Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Our Eyes Met
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Our eyes met.
The table was cluttered with the drinks we'd ordered earlier and a scattering of glasses.
Sia had somehow already set out chopsticks and spoons, and now she pulled some tissues to arrange the utensils.
She neatly placed a full set in front of me and in front of Siwoo, too.
Right away, the part-timer came by to serve the drinks, followed by the side dishes, setting everything down on the table.
I just sat there blankly, watching it all unfold.
As Sia poured water into a cup, she asked cautiously,
"How long ago did this happen to you, Eun-hae oppa?"
"I'm not even sure if it's a disease or not, really. About a month...?"
"What do you mean, you don't know if it's a disease?"
"I did go to the hospital, but they only told me my body had turned into a woman's. I haven't heard anything else yet. Probably not a disease... I guess?"
I went on to tell them about how, after the police station, I'd been shuttled to the hospital and treated like a virus carrier.
At that, Siwoo rested one hand on the table, like he had something to add.
"Speaking of which, we went to the police station today."
I'd been a little curious about the police station myself.
"Uh... what did they say there?"
"They didn't ask much, really? Just that we've been friends forever, and when I found out about the change. Oh, and I got chewed out a bit. For not reporting an unidentified person right away."
They act like they'd come forward boldly if it happened to them, but it's not their problem, so they talk so casually.
The doctor at the hospital had treated me the same way.
I hadn't been able to say anything to their faces, given my personality.
Thinking back now, I regretted it. Should've said something then.
"They're just talking like that because they haven't been through it themselves. The hospital said pretty much the same thing... Why didn't you come in sooner?"
"But isn't it weird not to go for a whole month?"
"If it happened to you, you wouldn't step out so easily either...?"
"If it were me, I'd run straight to the hospital. Too bad I can't show you."
"Tch, maybe I should infect you."
"It spreads by infection?"
"No. I don't know..."
Sia quietly listened to our back-and-forth while filling glasses with beer.
The moment they were full—even though the meat hadn't arrived yet—she started downing them with just the side dishes.
Looked like she really meant it about not being able to face this sober.
Sia chugged the beer in a flash, then slammed the glass down with a clunk.
"...Un, no. O..., ah, wait, hold on. Just a sec...!"
She clutched her head like it hurt, then looked at me.
"Let's sort out how we're addressing each other first. What should I call you?"
"What to call me...?"
"Oppa? Or unnie?"
Come to think of it, Siwoo and I had been using "hey" or names, so I hadn't even considered it.
"R-right. Yeah. Hmm..."
I glanced at Siwoo, but he just stared back silently.
"......"
He was waiting for me to answer, probably.
Yeah, it made sense for the person involved to decide.
Still, asking her to call me oppa felt off—a woman calling another woman oppa? I'd never seen that.
Women don't call women with dicks "hyung" either.
Ah, sure, maybe somewhere out there if you look hard enough, but I've never seen it myself.
Sometimes women call men "hyung," but I don't like that much.
Titles exist for a reason.
I'd zoned out for a second, but a woman calling another woman oppa would draw even more stares.
That was my conclusion.
"Oppa feels weird, so... just call me unnie."
"Unnie?"
Hearing "unnie" right in front of me made my face itch.
Never thought I'd live to hear that.
Just then, the part-timer brought in the raw meat.
Pink and white stripes in perfect harmony. Pork belly.
Siwoo grabbed the tongs and laid the pork belly on the grill.
The moment it hit the sizzling-hot plate.
Sizzle, hiss.
The pork belly browned beautifully on the grill.
I clasped my hands tight, rested them on my thighs, and quietly watched Siwoo grill.
I had no idea what to talk about with Sia, and pulling out my phone would be rude to the griller.
I stared at the meat on the grill.
Sizzle.
In the corner of my vision, Sia propped her chin on one hand, staring right at me.
I ignored it and kept my eyes locked on the meat.
"...Unnie."
When does meat cook? The top was still pink.
I watched the fat drip from the bottom, pooling together.
"Unnie."
The underside was turning pale gray.
Flip it now, and it'd come out perfect.
When would Siwoo flip it?
Then, Siwoo suddenly tapped my shoulder.
"Hey, she's calling you."
"Huh, what...?"
"Eun-hae unnie."
Right. I'd told her to call me unnie.
First time anyone's called me that, so I didn't realize it was for me.
Oppa or sunbae, I was used to.
"Ah. Yeah..."
"To be honest, I don't get it...? You don't look anything like Eun-hae oppa at all. This isn't some hidden camera where oppa told me about you in advance, right...?"
