That Day, Unavoidable
When Suyeon let out a snicker over the shopping bag she'd just received, the club friends in her year crowded around her.
"What's that? What'd you get that's got you smiling like that?"
"Isn't she the transfer student who came for club trial sessions a while back?"
Suyeon gave a casual nod.
"Yep. She came by to return the clothes she borrowed."
"Then why are you grinning like an idiot?"
Suyeon pulled a neatly wrapped present out of the bag and held it up. One of her friends glanced after Yeoncheong's retreating figure.
"She gave you that?"
"Mm-hm. She said it was leftover after handing some out to her classmates. Apparently she prepared gifts because she wanted to get close to people. Isn't it adorable how thoughtful she is?"
Suyeon rattled the wrapped gift like she was showing off a trophy.
"Jealous yet?"
One friend's temper flared, and she grumbled under her breath.
"If you're gonna get gifts, get them from a guy. What's the point of getting one from a girl?"
"Yes, I have heard the words of someone who's never received one from either."
"You—hey! Hand it over!"
A full-blown chase broke out between Suyeon and her thoroughly provoked friend. The cause of it all, Yeoncheong, ran off to the club room without the faintest idea.
***
Suyeon hadn't been exaggerating. Not a single word of it was a lie.
She'd submitted Yeoncheong's activities as official club content, and they'd actually been recognized.
"That... actually works?"
"Told you it would."
Yeoncheong found it inexplicably annoying the way Suyeon puffed herself up as if to say see? When she asked what was next on the list, Suyeon said she'd think about it.
"Let's call it a day."
"Already?"
"You must be tired, Yeoncheong. Making conversation with someone you're still awkward around."
For all her teasing exterior, Suyeon had been quietly watching over Yeoncheong with a careful eye.
And so the two of them parted earlier than usual. The moment the door lock beeped and the door swung open, Yeoncheong tossed her bag carelessly aside and dove face-first into her bed.
A short while later, ragged breathing filled the room. Having spent the entire day wound tight, Yeoncheong was out cold in the most literal sense.
***
Upstairs, a room furnished with two of everything, two beds just like the one below.
Suyeon held a jelly candy up to her younger sister Siyeon's mouth. It slipped neatly between her parted lips, and Siyeon chewed, asking what it was.
"The gift I got today. Jealous?"
Siyeon swallowed the candy before answering.
"Ah. So that's the one the transfer student gave you."
"How do you know about that?"
"Your classmates came all the way to our classroom to brag about it."
Suyeon had been loaded for bear, ready to gloat, and Siyeon's flat reaction left her almost disappointed. Siyeon stared absently at the translucent gift wrap.
"We don't even do stuff like that between us... She's an odd one."
"Right? The way she treats other girls isn't exactly typical. The teacher said she came from another region, but I wonder if she wasn't actually living abroad somewhere."
Siyeon held out a hand, and Suyeon placed another jelly in her palm.
"Could be."
"Her reactions are funny to watch, too. Anyway, I think she'll make a really good friend."
Suyeon had originally stayed by Yeoncheong's side at the teacher's request, but she'd changed her mind about that long ago. Siyeon pointed it out bluntly.
"Did you ask the person in question how she feels about that?"
***
After the gift, Yeoncheong settled into her class even more smoothly. More and more classmates greeted her first thing in the morning—proof enough of it.
A few days into this proper school life, Yeoncheong paused while getting ready and rubbed her lower abdomen. At the strange, unfamiliar sensation, her head tilted on its own.
Oh no, I'm going to be late.
Glancing at the clock creeping toward 8:15, Yeoncheong grabbed her bag and hurried out the door.
Her homeroom teacher, Ms. Jisu, knew Yeoncheong lived nearby, and every so often Yeoncheong could feel a wordless pressure in her glance—so she made a genuine effort never to be late.
Her body felt sluggish, as if something were off. She pushed her pace, and made it to the classroom just barely in time.
She traded greetings with Suyeon, Seoha, and the others, then settled slowly into her seat. Ms. Jisu came in right after, and an ordinary day began.
It was an ordinary day.
Or rather—it was a day she thought was ordinary.
Right up until Yeoncheong's face started to crumple from something wrong in her body.
The pain made moving feel like too much effort, so she didn't leave her chair. Even during breaks she stayed slumped over her desk, face buried in her arms. The others assumed she was sleeping and left her alone.
Only Seoha, sitting close by, had been watching her from the very start.
During literature class, as the minutes dragged on and Yeoncheong's expression refused to ease, Seoha apparently decided she couldn't watch any longer and took action.
"Teacher, Yeoncheong isn't doing well. I'll walk her to the infirmary and come right back."
The older female teacher studied Yeoncheong's face, then nodded. Yeoncheong, who'd tried to stand on her own, ended up making her way to the infirmary with Seoha's help.
She walked slowly, half leaning on Seoha, who matched her stride without a word.
Warmth seeped through their joined hands, and with every step, black hair brushed against Yeoncheong's shoulder. Under normal circumstances she would have jolted back and put distance between them, but right now she had no presence of mind for any of that.
Yeoncheong simply walked in silence, following wherever Seoha's hand led.
Nurse Lee Haeun, in the middle of her paperwork, turned her head toward the opening door.
"Who's faking sick today, I wonder...?"
There were always kids who'd show up mid-class claiming illness, lie around in the infirmary for a bit, and wander off. Haeun naturally assumed this would be another case of the same.
But what appeared before her was Seoha, supporting a visibly ailing Yeoncheong. Haeun immediately pointed to an empty bed.
