Chapter 6

The dishes were done.

Wearing clothes that didn’t fit, I squatted by the well to do the dishes, and it was incredibly uncomfortable.

"I need to buy some clothes."

I've grown taller, and my shoulders have broadened.

The clothes and shoes I used to wear no longer fit, so I had to buy everything from underwear to outerwear.

"But what should I wear to go out?"

I entered my room and opened the wardrobe and drawers.

All the pants were too short, and the waistbands hung down.

The tops didn’t fit either, making me look ridiculous when I wore them.

"I guess I’ll just have to go in these sweatpants."

I grabbed my wallet and phone and went to the living room.

Just as I was about to leave, curiosity struck.

"How tall am I exactly?"

Among the changes in my body, the one I was most interested in was my height. It seemed better to know my height before going to buy clothes.

Since I didn’t have a measuring tool, I decided to stand against the wall and measure myself.

Swish.

I marked the top of my head on the wall with a pencil and measured up to the mark with a ruler.

"Wow!"

I would have been grateful to be 170 cm.

But I had grown to a whopping 182 cm.

I had grown 20 cm from 162 cm.

I had a rough idea from the sweatpants rising an inch above my ankles, but I didn’t expect to grow this much.

"Now I’m taller than them."

One of the reasons I had a complex about my height was because of my ex-wife, Chae-yeon, and my traitorous friend, Gi-taek.

- Gi-taek: 178 cm.

- Chae-yeon: 163 cm.

I was 1 cm shorter than Chae-yeon.

Among the three of us, I was the shortest.

"Bro! If you want to go out with me, wear height-increasing insoles! Otherwise, don’t even dream of it!"

Chae-yeon was very critical of my short height.

When we first met through Gi-taek’s introduction, she comforted me, saying that a man’s appearance wasn’t important. But after we got married and had a child, she openly mocked my short height.

To go out with her, I had to wear height-increasing insoles, and because my bangs thinned out, I even had to wear a wig.

Ironically, if she didn’t like my short height, she could have worn lower heels, but she never considered my feelings.

She deliberately chose high heels to make me feel inferior.

Looking back, she probably wouldn’t have even glanced at me if I hadn’t won the lottery.

'Why did I live so stupidly?'

In fact, I boasted about being happy after marrying Chae-yeon, but in reality, I was always anxious.

I felt so undeserving of the beautiful and slender Chae-yeon being my wife that if she showed even a hint of displeasure, I would be at a loss.

I adjusted my entire life to hers.

Unaware that the child in her womb was not mine, I went to great lengths to feed her nutritious and delicious food.

'After the child was born, it got even worse.'

After giving birth, Chae-yeon had no interest in raising the child. During the day, she left the child to a nanny, and at night, I had to take care of the child.

The only thing she cared about was her figure and shopping.

I worked at a supermarket and came home to take care of the child, who woke up several times a night, causing dark circles under my eyes. Despite this, I smiled and went to work, thinking the child was mine.

I was nothing more than a money-making machine.

Sex with her was only possible when I bought her expensive gifts.

Conditioned this way, I came to accept her treating me however she wanted.

Happiness is a natural, peaceful, and joyful emotion, but my life with Chae-yeon was far from that.

Sometimes, when I saw myself forcing a smile, I felt like a puppet controlled by strings, which was confusing.

"Did you fight with Chae-yeon?"

"No, we didn’t fight."

"But why do you look like that?"

"I’m just wondering if this is the right way to live..."

"Let’s go have a drink. You know, you’re still lucky. You have a beautiful wife and a cute daughter like a rabbit."

Whenever I felt disillusioned with my marriage, Gi-taek would invite me to drink, claiming to comfort me.

I got drunk easily, and every time, Gi-taek would bring me home and sleep at our place.

But the funny thing was, in the morning, I would be sprawled on the living room sofa still in my clothes, while Gi-taek would be showered and clean.

'What despicable people!'

The morning after Gi-taek slept at our place, the breakfast table was lavish. Chae-yeon, who never did housework, was wearing a pretty apron and had prepared breakfast herself.

Unaware of this, I had boasted about my successful marriage to others, which made me the biggest fool.

'Now I’ll live for myself.'

I looked at myself in the mirror.

