The Ticklish Discomfort (2)
The gentleman.
It was a term for a man who carried himself with dignity and refinement, one who possessed manners and culture.
Even in non-romance works, such a character would have fit right in.
Although the male leads these days leaned more toward the delinquent side, a classic gentleman-type could have served as the perfect sweet garnish.
That was why the gentleman remained one of the indispensable male characters in any story.
'The gentleman in this room, huh.'
The representative's office was a space reserved solely for the director.
Director of Mirae Pharmaceuticals.
Lee Suho.
"Hey. You really think you're a gentleman?"
My eyes, which had swept from the top of Suho's head all the way to his toes, snapped back to the monitor like I'd done something pointless.
Was this about the phrase "a man grown from body and mind" directed at Lee Suho?
I shook my head side to side, and Suho clutched his chest as if I'd wounded him, stepping closer.
"Hey. When did 'gentleman' become a word for a brat like you?"
"Brat? Sister, if you take off your heels now, I'm shorter than you."
That was true.
"Ah, you wouldn't happen to be talking about the 'gentleman' from the internet that means pervert, would you? That's accurate, then."
"Do you want something to happen to that gentleman tonight?"
Suho placed a coffee cup on my desk.
He held the cup by the little finger with the grace of a European noble from the old days, setting it down with perfect poise.
The deep, rich coffee that obscured the bottom of the cup as usual seductively tempted me.
I almost reached for it, ready to sip the coffee that promised to wash away my tired morning.
But I stopped.
Unfortunately, I couldn't drink it today.
"Hey. You skipped breakfast on purpose and you're offering coffee to someone like that? Isn't that gentlemanly?"
"Hehe. I keep forgetting."
Even if I hadn't planned to, I had to give him the coffee.
Suho's bashful smile said he either truly forgot or was playing innocent.
I couldn't postpone the health checkup I'd agreed to today.
Over the past few days my body had deteriorated so much that anything could happen at any moment.
Suho raised the coffee cup with obvious reluctance, then tilted it left and right before taking a sip.
'I want to drink it too...'
I'd been addicted to caffeine and gulped it down daily, so the coffee passing Suho's lips felt painfully tempting.
"I'll get you some water instead."
"Sure."
The coffee that was barely tolerable in the morning was an irresistible temptation.
But I endured it.
I carried the cup and watched Suho's retreating figure as he headed to the break room.
I forced my gaze away from him and back to the monitor.
My pain was real.
I'd come to work, so I didn't want to cause any trouble for the others.
Even though I had no choice in the afternoon because of Suho following me around--
"Ugh... my hand hurts so much..."
It had only been weak earlier, but now it felt like cramps were tearing through it.
That icy sensation crept upward from my fingertips.
'Is there really something wrong with me?'
My entire body was in the worst state possible.
My waist still throbbed with constant pain, and my lower abdomen felt heavy, swollen in a way that screamed I needed the bathroom.
But it wasn't the position I knew so well.
No matter how different men and women were, I hadn't become stupid enough to forget that things like bowel movements didn't differ by gender.
"Sister. Here's some water. I brought it just like you."
I glanced at Suho, who had set the cup down on the desk with unusual ease.
'Like me? Lukewarm?'
Though I hadn't exactly said it, calling someone "lukewarm" wasn't a compliment.
"What? You call that warm? You're in a bad state right now--if you touch me, you'll die?"
"Why?"
Suho lifted the jacket draped over the sofa like he was ready to bolt, as if he'd been waiting for my words.
I stared at him, who was acting as if he might dash out at any moment.
'When does he ever tease me...'
"Where does it hurt, sister? Your expression is so bad."
"My whole body aches... Maybe from the rain?"
"As expected of someone your age... I mean, it really does look painful.
Sister, you're sweating."
Suho approached without hesitation and placed his hand on my forehead.
'Was the sweat on his hand from earlier or on mine?'
I couldn't push away his hand as it gently stroked my forehead.
The pain spread quietly through my body, dulling my mind for a moment.
It felt like someone was stabbing my waist with a needle and punching my lower abdomen.
'Why is my body like this?'
