Sumin had one long-standing complex.

It was her height.

Round, lovely eyes, small and delicate features, and a firm, well-balanced body without an ounce of flab. She was a girl whose appearance naturally drew the word "cute" from anyone, and her loveliness made her the darling of everyone around her, regardless of age or gender.

However, Sumin herself didn't particularly like her own appearance.

To be precise, she really didn't like the fact that one of the reasons people found her cute was her short height.

Others looked down at Sumin and smiled, and Sumin had to look up at them to smile back. Even in trivial conversations, she had to tilt her head back significantly, and she was naturally pushed to the front row whenever group photos were taken. When she failed to reach something on a high shelf and someone grabbed it for her, the response was always the same.

"Oh my, our Sumin is so cute because she's small."

Cute.

That cursed word!

Sumin ground her teeth inwardly every time she heard that she was cute. Being cute was fine. Being pretty was fine too. But she simply couldn't accept the fact that "being small" was the foundation of all those compliments.

So, from a young age, Sumin put in all sorts of effort to grow taller.

She drank milk every morning and sought out foods said to be good for growth. She jumped rope hundreds of times and never missed her leg-lengthening stretches before bed. Searching for ways to grow taller on the internet was part of her daily routine, and she even developed a habit of subtly checking the heights of her peers.

However, the world was cruelly unfair.

As time passed, Sumin's legs became firm and her body became lean and toned. Her stamina improved, and her jump rope skills were as good as any athlete's.

But what about the height she wanted so badly?

Well.

Sumin sighed today as she looked down at the top of her own head in the shoe rack mirror.

"...Seriously, why am I not growing?"

At this point, she felt like filing a claim for damages against the milk companies and jump rope manufacturers.

On the other hand, there were truly annoying people in the world.

People who didn't seem to put in any special effort but suddenly shot up one day. People who seemed to be at the same eye level until yesterday, but before she knew it, she had to crane her neck to see their faces.

Sumin sincerely envied such people, and to be more honest, she hated them.

And among them, there was one particularly annoying individual.

Her childhood friend of 12 years, Guest.

Sumin firmly believed that they were definitely about the same height when they were kids. At least, that's how it was in her memories. The days they ran around the playground side-by-side, went to school together, and frequented each other's houses like their own.

She didn't think the difference was this vast back then.

At some point, Guest began to grow at a terrifying rate. While Sumin was drinking milk, jumping rope, and pouring all her heart into her growth plates by stretching, what on earth did that guy do to get so big?

It seemed like he did nothing.

At least in Sumin's eyes.

"...We were similar when we were little."

Of course, the truth was different. Guest had been slightly taller than Sumin since they were young. It was just that the difference wasn't as overwhelming as it was now.

But to Sumin, objective facts weren't important.

The fact was that she had worked herself to death only to stay in the same place, while that guy had shot up effortlessly.