Chapter 4: It seems like the ability has been nerfed

[What size?]
[Finish your sentence.]
[Isn’t she measuring her body size lol?]
[How old are you, and you don’t know your own size?]
[To be fair, I don’t know my waist size either.]

“Well, yeah. You guys kept telling me to buy clothes, so I figured I’d measure properly to get the right size. What’s the big deal?”

[Damn lol, how little do you shop for clothes that you need to measure your size?]
[You look like you’d just fit a small lol.]
[Just try stuff on and buy it? You shopping online?]

Obviously, I wasn’t buying clothes.

I need to order some bras.
But I don’t have the guts to go to a store, try them on, or ask about sizes, so I planned to measure and buy online.
There’s got to be a guide for measuring somewhere online.

I thought about buying multiple sizes to try, but I can’t afford to waste money like that. Living expenses are tight enough as it is.

[She’s measuring her bust size, isn’t she lol?]
[Wow, this guy’s for real.]
[Please, keep your fantasies to yourself lol. She’s 20, come on.]

Someone guessed it right, but they got shut down quick.
Fair enough— not knowing your bust size at 20 would mean you’ve been living without a bra your whole life.

Anyway, I got what I needed and checked out.

[Where you going now?]

“Huh? I got what I needed, so I’m going home.”

[? You really went out just for Daiso?]
[Ma’am, it’s the weekend. Not meeting any friends?]
[Lmao, gallery owner doesn’t have friends.]

“Yup, I don’t have friends.”

[Come on, who doesn’t have friends?]
[She’s pissed lol, stop teasing her.]

I said I don’t have friends because I really don’t… Is it so weird to not have any?

Even before turning into a girl, I kept my distance from college classmates.
My old high school and middle school friends are far away, so we just exchange occasional texts.

I’ve always felt that relationships aren’t built on one-sided effort.
When I decided to pull away, they seemed to sense it too.

How could they not? They were the ones who approached me first, and I was the one acting out of line.

Can’t help it.
Meeting people is tiring and hard.
Even if I try to live without caring about others’ gazes, it’s not that easy.
So I thought, what if there were no gazes at all? That’s probably why I ended up like this.

But now, even that’s impossible…

“Sigh…”

[Sighing’s become a habit.]
[Every time she furrows her brow, I wanna smooth it out with my finger. Is that normal?]
[Normal? You idiot lol.]
[Every sigh from Yeseung ages her two years…]
[Who’s Yeseung?]
[You’re in this gallery and don’t know the gallery owner’s name?]

“You guys having fun? Doesn’t it get annoying, bickering all day?”

It’s not like I’ve never been on online communities.
These people fight over comments in the gallery all the time.

Of course, I can’t check every post. The system mostly shows the chat window linked to the gallery.

They know that, so most people talk through the chat, but some still post separately.

I glanced at it… and they’re fighting over the dumbest stuff.
Do they enjoy arguing with strangers or what?

[It’s fun lol.]
[Losers like us feel cozy just seeing each other’s faces.]
[Why do you care about that lol?]

“Do whatever you want. I’m done caring. I’m gonna grab some beer and head in.”

Come to think of it, I ran out of the four cans of beer I bought last time, so I headed to the convenience store.
While picking out some snacks, of course, the unsolicited advice poured in.

[Beef jerky? F*ck, you a bourgeois?]
[Jerky’s crossing a line lol, put it back.]
[Gallery owner, save the jerky money for clothes. Snacks disappear in your stomach, but clothes last until they wear out.]

“Ugh, fine… I won’t buy it, I won’t buy it.”

Muttering to myself, I put the jerky back, and the cashier gave me a weird look.
God, this is so embarrassing.
I looked for something else to buy, but these guys stop me from buying stuff without suggesting anything themselves.

[Cup ramen? I’m watching what you pick.]
[Mild flavor? F*ck, you’re a wimp????]
[No no no, don’t buy that, it’s a rip-off.]

Ugh, I can’t take this…
I’d never pick anything at this rate, so I closed my eyes and grabbed whatever.
They complained, but I can’t listen to everyone’s opinions.

“Here you go.”
“Yes, I’ll ring you up.”

[Look at that clueless cashier lol.]
[You’d act the same way.]
[Her real-life look is definitely prettier.]

“Don’t badmouth people.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no, sorry. Thanks.”

I grabbed the bag, feeling bad for the cashier.

I haven’t even done much, but my steps feel heavy.
Why am I so tired?

I just want to get home and collapse.
Sprawl out on my bed and do nothing.

[Lmao, her face looks like an office worker after a long day.]
[??? : Daiso mission cleared, convenience store beer mission cleared. Phew, tough day.]
[Add some dark circles, and she’s pulling an all-nighter lol.]

“You guys don’t know what it’s like to be an office worker coming home.”

[? I’m going to work tomorrow.]
[Come on lol, it’s Saturday, right?]
[You don’t know the pain of going to work before coming home lol.]

“Whoa, there are people with jobs? I thought you were all jobless.”

If they’ve got jobs, why aren’t they resting on the weekend instead of watching this?
From my perspective, it’s not exactly welcome.

