Chapter 44

EP.44 The Cicada Saint and the People in the Store and Subway

It truly takes a long, arduous time for cicadas to emerge.

And when they finally spread their wings, as if in reward for their endurance,

the sight of them rising after being buried in the ground for years is so radiant.

So beautiful.

In that sense,

perhaps I was actually a cicada?

A cicada that had just completed its emergence.

A mirror-like window framed a person like a picture.

I met the eyes of the person inside.

His blue eyes, like silver bells, rolled to meet mine.

A beauty that no one could ignore, with a gentle smile, looked at me.

…It was me.

Occasionally, I experienced such a dissonance in perception.

After all, I had gone through something so unrealistic.

Unable to fully adapt to the sudden change in my familiar face and body from a lifetime of over twenty years,

it wasn’t strange that I couldn’t instantly recognize myself.

“….”

In my daily morning fantasies to escape reality, there was definitely something like this.

Though it was incredibly childish,

I imagined myself so handsome that anyone would fall in love at first sight,

drawing envy and goodwill from passersby without effort,

and living a life filled with positive connections.

Instead of looks of disdain and pity,

I was surrounded by gazes of praise and envy,

making reality no longer seem burdensome,

and becoming the protagonist of my life,

holding my head high,

meeting people under the bright sun rather than in a dim room,

and living a life that everyone would envy.

While this situation might be a bit different from my original wishes….

Is it fair to say that my fantasy has come true?

I don’t know.

The fact that no one could ignore me wasn’t just a figure of speech;

I was actually exposed to all kinds of gazes.

If someone were to close their eyes, as if I might disappear,

or if someone were to glance at me with a flushed face, afraid I might notice,

or if someone were to pretend to move to the next subway car but turn their eyes to look at me as they passed,

or if someone were to act as if they had forgotten something and turn back to look at me again,

this body was overly sensitive,

and all of these things were clear to me.

I thought it was about time they stopped looking.

But people’s thoughts seemed different from mine.

Even if it was fine,

the gazes directed at my chest were quite burdensome.

Even newborn babies don’t look at their mother’s breast with such hungry eyes.

No, it’s natural that babies don’t have such desire-filled eyes.

Please, stop looking at my chest.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Sigh.

I couldn’t possibly ask each person to stop looking at my chest.

I didn’t have the courage to speak, and my silent protests wouldn’t reach them.

Instead of focusing on the clinging gazes, I did what I needed to do.

I checked the time.

The time on my phone pointed exactly to 3:00 PM.

I was also holding a large shopping bag in one hand.

The tight jeans felt a bit uncomfortable, and the clacking sound of my black flats echoed under my feet as I moved my legs.

The white T-shirt that clung to my large chest was incredibly soft, a texture I had never experienced before.

The black cardigan that covered my arms actually emphasized my chest.

The old saying that clothes are wings was indeed true.

Even with the shabby outfit, my beauty couldn’t be hidden, and with the simple addition of these clothes, it seemed to shine even more.

Solomon’s words were indeed spot on.

I didn’t know that someone who only played games could know so much about women’s clothing.

I opened the banking app on my phone.

My balance had been significantly reduced, as if in payment for something.

The expenses were quite large.

I, who had never been interested in clothes, was surprised to learn how expensive they could be.

When I was taken aback by the prices, which had an extra zero compared to what I had expected, and was about to leave,

if a staff member hadn’t intervened at just the right moment, I would have definitely gone home.

The male staff member with a gentle appearance had somewhat swayed me with his recommendations about the beauty and quality of the clothes.

Even though I still didn’t want to buy them, I felt bad and decided to try them on as he suggested.

I went to the fitting room, put them on, and looked in the mirror….

“….”

The next moment, I found myself at the cash register, handing over my card.

Isn’t it a gamer’s trait to buy character outfits even if it means going hungry?

I had unlocked all the outfits for the Saint character with excessive in-game purchases, even though I had only played as a priest for ten years.

I had unlocked everything, from the light and heavy armor used by warriors to the robes worn by mages and the leather armor used for thief and archer customizations.

It was my joy to dress up the character and coo over how cute it looked.

If I spent so much time and money on outfits I would never wear in the game,

how could I refuse to buy real clothes I would actually wear?

It was impossible to leave the store without trying on the clothes I had on.

The Saint I had dressed up was too beautiful.

Beautiful enough to satisfy me.

Worries about living expenses? To hell with them.

I’ll live off my face for a while.

If I didn’t buy this, I wouldn’t be able to eat.

I was weak for desire.

As I was paying,

the male staff member’s final act of kindness.

He said to the female staff member helping with the payment,

“Miss Mijeong, do you still have the bracelet we got from there last time?”

The female staff member glanced at me and replied almost in a whisper,

“Manager, that’s for VIPs.”

“Do you have it or not?”

“…Yes, I do.”

“Bring it.”

“You’ll get in trouble with the store manager….”

“Nonsense.”

It seemed the male staff member who guided me was in a fairly high position in the store.

The woman reluctantly handed over a gold bracelet in a luxurious package.

The male staff member took it, removed the contents, and handed them to me,

smiling awkwardly,

“It’s a gift. Hahaha. It’s the only thing I can offer. Hahaha.”

He said.

It looked a bit expensive for a gift….

It was more luxurious than my hair, with a deep luster.

Perhaps because of the envious gaze of the female staff member,

the male staff member approached me, as I struggled to put on the bracelet.

Despite his nervousness, his trembling fingertips gently grabbed my arm,

and after looking at my wrist, he stiffened for a moment, but managed to fasten the bracelet with his trembling hands.

I could understand why women were so crazy about shiny things.

I kept looking at the bracelet, finding it beautiful, but the male staff member was staring at my face, making me feel a bit embarrassed, so I said,

“Thank you.”

Just those words made the staff member tremble with gratitude,

“No! No! We should be grateful for your patronage! Miss Mijeong, right?”

“…Manager, you’ll tell everything to your girlfriend. You’ll tell everything to the store manager.”

“….”

After completing the payment, the words “Can I wear it now?” naturally came out of my mouth.

Of course, it was possible, so I wore it and took the subway back home,

leading to the current situation.

The entire car was looking at me.

The cicada, signaling the late emergence of autumn, had captured everyone’s attention.

Since cicadas aren’t that pretty,

maybe I should be called a butterfly.

The impact of my body, which looked more like a mannequin than a mannequin, was more impressive than I had imagined.

Moreover, the number of people in the subway was different from when I left home around noon.

This area was a bit secluded, so it was fortunate that it wasn’t as crowded as the subway in the metropolitan area I had visited before.

Anyway, from people’s reactions….

I didn’t feel ashamed of my appearance for this meeting.

I checked the date one last time.

The weekend I had agreed to was approaching.

Author's Note

Thank you, longinis, for the 100 coin donation.

Thank you, Yanggangking, for the 100 coin donation.

Thank you, Heeumchinisa, for the 20 coin donation.

I will update the delayed donation thank-you notice right away!

(Peek)

Hahaha;;

As I mentioned in the notice... I couldn’t come due to health issues ;;

I’m sorry ㅜㅜ...

I’ll be back, so please don’t leave heart-wrenching comments... ㅠㅠ