Two Days Later
Two days later, a text message arrived. I was in the middle of work, so I skimmed it half-heartedly at first, but then I froze and read it again from the beginning, one character at a time.
Cell phone tracking result. Name: Lee Changguk. Age: 30. Currently confirmed to be working at the transgender bar Cinderella in Itaewon, Seoul, under the name Gukhwa.
My hands began to tremble. Lee Changguk’s face floated before my eyes. That face which had faintly overlapped with Changhee’s. Unlike Changhee, he looked somewhat pale, yet he carried a kind impression. At the time he had seemed haggard from corporate life, but I realized that if he took proper care of himself, he might possess beauty rivaling even Changhee’s.
I had found Changhee’s brother, but there was no way I could tell her now. The thought that she might faint if she learned her own brother worked at a transvestite bar even crossed my mind. An absurd worry followed—that both siblings being crossdressers might drive one to despair and suicide.
It was as if a stone had been dropped into a tranquil lake. After sinking into thought for a moment, I quickly sent a text to Kim Minjun asking if he was free tonight. The reply came back almost instantly: Okay.
The moment I confirmed the message, I called him.
“Hey, Sohyeon. What’s this? You actually calling me? Haha…”
Kim Minjun, who ran several bars and room salons across Seoul, was a woman who dressed as a man. I had met him through Delma. He was a lesbian—a butch who wore strictly masculine hairstyles and men’s suits. His voice was nearly indistinguishable from a man’s, and his mannerisms were so masculine that he was a rare kind of handsome.
Our connection went back about three years, at Delma. After breaking up with a girlfriend who had been secretly seeing another woman, I wandered in a daze and ended up there. That was where I met him. I fell for his smooth-talking seduction and we even ended up having sex. His technique was impressive. For nearly a month, I spent about half of it completely wrapped up in him.
But once I learned that behind those skills lay a drug that left me helpless, I ended things. Even without the drugs, I knew I couldn’t have stayed with him long. He was notorious in those circles as a player.
“How have you been, oppa? Sorry for the sudden contact. Thanks for not rejecting the call.”
“Come on, I’m not that petty. Hehe… Besides, you’re someone I liked enough to even pull tricks so I wouldn’t lose you. Why would I ignore you? Hahaha…”
I had to listen to his pointless chatter for a while. But my mind was strangely urgent, so I cut him off and got straight to the point.
“Actually… do you happen to know a place in Itaewon called Cinderella? Since you sometimes date trans girls, I figured you might.”
“Cinderella? Of course I know it, hehe… They’ve got quite a few gorgeous ones there. I haven’t been lately, though… Why? I heard at Delma a while ago that you got married. You’re not already looking for someone new, are you? Haha…”
I played along with his joke and explained that I was looking for someone. Since I had roped him in, I only gave him the information he needed to know.
“Whoa, that sounds fun, hehe… Alright, I’m in. I’ve been bored lately anyway. Perfect timing.”
“But oppa… even though you’re a player, people say you’ve got loyalty and you keep your mouth shut. That’s why I’m asking you.”
It was true. According to Sister Joohee at Delma, even though Kim Minjun had slept with nearly every customer there, no one actually knew who he had really been with. As the owner of a high-end room salon, he valued his own image, but he was also known for respecting others’ images. That was one of his strengths.
“Normally I’d ask for a night as repayment, but since I did something bad to you before, I’ll help you this time without saying a word. Fair enough, right? Hahaha…”
“Oh my, thank you so much. In return, I’ll cover all the expenses, so feel free to enjoy yourself. Hoho…”
I poured on the aegyo for the first time in ages, and we discussed the details. We decided to carry out the plan tonight, as promised.
After ending the call, I grabbed a cigarette and went up to the rooftop. I wondered whether keeping this from Changhee was the right thing to do. The cigarette smoke scattered quickly in the wind. I could only hope my worries would vanish just as fast.
I arrived at Delma, parked, and called Changhee. I told her I had a business dinner and would be late. Since it happened occasionally, she didn’t seem suspicious. I hung up and entered Delma.
Since I had already contacted them, the vice president guided me straight to the dressing room the moment he saw me. They put on various shows here, so they had a proper dressing room. Fortunately, it was empty.
I began doing my makeup. It was heavy makeup—the first in a long time. I had only faced Lee Changguk for about ten minutes, but just in case he remembered my face, I was transforming into the look of a bar hostess.
The vice president picked out a wig and outfit that matched my makeup. Once I was ready, I sat at the stand drinking whiskey diluted with water. That was when Kim Minjun arrived.
It had been a while, but he looked exactly the same, which surprised me. He complimented me on not having changed either, and we chatted about this and that. After ordering our second round, we moved on to our shared topic and I gave him more specific details.
Even though I had thought it through, it wasn’t easy to talk while leaving out everything related to Changhee. He must have sensed it, because he downed the rest of his drink in one go and said,
“The fact that you contacted me, Sohyeon, means you think I’m the most trustworthy, right? Or am I wrong? One thing I’ve learned from running a bar is how to keep secrets. If I spilled the secrets of my big-name customers, even three days and nights wouldn’t be enough. Hehe… If you want my help properly, just trust me. I’ll help you thoroughly—at least to repay my debt to you.”
His eyes seemed to radiate genuine trustworthiness. It was also unexpected that he still thought of drugging me to have me as a ‘debt.’
“You don’t owe me anything, oppa. If it’s about what happened back then, I already forgot. I don’t want to experience it again, but I still consider it a precious memory. So please don’t say you’re helping me to repay a debt. I’d rather you think of it as helping a little sister who still remains in your memory.”
He exhaled cigarette smoke to the side, then grinned and nodded. I felt my heart lighten right away. Whether it was the alcohol or his smile, I was able to speak with even more trust.
“You’re right, oppa. When I was worrying about how to handle this, the very first—and only—person who came to mind was you. It also became clear that there was no one else I could ask.”
“That’s true. I still like you, I know a bit about transgender people, and I know how to have fun. Haha… There’s probably no one else in Korea who meets all those conditions. Hahaha…”
“And on top of that, you keep your mouth shut, so you’re the best. Hoho…”
I poured on the aegyo that matched my heavy makeup. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had acted this coquettish. But that kind of ‘lightness’ didn’t feel awkward at all. No matter how much I screamed inside that I was Changhee’s husband, the fact that I was a woman hadn’t changed. I felt that truth anew.
Even though I was imitating a frivolous woman after so long and felt I should be completely honest with him, I still couldn’t bring myself to say that the person I was looking for was Changhee’s brother. Instead, I told him it was someone who had hurt a friend I cared about. Fortunately, he seemed to believe me.
“Alright, let’s organize things before we head out. First, you’re a bar hostess and I’m the boss who’s taking that hostess to a transgender bar for fun. And since you don’t know the guy’s face well, I’ll naturally call the trans girls over one by one, sit them down, and chat with them. That about right?”
When I nodded, he burst out laughing and said it would be as easy as eating rice cake.
“And then? If he takes a liking to me, can I take him for round two? Hehe…”
“No. That won’t do. If it were another girl, maybe, but not him.”
“Didn’t you say he hurt a friend you like? Can’t I punish him then?”
“No, not yet. Not until I’m certain… I need time.”
“Even though it’s a friend you like, you’re thinking it might still be a lie? Hehe… Well, women can be too emotional sometimes and exaggerate things with a few lies. I get what you mean.”
Watching him smile gently, I thought, He really doesn’t see himself as a woman at all. After all, if someone looked that handsome at first glance, even seeing their own face probably wouldn’t make them feel like a woman.