Ah,
It feels like I’m just suffering for nothing.
At first, I thought it was a brilliant idea, but watching everything unfold in real-time made me feel a bit lost.
So… to put it simply, I wonder if it was really necessary to make the color red?
Honestly, the chosen color wasn’t something deep. Blue was out of the question from the start since it’s a color Choi Na-kyung often wore, and seeing it too much would only remind me of her.
Green was never my style, yellow felt way too loud, and above all, yellow just doesn’t suit Sara. If you want to stand out, you should use a vivid shade of yellow, but I didn’t think that would match Sara’s vibrant ruby eyes.
Thus, I chose red. After all, Sara’s eyes leave a strong impression, making people think, “Oh, she must be Ye Sara’s ally.”
The problem was… after dressing everyone like that, it started to feel overly extravagant.
Still, the girls looked fine.
The school had always catered to wealthy students, and therefore, there were plenty of students who spent a lot on their looks. In this scene, beauty was like a powerful weapon just like money.
It seems like the classic Cinderella story of a rich girl snagging a guy isn’t entirely impossible either.
So, even if they weren’t from rich families, most students would care about their weight and appearance because they didn’t want to be compared or bullied. If someone found a flaw, school life would become a headache.
With that in mind, dressing up in expensive fabrics made for a striking picture. Especially those who spent almost all night with us were renowned tailors or worked under them.
Most of the red-themed outfits suited them.
The real issue was the few male students.
No matter how you slice it, dressing up men’s clothes in bright red seemed like a form of bullying, so I decided to go with dark red…
Well, to be honest, I was tempted to just dress them in black and have a red tie.
…But it’s a bit late for that now.
Anyway, seeing about twenty male students gathered together felt… how should I say it, a bit intimidating.
Maybe it was the red outfits or assuming they would all support me, but I started to think this was a bit over the top.
“…”
Well, what can I do?
It’s already spilled milk.
I let out a slight sigh.
I hadn’t completely pulled an all-nighter, but I had barely slept, so I wondered if the twenty or so attendees were simply thinking, “I’m here for the party.” They all had tense expressions.
Yeah, it’s better than them falling asleep from being exhausted.
I checked my wristwatch.
Thankfully, my birthday landed on a Saturday, so I didn’t have to forcibly send these people back to school.
However, like any party, it was scheduled for the evening.
Fortunately, this mansion had more than enough space for these twenty people since I had already cut down on the staff.
At least we’d get a few hours to rest.
“Since there’s still some time until the party, those who are tired should follow Miss Yang Hye-in’s guidance. There’s a place to rest, so let’s regroup an hour before the party.”
Of course, that place wouldn’t be the lobby. Some preparations would be underway there.
Since we decided to hold the party here, we should at least have it set up for a party, right?
That was the plan for the people my uncle sent.
The attendees looked somewhat relieved after hearing that.
Well, I, too, was hanging on despite feeling like I might collapse from exhaustion.
“Please take care of it.”
“Understood, young lady.”
In response to my words, Yang Hye-in bowed deeply.
“Let’s go rest.”
“Yeah…”
Of course, my hastily made plan included us too. We also had to hurry and fit into our red dresses.
The ones who stayed up almost all night included me, Ha Neul, Sua, and Sohee.
We staggered our way toward the room we usually rested in.
*
“Good job.”
The moment I lay down on the bed, I came face-to-face with Sara’s face, which means I literally passed out.
“…Whose fault is this?”
When I shot her a glare, Sara hurriedly waved both hands and said,
“Ah, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you suffer this much…”
She looked genuinely apologetic.
…Well, the idea was mine from the start. Sara never planned something like this.
So, if we had to blame someone, I would have to say I made myself suffer.
Still, I can’t completely absolve Sara of the blame for insisting she wouldn’t attend her birthday party.
But at least I was thankful that this conscious ordeal was helping my physical fatigue to recover.
“…Phew.”
I let out a deep sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed as always.
“Hey, I really am sorry…”
Then, sitting next to me, Sara said,
“No, all this happened because of my hasty idea. The others suffered too.”
And the ones who managed to gather people in just a day, like Yang Hye-in, and the tailors who hustled to fit us with dresses. It wasn’t easy to get things done in just one night, even if they were simply tailoring ready-made outfits.
Having a lot of money does make things possible. It’s impressive. Money truly speaks volumes.
“So, about that…”
“Yeah?”
Sara seemed to be leaning towards asking for something, so I cocked my head.
It’s rare for Sara to ask for a favor like this. Usually, she just follows me around, complaining and having fun.
“I’m thinking that since you had such a hard time preparing, I should take charge of the party.”
“Really?”
Hearing that, my face lit up instantly.
It was something I did, but being the only ones in uniforms while everyone else wore casual clothes felt a bit awkward. I thought it was a foolproof idea when I proposed it, but now that I think about it, I wasn’t even sure it’d work that well.
So hearing Sara say she would take responsibility for what came next made me momentarily giddy.
“Oh, but there’s no guarantee this will definitely go well. I thought of it hastily… It sounded feasible in my mind, but I have no idea how it’ll play out in reality.”
“I know.”
Sara nodded.
“No one knows how the future will turn out.”
…Hmm.
Sara was saying things she doesn’t usually say.
I shouldn’t think like this, but to be honest, it felt a bit suspicious. Like she might have her reasons for not telling me something.
Well, thinking back, Sara had stepped forward to handle her affairs before. The problem was that it had led to Choi Na-kyung’s havoc.
Still, I was really grateful she was stepping up like this.
I mean, I was exhausted anyway.
Do you know? Having someone else living my life is more comfortable than I expected.
“Are you really sure about this? You won’t regret it?”
I asked with a somewhat dubious expression, and Sara quickly shook her head.
“No, really. It’s my birthday, right? I don’t want to see you suffering because of my birthday. That’s why.”
“…”
Damn, with those words, I really had no reason to refuse.
…Is it really alright?
When I tilted my head again, Sara made a slight frustrated face.
“Ugh, really! Stop whining! I’ll handle it myself! Why are you doubting me now!?”
Oof.
“Ah, no, no. I’m just worried. Everyone we’ll meet tonight will be new people.”
“That goes for you too. And if you want to get technical, I’ve met way more people I don’t remember than people I’ve never met. In that sense, I’m at an advantage. You never know. I might remember some faces after seeing them.”
“True, that’s a fair point…”
I closed my eyes, pondering for a moment before opening them again.
“In that case, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Great!”
At that, Sara beamed a bright smile.
“I’ll handle it properly, so you just rest here!”
“Uh-huh…”
Yeah, I’m grateful for her saying that, but…
As I watched Sara naturally climb up on my lap and wrap her arms around my neck, I wondered.
Is this really okay?
…Am I just being overprotective of Sara?
As I gazed at Sara’s face drawing closer, I thought.
*
Waking up in bed after a long time, I found myself thinking.
…No matter what, shouldn’t they be giving me a birthday gift? My precious friends?
If possible, I wanted to monopolize the person’s first birthday party all to myself.
