Chapter 73: Beautiful Girl, Becoming a Model? (Part 1)

It happened out of nowhere.

I was hanging the laundry like always, then killing time by relaxing with a fighting game against Kaname when my smartphone’s ringtone suddenly echoed through the room.

Noticing the incoming call, I set down my game controller and sluggishly moved to pick up my phone.

Is it Ryouji again? Maybe Moeka-chan and the others? Or Aoi-kun…? With that in mind, I picked it up. It was an email—and the sender was… huh?

I blinked in surprise.

It was from Yoshino-san.

"That's unusual."

I muttered to myself.

My little brother Kaname tilted his head when he saw the look on my face.

I opened the message and—what!? My second shock of the day.

"I'm going to be interviewed for a magazine tomorrow. If you'd like, would you come?"

"Eh?"

The unexpected invitation made a strange sound slip out of my mouth.

Kaname, still playing beside me, glanced over suspiciously.

Why would she suddenly call me out like this? What on earth…?

I dug through my memories. Thinking back, she might have mentioned something like this before.

That’s right… around Golden Week, when I went to Sakurako-chan’s house, she did ask if I wanted to try modeling once. But I thought she was joking.

Even if Yoshino-san is a popular fashion magazine model, it’s not like she can just introduce some random person and—bam, you get a shoot.

So does she just want me to come along to the interview?

…No, no, no! What would I even do there? Sure, magazine models get to wear cute outfits, and maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to try once. But I hate being photographed…

Still, I am curious about what Yoshino-san’s work is like. She’s a university student and already a well-known model in magazines. If not for this kind of chance, I’d never see that world in my life. When I think about it that way… maybe going isn’t such a bad idea.

"I’ll go. Is it really okay for me to come?"

As soon as I sent it, her reply came instantly. Such incredible typing speed. So this is the power of someone who’s leveled up from high school girl to college woman…

No, no, this is not the time to be thinking stupid things. I opened the new message.

"It's fine. Let's dress up a little, okay?"

That’s… quite a demanding instruction. How exactly am I supposed to dress up? The only accessory I own is the necklace the girls gave me, and I’ve never done my own makeup. I have no idea what to do.

"How should I dress up?"

When I don’t understand something, I should just ask. So I sent her that question.

I don’t want to show up clueless and embarrass Yoshino-san. Better to check now.

"Then why don't you come to my place a little early tomorrow?"

And that’s why I’m now at Sakurako-chan’s house first thing in the morning.

Even though I’ve already been here multiple times, I still can’t remember the way, so she had to come pick me up and guide me here.

Once we arrived, I was led straight to Yoshino-san’s room. At first glance, her room wasn’t “cute”—it was stylish. It had a clean white base, and sunlight from the window made the whole space look bright. Her furniture was modern and coordinated, giving the room a very cohesive feel.

"Ayumi-chan, you're going with Sis!?"

Apparently Yoshino-san hadn’t told Sakurako-chan about today, because the moment she realized why I was brought here, she raised her voice in surprise.

I nodded to confirm.

Sakurako-chan, still shocked, walked right over to her sister.

"If Ayumi-chan’s going, I wanna go too!"

"No. You’ve got errands to run today, remember?"

Sakurako-chan’s plea was swiftly denied.

Looks like she has her own tasks today.

"But it doesn’t have to be today! It’s not even that urgent!"

"You told Mom you’d go today, didn’t you? You can’t lie."

She tried everything to tag along, but in the end, Yoshino-san refused her again. Honestly, having Sakurako-chan with me would help my nerves, but I can’t say anything when it comes to family obligations, so I stayed quiet and watched.

The two went back and forth for a bit, but eventually Sakurako-chan backed down, sulking.

"Sorry, Ayumi-chan. I wanted to go too, but Sis is way too strict…"

She pressed her hands together in an apologetic “sorry” gesture.

"Take lots of pictures, okay!"

…I mean, we’re not even taking photos today, probably.

While we were talking, Yoshino-san beckoned me over.

"Alright, let’s get you a little dressed up."

The dresser was covered with tiny bottles and creams—products I had never even seen before.

"Ayumi-san has top-tier natural features, so like last time, let’s go with a sheer, natural look that brings out your clarity."

Instead of leaving everything to her like before, I asked questions this time so I could learn how it all worked.

Yoshino-san answered each one patiently. Actually… you have to do this many steps?

