment upon seeing the address Bora wrote down, then said,
“Ah… yes!”
The address was indeed unusual. It wasn’t a typical home address but the address of a company building. I once thought about living independently, but not now.
At the building, food is always provided, I can sleep comfortably, and the heating is always on. There’s no better place than this outside.
Like a bedbug, I stick around, but I know they can’t do without me. So, I confidently roam the building like it’s my home. It’s good for me and good for the company—a win-win.
Living alone means I’d have to handle all the annoying household chores, so I want to postpone moving out for now. But as I get older, won’t I eventually live independently?
