2. Thorny Lily (Part 2)
2. Thorny Lily (2)
Just as Baek-seol had said, So-jeong took a day off and returned to school the next day.
It was already her third year since graduating high school and becoming a university student, but So-jeong often found herself comparing her high school days to the present.
University was, in many ways, a more convenient place for So-jeong than elementary, middle, or high school had been.
Unlike her previous schools where numerous relationships were forced in a confined environment, at university, she could be endlessly alone.
Even if she didn't mingle with people, no one tried to forcibly include her in a group.
So-jeong liked that fluidity. She didn't have to struggle, and others didn't have to strain themselves either.
Some might call that loneliness, but to So-jeong, solitude was like the tranquility a serene forest provides.
Of course, this was true except when she was with one particular person.
>"Baek-seol-ah."
In front of the lecture hall, So-jeong raised her hand slightly.
Baek-seol, who had been staring blankly into space with her usual cold expression, turned her head upon hearing So-jeong's voice.
"How's your body?" This was Baek-seol's morning greeting.
"I'm really fine now."
So-jeong habitually sat in the seat next to Baek-seol. Then, she flinched slightly, shuddered a little, and sat just a bit further away from her.
Baek-seol didn't miss even that small gesture. She tilted her head slightly to express her question, but So-jeong just laughed it off with an "Ehehe."
"Anyway, you worry about me too much, Baek-seol-ah."
"I do it because it's warranted."
Baek-seol retorted bluntly, but So-jeong still just smiled slightly.
Many things had changed since coming to university, but if there was one thing that hadn't, it was probably this daily routine with Baek-seol.
They had come to the same university, chosen the same major, and Baek-seol was always in every class So-jeong took.
So-jeong liked that unchanging routine.
If her solitary daily life gave her the peace of floating on a calm lake, then her daily life with Baek-seol gave her the warmth and stability of being exactly where she belonged.
"......Eut."
However, this cozy daily life of hers was now on the verge of being shattered.
By none other than her own body.
"What's wrong."
When So-jeong let out a slightly strange moan and rubbed her thighs together a little, Baek-seol asked sharply.
"Huh? Ah, it's nothing. I'm just going to the restroom for a moment."
"Should I go with you?"
Baek-seol seemed like she was really about to follow, hesitantly rising from her chair, so So-jeong hurriedly stopped her.
"Go with me? I'm not a child. It's fine."
"......You know Professor Lee is the one who calls attendance, right? Don't be late."
"I know."
So-jeong reassured Baek-seol once more and slipped out of the lecture hall.
Really, she's so overprotective.
Even as she muttered that to herself, it was so like Baek-seol that the corners of So-jeong's mouth didn't drop for a while even after leaving the classroom.
However, the strange sensation of something brushing between her thighs every time she crossed her legs soon wiped the smile from her face.
Worried that someone might notice, So-jeong scurried awkwardly into the restroom, dashed inside a stall, and locked the door.
"Ugeuk."
Even though she'd worn slightly comfortable pants just in case, she hadn't expected it to feel this constricting.
She hurriedly pulled down her pants and, with effort, lowered her panties, which were swollen as if about to tear.
With a *thump*, that monstrous thing sprang up like a roly-poly toy, revealing itself.
"Uuuh......"
So-jeong made a tearful face and turned her head away.
No matter how many times she saw it, it was weird. The very existence of *it* was so bizarre.
She felt a sense of dissonance. As if someone had forcibly pasted a different picture onto her own photograph.
"Why does it keep getting bigger at the most random times......"
After Baek-seol left the previous day, So-jeong had looked up various pieces of information online.
Crying wouldn't solve the problem, and this time she had to solve it without the help of Baek-seol, who had saved her last time. She felt she had to try *something*.
But there's always a gap between the academic information available online and the experience felt in real life.
For example, So-jeong learned that it's normal for a man's *that* to become larger and harder in the morning, regardless of arousal.
But that fact didn't teach her that it would make her pajamas tent up high every morning, causing pain, discomfort, and a peculiar feeling.
The information about it getting bigger when aroused wasn't entirely accurate either. Because, like right now, the thing attached to So-jeong would sometimes suddenly swell up for no reason at all.
