Chapter 3: The Lewd Girl Who Wants to be Noticed

“Swimsuits?”

“Yeah, for the upcoming summer!”

I frowned when asked “would you like to be a reader model for our swimsuit magazine?”. Having to wear a swimsuit means showing a lot of skin. I immediately covered it with a smile but it seems he still noticed. He smiled back and told me not to worry about it.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s not going to be something weird. It’ll be made by a renowned manufacturer. See? You recognize this brand, don’t you?”

Rather than being suspicious of the job, I was more surprised that I’d get a job like this…. Whatever, I’ll play along seeing as to how he’s going out of his way for this offer.

“Ah, if that’s so, then great!”

I took the documents and indeed I recognized the brand. Ah, this was the brand I decided not to go with last year. The designs weren’t really to my taste but the logo was cute so it left an impression.

“Ah, I recognize this! I might have picked this brand last year!”

Even though I was less interested, I still responded so casually.

***I really am disgusting.

“Really!? That’d be great! With your body, I’m sure you’d look great!”

“Really?”

“Your body’s incredible compared to those your age, so have some confidence!”

“A-alright!”

I reflexively nodded my head at the compliment. It may be just for show, but it still makes me embarrassed. 

“Even so, you’re concerned with showing skin at your age, right? And you have to ask your parents and school as well. So just call me back in a week, alright?”

“Got it, I’ll give it some thought.”

“Mhm. I’ll see you next week. I’d be happy to hear you agree, as long as you’re not forcing yourself.”

“Yes!” 

I put the documents in my bag and left.

After getting a bit further from the office building, I slumped my shoulders and sighed.

Did he actually care about my body, or do they just want to switch out their old models? I’ll never know. 

I haven’t been doing too hot as a reader model lately. At first I would take up entire pages, but now I have to share the space with others. No matter how you look at it, that’s a clear downgrade.

Of course, being a swimsuit model definitely seems like a bad idea, but there’s probably no other choice for me.

I don’t know about anyone else but my mom would probably say something like “sounds interesting” and agree to it immediately.

Which is exactly what she did. It was as fast as when I told her I wanted to learn calligraphy with my friends. Maybe that’s just how she sees it.

“It’s good to experience all kinds of things. If you want to, Na-chan, then isn’t it fine? As long as you don’t force yourself of course.”

She returned the words that the other guy said.

Well, all that’s left is what I think.

I actually really don’t want to do it. Even if they think my body is nice, it’s still very embarrassing to show bare skin in front of people. And it’ll be printed out and shown to everyone.

But I hate losing readers as a model even more. Even though I’m just a reader model, one day I want to be a model walking down a runway. For that reason, I have to stay in this field.

“Let me give it a shot!”

If I’m doing it, then I’m going all the way!

With that said, I put on the swimsuit handed to me and smiled at the camera.

 ○

The magazine came out faster than I expected. 

I bought it on the way home and put it on the table. I was a bit hesitant to open it but in the end I steadied myself and did it anyway.

“Wah…..!”

There were other reader models featured but I was in a photo spread, by far the most exposure I’ve gotten. I can’t help but squeal in excitement. I mean, I’m the sexiest one of them all, no? That’s why they show me the most here. Oh god this is so much fun!

Thinking this would get my word out, I decided to search myself on the internet and began seeing more articles about me than usual. While there were some critics, the good far outway the bad, so I don’t mind. And they even have my face on them. 

“Swimsuits are the best!”

Although I was reluctant at first, I realized there wasn’t anything to be shy about when I actually tried it. And I was even well received.

And so, let’s focus on swimsuits only this summer!

I want even more people to know me!

“Eh? There’s no more plans for swimsuits anymore.”

With that in mind, I approached the man once more to ask if there were more deals for swimsuit models. 

“Eh?”

I blinked, shocked.

“Ah, that was a special project we had planned for in the past, so we won’t be repeating it any time soon. If the reception is good, we’ll probably do one next year.”

“I-I see.”

My voice is clearly trembling. On a normal day I would have fixed it but today I forgot. 

“Seeing how excited you are, we’ll be counting on you again next year!”

“Ah, okay! I’d be happy to!”

