One Bowl of Noodles

I let out a startled yelp. “Ah…! I’m sorry!”

[BANG!]

The man stared at my face for a moment, then his gaze dropped. Looking flustered, he quickly turned his head and shut the door. Only then did I finally look down at myself.

‘Uh… um… Should I have screamed?’

The man’s glance that had brushed over me when the door opened replayed in my mind. I wasn’t even sure whether his eyes had actually landed on my body, but his reaction suggested they had. If this had been the old me, I would have simply thought, ‘Oh, I’m in my underwear.’ But now the situation was a little different.

‘…But is this really that big of a deal?’

I had worn hospital patient gowns without a second thought. Thinking back to my reflection in the mirror, curves I had never possessed before came to mind.

“This… is kind of embarrassing,” I muttered.

Being in underwear was exactly the same as before, but now I realized that to someone else’s eyes, I would look like a woman. And the fact that that someone was Ji-an’s father made it strangely complicated.

[Knock knock—]

“Are you alright…?”

A stranger’s voice came from beyond the door. A low, pleasant baritone echoed inside the fitting room.

“Ah, yes! Just a moment!”

I hurriedly pulled the patient gown back over myself and quickly opened the door. When I did, the man was standing right outside, and he couldn’t quite meet my eyes. Up close, he had sharp features, a neatly pressed shirt, and polished shoes. For a guardian at the hospital, he looked remarkably put-together. As I stared openly at his face, he spoke up, seeming awkward.

“Um… You’re Seoyeon, right?”

“Ah! Yes!”

‘Did I stare too hard?’

The moment I answered, my heart began racing for no reason. Trying to avoid his eyes, my gaze wandered aimlessly through the air.

“Ji-an… My daughter must have bothered you a lot, hasn’t she?”

The man gave an awkward smile as he spoke.

“Ah… No, not at all. Actually, I had a lot of fun.”

The words that left my mouth sounded softer than I expected, which only made me feel more embarrassed. The man smiled briefly at that, his gaze dropping to my feet for a second before rising again. Remembering that I had been standing there in nothing but my underwear just moments ago, we both suddenly fell silent, the air growing awkward.

“…The clothes! Have you finished choosing them?”

“Ah! Y-yes!”

The way we were both flustered and answering each other felt like two nervous students on their first date.

“What are you two doing?”

Ji-an, stuck between us and watching, piped up. I coughed and quickly shifted my gaze to her.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

I smiled faintly and gently stroked Ji-an’s hair. She grinned and grabbed both of our hands, tugging us along.

“Um… Then I’ll go pay for these.”

I tried to let go of the hand Ji-an was holding, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Haha, once Ji-an decides she likes someone, she doesn’t let go easily,”

The man said with a laugh as he watched Ji-an refuse to release my hand. In the end, I had no choice but to head to the register with her, placing the clothes and underwear labels on the counter.

“That comes to 180,000 won.”

“Ah… Would it be possible to pay in three installments?”

It was too expensive. Swallowing the thought of ‘Aren’t clothes like these usually only twenty or thirty thousand won?’ I asked carefully.

“Yes, that’s possible.”

“Then I’ll do three months…”

I handed over my card, but all I heard was the repeated sound of [Beep—] being rejected.

“Um… Ma’am, your card is showing a payment failure. Do you have another card?”

The clerk, who had tried the payment about four times, looked at me with suspicious eyes. After my gender had changed, my personal information must have been updated by now, which probably meant my old cards had been suspended.

“Ah… Oh, um… Then…”

I panicked and fumbled.

‘Should I say I can’t buy them and even take off the underwear I’m wearing right now?’

“Please use this for a one-time payment.”

Just as a strange thought crossed my mind, Ji-an’s father, standing beside me, held out his card.

“Eh… Uh…”

I stood there like an idiot, watching the clerk quickly process the payment and the man holding the bag filled with clothes.

“Onni!”

At the sound of Ji-an calling me, I snapped back to my senses.

“Ah… Thank you so much, really. But if you do this, I don’t know how to repay you…”

“It’s fine. It’s a connection I made thanks to Ji-an, and you played with her, so this much is nothing.”

The man shook his head with a smile. For some reason, those words touched something deep inside my chest. It had been so long since someone had given me something for no reason other than ‘just because.’ In the past, I had always been the one giving, taking responsibility, and carrying the burden. Receiving felt awkward, and even saying thank you was difficult.

“Still… I’ll definitely pay you back later.”

“Then I’ll take it as a meal together with Ji-an sometime.”

The man smiled, mixing a bit of teasing into his words.

It was truly the worst possible timing. If only it had come five minutes earlier…

“Food! Ji-an loves food! Let’s go now!”

