A Boyish Girl (3)
Roughly scarfing down lunch, I ended up sitting on a bench near the sports field with Song A Yeon, killing time together. For some reason, the group of girls from our class who had casually struck up a conversation joined us, turning the vibe lively and chatty. One guy surrounded by five girls—it was no surprise that passing boys shot blatantly envious stares at Song A Yeon. But he paid zero attention to those looks, just kept chatting away with the girls about makeup.
"Oh, that new tint, right? The color looked so pretty when I tried it on."
"Huh? You know it? I blew all my allowance on it yesterday..."
"Makeup is pricey, though... Every time I do my skincare, I can't ignore the cost of the cleanser and essence..."
"Ahhh..."
I couldn't follow the girls' and Song A Yeon's conversation at all, so I just stared blankly at the ground like an idiot. Sure, he'd spent a lot of time with girls practicing ballet, but his knowledge of that stuff was ridiculously deep. I had an older sister, but my makeup know-how was limited to the bare minimum from a guy's perspective.
I can't join in at all...
Why was I wasting my time sitting here? As that thought crossed my mind, my gaze naturally drifted to the group of boys roughly kicking a soccer ball around on the field.
Ah... soccer looks fun...
"Sua, do you use any makeup?"
"...Eh?!"
While I was spacing out, envying the boys playing soccer, a makeup question suddenly came my way. I jolted in surprise, shoulders twitching way too dramatically. Glancing sideways, I saw the girls' sparkling eyes now fixed on me. Their stares felt so intense that I fought back a grimace, trying my best to widen my eyes.
"U-uhh...!"
My round-eyed attempt twisted into a weird scrunch, ending up as an awkward frown.
"Whoa, what... that face is cute..."
"Haha! We're not gonna eat you, promise? You know, I always think it, but you're really jumpy."
Surprisingly, even my scrunched face was cute to them, and the girls burst into bright laughter. Song A Yeon peeked at me from behind them, covering his mouth with a girlish giggle.
"Try relaxing a bit more. Sure, the frowning is cute, but if you keep it up, you won't cure that social phobia even if you want to."
Song A Yeon was spot-on with every word. I couldn't keep tensing up around girls forever. Thanks to my efforts, I could at least face someone briefly now. The result was this trembling, narrowed-eyed grimace, but hey, it was progress—I felt proud.
"Still, it's way better than before. Last time, you couldn't even make eye contact."
"On streams, you're looking at the camera more often too, right? Must be from that."
It wasn't just my imagination—the girls praised me with positive smiles too. Their attitude still felt awkwardly like they were treating a little kid sister, but...
"Anyway, back to makeup! Sua, got any favorites?"
"Your skin's so pale and flawless. Any special routine? Your sister's got great skin too."
I just wash my face with soap in the morning and that's it.
"Eh? No way! Really?!"
When I answered honestly, Song A Yeon was the first to widen his eyes in shock. With his deep makeup knowledge, he seemed super into beauty stuff.
Well... guys are into skincare these days too...
Having lived without caring about that stuff forever, I couldn't relate to Song A Yeon's reaction. Even if my body was a girl's now, my mind was still a guy's, making it tough to fit in here. My eyes kept drifting to the boys playing soccer on the field.
Ah, I wanna join them...
Suddenly realizing I was staring enviously, it hit me: I was this awkward in-between nobody. Join the boys, they'd feel weird; join the girls, I felt weird. Maybe being a loner was easier after all...
Lost in those deep thoughts, blankly watching the boys' soccer game, that's when it happened.
"Ah! The ball's heading that way!"
A defender right in front of me botched a pass, and the ball rolled straight to my feet, stopping dead. My eyes dropped to it instinctively.
"Hey! Sorry, can you kick the ball back?"
Lifting my head at the distant shout, I saw sweaty boys waving, asking for the ball. I jumped up immediately.
"Whoa? That's pretty far..."
Song A Yeon from beside me asked if I was okay, his tone full of that obvious consideration for a fragile girl. The other girls' eyes locked on me too. But with the soccer ball right there, I ignored them. I hadn't played since becoming a girl, and seeing it made my body itch.
