The Gacha Addict of the Academy

When I got home, I checked my game for a bit and ended up leaving much later than expected.

When the others asked why I was so late, I told them I got a little lost. They gave me sympathetic looks and said they wouldn’t ask me to do it again. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but if this means I don’t have to do it anymore, that’s a win for me, right?

…Though saying I stopped by home to check on the macro settings would’ve sounded a bit strange.

But why do I feel like I forgot something?

…

It’s probably nothing.

“Hoo…”

It seemed like Reina took a full hour to shower.

Typical of girls—it took her a whole hour. Since it was her dorm room, she must’ve taken her time without a care, but for those waiting, an hour felt unbearably long. Flost, in particular, looked visibly annoyed from waiting.

Knowing her personality, she might be used to expressing frustration internally, but she’s not one to pick fights, so she probably held her tongue. Still, the way her face was scrunched up as she looked at Reina made it seem like she was just seconds away from blurting out a curse.

An hour is a long time, sure, but that’s a bit extreme.

…Maybe it’s personal?

Anyway, while such a duration isn’t unusual for people who like grooming, for someone who just showers normally, it’s way too long. I don’t know the specifics, but shampooing and conditioning every strand of that long hair, applying skincare products, and body lotion would understandably take time.

For me, even with this body, I don’t take more than 30 minutes. But that’s probably because I used to be a guy. If we all take turns showering one by one, the chicken we ordered is going to get cold.

Hyeon-ah also muttered awkwardly that at this rate, it’d be hard to enjoy the late-night snack. Maybe because it would take hours for everyone to finish?

“…Should we all just head home and shower separately?”

“Would that be okay with you all?”

Reina asked with a puzzled look.

Flost, annoyed by the suggestion coming from the very person who caused the delay, seemed to grow even more irritated. After all, she had just spent an hour lying around bored in someone else’s room. Judging by her expression, she’d probably been on her phone the whole time.

“How about we all just shower together?”

“Hmm… I don’t mind,” Hyeon-ah replied hesitantly, looking at the rest of us.

For me… that idea made me uncomfortable. Not that I’d mind seeing them naked, but it felt kind of sinful, like I’d be doing something wrong. I’ve always been the type to shy away from bad intentions and guilt, so bathing together was something I had to avoid at all costs.

…

Though I am a bit curious.

“How about we eat before we shower instead?”

“Oh!”

Why didn’t I think of that earlier? That’s genius.

“Oh no… I’ve gained weight…”

Before eating the chicken, Hyeon-ah had stepped on a scale and made that declaration.

Reina, inspecting Hyeon-ah’s body like she couldn’t see what had possibly gotten bigger, remained confused. Meanwhile, Hyeon-ah, convinced she had gained weight, made the absurd proclamation that she’d only eat one piece of chicken.

Everyone except me burst into laughter at her.

“Oh, come on… I have been eating more than usual lately…”

Was that really “a lot”?

I hadn’t paid close attention to Hyeon-ah’s eating habits, but since we often ate together, I could guess roughly how much she ate. It never seemed like enough to warrant a meltdown over gaining weight.

“You were the one who suggested chicken in the first place, and now you’re only eating one piece? Does that make sense?”

“Guess we’ll just have to shove it down her throat,” Reina said with a sly smile, echoed by Flost.

Hyeon-ah, flustered, pointed to the scale with a troubled look. Following her gaze, I saw the scale display: 49 kg.

Wait a second… At her height, mid-160 cm, isn’t that really low?

“…Isn’t that a normal weight?” Reina asked hesitantly.

…

No way… Reina…

Looking at her chest, it made sense to worry about weight distribution, but most of it was probably due to her chest anyway, so why stress? Losing weight with a figure like hers might actually make her look awkward.

“This is bad… I’ve been sticking to a 40 kg limit, and now I’m about to break 50… Ugh…”

Hyuna muttered, distressed.

While Reina and Hyeon-ah argued back and forth, Flost discreetly stepped onto the scale. Though I couldn’t see the number, her shocked expression made it clear she wasn’t happy either.

She didn’t look like she’d gained any weight, though.

