The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

It had been a while since I wore a proper suit.

Azerna had suits with designs similar to this world’s. After all, the game was Japanese, and the setting reflected an era where that style was just becoming commonplace.

But back in Azerna, I almost never wore suits on purpose.

Uniforms, maybe. Military attire, sure. But not a suit like this.

“How do I look? Does it suit me?”

“Yes, it suits you well.”

The others nodded as they looked at me, dressed neatly in black from top to bottom.

My suit was a bit on the somber side, but the others had chosen more colorful outfits, so the contrast actually worked. At least we wouldn’t look gloomy in the final picture.

Yes. A photo.

Mia had asked us to take a photo together.

“My father and mother... they didn’t get along very well, even when I was little.”

Mia never had a family photo.

...And that was partly because of my own mistakes. Regardless of what kind of person he was, I was Mia’s father.

If he hadn’t died so early, maybe she would have had a picture like that.

If we had just gone out casually and snapped a few pictures outside, we probably would’ve dressed just enough not to look silly.

But for the kind of formal family photo Mia wanted, we needed to dress the part. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

We were going to a photo studio to get it printed large, after all.

The shoot itself was expensive. Might as well do it properly.

“Um...”

We’d made a reservation in advance, but when the five of us showed up together, the studio owner looked slightly stunned.

“We have a reservation.”

“Oh, yes.”

It wasn’t until I spoke fluent Korean that he snapped out of it.

He checked something on his computer, then looked back up at me.

“So, you’re... Miss Mia Crowfield?”

“That’s not me.”

I turned around, and Mia shyly raised her hand. “That’s me,” she said, almost mumbling.

“Ah... I honestly thought it was a nickname or something. You spoke such fluent Korean on the phone...”

“I’m Korean too.”

The man scratched his head awkwardly as I responded.

“I see... Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. I hear that a lot.”

Still a bit sheepish, the studio owner asked, [N O V E L I G H T] “Are you planning to take the photos in the outfits you’re wearing now?”

I turned to check. The others nodded.

Only Claire and I were in full suits—black jackets and slacks—while the rest wore neatly pressed skirts and blouses.

Altogether, we looked very proper. Even Claire.

“Alright, please wait a moment while I finish setting up. We’ll start right after.”

He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and stood up.

*

There were plenty of photo studios out there, but the one Mia had booked wasn’t a particularly big or well-known one.

Still, it had a nice atmosphere. Cozy. Comfortable.

Maybe that reflected Mia’s personality. She never liked it when strangers talked to her out of nowhere.

If we’d gone to some huge studio, we probably would’ve had to deal with a bunch of people.

“Alright, Mia in the center—let’s see a big smile! You're looking a little stiff there!”

We sat Mia in the center, with Charlotte on either side of her. Then I, Claire, and Alice stood around them like a family portrait.

It was a family photo, after all. A proper family photo, with that kind of mood.

We told the photographer we were five sisters. No one objected.

Mia looked painfully nervous, so the photographer paused, thought for a moment, and then walked off.

He returned with a bright yellow, long-necked stuffed duck—probably from the bed used for baby photo shoots.

“Mia, look over here!”

He squeezed the toy tightly, then let go.

SQUEEEEK.

A ridiculous rubbery squawk filled the studio.

“Pfft.”

All five of us burst into laughter.

“Perfect! Hold that expression! Okay, here we go! One, two—!”

The camera snapped in burst mode.

After checking the results briefly, the photographer grinned.

“Let’s do one more round!”

Another squeeze, another squawk.

Since we’d already laughed the first time, we managed to smile more softly and naturally the second time.

Mia’s face finally began to relax. After the second session, the photographer straightened up and nodded with satisfaction.

“Let’s take a look.”

He led us to the connected laptop to review the shots.

Now I understood why he used burst mode.

It was easier to find a perfect shot that way—someone was always blinking or making a weird face otherwise.

“This one—how about it?”

All five of us were looking at the camera with relaxed smiles.

“I like it.”

Mia nodded firmly.

It wasn’t just that it was hard to say no. She took this wish seriously—she chose the photo carefully.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Could I... pick one more?”

Mia turned her eyes to me with a pleading expression.

Well, printing large-size photos isn’t easy.

“Sure. One more is fine.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

The photographer beamed.

Mia’s second pick had a very different vibe from the first.

The first one was the second photo session—the calm smiles facing the camera.

The second one she chose was from the first round.

We weren’t looking at the camera. We were laughing, looking at each other.

I could see why she picked it.

“I’d like to print one big one and one small one. The small one... could we make five copies?”

“Absolutely. I can do the small ones today, but the large print will take a little more time.”

“That’s fine.”

“Alright, come this way and let’s look at frames...”

We spent some time picking out frames and final sizes with the photographer.

*

Back at home—

Mia hadn’t left her room yet.

“Do you think she liked the photos that much?”

Claire murmured.

“She said she’s never had any portraits or family pictures before. I’d say she has good reason.”

According to Charlotte—who shared the room—Mia had placed the two prints side by side on her desk and was happily staring at them.

She was probably planning to take them with her when we returned.

“I should really learn photography.”

Claire said it matter-of-factly.

“Not just with our little cameras. I mean properly—with a professional one. Next time, I want to take the photo myself.”

“Those cameras are a lot harder to use than ours, though.”

“Which is why I’m going to learn, Unnie.”

Alice chuckled softly.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“Yeah. Hopefully, we can meet up regularly and keep taking pictures together.”

That really would be nice.

As we chatted, the door to Mia and Charlotte’s room opened.

Mia stepped out slowly, her face slightly flushed.

She stood in the doorway for a moment, then bowed deeply.

“Thank you all... for taking the photo with me.”

“No need to thank us. We wanted to do it.”

Charlotte replied gently with a smile.

“We should each get a photo album too. You know the prints we’ve been making along the way? We can organize them and take one book each.”

Claire’s suggestion made Mia’s whole face light up.

“Yeah!”

Alice nodded, then turned to me.

“So, Sylvia...”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow’s your day.”

She smiled as she looked at me.

“Have you decided what you want to do?”

Uh...

Right.

I thought something would come to me while helping Mia today, but nothing really did.

Hmm.

“You know, you can’t just say you’re fine with anything.”

“Exactly, Unnie. We all spoke up, said what we wanted. You staying quiet isn’t fair.”

Claire backed Alice up. That didn’t happen often.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say something cheesy like, ‘This is already what I wanted.’ That’s almost exactly what I said.”

Charlotte added.

Well... maybe it is kind of similar.

......

Maybe I should’ve gone first after all.