“Alright! As for your next job…”

Although he brought forth other modeling jobs, I couldn’t focus at all.

I might never get another spike in popularity as big as this one. Just the thought of that scares me. 

After a person has been in the sun, it’s hard to be satisfied with just some moonlight and would blindly chase after it.

Yearning for even more attention, I began searching for other similar jobs. Given the lewd nature of what I was searching for, my search history must’ve been something that a guy would search up. Even though my phone was password protected, I still decided to delete it every day just to be safe.

And finally, I stumbled into the land of social media. There, people posted erotic images of themselves practically daily and plenty who like them. It was a bit frustrating seeing my desire to get fame by posting my body was quite common, but at least I know I’ll be received well. Given my body, I should be able to attract quite a few people, not to mention how I’m still in highschool. 

“Hi everyone, I don’t really know what an alt account is so I’ll be in your care♪”

With that message, I tagged a photo of my favorite panties with my skirt flipped up in a casual pose. The skirt from my uniform’s fine and all, but I changed it to personal clothing so that I can’t be identified. The moment I uploaded it, replies came flooding in from all angles, all of them praising me. 

Seeing the positive feedback I have received, I knew I was in the right place.

 ○

It’s been a few months since I started. Although I don’t post too often, my followers and view counts are still ever increasing. It became a routine to open my account to receive my gratification when I have time. Watching the view count rise the moment I post will never get old.

I treated the account as a hobby, so my grades were still on top of the class. Although I skipped sometimes, it’s not reflected in test results so my parents and teachers don’t bat an eye to it.

But one day, something happened during high school when I was on duty.

I was going to skip it given how it seemed annoying, but seeing how hard others were scolded for skipping, I decided against it. Thus I had no choice but to attend.

After signing out with the teacher, all I had to do was throw out the garbage and go home. So I put down my bags and headed over to the dumpster.

The dumpster was located near the inner-back of the school, there was a window there that takes you straight to there if you hop out of it, so I’ll just throw out the trash through there and then leave.

What will I do after I get home? I should probably think of how to take the next selfie. People will get bored if I always do the same thing. But if I just do some random pose, someone will probably call me out for copying someone else, even though they’re all there to just check out images.

Even though I’ve just started, it seems that social media websites are starting to put up barriers for explicit content. How annoying. Even so, I haven’t given up yet. 

As I thought about that, I noticed that the window wasn’t opening. In fact, it wasn’t budging at all.

“Eh….?”

After closer inspection, it turned out that the window was locked. 

“Are you kidding me?”

I just closed it a minute ago. Does it lock automatically after closing?

“Oh no….”

I got locked out of the school. I started banging on the window.

“S-Someone save me….”

But the path on the other side was mostly used to traverse between classes, so no one was there. I started to panic.

“Someone!”

“Calm down.”

“Eh?”

When I thought all hope was lost, a voice called out behind me, making me jolt up. I turned around nervously to find a tall boy behind me. Judging from his clothes, he’s probably a senpai. But where did he come from?

“You don’t have to be scared…. Well, it’s understandable, given how you were suddenly locked out.”

He took out a key and opened the window with a wry smile.

“Thankfully I was just passing by. I heard someone banging on the window and came as fast as I could.”

The way he acted just screamed senpai. 

“You’re a first year, right? You’ll get used to some of the stuff here eventually.”

But didn’t the locks just collapse on itself due to age? I chose this school because it looked pretty, but this is a massive flaw. Step up your game, school staff. 

“Alright, it’s open.”

“Ah…. um, thank you.”

I gave my thanks.

“You just have to push it while turning the handle to open it. Worst case scenario, you walk all the way around back to the entrance.”

He pointed in the direction of the tree I always see on my way home. Apparently the dumpster was right next to the entrance. I can’t help but lower my head in embarrassment.

“Is something wrong? Did you stay outside too long and get sick?”

“Ah, no.”

Apparently he mistook my embarrassment for discomfort. Suddenly, his face was incredibly close to mine. I can’t help but take a few steps back.

“I-I’m fine.”

“Really? Alright then.”

The face in front of me was incredibly handsome, impossible so. Of course, I can’t say that out loud.

He smiled as if he was the one who got saved, a dazzling smile that is.

