Physical Examination (2)
Physical Examination (2)
"Hey, you, you seem to think you're kinda cute, but using a babyish tone doesn't change how old you actually look— You look your age~ Don't casually judge surgery on someone else's body—"
Kang Rina blabbering on so casually, and Uriel taking it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Thanks to them, I went full throttle into freakout mode.
Surgery down there? That's the kind of major issue even Buddha or Jesus Christ (probably) would jump up from their graves over.
"Even if you're kinda pretty, using a babyish tone doesn't make you look like a kid, you know. Small chest or not, that doesn't make you look like a child either. And surgery? That's a no-go—"
I had no idea what this T-Limiting thing was, but from the context, T probably stood for 'testosterone.'
Whether they were removing it or limiting it, it didn't sound appealing at all.
She'd clearly said it could be controlled with medication, not surgery.
"Urk— N-Niece... Are you betraying me—!"
In the face of this unbelievable reality, my fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Rina just let out a small sigh, looking at me like I was pathetic.
"Puhahaha, Chairwoman, your male uncle... is hilarious. Males speak so, so casually—! Niece~"
For some reason, Uriel burst into laughter.
I must've hit the comedy jackpot.
She cracked up with a sound like crystal glass clinking.
Calling Rina 'niece' and talking down to her like that seemed to be the punchline.
If this foreign kid was laughing that hard, what the hell kind of existence were men here?
Was the fact that casual speech was even allowed the funny part?
Was it like a dog or monkey calling its owner 'sir'?
Everything was a mystery.
"... Kang Do-yoon-ssi, don't cross the line."
And like an owner at a vet clinic with her pet dog, Rina's response was ice-cold.
If it was acting, it was way too realistic.
This is legit giving me chills.
And it hurts my feelings.
When it was just us, she called me Gajju-nim.
Now I could see that was the act, and this was her real self.
'There's such a thing as social face, so in front of others, I'll treat Gajju-nim differently.'
If Rina hadn't warned me about our relationship beforehand, I'd have been even more offended.
Still hurts, though!
I felt pathetic and horrified, like I'd been tricked with tonkatsu into getting circumcised.
Without Rina, I really was just something that could get 'disposed of' at any time.
"It's okay, it's fine... it's fine, Monster-ssi, we'll decide based on the test results! You're such a dumb male, maybe you can't understand even when I explain it like this? First off, Chairwoman, let's start with the andro—androgen test, mm—"
Uriel butted in cluelessly.
"Androgen what? I'm a man, why the hell do I need an androgen test?"
I freaked out over even that one little word.
Rina spoke up.
"If Kang Do-yoon-ssi doesn't get tested, you'll fall under government jurisdiction. Allowing a private checkup like this is already a benefit. If you go under government management, you could get disposed of without a proper exam."
Cold. So damn cold.
Who the hell are you—
My cute...
No, not cute, but...
Where'd you kidnap my somewhat kind great-grandniece!
Instead of the one who vaguely talked about family and all that, now it's some business-minded bitch...
No, the Chairwoman was here.
Rina looked me straight in the eye without a shred of guilt, waving her hand dismissively like I was annoying.
"Explain the surgery to Doyun-ssi so he can relax. Uriel. I'm busy..."
You're leaving?
What's with the hand-waving? Shooing a fly?
You're gonna leave me here with this foreign mad scientist?
I stared at Rina with my heart pounding like a drum, but she ignored me.
"Ah, um... Okay, andro—androgen receptor... um, test..."
Uriel grinned and snapped her gloves—snap, snap.
"Wait a sec! Why the gloves? You're really gonna do physical surgery after all? I pass on castration—!"
"Wha? Castration? Hm... No need, no nee—d to go that far? Might as well just dispose of you."
Rina, who'd been listening to our convo, chimed in.
"Uriel. Stop teasing. We haven't even done the tests yet, so we don't know if surgery's needed."
"Eek... Chairwoman, you have zero... fucking clue. I was just trying to tease a little..."
Fucking, huh. She couldn't speak Korean properly, but she picked up profanity fast.
"What's the point of teasing a mere male. That's a bad hobby. Seriously."
Rina calmly soothing her.
"That's true. Hehe..."
Uriel grinning like a psychopath.
And me, the victim.
"......"
"Anywaaay— We're starting with the an—androgen test. Got it, Monster-ssi?"
"... What the hell are you even saying."
Uriel started explaining in her Korean-style pronunciation, but honestly, it was hard to follow.
The name was complicated, and she was stuttering all over.
In the end, Rina stepped in.
"You can say the surgery name in the original language. He's family, so he should... know some English."
"Ah, yes."
Uriel beamed and then floored it.
"First of all, analysis you take it now on, androgen receptor sensitivity analysis, Primitive Serum Titer Assay, Synaptic Plasticity & Libido Synchronization, Genetic Castration Resistance Profiling, Endocrine System Standardization Simulation......"
What the fuck are you saying?
I don't get it?
Uriel had been choppily speaking immature Korean, but suddenly it was like she'd installed a motor in her mouth.
