A Lecture That Won't End
The reason was unclear, but anyway, I got a massive lecture.
“Hold on, hold on. I request the floor.”
“…Permission granted.”
The guy’s heavily furrowed gaze blinked slowly, as if saying go ahead and spout your nonsense. For a moment, his eyes lingered with clear regret on the steaming bean sprout soup and the spam that had gone lukewarm.
“In short, you’re saying my outfit bothers you.”
“Exactly that.”
“I got dragged into wearing this out of nowhere, but this is still my place. It’s not like I’ve only lounged around in panties and a t-shirt once or twice—what’s the big deal all of a sudden?”
There had been a long-winded explanation, but ultimately what Woojin was trying to say was, why are you strutting around in such shameless clothes? From my perspective, it was an utterly unfair accusation.
“That’s not the issue. If you knew a guest was coming, basic common sense demands that you wear something appropriate.”
“I didn’t invite you over—you barged in like a crazy bastard.”
“Still, once it was decided you’d have a visitor, that’s how it is.”
The guy, who had been answering in a firm voice, finally let out a heavy sigh. In the brief silence that followed, I thought, is that all? and my gaze unconsciously drifted downward. Of course, Woojin’s mom had no way of knowing my new body size, so it was only natural that the closet contained several boxy free-size t-shirts.
In that situation, it was equally natural for me, fresh out of the shower, to grab one of those box tees instead of bothering with proper outdoor clothes.
“I’m dressed so nothing weird shows. Isn’t that enough?”
“I don’t even know where to begin pointing out what’s wrong anymore.”
The boxy t-shirt that fell past my thighs all the way to my knees was long enough that wearing it outside might cause problems, but inside my own house, this length felt more than sufficient. At this point, I probably wouldn’t even need to wear those annoying triangular panties—I doubt anyone would notice.
“It’s not like this is the first time I’ve dressed like this. Why make a fuss now?”
“The situation isn’t the same as before, is it…?”
Well, I could guess what he was getting at. The fact that he deliberately avoided saying something like we’re not both guys anymore was probably his own clumsy way of being considerate. I’d had no female friends since middle school, so I wasn’t exactly an expert on appropriate distance between men and women. Still, it seemed like he was trying to say that this kind of outfit between a guy and a girl was inappropriate.
“Look, I get what you’re trying to say.”
“I didn’t want to make you self-conscious, but I’m only saying this because I’m worried about you…”
I left the guy trailing off in a sigh-filled voice and quietly rose from my chair. His rambling words, which had been droning on, suddenly faltered. He stared at me with a dumbstruck expression, as if he’d seen something bizarre.
“…What are you doing?”
“I realized something a little while ago.”
I stepped slightly away from the table, crossed my arms, and looked down at him with a confident expression while he still wore that vacant look. Both of us had zero experience with women, but even if the form was a bit different from what I’d imagined, the fact that I now had something ahead of him gave me a strangely pleasant feeling.
“You saw me naked when I was about to shower.”
“You crazy bitch, why are you telling me th—”
“No, just listen. Anyway, I felt kind of guilty too, so after thinking it over, I checked.”
The guy, who had been shooting up in outrage, froze in an awkward half-standing posture. His rapidly blinking eyes seemed to reveal a brain desperately searching for the right words.
Poor thing. I’ll personally bestow enlightenment upon you so you don’t have to suffer any longer. The corner of my mouth curled up slightly as I quickly cut in before he could speak.
“A woman’s body looks just pitiful if it’s too skinny, you know.”
“…Don’t tell me you’re trying to say—”
“Honestly, with a figure that screams wholesomeness, isn’t it fine to wear just this much?”
I playfully slapped my slightly exposed thigh and looked at him with a bright, cheeky smile.
…I ended up getting scolded for another ten minutes by a guy whose face had turned every shade of red and purple.
“Anyway, now that you’ve become a woman, I’m asking you to adopt a more mature mindset.”
“Woman my ass, you crazy son of a bitch, go die.”
