STL

Chapter 10: I Will Never Date You!

Added 2025-06-28 02:59:05 +0000 UTC

Mutation (10)

Siwoo was struggling to get away from Ihyun.

The reason was simple.

Not because he disliked it, but because he was afraid he might start to like it.

When Ihyun opened her mouth, she was Ihyun. The way she teased Siwoo was exactly the same as the usual Ihyun, and so were her tone, facial expressions, and every little habit.

She was a little more timid after going through such an illness, but that was it; she was the friend Ihyun that Siwoo knew.

But when she kept her mouth shut.

When she showed a side of herself that he didn't usually see.

When she had those anxious and uneasy eyes.

Ihyun was no longer Ihyun. She just looked like a pretty woman, maybe a year or two younger than Siwoo.

No, saying "looked like a woman" was wrong.

She was just a "woman."

Siwoo had also looked into the illness. Since she was a friend he would continue to see, he felt he needed to know about it.

And according to the details of the illness, Ihyun wasn't just like a woman, she was just a woman. Unless she got the illness again—although there was no such case—biologically, a woman who could even have children.

Things like nerve cells not changing, so the original gender still remained, were not things to consider now. Because he couldn't tell by looking at her.

"S-Sorry."

Ihyun kept apologizing.

That made him a little angry. Not angry at Ihyun. Siwoo was angry at himself.

If she were just a beautiful woman. If she were someone he had never even met. Then he could have just turned his body and somehow stuck to her in a less embarrassing position, and that would have been the end of it. He wouldn't even need to care—no, he wouldn't even have noticed.

But she kept teasing him, laughing at Siwoo's trivial remarks, and acting like a girl who had built up such a history from a long time ago, making him conscious of her.

It had only been a few days.

"No, I mean, why are you apologizing?"

Siwoo put strength into his waist and tried to get away from Ihyun, at least as far as his lower body was concerned. He couldn't help it, even though he heard annoyed voices from around him.

Just as the train stopped and he was thinking of changing his position somehow—

He suddenly saw behind Ihyun. What he saw through the window was the screen door slowly opening.

Ihyun didn't seem to notice at all. Because Siwoo was completely blocking her view, she couldn't see the other side.

"...Ah!"

The door behind them opened, and people getting off the train pushed Siwoo's back. He could guess what would happen next without even thinking about it.

As Ihyun's body fell backward, Siwoo immediately reached out and grabbed her arm.

Still, he supported Ihyun's waist with his other hand and pulled her to the side.

Only after leaning Ihyun against the screen door did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"...Ah..."

A little late, Siwoo realized that he was holding Ihyun's wrist tightly. And holding her waist with his other hand.

Fortunately? Ihyun's other hand was across her chest, so they weren't stuck together that closely.

"Sorry."

"Ah, no. It's not like you did anything wrong."

People getting off the train glanced at them. Were they thinking that a couple was doing something weird without paying attention to their surroundings?

"Um..."

Ihyun barely opened her mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Your hand..."

"Ah."

Siwoo finally let go of Ihyun's wrist. And hurriedly stepped back.

Belatedly, he felt how slender Ihyun's wrist was. A little warmth remained on his palm.

It wasn't like he had never held her wrist before. He had grabbed it and pretended to twist it while joking around. Even though they were almost the same height, Ihyun's wrist wasn't this slender. She was someone who even exercised regularly.

The bigger problem was his other hand.

Inside the slightly thick blouse, there might have been a thin T-shirt.

But that didn't completely block the warmth of her body.

Her waist was also slender. Unfortunately, it was the first time Siwoo had grabbed a woman's waist like that.

It would probably remain vividly in his mind for a long time to come.

"Sorry."

"Ah, no!"

Ihyun answered in a surprisingly loud voice when Siwoo apologized.

"You helped me, right? You helped me. And if I hadn't suggested taking the subway, none of this would have happened..."

Siwoo had also taken the subway when she suggested it.

In the first place, there was nothing wrong with taking the subway. Rather, from Siwoo's perspective, it wasn't bad since he would be parting ways closer to his place.

Was she going to apologize to people when commuting to work?

Such a joke came to his mind, but he felt like he shouldn't say it to Ihyun right now.

Siwoo scratched his head.

If he stayed like this, he would just be standing here in this awkward atmosphere.

Looking around, he realized it was a transfer station.

"Should we just hang out around here?"

Siwoo said.

"There must be something nearby."

It was a transfer station across the Han River.

"Ah, okay."

Ihyun answered timidly.

He thought about what to say to get back to normal, but eventually swallowed his words.

Because it felt like it would be the same no matter what he said.

Siwoo turned around and walked first.

He thought he had been aware of it to some extent—

Belatedly, he realized that Ihyun had truly become a woman.

After that—

Well, it was okay.

I kept feeling awkward, but Siwoo seemed to be really okay.

We went to a decent place and ate. It was budae jjigae. Neither of us really wanted to eat it, we just went into any franchise that we saw.

(T/N: Budae jjigae/부대찌개: A type of korean spicy stew, more commonly known as "army stew". Common ingredients include ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi, instant noodles, gochujang[Red chili paste], and American cheese.)

It was okay. My mind calmed down a little while eating, but not all the dregs at the very bottom had evaporated.

"Are you attending class well?"

"I am. I'll probably attend better than you?"

"Wasn't I better than you in grades?"

"My grades went up from the first semester. Sophomore classes are harder than I thought. If you attend class the way you used to, you'll definitely get buried."

Siwoo said in a scolding tone.

"Are you my Seonbae?"

I said with a smirk—

"A Seonbae is a Seonbae. I'm taking classes a year earlier than you."

Siwoo retorted.

That was... well, that was true. I was thinking of returning to school in the second semester even if I did return.

"Sigh..."

"Why?"

"I should have gotten it before going to the army. No, at least during my military service!"

I clutched my head.

Wasn't my graduation already delayed by two years because of the army? Of course, that was almost the case for most guys my age. So it might not be a big problem.

There might be some who take another year off from that.

But you see.

I've become a woman now.

And the timing was terrible, so I ended up taking another year off. In other words, I've just become a female college student who has failed the college entrance exam three times.

It's unfair, so unfair.

"Still, this time it's a pretty plausible unfairness."

"What, you punk?"

Siwoo laughed while listening to my lament, so I glared at Siwoo without realizing it.

"Don't worry too much. You can get a license. A license."

"...Still, it's a few years later than others."

Me, and the people around me, know that I had this illness. So the people around me will probably see it as okay.

But will people who see me for the first time think that way?

It's a little strange to write about having an illness on my resume, and even if I do write it, won't they ask, 'So what?'

I, who only took six months, am having these concerns, so I can understand a little why people who took much longer than me complain a lot in many ways.

"..."

Besides.

If I can't adapt to this body, I'll probably keep causing trouble for the people around me.

What would people say if I told these complaints to others?

Wouldn't they just say it's an easy problem?

Because in the end, I've become pretty and handsome, and I'm just receiving consideration from the people around me.

"...Hey."

Siwoo called me.

He was about to say something with a slightly worried expression, but stopped.

Should we have a drink or something, he probably would have said that. We drank so much after becoming college students.

But is he a little embarrassed to say that now?

No, this might be a concern too. No one knows how strong I am with alcohol now.