I'd lived a healthier, more comfortable life since becoming a woman than I had when I was a man--sitting and creating apps and writing stories all day.
But now...
Woman--?
'Wait a second...'
Woman. My stomach hurts.
My waist hurts.
Flash.
'No way... is that it?'
"Hey! Suho!"
"Huh?"
I snatched Suho's phone before he could call anyone.
There was something I needed to check before the hospital.
That sudden conversation with Yeji flashed through my mind.
Suho might know, but asking a man about this was silly.
It was better to ask Yeji.
I'd been worried about Yeji, who was on a long vacation and about to go abroad.
I needed to know her flight time.
"I... think I know something... Yeji left, didn't she?"
"Yeji-noona... Yeah. Her flight is tonight.
She said she'd be late because she might not be able to find sister today."
"That's good... Haa... I'll call from the break room."
Suho, who had been watching me stand up, shook his head and approached me again.
He tossed the jacket aside and gently pressed my raised shoulder before sitting me back down.
"No. Just call from here. I'll go out."
"Ah... Yeah. Sure."
Suho's eyes lit up when I said I needed to call Yeji suddenly, so he stepped aside.
I wonder if Suho realized.
Why my body had suddenly worsened since yesterday.
'Am I on my period now?'
I grabbed my phone and tapped the screen to turn it on.
Was there any point in hesitating?
After all, Yeji was a woman and I was a woman now.
"Hello. Unnie."
"Yeji..."
"Yes. What is it?"
"I... um... ah..."
I struggled to choose the right words from the words trapped in my throat.
There was silence for a long time, and Yeji's voice came through the speaker with a note of concern.
"Why? Did you get your period?"
She was sharp as a tack, as expected.
That's why Suho was assigned to me.
"...Um... I think so..."
"Is it a lot? Why do you sound so flustered, unnie?"
'A lot? What does that mean...'
"No... I don't think anything came out... but my waist and lower abdomen hurt so much... and my fingertips to my arms all feel numb... and... and... oh..."
My lips, once opened, spilled everything I felt as if I'd been holding it in for ages.
There was no one else I could talk to right now.
I tried to keep my voice steady despite how much I wanted to break down and cry.
Yeji's voice came through the speaker, sounding as if she wanted to pat my shoulder.
"I understand, unnie."
"And... ugh... what do I do...?"
I usually despised women who repeated "what would I do if I were a man" like a broken record.
But now that I was repeating "what do I do?" like a runaway train, Yeji called me sternly over the phone.
"Unnie!! Calm down!"
"Uh... yeah... I'll calm down."
I cocked my ears like a child trying to listen to every word of a mother's scolding.
"When did the pain start?"
"Yesterday."
"It varies by person, but it probably starts today or tomorrow.
Prepare your mind."
Yeji's advice to prepare my mind, the kind one gives a patient with a terminal prognosis, stabbed my heart.
'Prepare my mind?'
"I'm not dying... do I really have to prepare my mind?"
"I was shocked when I came back as a woman, too."
"...That's it?"
"Well... hehe.
The pain differs by person, but if it starts before, the middle part is really..."
"Really what?"
"I don't know... hehe."
Lately Suho had been quiet.
Suho, who usually expressed love every hour, would sulk over small things, but he never acted this petty.
Yeji, who was laughing softly now, was busy teasing me like the old Suho used to.
I thought Suho had changed, but Yeji had changed too.
They were cousins, after all.
Her stretching out the words to build suspense was enough to give a pain sufferer a good scare.
"Ah~ really! Stop teasing me!!"
"It'll hurt about twice as much as now."
'Hah!'
"Hmm. That's something you have to experience...
Then, unnie... you won't be able to go to the health checkup today?"
"Eh?"
"You can't get a health checkup during your period.
The results might not come out right... and for the urine test, unnie would be even more embarrassed."
"...Is that so... but I don't have any bleeding yet?"
Of course I understood why you couldn't get checked if there was blood--when they drew blood for the test.
But now there was no bleeding--
"It might come out any moment.
You can't go out beforehand, and unnie... are your breasts a little swollen?"
"I don't know... just feels like my body's swollen..."
"Hmm..."