It was more constructive to take action and aim for improvement, even from the bottom, rather than simply sinking into obscurity.
After all, if you’re already at the bottom, the risk of failure is minimal, and there’s a good chance that the transformation could be a success, or so Shinya thought.
Once decided, Shinya moved quickly.
As the first step in his self-reformation, he decided to try glasses.
While the protagonist of the novel succeeded by switching from glasses to contacts, Shinya would do the opposite: he’d go from no glasses to wearing glasses as his first step toward transformation.
“Why would you do that?”
The small muttering came from one of his few friends.
Still, Shinya pursued glasses.
He started by heading to an eyeglass shop to find something stylish.
After much deliberation and careful selection, he chose a sophisticated pair of combination frames and put them on.
“…Yeah, this is good. But my hairstyle is ruining the greatness of these glasses.”
He bought the glasses for 28,000 yen, using the money he had been saving to buy a new smartphone, and rushed to a salon in the shopping mall.
“Give me a hairstyle that matches these glasses!”
“…What?”
“Make my hair look amazing with these glasses!”
“Uh, okay…”
The biggest victim in this whole situation was probably the hairdresser.
But he was a professional.
He was used to unreasonable requests from customers.
It was his first time dealing with a demand for a hairstyle to match glasses, but still, he pulled it off.
As he watched his customer nodding in satisfaction over and over while looking at his reflection, the hairdresser felt a sense of pride swell within him.
What was this sense of accomplishment? It was like the finest of wines…
Although Shinya was a nightmare of a customer, he had been incredibly useful in helping the hairdresser hone his skills. Both Shinya and the hairdresser left satisfied. It was a true win-win.
With his glasses chosen and his hairstyle improved, Shinya was feeling good.
But something was still missing, or so he thought.
What was missing? Clothes. His wardrobe.
His usual black outfits, from his pants to his jacket, were no good.
Determined to change this, he withdrew the money he had saved for a new PC from the bank and set off to shop for clothes at the mall.
In truth, Shinya had absolutely no fashion sense.
He expected this to be a long struggle… but as soon as he stepped into a random store, he managed to tell the shop assistant his budget, and successfully bought several outfits and pants in different styles.
In the changing room, Shinya tried on the clothes the shop assistant had picked out for him, and once again, nodded in satisfaction in front of the mirror.
It ended up being a pretty significant amount of money, but he didn’t hesitate or regret it.
Spending almost all the money he had saved for a new PC, which was close to 200,000 yen, Shinya left the store and headed home.
"The money I’d saved from delivering newspapers and New Year’s gifts is gone, but I’ve definitely taken a step forward. And it’s all thanks to you, glasses..."
Wrapped in this sense of elation, Shinya relaxed in his room.
When asked what was the best part about it all, the answer had to be glasses.
Glasses are great. Really great. Glasses are a work of art, crafted by mankind.
But there’s still something that doesn’t quite match up, Shinya thought as he trimmed his nails, applied a men’s milky lotion to his skin, and adjusted his glasses with a push of his finger.
That something... was academic achievement.
Glasses signify brilliance. It’s a rule of life.
From that day on, Shinya dove into intense studying.
For the midterms of the first semester, he ranked 50th in his grade. By the finals, he rose to 36th.
In the midterms of the second semester, he ranked 30th, and by the finals, he was 21st.
By the time the third-semester finals came around, he leaped up in the rankings—finally reaching the single digits, landing at 7th place.
Thus, Shinya’s first year of high school ended, filled entirely with studying, and he moved on to his second year.
As a second-year student, with his academic performance improving, Shinya became the class representative and set his sights on joining the student council—as a glasses-wearing character, of course.
And for that, once again, academics were key.
Shinya intensified his studying even more.
By the midterms of the first semester, he ranked 3rd in the grade. And by the finals, he finally achieved his goal: 1st place in the entire grade.
“Heh... heh heh heh heh heh...”
It wasn’t a loud laugh, more like a low chuckle deep in his throat, as Shinya celebrated his achievement of being ranked first.
The Shinya of middle school was long gone. Now, he was a textbook example of a scheming glasses-wearing character.
Though it would be a stretch to call him a handsome boy, the present Shinya, who meticulously maintained his appearance—hairstyle included—to complement his glasses, had grown into a well-balanced, good-looking guy.
Shinya, so focused on studying for the sake of his glasses, hadn’t realized it, but he was now, in all honesty, quite popular.
Not just in his class—in the entire grade, he was on his way to becoming one of the top three future heartthrobs.
But Shinya wasn’t concerned with that. His only goal now was becoming the vice president of the student council.
Why not the president? Because in the short story that had inspired Shinya’s transformation, the character with glasses was the vice president.
It was a simple and straightforward motivation, but to Shinya, it was dead serious.
With all his heart, he aimed for the position of vice president. And... he won.
The only complaint he had was that the president wasn’t some rich, princely, arrogant type, but rather a studious girl who ranked second in their grade, just like him.
“Well, whatever. You can’t have everything. Besides, this isn’t something that can be controlled by me or my glasses,” Shinya thought.
Without realizing it, Shinya’s height had reached 175 cm. He habitually pushed his glasses up with his middle finger, smiling with a calm and confident expression.
Though his actions made him look decidedly scheming, by this point, Shinya had become somewhat of a school icon. Even when girls screamed, "Kyaa!" around him, he completely ignored them.
This was probably a leftover effect from his middle school days, when he wasn’t popular at all.
He simply couldn’t believe that he was now attractive to others.
For instance, even when the beautiful and amazing president subtly flirted with him, he paid her no attention.
His childhood friend, who had recently gone through a breakup and was now sending him "I’m so hurt" vibes, also received the same cold treatment.
Even when she called out to him in the morning, saying, "Shinya-kun! Let’s walk to school together, it’s been so long!" he would respond:
“It’d be embarrassing if rumors spread, so I’ll pass.”
As he pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, he’d let out a small laugh through his nose and reject her.
If you asked him whether he still liked her, he’d probably say he did.
But in his mind, he was convinced he was turning her down for her own good. This self-righteous attitude had turned him into a naturally oblivious guy.
It was beyond help now.
Leaving his frustrated and teeth-grinding childhood friend behind, Shinya walked to school alone, fully embracing his glasses-wearing persona.
He would never stop. He would continue to be a glasses-wearing character for the rest of his life.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror by the bathroom in the school hallway, he’d think:
“Heh, my glasses look great today…”
Until the day a bold woman appeared who could love him more than he loved his beloved glasses...
“People are not born with glasses. People become what they were meant to be—with glasses. What an amazing line. I should make this my motto.”
Maybe, just maybe, that day will come. Glasses forever!
[The End]
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