From base makeup to eyeliner, eyebrows, lip color, blush—just gathering all the products alone sounds like it would cost a fortune. Maybe buying that bicycle wasn’t the smartest idea.

"There are so many makeup tools… I wouldn’t even know what to buy."

At my comment, Yoshino-san let out a refined, elegant giggle. Even the way she laughs is classy. She might be the ideal woman I’m aiming for. Well… except her figure is on a completely different planet. So I’ll aim for the inside, then!

"Then let’s go shopping together next time. Sakurako wanted to buy some too."

I answered, "Okay." I really should start saving money before then…

At school, since most of us are still in high school, plenty of girls don’t wear makeup yet. But some do.

Even someone as skilled as Yoshino-san takes twenty to thirty minutes to get ready, so waking up earlier becomes unavoidable. If I tried it with my beginner fumbling, it would probably take an hour. And on school days, I already wake up early to make lunch. If I added makeup to that, I’d be waking up at, like, four-thirty. That’s grandpa hours.

…Being a girl in the morning is tough.

I don’t feel like wearing makeup to school, but… when I start working someday, I’ll be doing this every morning, right? Well, boys spend a lot of time styling their hair too, so it’s not like one is better than the other…

And besides, “natural makeup” literally means makeup that looks natural, right? Natural meaning close to bare-faced. Yet despite trying to mimic a no-makeup look… the amount of effort is absurd. Makeup really is deep.

"How’s this?"

Once she finished, I looked in the mirror again.

My face… didn’t feel like mine. Not to the point of being a different person, but definitely a huge upgrade.

"Sis really is amazing at makeup. Ayumi-chan, you look too good. Something’s rising from deep inside me… my rationality is in danger."

Sakurako-chan held her nose and breathed heavily. I felt a slight sense of danger, but luckily Yoshino-san was here today, so I was safe.

I looked in the mirror again. “Transforming” really is the right word. I hated that the school’s gossip site called me “the Princess” behind my back, but right now I seriously look like one. My own reflection was so pretty I couldn’t stop staring.

Hey, hey, Ayumi-chan—your vanity is getting out of hand! I scolded myself, but the face in the mirror was still grinning.

My skin was already pale, but with makeup applied while considering the lighting, that paleness now looked bright and healthy. My cheeks were tinted a soft pink, giving that white skin even more charm.

My lips glistened and looked fresh. Just for the lips alone, we used lip cream, lip concealer, lip color, and lip gloss—layer upon layer of products.

"This is amazing… I look like a different person."

"Ayumi-san was already cute to begin with, so of course you end up even cuter like this. It was worth the effort on my part. Right now you really do look like a princess."

Yoshino-san gently ran a comb through my hair. She was doing absolutely everything for me—I almost felt guilty.

If makeup alone can change me this much, then I definitely want to learn how to do it myself. Hehe… I wonder what Ryouji would say if I showed up wearing makeup. And Aoi-kun would probably compliment me straightforwardly…

"Alright then, shall we head out soon?"

Yoshino-san checked her appearance in the full-length mirror, then picked up a small bag.

"Uuuh… I’m so jealous, Sis gets to walk next to such a cute Ayumi-chan… Then at least let me take some pictures!"

Meanwhile, Sakurako-chan pleaded with her smartphone in hand. She looked like she was about to drop to her knees and beg, so I lost to the pressure and agreed.

Click-click-click-click—camera shutters echoed through the room. Hey—too many clicks! How many photos is she taking!?

"Wait, wait! That’s way too many! You don’t need that many, right?"

"Nope! This is where I go all in! I’m filling all sixteen gigabytes of this SD card!"

She was unstoppable, even when I frantically tried to stop her. How long is this going to take!?

"Sakurako. Ayumi-san is troubled. Stop it."

"Okaaay."

I wonder how many she ended up taking… I just hope they don’t get spread around weird places. I really don’t want a repeat of the sports festival incident, where suddenly everyone somehow had my pictures…

"Then, shall we head out?"

Yoshino-san looked at me. I met her eyes and nodded.

"Ah—wait! I’ll come with you part of the way!"

Sakurako-chan hurriedly dashed back to her room.

A magazine interview… Even though I’m only tagging along as an extra, my nerves were kicking in.

What if they take one look at me and go, “Who are you? Please leave”? Since Yoshino-san invited me, I doubt that would happen… but still…