Before I could answer, Siwoo cut in.
"What, want me to say more? Should we dive into some old stories?"
"Aaaah—no more of that!"
Sia glanced at me.
"...If you don't say anything, I really can't tell. You're really Eun-hae oppa? I thought you were oppa's girlfriend at first."
"Looked like it earlier."
"Yeah, oppa walking around with such a cute girl was suspicious from the start."
"What'd you say?"
Siwoo and Sia started bickering.
'Cute,' huh...
People who saw me often called me cute, but hearing it from a stranger? No immunity.
Of course, I thought I was objectively cute plenty of times.
But hearing it out loud from someone else was a whole different level.
Even Siwoo, who'd been glued to me longer than Mom since the change, never said it once.
And here Sia just drops it like that.
"Eun-hae o—, ...Eun-hae unnie. Can I touch your hand?"
"Uh, sure..."
I extended my hand across the table.
'Fists clenched, so it's all sweaty.'
Sia scooted off her chair a bit, straining.
"Ugh... hard to reach. Wanna come sit next to me?"
She patted the empty seat beside her.
Is this okay?
I glanced at Siwoo, but he was focused on the grill.
Like he didn't care if I went or not.
I stood and moved to the seat next to Sia.
Up close, she grinned at me. Her eyes were a little glassy from the booze.
The second I sat, she grabbed my hand and started kneading it.
Then she pried open my palm and pressed hers against it.
"Your hands are smaller than mine."
...They really were. Mine smaller than Sia's.
She giggled like it was the funniest thing, interlacing our fingers over and over.
"Hey, aren't you a bit too close? I'm originally a guy, you know..."
"Really? But honestly, I can't picture it. Haven't seen Eun-hae oppa since high school anyway. You just feel like a little sister now... Can I touch more?"
She leaned in, and beer breath hit me hard.
For a second, I was glad I'd picked cola over beer.
"Siwoo... stop her a bit..."
I pushed the clingy Sia away slightly and asked for help, but Siwoo just impassively sliced meat.
Is he that serious about doneness?
You don't stop your sister groping your guy friend?
This close?
Ignoring my answer, Sia fiddled not just with my hand but my hair too, sniffing it, then muttered softly.
"Even the hair feels real..."
"You still didn't believe it...?"
"How could I? Just having someone like you around is wild. Oh, right. Won't this hit the news later?"
"So you're believing me now?"
"Yeah... But why'd you turn so cute? Eun-hae oppa wasn't even that handsome before."
What was this all of a sudden?
A dagger straight to my heart.
Sia scanned me up and down, still fiddling with my hand.
When would she stop?
She stared into my eyes, so I looked away—and she burst out laughing.
"Pfft, embarrassed? So cute..."
'Cute again...?'
She's younger, but this is too much babying.
To show maximum masculinity, I declared,
"Enough with the 'cute' already. I served in the army, you know—!"
The noisy restaurant went quiet for a beat, then buzzed back to life like nothing happened.
I felt sidelong glances.
Siwoo, still grilling, said without looking up,
"Don't bring up the army in that body."
"Ah."
Yeah, no one'd believe this body served.
"...Hey, but aren't I the only woman in Korea who's been an enlisted soldier...?"
"It's done now, so shut up and eat. Sia, let go of Eun-hae already."
I'd barely eaten any pork belly, but my stomach was stuffed.
Sia and Siwoo were still chowing down, but my meal was already over.
To loosen my sluggish body, I raised both arms high above my head and stretched.
Chest out, back arched, nice and refreshing.
That's a stretch.
"Nguhchaa..."
That was when it happened.
"Pffft—!!"
Sia, across from me mid-sip of beer, suddenly sprayed it like a fountain.
"Hey, what the hell? Why'd you do that?"
Siwoo freaked, grabbing tissues, but Sia just coughed, staring at me wide-eyed.
I thought she was looking at my face, but her gaze dropped a bit lower.
Staring right through my upper body.
"...What? Why are you staring like that all of a sudden...?"
I asked, arms still up, puzzled. Siwoo turned to look at me too.
The guy next to us glanced over, gave a knowing look.
Sia shot him a glare, and he looked away.
Then she leaned over the table like she might climb it.
"...Unnie. Put your arms down quick. Oppa, look away."
"Uh, okay..."
Siwoo hurriedly faced the other way.
Sia stood, came right up to me, and stood beside.
She bent down like for a whisper.
"Lend me your ear."
What was she gonna say?
"Yeah, sure."
She pressed her lips close to my ear and whispered tiny.
"...You're not wearing a bra."