Becoming a Girl: Elementary School Entrance Ceremony
I was becoming a girl. It was elementary school entrance day. Chaerin and I took a cheerful photo at the ceremony—of course, with her hugging me as hard as she could. It must've looked cute to the parents.
We were eight years old. Still at an age where the kindergarten habits lingered strong.
"Mom, I mean, teacher."
Slip-ups like that popped up here and there among the kids. But even in that crowd, Chaerin stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Her pretty looks and commanding personality meshed perfectly, quickly making her the center of attention for all the children. And as always, I was still treated like her pet.
"Why does Chaerin only like Yuna?"
Maybe that's why subtle jabs from the other girls were starting to creep in.
Having lived as a girl up to age eight, I knew one thing: girls had way more complicated social structures than boys. Once a group reached a certain size, a clear leader emerged. It all boiled down to personality and looks. This girl's more princess-like than me, they'd think—and in an instant, the others would volunteer as her ladies-in-waiting.
A looks-obsessed society even more intense than among guys.
And the moment a leader appeared, the battle for the number-two spot began. Everyone eyed each other warily, vying endlessly for it. Ironically, unlike boys, there were no outright fights. Boys that young tended to throw punches when tempers flared. And once they gauged each other's strength and recognized a hierarchy, most backed off from challenging for top or second spot.
Girls fought differently—more persistently. Direct confrontations, yelling, or hair-pulling just got you ostracized. The real battles happened under the surface. Do you even deserve that spot? They'd hurl that question relentlessly, dragging you down, probing for weaknesses. One slip-up, and you were cast out forever. It was all thin ice.
A brutal game of musical chairs among bees. Right on cue, one bee buzzing to become queen bee next to Chaerin started whining.
"Yuna? Yuna's my pet!"
"P-Pet?"
But Chaerin wasn't someone normal common sense applied to. She was the type who could call a person a pet without batting an eye. She had the qualities to lead any group of girls.
"Then can I be Chaerin's pet too!"
"Me too!"
But a group was ultimately defined by its leader. The bees fluttered their wings desperately to catch her eye.
Eight-year-old girls clamoring to be Chaerin's pet. At this rate, we'd end up with a real Animal Kingdom.
"No thanks?"
Chaerin shot it down without a hint of hesitation. Her firm attitude and the wicked glint in her eyes screamed don't cross this line. The warned girls shrank back. Overpowered by the queen's aura.
"My pet is Yuna only."
Dare to cross it, and you're done. At her low growl, the kids all cowered and fell silent.
"Right, Yuna?"
"......Yeah."
Chaerin, the more you do that, the more flak I get from the other girls.
If I were a normal girl, I might've teared up. But thankfully, I had my past life as a guy. Subtle digs and exclusion from girls didn't faze me much. Besides, I had no clue how to befriend eight-year-old girls besides Chaerin.
Maybe that's why lately, aside from her, I'd started hanging with the boys a bit.
The reason was simple.
"Yuna, you play this game?"
Some boys noticed while I was playing on my phone.
We were eight now. Old enough for parents to hand over phones. Finally, a source of dopamine beyond Legos!
I quickly downloaded a mobile game. Goodbye, boring childhood. Hello, gamer life once more.
"Yeah, it's fun."
After talking with Chaerin and realizing my speech issues, I'd practiced in front of the mirror every day. Now I spoke pretty well! Behold my eloquence—no stutters.
......Of course, they still popped out when I panicked. But hey, I tried.
Separately, my innate shyness meant my voice stayed soft. Hard to fix that.
"Whoa, I play this too! What's your level?"
"Level 192."
"L-Level 192?! How?!"
The boys gawked and swarmed me for tips. Turns out it was the hot game among them. Parents blocked age-restricted ones, so I picked the best allowable—and it was a hit.
Soon, all the gaming boys gathered around me in groups, playing together.
"Yuna, you're amazing."
"H-How do you get this item? Teach me and I'll buy you tteokbokki!"
"Me too! Please!"
"Heh, heh heh, hold on. I'll show you."
A perennial ambiguous number-two among girls, but here among boys, my level alone made me king. The thrill filled me, and a sleazy grin spread across my face.
Every time I grinned, the boys got even more hyped—for some reason—but I didn't mind.
"Yuna, whatcha doing?"
Right in the middle of gaming, Chaerin popped in.
The girls' leader. Even the boys recognized it; her arrival dimmed their energy a tad.
"Uh, playing a game."
"Game? Fun?"
"Wanna try, Chaerin?"
"Sure."
Chaerin eyed the boy in the chair next to me. He flinched and stood up.
"Chaerin, sit here!"
"Thanks."
Subduing with a glance. Chaerin, your future scares me.
Following my lead, she downloaded the game, and as I guided her, she fiddled around.
"Do it like this, and set that up like so."
"Okay, like that?"
"Here, like this. Oh, use this item instead—better. I'll send you one!"
"Really? Thanks."
Chaerin was smart by nature. She picked up everything instantly, leveling past boys who'd played longer.
"Whoa, she's rising fast. Must be Yuna's great teaching."
Good students make good teachers. I puffed up a bit, then felt Chaerin's gaze.
I'd been glued to the screen while teaching. Lifting my head, I jolted.
She wasn't watching the game—she'd been staring at me the whole time. Her eyes brimmed with adoration and affection.
Chaerin didn't care about the game. She wanted to see me teaching so eagerly beside her.
Realizing I'd overdone it unlike myself, my face burned red with embarrassment.
She set her phone down and pinched my cheeks.
"What's this? Who'd you get so cute from, Yuna?"
"Ch-Chaereeeen."
"Why are you this cute?"
Being called cute by an eight-year-old girl. My fragile masculinity shattered again.
As expected, Chaerin lost interest in the game itself. Midway, she just had the boys do it for her. And they happily obliged.
Her delinquent queen potential updated daily. Terrifying.
Thus, the stormy elementary school days passed bit by bit.
One embarrassing episode: I tagged along when boys played soccer and got benched.
Unlike them, who ran daily, I'd only played with Legos. My stamina and reflexes were pitiful compared to peers.
Ended up flailing and yelling, "I quit!" before sitting out. Know your place, I reminded myself.
Before long, we were ten. Just two years—what could change?
A lot, actually.
My chest—my chest hurts!
Breast buds. Hormonal changes from puberty. My body was growing, triggering secondary sexual characteristics.
Girls usually hit this around ten to twelve, I'd heard. But the lumps hurt like hell.
"My Yuna's growing up. It's okay—Mommy'll fix it!"
I told Mom, and she beamed happily. Next day, after my chest agony, she gave me a junior sports bra.
I stared blankly for a while. A bra. Yeah, I'd vaguely known this day might come.
Still at an age where Mom dressed me. Girl clothes since toddlerhood—I was used to them, so I wore it out.
But a bra now? And...
......Yuna had the biggest chest.
In the hunter novel, Yuna's were the largest—described in text and even the webtoon. Not freakishly so, but big.
So, these small buds would keep growing. Bras inevitable.
I glanced at Mom. Her melon-sized chest relative to her height foreshadowed my future. She'd endured the same pains.
My last scraps of manhood crumbled. But every shirt brush stung, so no choice.
Under Mom's guidance, I tearfully donned the junior sports bra.
Surprisingly, the pain eased a lot. The padded thickness cushioned contact.
I'm really not a boy anymore.
Bitter taste in my mouth, but reality was reality. My body was turning girlier by the day.
If it's gotta be this way, at least let me grow tall.
Still short among peers. Knowing my height's peak made me resent it.
But two years later, I'd learn breast buds were nothing.
Twelve years old. My first period started.