“That’s it. I’m not eating. You guys eat it all,” she declared.

“…Yeah, same here.”

Oh, come on…

“This is kind of infuriating…”

From the perspective of the person who brought the chicken, it felt frustrating. After going through all the trouble of getting it, everyone was now refusing to eat because they were worried about gaining weight. It was almost as if all the effort had gone to waste.

“You guys… Is it really okay to ask someone to buy chicken and then not eat it?”

Reina, sounding incredulous, addressed the two of them.

Of course, Flost wasn’t the one who suggested getting chicken in the first place. It was Hyeon-ah who initially brought up the idea of deciding who should go buy it. So, for her to now say she wouldn’t eat because of the calories felt absurd. Reina directly hit Hyeon-ah with the facts.

“Ugh…”

Hyeon-ah awkwardly averted her gaze, clearly uncomfortable.

It seemed even she hadn’t expected herself to be so conscious of her weight. If I remembered correctly, she’d mentioned earlier that she weighed 49 kg. Eating chicken now would push her past her self-imposed 50 kg limit, which was understandably troubling for her.

Even I, who often get pushed around, couldn’t forgive this kind of treatment…

Couldn’t forgive…

Couldn’t…

…

“Ah, suddenly I’m curious. Luna!”

“…?”

“Why don’t you step on the scale? Let’s see how much you weigh.”

Excuse me?

“Oh, right. Now I’m curious too,” Reina chimed in.

Why my weight, of all things…? It felt like they were trying to redirect the focus. I wanted to object, but before I could even say anything, Flost joined in for support.

What kind of conspiracy is this…

“Yeah, now that you mention it, looking at your size… I’m a bit curious too.”

“Come on, let’s go, let’s go!”

“Ahhh!”

With Reina’s added input, Hyeon-ah seemed to gain confidence and pulled me toward the scale with a grin. There was no way my small frame could resist the three of them, so I had no choice but to let myself be dragged over. Eventually, I was forced to step onto the scale.

…

What kind of public humiliation is this?

Exposing my weight to everyone felt like a bizarre form of shame. But before I could get caught up in my thoughts, the scale displayed my exact weight.

Oh, my.

Not even 40 kg.

“…Wow, I always knew you were small, but I didn’t realize you were this small…”

“You really need to put on some weight,” Flost and Hyeon-ah remarked, looking at me with pity.

I’d always felt small when I looked in the mirror, but even I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Hyeon-ah, glancing at the chicken, suddenly picked up a drumstick and handed it to me.

Honestly, just a few bites would probably fill me up.

“Um, actually… I’d get full from just one piece…”

No kidding, one piece of chicken would be more than enough for me. Someone like me, who gets full from a single rice ball and a glass of milk, eating chicken? It was absurd. To be honest, the biggest reason was that I was still full from dinner earlier.

“Don’t worry about it; just eat.”

Hyeon-ah, seemingly determined to hand off the responsibility, pushed the chicken toward me. She herself looked longingly at the drumstick, but losing weight seemed more important to her than satisfying her cravings.

I didn’t get it. She didn’t look like she’d gained weight at all, so why act like this? If she wanted to eat, she should just eat. One piece of chicken wouldn’t make a significant difference anyway.

I could only feel sorry for myself for not being able to argue with pretty girls like them.

“…Luna.”

Reina was now looking at me with a strangely sympathetic expression.

“At this point, it’s starting to worry me…”

“If you’ve started exercising, you should also eat more to keep your strength up.”

No, seriously, it’s not that I don’t want to eat. I can’t.

It’s not like I’m refusing out of stubbornness—I’m literally full. Forcing myself to eat when I’m already full would just end with me throwing up, which would only make me feel worse. I’ve been trying to stay positive about not gaining weight, but this was too much.

“By the way, what part of the chicken is best for gaining weight?”

“…Hold on, let me check.”

“Isn’t the skin the part that makes you gain the most weight?”

“Really?”

Wait, I thought you two didn’t even get along.

Why are you suddenly teaming up now?

I’m not refusing to eat because I don’t want to; I can’t.

How many times do you need to dig into my wounds to feel satisfied?

I think I’m about to cry.