Somehow, a new app appeared on my phone. It was a moment where something new emerged on a phone that had only been filled with default apps.
After returning home, I lay on the sofa and quietly stared at my phone.
I thought this feature was still too much for me. Even when I received text messages, I struggled to read them. What could I possibly understand if someone handed me something like this?
Looking up words in a dictionary only works if it includes languages I already know. It's impossible to understand a dictionary written entirely in a foreign language.
The app appeared with a "pop" sound. When the notification rang, I pressed the button in confusion. Maybe because it was newly created, the chat bubbles that energetically appeared flew off the screen before I could read them.
I was already struggling to read one message, so watching them fly by made my head spin.
Since I could at least read names even when they passed by quickly, I took mental note of them. Sera, Karen, Aria, Aria, Karen. Sera, Sera. I stared blankly at the names that repeated in rapid succession.
And at the end, a photo was uploaded.
It was a picture of Aria in sleepwear. Some kind of lingerie? It seemed slightly see-through, making it look quite risqué. I felt momentarily embarrassed seeing her figure and underwear so clearly visible, wondering if this was appropriate.
I had considered asking the Professor to read the conversation for me, but now that thought was completely out of the question.
"Oh..."
Could I delete the messages that were showing up for me? It was too embarrassing, so I tried to figure out how to delete them.
But since I couldn't tell what was what, I couldn't easily press any buttons. As I hesitated with furrowed brows, I curled my finger and put it in my mouth.
The Professor grabbed my arm and pulled my hand out of my mouth.
"That's dirty."
"...Dirty."
I repeated what the Professor said while clenching my fist. I had to stop myself somehow, or I'd put my hand in my mouth again.
"What is Urr doing?"
"Just, um... showing off pajamas like I mentioned earlier."
"Is it going well?"
"I don't know. Actually, I can't really read it well..."
After Aria's lingerie-like sleepwear photo, several chat messages appeared, followed by Sera's pajama picture.
Unlike Aria's photo that seemed taken in a full-length mirror, this one looked hastily taken as a selfie. She was wearing animal pajamas.
If the previous one gave off a sensual feeling, this one felt cute. Sera making a V-sign with her fingers and winking gave off a fresh impression.
Since I couldn't understand the chat messages running below, I felt like I was just forming opinions based on my own perspective. It was nice not being swayed by others' opinions, but I still wished my eyes would just open properly.
I wanted to join the conversation since I was already participating, but not being able to was frustrating.
While I was groaning, Karen's photo appeared. Unlike Aria or Sera's pictures that were sexy or cute, her outfit looked rather plain at first glance.
A short-sleeved shirt and shorts. But it felt familiar because it was closest to what I wear.
Three out of four people in the chat had posted photos, and I couldn't just hide away, so I got up.
If it had just been chat messages, I could have said "I didn't know," but once photos started being shared, it became a matter of flow that I couldn't ignore. So after hesitating, I asked the Professor for help.
"Professor!"
"Yes?"
"Please take a picture of me."
At my call, the Professor stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me.
Since I'm short with short arms, it was difficult to take a selfie like Sera or Karen, so I asked for help. But after asking, I felt bad for disturbing the Professor.
"Sure."
The Professor readily agreed, and I handed over my phone with a broad smile.
"But what should I take? Your pajamas?"
"Yes."
A pure white t-shirt and black dolphin pants. Not knowing what pose to strike, I awkwardly stretched out my arms and legs.
The Professor, about to take a picture with my phone, was shocked by my pose.
"Are you really going with that pose?"
"Is, is it strange?"
"I think it would be better to take one that doesn't look so strange."
"Not strange" seemed like the most difficult instruction.
I recalled how Aria had posed to accentuate her chest, Sera had winked for a cute selfie, and Karen had hastily made a V-sign with her hand.
They all seemed naturally posed. I wondered if I needed a concept and thought hard about it.
Thinking Karen's was the easiest to imitate, I awkwardly spread two fingers. Lifting the corners of my mouth was just a bonus.
The Professor clicked once, then sent me the photo.
"Take a look."
"It's kind of, um..."
Looking at the photo the Professor took, my awkward expression and stiff posture created a complete disharmony.
Sweating profusely while looking at it, I glanced at the Professor and had to say "Again."
"Let's, let's take another one. I'll change my pose and expression..."
"Sure, I'll take as many as Urr wants."
The Professor nodded readily at my request.
I stood in the middle of the living room again. Not knowing what to do in the empty space, I rolled my eyes in confusion. Then I spotted one suitable prop.
"Ah, I want to take it here!"
"The sofa?"
"Yes."
Nodding, I moved to the sofa. The Professor pushed the living room table aside and stood with his back to the TV.
The lens pointed at me. Now it was my turn to pose. After thinking hard about what pose to strike, I decided to sit normally with my back straight.
"Urr, you look too stiff."
I lifted the corners of my mouth.
"That looks even stranger than before."
This won't work either. How can I look natural?
I never knew taking pictures would be this difficult. While struggling, a good idea suddenly crossed my mind.
"Would this work...?"
I asked tentatively as I let myself fall. I rested my head on the sofa's armrest and stretched out my body. With me half-lying on the sofa, the Professor made a "hmm" sound and pressed the shutter several times.
After the clicking sounds, the Professor looked at my phone carefully.
"This one's not bad."
"Really?"
"Want to see?"
"Yes!"
I took the phone from the Professor. The gallery contained the photos of me lying down.
It seemed a bit ambiguous, but compared to the other photos, this was the most decent, so I decided to be satisfied with it.
I should send this since everyone might be waiting.
"Thank you."
As I fiddled with my phone while grinning, the Professor smiled and patted my head.
After being patted for a while, I uploaded the photo to the chat. The dolphin pants slightly visible under the shirt proved I was wearing something, making it a satisfactory photo.
The moment I uploaded the picture, the chat started scrolling up as if on fire. I thought I saw some familiar words here and there, but at that speed, it was a task just to scroll back up to see them.
I only uploaded because others did, but not being able to join the chat made me feel somewhat left out.
"What's wrong, Urr? Aren't your friends looking at your photo?"
"No, they saw the photo, but..."
"But what?"
"It's just that I read too slowly..."
"Would it be awkward if I read it for you?"
"I think it would be."
Honestly, I wouldn't mind, but I didn't know if the other three would feel the same way, so I couldn't easily nod.
"I can just tell them later."
"But today is Friday?"
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, since it was Friday, I couldn't tell them tomorrow that "I'm not familiar with the characters yet, so I don't know what you were talking about."
Having to spend the weekend like this was hell.
I urgently tapped on the screen.
[Hello?]
"Sera, I can't read the text so I have no idea what everyone's talking about..."
[Oh, really? You can't read any of it?]
"...It's too fast for me to read."
When I asked for help in a dejected voice, Sera seemed to think about it with me.
[Let's try this, hang up for a moment.]
"Okay."
After hanging up, Sera posted a voice message in the chat.
I made a small "oh" sound and tapped it with my finger.
[Urr, is this better? Ah, it feels awkward talking to myself.]
Sera's voice came through, laughing awkwardly.
[I saw your photo. You looked super cute.]
Aria also sent a voice message. The photo compliment made my face feel hot.
[Urr, I'll teach you how to read later.]
It was a strange feeling. The fact that they were using voice messages because of me evoked emotions that were hard to describe.
The Professor watched from the side and smiled warmly.
"Urr, you have good friends."
"Yes."
I grinned happily. Then I sent a reply to them.
"Thank you."
And once again, voice messages started pouring in.