“Ji-an? Seoyeon’s big sister can’t use her card right now, so let’s eat later, okay?”

“No! Ji-an is hungry right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now and wants to eat!”

While I was staring at the text message and feeling dejected, Ji-an flailed her arms and stubbornly insisted. Her expression looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, so the man gave me an awkward smile.

“Ah… Um, the message from the card company says I should be able to pay for dinner.”

“Oh, really? You’re not busy?”

It was around five o’clock. A bit early for dinner, but seeing Ji-an’s sparkling eyes, she clearly wasn’t going to back down an inch.

“Yes, nothing urgent, so it should be fine.”

“Then let’s eat something simple near the hospital. I saw a noodle place while driving…”

“Noodles!”

Ji-an beamed and tightly grabbed both my hand and her dad’s. For a moment, I hesitated. Eating with someone else… it had been such a long time.

“I parked nearby, so let’s head that way.”

The man walked beside me with Ji-an between us. As we walked the short distance to the parking lot, he seemed a bit awkward and spoke to me.

“Seoyeon, your age… Wait, never mind.”

“Ah… I’m 2… I mean, 25 years old. And… how old are you, Ji-an’s father?”

“Ah, I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Seo Ha-jun. I’m 32. Do I look old?”

I let out a small laugh. Old? I had gone from forty to suddenly young again.

“Onni laughed! You look even prettier when you smile!”

I turned to look at Ji-an. Her small face was filled with a mischievous grin.

“Really? Thank you. You look pretty when you smile too, Ji-an.”

“What?! So I’m not pretty usually?”

“Ah… Um… That’s not…”

Ji-an’s words were more than enough to fluster me.

“Hey, Seo Ji-an~ You can’t tease Seoyeon like that!”

“Hmph… Daddy’s no fun!”

“I’m sorry. It’s the first time I’ve seen Ji-an like someone this much.”

After being flustered for a while, thanks to Ha-jun I was finally able to catch my breath and laugh.

“It’s okay. Actually, it was fun.”

Chatting about this and that, we arrived at the parking lot. As soon as we got there, Ji-an let go of our hands, ran familiarly toward a certain car, and waved at me.

“Onni! Get in quick~ Let’s go eat noodles!”

“Ji-an, slow down~ You’ll fall.”

Ha-jun scolded her as if he was used to it. Fortunately, Ji-an didn’t fall and climbed into the back seat, opening the door. I carefully opened the passenger door and sat down. The smell of leather from the seat wrapped around me awkwardly. Ha-jun started the engine and asked me,

“I’m going to turn on the air conditioning. You won’t be cold, will you?”

“Ah… It’s fine.”

My voice sounded smaller than usual. The car smoothly pulled out onto the road. Various signs and scenery passed by the window. Ji-an was glued to the window in the back seat, looking outside, when she suddenly shouted in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠loud voice.

“Onni! Today you have to sit next to Ji-an!”

“Hm? Why?”

“When something pretty is next to Ji-an, the food tastes better!”

“Haha, is that so?”

“Pfft…”

Both Ha-jun and I laughed at how cute Ji-an’s logic was.

“Seoyeon, are you okay? If it’s too much…”

“Ah! No, it’s fine. I like sitting next to Ji-an when eating too.”

Ha-jun met my eyes in the rearview mirror and smiled lightly. That smile somehow felt comforting.

When we arrived at the noodle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠restaurant and the car stopped, Ji-an was the first to open the door and jump out.

“Welcome~”

After greeting the staff, we sat down and looked at the menu.

“Daddy! I want bibim guksu!”

“Alright, alright. What about you, Seoyeon?”

“I’ll have janchi guksu.”

Ha-jun operated the kiosk on the table to place our order. The food came out quickly, in just a few minutes. The steam rising from the hot broth stimulated our appetites. Before even picking up her fork, Ji-an poked my arm repeatedly and said,

“Onni…! Let’s really become a family!”

I froze the moment I heard those words. Perhaps because I made a slightly strange expression, Ha-jun scolded Ji-an.

“You, Seo Ji-an! Are you going to keep bothering your sister?”

Maybe because Ha-jun raised his voice, Ji-an stayed quiet while we ate. After we finished and left the restaurant, Ji-an grabbed my hand, lowered her head, and said,

“I’m sowwy, Onni… Ji-an was wrong…”

“It’s okay. I’d actually love to have a daughter like you, Ji-an.”

I answered Ji-an and was about to head back into the hospital when I heard it.

“Honey, what are you doing right now?”

It was my wife’s voice—before she saw me standing there with Ji-an and Ha-jun.