Even with regular streaming, people try all sorts of things to make good content.
Sure, this is a weird phenomenon, but it’s funny that they’re still watching a boring person like me after hours.

I got to my studio and was about to punch in the door code.

[Yo, yo! The door code!!]
[Gallery owner, cover the door code~]

“Oh!”

I hurriedly turned the channel OFF.

I think the first digit showed.
Good thing I caught it, even if a bit late.

It’s just so automatic to punch it in…

“It didn’t show, right?”

[Only the first digit showed.]
[Got it, first digit is 7.]
[Know where you live, know your door code lol.]
[Chill, you psychos. Don’t cross the line.]

Turning the channel back on, my heart raced at the flood of comments.
This is scarier than I thought.
I’m not usually that skittish, but is it the body change or just the situation?

[Calm down, dude.]
[Look at those wide eyes. She’s freaked out.]
[It’s just a joke;; these guys don’t have the guts to show up.]
[Yup, don’t be scared.]

There’s no reason to be scared.
With thousands watching, someone would report trouble if it happened.

Even if it’s not their problem, at least a few would help out, right?
I know that, but it’s hard to stay calm.
I took a deep breath and said casually,

“Scared? Nah, I’m just shocked at my own brainpower.”

[Your brainpower’s legendary lol.]
[For real, how do you forget to cover the door code?]
[She’s definitely a dumbass lol.]

Yeah, showing weakness might cause more issues.
The chat was full of jabs about my stupidity, but that actually calmed me down.

I got inside, hung up my jacket, and washed my hands.
Using changing clothes as an excuse, I turned the channel OFF again.
No time like the present—I grabbed the measuring tape I bought.

“How do I measure this?”

I searched online for how to measure bust size on my phone.

“Underbust… overbust…?”

Oh, you subtract the underbust from the overbust.
After thinking it through, I got the idea.
Calculating it, my underbust was 70, and the size came out to a vague line between C and D.
What do I buy in this case?

“Choose based on desired fit…?”

What does that even mean?
How am I supposed to know?

Smaller or larger? I measured a few more times and decided C was safer.

I thought C meant huge, but apparently not.
It depends on the underbust measurement.

Looking in the mirror, it looks nice, but not that big.
Maybe because I’m skinny?
A pretty girl showing off her chest isn’t exactly unappealing, but still.

“Sigh, am I really doing this just to buy underwear?”

I decided on 70C and changed clothes.
While I was at it, I measured my height too.
It’s not exact with a tape measure, but around 160 cm. Good thing I’m not shorter, or I’d be depressed.

Done with that, I turned the channel back on.
Time’s always ticking.

[Why’d it take so long!!]
[You sewing your own clothes or what?]

“Oh, I forgot to turn it back on for a sec.”

I brushed it off to avoid more hassle.
They started in on my brainpower again, but I’m not that dumb… It’s kind of sad.

[Open the beer, gallery owner. Let me have a drink too.]
[Lmao, what is this, a drinking stream?]
[I’m craving beer now, damn, last day of the weekend.]

“Hold on, I need to order something!”

I thought about turning the channel OFF to order, but decided it wasn’t necessary.

It’s just underwear.
Why be embarrassed?

I was a guy until yesterday, so feeling shy would be weirder.
I’ll have to order stuff in the future too, and I can’t keep turning OFF the channel, so I decided to just buy it openly.

[What? Women’s underwear site recommendations?]
[Do girls search like that too?]
[Lmao, that’s weird??]
[You don’t buy clothes, and now not even underwear?]

They tried to rattle me right away.

But I know.
These people don’t know jack about women’s underwear either.

“I can look up what’s good. Don’t give me crap.”

[Lmao, incels trying to give underwear advice too haha.]
[Self-proclaimed experts lol.]
[Sis, StarryStar’s good for underwear]

“Oh, thanks…”

Realizing there are girls watching, even if few, made me suddenly embarrassed.
The site she recommended had surprisingly simple designs.
I wasn’t planning on buying anything fancy anyway, so that was a relief.

[Ugh, this is hard to watch.]
[Then why are you watching lol?]

It’s hard for me to watch too.
I should’ve just turned OFF the channel and bought it alone.

I quickly picked the most basic design and ordered. Finding 70C was tough, but I managed.

[What’s the size? You lying?]
[Gallery owner, confidence is great, but shouldn’t you get the right size?]
[It’s not small, but C? Lol.]
[Don’t slander her. It’s the baggy clothes. I saw earlier, her chest is big. I can confirm lol.]

“You guys don’t know? Women’s sizes depend on the underbust! B, C, whatever, it’s the number that matters.”

[Depend on the underbust?]
[Why’s she talking like she just learned this lol?]
[That’s the tone kids use when they’re showing off new info haha.]
[Suspicious vibes from her.]
[She really bought that tape for bust size, didn’t she lol?]

“No… I’m just telling you guys something you didn’t know! Admit it, none of you knew!!”

[We don’t need to know lol.]
[You never bought underwear before? What’s your deal haha?]
[I get why she was chosen as the observation target lol, rare creature haha.]

Ugh… maybe I am kind of dumb.