Words poured out smooth and fluent, like they were buttered up, with a slick accent.
I could tell it was English, but that didn't mean I understood it.
I'd studied some English, but even if I could parse 'Synaptic Plasticity & Libido Synchronization' or 'Genetic Castration Resistance Profiling' straight-up, I had no clue what they meant. My head just hurt.
"Take care of the rest."
And Rina really left the lab without a second thought.
"R-Rina—!"
Researchers swarmed around to grab me as I tried to chase her.
"Ugh..."
Terrified, I glared at them.
But cornered like this, my fighting spirit ignited.
Of course, all the researchers were women.
If I really wanted to, I could shove off four of them easy.
My muscles had atrophied a bit, but back in the day (400 years ago), I'd trained pretty hard in boxing and such.
And thanks to the S-X Virus, I hadn't lost that much muscle mass.
"Uriel... right?"
I raised my guard and said.
"Promise me one thing? No surgery. Promise that, and I'll cooperate quietly with the tests."
"Waaah... a male doing that?"
"What, you little shit."
"A man... attempting negotiation—with a woman—for the first time. Males attempting... negotiation..."
"Listen, I'm not kidding? I'll swallow the pills nice and good, just no surgery."
"What're you waiting for, grab him—?"
At Uriel's nod, four female researchers charged.
"You asked for it. Your choice."
They were pretty tall, but nothing compared to my 190cm.
What made them so confident? Were they genetically engineered super-strong women? Was there some reason they were charging bare-handed? I worried, but it was just paranoia.
I dodged the lead woman and spun her jaw around.
*
I felt guilty for hitting a woman, but what could I do? My dick was on the line.
Knocking out two with one punch each spread fear among them.
"A male... hitting women......"
Their trembling whispers as they huddled together.
"Never underestimate a man again."
I struck a pose like Kim Ja-seong hyungnim's code of honor! and laid down the law heavy.
But that hyungnim probably wasn't alive anymore.
400 years had passed, after all.
Sad times.
RIP.
"Hmm..."
Uriel narrowed her big eyes slyly, a creepy smile creeping onto her lips.
She threw her arms wide and yelled in her signature clumsy pronunciation and high-pitched voice.
"Wooow, so agile, so agile... strong... stronger than average women!"
"... Little shit, men are born stronger than women, duh?"
I pulled out common sense from my world, but the weirdo girl didn't even pretend to listen, lost in her own theories.
"Hmm, looks like some kind of technique, what's that technique? Whoosh, whoosh. Fists so fast."
"What, you mean this?"
I got into guard stance, threw quick one-two jabs—jab jab—and stepped.
A small gasp rose from Uriel and the female researchers hiding behind her.
"You don't know boxing, do you?"
"Boxing?"
"Yeah, boxing, you little brat."
"I heard about it, but... never seen anyone do it. For real."
Uriel said.
Didn't seem like a lie; her body was leaning slightly toward me.
Similar angle to Rina earlier, but sadly, this flat-chested girl had nothing to see.
In that area.
Plus, I wasn't focused on that right now.
I got that she was super curious, but right now, she was the enemy.
My battle instincts were awakening.
"Hey, foreign bitch. Better not come closer."
"Foreign... bi—tch?"
"Yeah, I might not look it, but I was an amateur national tournament winner."
"What's that? Boxing national tournament... so there were nationwide competitions?"
"Isn't that obvious? Wait... don't tell me, it's gone? Boxing?"
"There's no way violent martial arts that punch faces could exist. For women, face is life."
Uriel said, fiddling with her own cheeks, still baby-fat soft.
Locked in the lab without exercise, no wonder the fat hadn't melted off even as an adult.
At 158cm, if she'd worked out, she might've grown more.
Come to think of it, women yanked hair in fights, but I hadn't seen much punching.
But didn't they say women had overwhelming physical abilities here?
Hitting a woman's face did feel kinda unethical.
'Is that how it is...'
I let out a groan, realizing my judgment was off.
The female researcher I'd jawed was sniffling tears.
The others were comforting her while glaring at me like they wanted to kill me.
Just like an elementary school classroom after smacking a girl, with the mood turning frosty.
'Even if women's physical abilities dominate men, it's all relative...'
I calmly reviewed the situation.
'Women haven't masculinized. Men's abilities got downgraded. So judging by old-school male standards for brawls was the mistake. Women instinctively hate fighting too.'
Muscles growing and wanting to swing them.
Wanting to dominate and oppress others with strength.
That was pure male-centric thinking.
A female-dominant society didn't mean women had gone 'macho.'
'Oh crap... I went and hit a woman.'
Mountains beyond mountains.
"Your bad hobby doesn't exist in this world—!"
At Uriel's declaration, my legs went weak.
"This... doesn't exist?"
"YES, THERE ARE NO MARTIAL ARTS LIKE THAT—"
Her triumphant victory speech sounded like a death sentence to me.
No boxing?
No gyms either?
In a women-only world, did it all just collapse?
What about soccer? Baseball?
What the hell do they do for fun?
Beach volleyball?
Please...
My legs gave out.