Being a woman herself, she caught on fast.
Haeun approached where Yeoncheong lay.
"Have you taken anything for it?"
"Any...thing?"
Haeun nodded, as if she'd expected exactly that.
"I'm guessing this isn't how it usually is for you. Sit up for a moment—I'll give you a painkiller. Take it and get some rest."
By this point, even Yeoncheong, who had lived her whole life as a man, couldn't fail to understand. What state she was in.
She took the medicine, lay back down, and murmured to the ceiling in her head.
So... this is that day, huh...
The doctors had explained it to her, so she'd known. But the reality hurt far more than she'd imagined.
It was a perfectly natural phenomenon—yet her feelings were anything but simple.
The world, and biology itself, had just declared with certainty that Yeoncheong was not a man, but a woman.
She covered her face with one arm. Seoha kept watch beside her for a while.
Because Yeoncheong's other hand was gripping the sleeve of Seoha's uniform. An act Yeoncheong herself wasn't even aware of—a purely unconscious gesture, born of the body's need for something, anything, to hold onto.
"Seoha, could you stay in the infirmary a little longer? I have somewhere I need to run to."
The nurse held her smartphone in one hand. Seoha nodded that she didn't mind, and Haeun hurried out.
The infirmary fell quiet in an instant. The only sound was the tick of the clock on the wall.
Whether the painkiller hadn't kicked in yet or not, Yeoncheong was still groaning softly.
Perhaps Seoha found the sight unbearable to watch. Her freed hand slipped beneath the blanket. It came to rest on Yeoncheong's lower abdomen—even through the uniform, the touch was gentle.
Even through the haze of pain, Yeoncheong flinched.
"S-Seoha...?"
"Stay still."
Seoha paid no mind and kept moving her hand, stroking in slow, soft circles. Bit by bit, even the flinching Yeoncheong settled into it.
Was it the fever of alarm that had flushed through her body? The warmth passing through Seoha's caressing palm? Or simply that the painkiller had finally started working?
Whatever the reason, Yeoncheong's complexion eased considerably.
"A little better?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Consider it thanks for the gift."
Seoha's hand withdrew from under the blanket, and right on cue, Nurse Haeun returned.
"Sorry, Seoha. Kept you waiting a long time, didn't I? You two can head back now."
Seoha waved a hand—it was nothing. She told Yeoncheong to rest well before leaving, and slipped out of the infirmary.
The hand that had lost its grip on that sleeve drifted down to rub at Yeoncheong's own lower abdomen. It felt utterly, completely different from when Seoha had done it.
***
After receiving a long list of precautions from Nurse Haeun, Yeoncheong made her way back to the classroom—only to have the concern of Hasol, Suyeon, and the rest of her classmates land squarely on her shoulders all over again.
Her condition was still far from good.
The hours passed however they passed, and soon it was time for end-of-day homeroom. Perhaps the nurse had filled her in, because Ms. Jisu checked in on Yeoncheong too.
Knowing at least part of the situation, her worry ran deeper than anyone else's.
Suyeon also told her to head home early, that club activities were off for the day. Yeoncheong didn't refuse the kindness.
Walking noticeably more carefully than usual, Yeoncheong left the school grounds. She stepped out past the gate and looked down the road home.
"First time it's ever looked this far away."
It was hard to believe she'd covered this distance on foot in fifteen minutes that very morning.
Then a car pulled up in front of her, and behind the descending window appeared a familiar face.
"Need a ride?"
It was Chairwoman Yurim.
"I live close by."
"How long do you think it'll take you to walk it right now?"
When Yeoncheong hesitated, unable to answer, there was a click as the car unlocked.
"Get in."
Yeoncheong climbed in slowly. Once again, she didn't refuse the kindness.
Fifteen minutes at Yeoncheong's usual pace—by car, naturally, it took far less.
The moment they pulled up in front of her building and Yeoncheong reached for the door, Yurim held out a black envelope from the back seat.
"What's this?"
"Medicine. Just take it."
Yeoncheong accepted the envelope and murmured as it sank in.
"You really didn't have to go this far for me..."
"It's fine. I want to look after you. Your father would never know to do any of this, and I couldn't face your mother if I didn't."
"...Thank you."
Yeoncheong bowed deeply, pouring her gratitude into it.
"No fooling around today. Just rest."
Yurim stayed put, watching, until the very moment Yeoncheong disappeared inside the building.
***
Yeoncheong threw together a simple dinner from instant rice and the side dishes she'd prepared in advance. Then she washed up, climbed into bed, and fiddled with her smartphone.
"Haa..."
She set the phone down on the nightstand and stared blankly at the ceiling. The search history on that phone held a list of terms she'd never imagined looking up in her entire life.
A vibration traveled up through the nightstand and into the bed. Yeoncheong reached over and switched it from buzz to ring—it was Suyeon, with a message absolutely drowning in worry.
Smirking a little, Yeoncheong finished her reply, then scrolled through her contacts.
"Did good, honestly."
The names of Suyeon, Hasol, Seoha, and her other classmates drifted past her eyes. There, too, was Seoha-unnie, saved under semi-duress.
As her finger swept up and down the list, it suddenly stopped.
Her thumb hovered over the contact saved as Dad—then she gave up before pressing it.
What's the point of bringing this up with him? It's not like we have anything else to talk about anyway.
She set the phone back down on the nightstand and went back to staring blankly at the ceiling. Right up until the pain dulled enough to let her sleep.