Just yesterday alone, it had stiffened arbitrarily several times, pulling at her panties as if to tear them, so from the afternoon onward, she had to go without underwear altogether.
"Hoo, hoo......"
So-jeong took a deep, slow breath. According to her research and experience from the previous day, taking deep breaths like this could help calm *it* down a little faster.
Closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing, So-jeong's thoughts naturally turned to how to solve this problem.
In this regard, the internet hadn't provided any real clues either. Searching for 'disease causing male genitalia' yielded almost nothing but works of fiction.
Right, fiction.
Her current situation was something that should only happen in fantasies.
"Hoo......"
Would there really come a day when she could return to how she was before?
If she had to live her whole life in this body......
As such gloomy thoughts began to creep back in, So-jeong shook her head slightly.
No.
She had decided not to fall into despair, so So-jeong stopped her thoughts there.
Let's just focus on what needs to be done. So-jeong repeated that to herself several times.
Learn about my changed body. Find a way to solve this problem.
And don't let Baek-seol find out.
Suddenly, she felt the heat that had been intensely concentrated in her lower body gradually dispersing.
A glance at her watch as she pulled up her pants and underwear showed that there were less than five minutes left until class started.
"Uuuh, Baek-seol is going to say something......"
Imagining Baek-seol's sharp, piercing gaze as she scolded her, So-jeong hurriedly opened the restroom door and ran back to the lecture hall.
***
So-jeong returned today. Even though she had only been gone for two days, her return to daily life was as sweet as the first breath of air after being submerged underwater to the limit and finally breaking the surface.
When she called her name, Baek-seol's day finally began.
Every time she spoke to her and occasionally smiled, Baek-seol's day filled up little by little.
"It's a relief she seems to have gotten better so quickly."
Baek-seol muttered to herself, recalling how haggard So-jeong had looked yesterday.
She vividly remembered a time when once So-jeong got sick, she couldn't even get out of bed for days, so whenever So-jeong was even a little unwell, Baek-seol always grew anxious.
Then again, compared to back then, So-jeong had become much healthier, so it's only natural she'd overcome a minor illness quickly. Both physically and mentally.
But......
Baek-seol's eyes narrowed slightly.
At a glance, So-jeong's attitude toward her was no different from usual, but it was subtly different somewhere.
So subtly that even she, who prided herself on knowing So-jeong better than anyone else, could barely notice it.
'Is she not fully recovered from her illness yet?'
She already knew well that So-jeong hadn't met anyone recently. At the very least, it was certain her troubles weren't related to interpersonal relationships.
'If it's not that, then perhaps......'
An uneasy thought quietly reached out, but Baek-seol closed her eyes and shook it off.
No, she couldn't have noticed. It wouldn't make sense for it to happen again now, years later.
But the fact that So-jeong's behavior was slightly awkward remained unchanged. Something must have happened during the two days she wasn't at school.
She didn't particularly want to pry and ask So-jeong what exactly it was. Trying to force it out could backfire.
Instead, Baek-seol threw herself into various thoughts about what she could do to make So-jeong feel better.
While she was lost in her reverie, So-jeong re-entered the lecture hall.
"I almost ended up being late."
Baek-seol's words came out almost automatically.
"Ehehe, yeah."
So-jeong gave a slight smile and sat down again. At the same time, a middle-aged man entered through the door near the podium.
"Hello."
"Hello, Professor."
After scattered greetings were exchanged, the professor standing at the podium spoke in an inorganic voice.
"Alright, I'll take attendance now."
Amidst similarly mechanical 'Yes' responses, Baek-seol was already crossing her arms and staring into space as if bored, while So-jeong took out her college notebook and pen from her bag.
"So-jeong-ah."
Amidst the calling of names and responses, Baek-seol spoke quietly, just loud enough for So-jeong in the next seat to hear.
"What is it, Baek-seol-ah?"
So-jeong also whispered back to Baek-seol.
"Should we go on a trip this week?"
"Huh?"
*Thump.* The pen in So-jeong's hand fell onto the desk, making a slightly precarious sound.