Beauty Seal

by Outsider · 2026-09-02

Late February, after a stormy winter break.

I stood in front of a full-length mirror and doubted my own eyes.

Seol-ah: ...Is this me?

Three months ago, the paper-doll Baek Seol-ah, who looked like she would break if touched when she was discharged from the hospital, was gone.

I scanned her with trainer Kim Cheol-su's eyes.

Body fat percentage, approximately 18%. Skeletal muscle mass, double what it was three months ago. A collaboration of ten laps around the garden every morning, 200 squats, and the nourishing food my aunt kept pushing on me.

I had also grown 3cm taller. My height wasn't small to begin with, but now I was truly 'slender'.

Seol-ah's original jade-white skin and innocent, delicate face remained the same.

But what lay beneath was a twist. An innocent face, with an athlete's body.

Seol-ah: Wow... Even if I made it, this is quite a work of art, isn't it?

Just as my trainer instincts were proudly posing, I encountered a practical problem.

Seol-ah: Wait. School starts in a few days for me.

I took out the uniform I wore in my first year from the closet. And the moment I put my arms in.

Seol-ah: ......Huh?

The blouse screamed. When I tried to button it, my shoulders and back were stretched so tight they felt like they would burst. My latissimus dorsi, developed from pull-ups, was the problem.

Even worse was the skirt. As I grew taller and my hips widened, the skirt rode way up. It was less a skirt and more like a belt.

Seol-ah: ...

I looked in the mirror. A school uniform model? No, this was some kind of stage costume.

It felt like the buttons would fly off if I just breathed, and every time I walked, the lines of my body were completely exposed.

I clutched my head.

Seol-ah: Are you kidding me! How am I supposed to go to school like this!

My soul is that of a 36-year-old conservative man.

Going to a co-ed school looking like this? That means I'd be getting all the unnecessary attention from teenage boys.

Getting asked for my number? A rush of confessions? Just thinking about it makes me tired.

Seol-ah: No. Absolutely not. I will protect my own body.

I immediately kicked open the door and ran out.

Seol-ah: Auntie! Get the car ready! We need to go to the uniform store!

Aunt: Oh my, Seol-ah, why? You have a uniform, don't you?

Seol-ah: It's too small! I feel like I'm going to suffocate!

I dragged my aunt to the school uniform section of the department store.

The sales associate's eyes lit up when she saw me.

Clerk: Oh my, your figure is so beautiful, student~ It's trendy to wear fitted clothes these days. Here, try this on.

The "slim-fit" uniform the employee handed me. I tried it on.

...Damn it. It fit too well. It was too pretty. That was the problem.

My aunt and the store clerk clapped like seals.

Aunt: Oh my! Goodness! She's a doll, a doll! Let's get this one!

But I firmly shook my head.

Seol-ah: No. I'll take it off.

Aunt: Why? It's so pretty!

Seol-ah: It's uncomfortable. My blood won't circulate when I study.

I spoke to the associate with a determined expression.

Seol-ah: Sister. Please give me the biggest one here.

Aunt: Huh? A bigger one?

Seol-ah: Yes. You can even give me a men's size. Something loose. Very baggy.

The associate and my aunt were aghast, but they couldn't break my stubbornness.

In the end, I bought a loose blouse two sizes larger than my body and a baggy skirt that reached my knees.

I changed in the fitting room and came out.

In the mirror stood a student wearing a shapeless sack, with no figure to be found.

Seol-ah: Phew... Now I feel a bit relieved.

Beauty sealed.

But something is missing.

My face is too… striking.

No matter how much I covered it with clothes, these angelic features shone, screaming, "I'm here!"

Seol-ah: Auntie, I want to get glasses too.

Auntie: Glasses? But your eyesight is good, isn't it?

Seol-ah: My eyes have gotten a bit blurry from studying. And… wearing glasses makes me look more like a model student, doesn't it?

I went straight to the glasses shop next door.

I picked up the thickest, clunkiest, and most face-covering black horn-rimmed glasses from the display.

With lenses that had no prescription.

Donning them.

I looked in the mirror.

Large horn-rimmed glasses covering half my face. Baggy school uniform perfectly concealing my figure.

Perhaps because it's my body, I still look pretty. But it's much better than before.

[System: Seol-ah's charm has decreased by -50.]

[System: 'Model Student Disguise' skill has been activated.]

Perfect. Anyone would see me as a 'nerd who only studies.'

This should be enough to escape the attention of the male students.

Seol-ah: Good. I'll go to school like this.

Auntie looked crestfallen, saying, "Oh dear, why cover up such a pretty face…", but I pushed up my horn-rimmed glasses like a triumphant general.

This isn't a fashion disaster. It's a survival strategy.

* * *

School day.

I put on my loose new school uniform and thick horn-rimmed glasses.

Seol-ah: Hmm… my beauty still stands out, though.

I've covered my body, which is toned from exercise, but there's no way to hide my smooth, white skin. I'll have to be satisfied with this much.

Now it's time to go to the main stage.

Slinging the luxury bag my stepmother bought me—I don't know its name—and tightening the laces of the limited-edition sneakers my dad bought me.

Baek Seol-ah, the ajusshi girl returned from hell, is coming.

In the back seat of the black sedan, Baek Yu-ri and I sat pressed against opposite ends. Despite the ramen and ginger tea we shared during winter break, it seemed we hadn't grown close enough for this tsundere young lady to hold hands and sit together. The first words Baek Yu-ri uttered upon seeing me were:

Yu-ri: ...Oh my gosh!