I wanna... join them...
That was all I could think. And like magic, my body moved first. I took stance, and just like muscle memory, unleashed a powerful shot at the ball. Weaker than my guy days, so it lacked that heavy thud, but still—the ball curved perfectly toward the boy waving for the pass.
"Whoa?!"
Shock was plain on the boy's face as he received it. A tiny girl who looked out of place in soccer nailing a tricky curve shot—no wonder.
My kicking foot throbbed a bit, but weirdly, it felt refreshing, like a weight lifted.
"Whoa?! W-was that an in-swinging kick?!"
"That's the transfer everyone's buzzing about, right?!"
"Ah, Yangkku's little sis?! Doesn't match the image I had at all?!"
The soccer-obsessed boys started gathering, whispering about me. Without hesitation, whiteboard in hand, I strode toward the flustered group.
Let me play too.
"Eh? For real?!"
"Dude, what do we do? It's all guys here... Is it okay?"
"Why ask me?!"
The boys panicked, glancing at each other over my sudden request. I knew adding a girl like me to an all-boys group would be awkward. But no matter what, huddling with girls for boring makeup talk didn't suit me. Looks aside, my inner guy preferred joining the soccer boys.
Flashing a soft, confident smile at the hesitant boys, I replied firmly.
I'm good at soccer. Trust me.
"Uh..."
"Ah... yeah..."
The boys all blushed, averting their eyes from me. The usual reaction when facing the current me. They were definitely aware of me as the opposite sex. I knew that, but if they got too conscious, I couldn't join spots like this.
"Why not let her? You saw that shot—super tough one."
As the boys dithered, Song A Yeon, watching from afar, jumped in.
"You've been glancing over there awhile. You like soccer? Kinda unexpected."
He nodded at me, impressed.
"Form was clean, right?"
"Nailed the pass. Not a beginner..."
"Th-then... wanna be a defender or something?"
Song A Yeon's intervention flipped the mood, and suddenly I was in. I ditched my uniform top, jumped into the fray with the boys, and dashed across the field, loving every second of soccer. Nearly a year without real movement, plus my stamina tanking post-transformation— even a little running had me gasping. But strangely, it all felt fun.
Snapping to, I was already laughing naturally amid the boys, kicking the ball like it was nothing. Gender didn't matter; everyone was serious about the game, and I chased it till I was soaked in sweat.
This was the first time since the change that I'd run around like a boy in real life, not a game.
"Whoa, Sua, you're fast! You weren't kidding about being good."
"Offense was solid too—too bad you didn't score! Stamina issue?"
"Dude, those passes and dribbles were spot-on! You in some futsal group or what?"
At some point, the sweaty boys stopped treating me like a girl. They acted comfy and natural, like one of the guys.
Their casual approach, firing off excited post-game questions, had a refreshing grin spreading across my face before I knew it.
"Uh..."
"U-um... haha..."
The boys stared blankly for a few seconds, then belatedly looked away, faces red, barely able to meet my eyes.
"You ran around great in a skirt?"
"Eh...?"
Song A Yeon, who'd watched from afar, approached with my uniform top and whiteboard. Glancing down, I saw Seongjun standing behind him too, not sure when he'd shown up.
When'd you get here?
"Mid-game... but more importantly, you're way too eye-catching..."
What do you mean?
"You... acting all cautious usually... uh..."
Seongjun trailed off, clearly gauging my reaction. Tilting my head curiously,
What's with him?
Song A Yeon cut in short and sweet.
"You know you're wearing a skirt, right?"
"...Eek?!"
Then it clicked why Seongjun was tiptoeing. I frantically grabbed my skirt hem, yanking it down and clamping my legs together primly.
"Too late now—you already showed everything..."
Song A Yeon teased with a chuckle, hand over mouth, eyes crinkling. Then, loud enough for all to hear:
"Didn't notice before, but you're such a boyish girl."
I couldn't even lift my head.
No way... my underwear... showed...