“Fuck… haa. At least acknowledge that I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried about you.”
Be more aware of what you look like now. Never do anything like what you just did in front of other people. Pay more attention to your clothing. Wear a bra even if you hate it. And for the love of god, stop suggesting that square-cut panties would be fine.
Recalling the nonstop nagging that had continued throughout the entire meal, Woojin felt his head starting to throb again. That idiot Han Seol was seriously misunderstanding something. The more he thought about it, the more he worried about how to handle this careless fool, and the concern kept slowing his steps as he tried to leave.
“Stop nagging and get lost if you’re done eating.”
“If you really don’t want to get chewed out by Mom this weekend, watch yourself. The way you look right now, you’re guaranteed to get absolutely destroyed.”
“I’m the one who got hit with the TS, so why does this bastard look like he’s the one having a period? Is he some kind of Confucian dragon?”
With yet another sigh, Woojin’s gaze once again took in Han Seol’s appearance. The soft, gentle voice. The slightly pouting golden-brown eyes. Not a single trace of her former self remained, yet her speech patterns were still exactly the same—crude as ever.
“Don’t even think about coming to the front door dressed like that.”
“I’m seeing you off and you’re still complaining.”
“Watch your language too!”
The last thing Woojin saw was Han Seol raising her middle finger before he practically fled out the front door. The moment the door closed and he heard the electronic lock click shut, the emotions he’d been desperately holding back came rushing in all at once, and he felt his face burning up.
The way she had thrust out her chest while crossing her arms, as if showing off. Those long, slender bare legs. Every time the t-shirt slipped off her shoulder during the meal, it had gone beyond dizzying and straight into terrifying.
“That idiot isn’t doing it on purpose… right?”
Woojin had no dating experience, but he’d met plenty of beautiful women. He’d received more than a few subtle advances from people aiming for his parents’ wealth. And yet.
“Haa…”
Maybe the fact that she herself had no awareness made it even worse. The way she had pointed at herself so boldly and said something like I was disappointed because my body isn’t that sexy made it seem like she wasn’t acting with any hidden agenda.
“I can’t always be around to watch her…”
For now she wasn’t working any part-time jobs and her only activity was playing games at home, so it didn’t matter much. But if he left her like this, she was definitely going to cause a huge accident in the near future. It wasn’t just a feeling—it was a certainty. Han Seol was completely defenseless.
She seemed to at least know that her appearance drew attention, so why? Or rather, had the shock of suddenly becoming the target of those gazes triggered some defense mechanism that made her think, I’m not that big a deal, right?? He didn’t know. Having never studied psychology, Woojin couldn’t begin to understand what was going on inside that head.
“…If someone could just make her realize.”
Your appearance is enough to cause all kinds of misunderstandings in men with even the smallest actions… He didn’t want to be the one to say something like that. For reasons he really didn’t want to dwell on, he could never, ever accept being the one to tell Han Seol those words.
His steps toward the main road felt unusually heavy. He was starting to understand, at least a little, how his acquaintances felt when they said they were so worried about their little sisters’ behavior that they just wanted to smack them upside the head.
“She did say it’s her own house so she’s just being comfortable…”
A sudden thought made Woojin’s legs stop dead in their tracks. Even though it was her house, the fact that she could relax so easily in front of someone else… didn’t that mean Han Seol still saw him as just her old friend from before? Was he the only one overly conscious of how drastically she had changed…?
“No, no, no. There’s no way I’m the weird one here. After changing that much, acting like nothing’s different would be the abnormal thing.”
They were both adults now, so there was no need to forcibly keep their distance just because they were different genders like awkward middle-school boys and girls. Even so, a proper sense of distance between people of the opposite sex was definitely necessary. Since Han Seol was acting completely unaware in that regard, it was up to him to be even more clear about it.
After somehow rationalizing his own attitude amid the complicated thoughts swirling in his head, Woojin’s halted steps began moving again. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to sort out his mind until he got far enough away that her house was no longer visible.