LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 2.2
At that moment.
-Smack!-
The sound of a slap echoed through the air.
For a moment, I thought I’d been hit and flinched.
But it wasn’t me.
The woman I’d argued with was clutching her cheek, looking shocked.
The one who slapped her was the girl who’d recognized me.
My jaw dropped to the ground.
“Get lost. You’re ruining my mood.”
“S-Saein…?”
The surprises didn’t end there.
I thought the slapped woman would unleash her temper, but instead, she turned into a meek lamb in front of the girl who’d hit her.
“I-I’m sorry, Saein. I didn’t mean it…”
“Saein, calm down. Jo-young didn’t mean anything by it,” her friends tried to mediate with pleading voices.
…Wait.
Saein? Did she just say Saein?
“Everyone, get lost!” the girl yelled.
The group of women jumped and scattered, hurrying away. Some even called out, “I’ll text you, okay?” as they left.
“Ugh, women,” muttered the girl who stayed behind, grumbling to herself.
She’s a woman too, so what’s she even talking about?
No, there was a bigger issue at hand.
“Hey… are you by any chance Jung Saein?”
“Finally figured it out, huh, you idiot.”
She looked back at me with a wide grin.
“Wait… but you…”
My mind was a mess.
If she was Jung Saein, then she was my childhood friend from back when we lived in the same neighborhood in elementary school.
And a “childhood friend” means someone with the same… parts.
But…
I looked her up and down, from her face to her chest and hips.
Her face—smooth, sharp features, and small, about the size of my fist.
Her chest—well, her parents must have given her good nutrition. She was skinny, yet her chest stuck out.
Her hips—were her parents foreigners? She had curves that could rival her chest.
She wasn’t a childhood friend. She was clearly a woman.
“What.”
“Why are you… a woman?”
“What are you talking about? I was always a woman, you idiot.”
“???”
No way.
“Did you… get a sex change?”
I’m pretty open-minded about modern society’s PC views, so I asked without any prejudice, but she didn’t seem to take it well.
-Whack!-
Jung Saein smacked me on the head.
“I was always a woman, you moron!”
Even after hearing that, I was still in complete confusion.
How could Jung Saein be a woman?
I reached back into my fragmented childhood memories.
“Jjooji King! Why are you called the Jjooji King?”
“Why else? It’s because my jjooji is huge!”
I had proudly shown her my jjooji back then, and she’d looked at it, amazed.
“Wow! Jjooji King lives up to his name!”
Being admired like that was a small joy of my childhood.
I had a bit of pride in my jjooji being a bit bigger than my peers’.
Now that I think about it, I remember showing mine off, but I don’t recall ever seeing my friends’ jjoojis.
The same went for Jung Saein. I only ever showed her mine; I never saw hers.
“Are you telling me I mistook a girl like you for a guy all this time?”
“Yeah. You’re an idiot.”
Then she burst into laughter so hard she could barely breathe.
No way!
Jung Saein was definitely a guy.
Sure, his face was a bit soft, but he didn’t have a chest or hips.
He was good at running, good at games, and even dressed like a boy. He was almost as tall as me.
“…Huh??”
But as I recalled those “proofs,” I realized none of them actually confirmed he was a guy.
When you’re young, gender lines are blurred.
Not having a chest or hips is normal for an elementary kid.
And there were plenty of girls taller than boys.
“So… you really were a girl?”
“Pffft! Hahaha!”
Still uncertain, I asked, and she just laughed even harder.
So I showed my jjooji to a girl? Damn it!
“Ah, this is hilarious! Jjooji King, you haven’t changed a bit, have you?”
“Sigh…”
Jung Saein was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes, while I was speechless, facing one of the biggest shocks of my life.
How could the friend I thought was a guy actually be a girl?
Isn’t this the kind of thing that only happens in romantic comedy manga?
“Wait… could this be… the beginning of a romantic comedy?”
“Pff! Hahaha-!”
At my muttering, Saein laughed so hard she nearly fell over.
…Guess my life genre isn’t romantic comedy after all.
Maybe it’s just a plain comedy?
Oh well. Better than being depressed.
“Hey, stop laughing already.”
“Snicker… it’s your fault… you’re just too funny. Heh.”
Saein was laughing so hard she was almost crying.
Sigh… seriously.
Did I have vision problems as a kid? How could I have mistaken her for a guy?
“Ugh. My stomach hurts from laughing. Where’s your place?”
“Why? Why do you want to know?”
“Why? I don’t have anywhere to stay thanks to you, and we haven’t seen each other in ages. Aren’t you going to buy me a drink?”
She slung her arm around my shoulder.
Her behavior was just like any guy friend’s.
But the soft feeling pressing against my arm, and the faint scent coming from her, all made it clear she was indeed a woman.
Jung Saein.
Should I treat her as a friend or as a woman?
My mind was still filled with confusion.
“Ah, whatever. Screw it, let’s go!”
“Haha!”
After a moment of hesitation, I slung my arm around her shoulder, mirroring her.
And once again, Saein burst into laughter.