I was taller than Gi-taek and had a much better-looking face. The appearance that had made me feel inferior had transformed into something dazzling.

As a reward for my transformation, I vowed to live truly happily from now on, doing what I wanted.

"Leaving the car here would be better."

I came to the front yard garage.

Although my SUV was parked there, I shouldn’t drive since I had been drinking.

"Strangely, I don’t feel drunk at all."

I had almost a bottle of soju with the village chief and meat. In the past, I would have passed out.

But today, I felt completely fine.

Not only had my appearance changed, but my tolerance for alcohol had also increased.

"Still, I’ll walk to the village and use public transportation."

I currently live in a village near the Gwangneung Arboretum in Gyeonggi Province. There are buses to Uijeongbu city and Seoul.

"Should I take the path through the fields?"

There is a wide road leading to the village, but I chose the path through the fields.

It’s just wide enough for a tractor, so no cars pass through, making it a pleasant walk. The dirt path, with patches of weeds, has its own charm.

Whistle!

I whistled as I walked.

Wearing sweatpants and Adidas slippers, my feet had grown with my height, making my sneakers too tight, so I wore slippers instead. It was the best option for a quick trip around the neighborhood.

"The air is so fresh because it’s spring."

The breeze felt good, and the scent of wildflowers and weeds made my nose happy.

Meow~

I met a stray cat on the way.

It was a yellow cat with brown stripes. When our eyes met, it quickly ran down the field.

There were kittens there.

Two of them, one yellow like the mother and one gray like the father. The father wasn’t there, only the mother.

Meow~

At the mother’s urging, the kittens followed her down the field.

The kittens were definitely cute.

One of the yellow kittens looked back at me.

Then, at the mother’s urging, the kitten turned its head.

I could have petted it if I had been closer, which was a bit disappointing.

I watched the area until the cats disappeared, then continued walking.

Although cats were cute, I still preferred dogs if I were to keep a pet.

Since my house was far from the village, having a pet was necessary.

But strangely, the yellow kitten lingered in my mind.

"Ah! The bus is here."

As I reached the bus stop, a bus was approaching.

It was a bus to Uijeongbu city.

I decided to take the first bus that came. There would be clothing stores in the city, so shopping wouldn’t be a problem.

Squeak!

The bus stopped.

I was the only one at the bus stop.

There were many empty seats, so I could sit anywhere.

*

I arrived in Uijeongbu city.

Before visiting a clothing store, I decided to get a haircut.

Although my bangs were fuller, they were also scruffy.

"What hairstyle would you like?"

"Is a two-block dandy cut possible?"

"Of course! Not only do you have a good face, but your full bangs will suit any hairstyle."

It was hard to get used to hearing such compliments from a stylist.

In the past, going to a hair salon was a chore due to my thinning hair. I would just ask for a quick trim, feeling embarrassed about my thin hair.

"Thank you!"

Finally, my haircut was done.

I looked amazing in the mirror.

With the weight loss, my nose looked higher, and my eyes looked bigger. The haircut made me look even better, to the point where I was surprised.

"Unbelievable!"

The stylist was even more excited.

With the scruffy bangs trimmed and styled, my facial contours looked even better.

"Can I take a photo? You look so cool, and I’d like to hang it in our shop."

"Thank you for the offer, but I have some reasons, so I’m a bit uncomfortable with photos."

"I understand. You must be preparing to be a celebrity. It would be a burden to hang your photo in a place like this. I’m sorry."

The stylist seemed to misunderstand something about me, but I didn’t need to correct her, so I paid and left quickly.

'That’s the clothing store.'

Next, I headed to the clothing store.

In the past, when I came to buy clothes, most store clerks would look me up and down with a mocking smile.

Whether it was out of prejudice or not, it felt like they didn’t want to sell me clothes.

"Welcome, customer!"

But things were different now.

Even in ill-fitting sweatpants and slippers, the clerks greeted me with smiles.

In fact, they were overly enthusiastic.

The clerks secretly pushed and pulled, vying to serve me.

Then, the most assertive clerk pushed everyone aside and approached me.

She wore the same uniform as the others, but her skirt was noticeably shorter, making her stand out.

"Customer! Can I assist you with your shopping?"

The female clerk’s face seemed familiar.