Then she fell silent. The air in the car was so heavy it felt like it had turned to liquid, sloshing around. This young lady, anxious about something, just fidgeted with her fingers in the corner. Then, as we approached the school gate, she spoke to me.

Yu-ri: ...Hey, Baek Seol-ah.

Seol-ah: Huh?

Yu-ri looked out the window and blurted out,

Yu-ri: When we get to school, don't act like you know me.

Oh, really. Is this a cute warning from my sister playing the 'mean girl' role?

Seol-ah: Why? Are you ashamed of your unnie?

Yu-ri: ...Yes.

Yu-ri's lips parted as if to speak, then she stopped. It seemed she had more to say, but she swallowed it. She must be indirectly saying, 'My reputation will drop if I'm associated with an outcast like you.' I chuckled and replied,

Seol-ah: Don't worry. I'm busy enough taking care of myself. I won't bother greeting your friends.

Yu-ri glanced at me, as if surprised.

Yu-ri: ...You've really changed. You're not like Baek Seol-ah. And what's with those sudden glasses?

She mumbled to herself and then put in her earphones. Tsk. If you ask a question, you should wait for an answer. But well, I'm grateful I don't have to make a poor excuse. But Yu-ri, you're biting your nails, aren't you? That's a habit you have when you're anxious. Going to school doesn't seem fun at all for you. From the driver's seat, Chief Choi glanced at us in the rearview mirror.

Chief Choi: Both of you, don't skip lunch. Your aunt will scold me.

Yu-ri: Okay.

Seol-ah: ...Yes.

Both of us answered. Though we were looking out opposite windows.

Creak.

I opened the classroom door.

The noisy classroom instantly became quiet, as if a mute button had been pressed.

Seol-ah: ......

…….

The children's gazes were fixed on me.

Joy? Worry? No.

'Oh? She's here again?' or 'You're alive?' — a kind of indifferent curiosity.

I was about to walk in coolly but paused.

Wait, there was a problem.

This school had a fixed class assignment system from the first to third grade. I heard that some prestigious high schools, under the pretext of fostering an academic atmosphere, keep the same class for three years, and this was exactly one of them.

Thanks to this, the children went straight to their seats without hesitation, even on the first day of school. The problem was that I was the only one left out like a duck on the Nakdong River.

'...Where was my seat?'

With Seol-ah's memory completely gone, how would I know if my seat was a prime spot by the window or a corner by the hallway?

If I just stood there blankly, I'd end up standing in punishment until the teacher came in.

In the end, it seemed I would have to break the 'no pretending to know' pact with Yu-ri just 10 minutes after arriving at school.

I hated it more than death, but I had no choice. Embarrassment is fleeting, but the seat is for a year.

I timidly approached Yu-ri, pretending not to know, and whispered softly.

Seol-ah: Hey, where was my seat again?

Yu-ri stared intently at me with her earphones on.

Her expression seemed to say, 'Is this human truly insane?'

Soon after, she let out a deep sigh, as if dumbfounded, then lifted her chin and pointed to the diagonal corner.

Oh. The window seat in the very back row. It was empty.

A prime spot. A blind spot for the teacher's gaze, plenty of sunlight, perfect for sleeping or daydreaming—[the protagonist's exclusive seat].

As soon as I sat down, the children lost interest and started chattering among themselves again.

I was a perfect [invisible person].

Not even an 'outcast,' just treated like carbon dioxide.

Seol-ah: It's rather comfortable.

I took out my textbook from my bag.

But the front door area became noisy.

Park Hye-jin: Hey, Baek Yu-ri! You're here?

Three female students, wearing their school uniform skirts hiked up and heavy makeup, approached Yu-ri.

They were from the next class. They entered our classroom as if it were their own home, even though it wasn't break time.

Yu-ri's expression subtly stiffened.

But soon, she smiled brightly with an artificial tone.

Yu-ri: Oh, I'm here.

Park Hye-jin: Did you bring that today? That limited edition tint.

Yu-ri: Ah... yes. Here.

Yu-ri took out an unopened luxury cosmetic product from her bag and handed it over.

Then, the girl who seemed to be the leader of the group—her name tag read Park Hye-jin—slung her arm over Yu-ri's shoulder.

Park Hye-jin: As expected, there's no one like our Yu-ri~ You'll treat us at the snack bar today too, right?

Yu-ri: ...Yes, of course.

I rested my chin on my hand and watched the scene.

My eyes don't lie.

Those aren't friends.

[Relationship Analysis: Patsy and Predators]

Yuri is voluntarily playing the role of a 'wallet' because she wants to fit in with that group, or because she doesn't want to be disliked.

On the surface, they're 'Yuri's close group,' but in reality, Yuri is catering to their whims.

'Tsk tsk. She acts like such a fox at home, but was she a bear outside?'

It felt like witnessing my sister's dark past.

So this was why she was biting her nails in the car earlier.

It wasn't "Don't pretend to know me," but "Don't see me like this."

Should I help?

No, it's not the right time yet.

If I act rashly, it will only backfire. Given her pride, the moment her older sister interferes, things will get even more complicated.

For now, I'll observe.

I opened my textbook and pushed up my horn-rimmed glasses.

An invisible person has the advantages of an invisible person.

Since no one sees me, I can see everyone.