It’s as if his gentleness is reflected in his face. I know that sounds cringey but I can’t help but think about it.

“Ah, then I’ll get going!”

I went back into the school through the window and headed back to the entrance.

“Be sure to be careful next time~”

A delightful voice called out from behind me.

If only I could hear such a voice all the time.

….dammit! What am I thinking!

I pressed my chest against the shoe lockers, my heart beating violently with all its might. I can’t believe that this is me, but it is.

This is love right? Do people really fall in love that easily? But this is reality, and love is still love, no matter the form it’s in.

But I never got to ask for his name. He’s probably in a sports team or something, given how he has short hair. So I checked the members of our school teams on social media and found him immediately.

“So his name is Yuji Ozaki…. What a great name.”

Although it was pure coincidence to find it so easily, that’s fine with me. 

He was part of the basketball team, is talented at basically everything and is very kind. But it seems he shows that side of him to everyone, so he broke up with his girlfriend last month. He’s now single.

It’s a good opportunity to reach out to him, but I don’t know how to start the conversation so I’m stuck. 

The obvious start would be to thank him for what happened but wouldn’t it be creepy for some girl you just met to suddenly find you on your social media account?

We’re senpai and kouhai, we barely see each other anywhere. Besides, even if we meet, it’s not like he’ll recognize me.

What do I do…… I can’t do anything…….

You know, this photo of him’s really handsome.

I suddenly got a flash of inspiration.

What if I stood out more….? Like, dressed sexier or something?

But he won’t be lured in by something like that, right? Even if he did, it would be a bit annoying to find him so shallow, but this is my only choice. The day after I came up with this plan, I began loosening the buttons on my uniform, making my skirt shorter, wearing smaller accessories.

“Don’t you think Nana-san’s been giving off a different vibe lately?”

“Yeah, like some gyaru!”

“What’s with the sudden change?”

“Is it to attract someone to do compensation dating?”

“It totally is!”

I can hear you, you know.

Probably because I wasn’t very social, people immediately began talking behind my back. Well, not that I care. All that matters is grades. If he’s a kind senpai, he’d know that I’m pure at heart. But we never got to meet each other, nor contact each other.

God damn it! Why can’t I be born a year earlier!?

“Sorry for the wait, everyone ♥”

To relieve this pressure, I began posting to my alt account more and more to satisfy my desire for approval. The thought of senpai discovering this makes me want to delete it immediately, yet I just keep taking more and more. I’m contradicting myself, I know, and it’s stupid.

At that moment, I looked closely at a selfie I took and noticed my pupils became heart shaped.

“What’s this?”

It’s not like I edited it or anything, even if I did I don’t think I can make something like that. If there wasn’t any editing, then….

“E-eh!?”

I looked into the mirror to find my pupils to turn heart shaped.

The hell is this?

I quickly looked it up on my phone and found people with similar problems. Apparently it’s called “Needy Girl Syndrome” or something like that. I’ve heard of it but I didn’t think it would happen to me at all. So this is how it works….? Or rather….

“Eh? What’s that?”
“Contacts? No way, right?”
I felt the entire class murmuring as I walked in.

“Isn’t how she’s dressed…. really sexy?”

“Ah, I think I got it, have you finally decided to become a pro?”

“Th-that might be so but you shouldn’t just say it in front of her!”

I heard someone say, but I get why they think that. Lately there’s been a hot topic about some kinky tatoo that’s been popping around. And thus arose the rumor that I was some slut. Senpai graduated before I even got to talk to him. Although I want to believe that the rumors didn’t matter, I can’t help but think he tried to avoid me. It feels too late to turn back now, so the surrounding rumors kept spreading and my need for approval kept growing.

Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t posted yet today.

I sat at lunch drinking strawberry milk and thinking about what kind of photo to post. Hm….. I’ll just decide when I get home.

Will I ever turn normal again…?

“Sorry!”

Eh? What happened?

That apology sounded extra loud so I looked away from my smartphone to see what’s going on.

Apparently a first year girl who looks like she’s a rich little lady had bumped into someone.

Nana:

High school 3rd year

Is sort of a celebrity thanks to being a reader model. Has a strong sense of self.

yeah, I still exist. sorry it took so long