Ihoeseo lay back down slowly, sniffling.
Then he fell into thought.
‘Come to think of it, getting pissed just ’cause someone saw my ass is pretty ridiculous...?’
‘H-Hell, fuck, we're both guys, so who cares? When you get a shot, you bare your ass regardless of gender!’
‘Well, I've never actually gotten one myself, though.’
Having never set foot in a public bath even once in his life, the very idea of exposing his naked body to the same sex was just as uncomfortable for someone with Ihoeseo's sensibilities.
But he decided to think things through according to the most conventional standards he could manage.
‘Bastard, is he still standing outside?’
“Ahem, come in.”
There was no answer.
Thinking he might not have heard, Ihoeseo spoke a little louder.
“I said come in, didn't I?”
‘Shiiit... My voice is so awkward.’
—Swish
“What do you mean come in? I've been leaning against the wall over there.”
“Kiyaaa—, mph.”
Hagangin covered the screaming Ihoeseo's mouth.
“Hey, hey, keep it down. I've been wanting to say this since earlier—this is a hospital, okay?”
“At least you're the only patient in this room, so count yourself lucky...”
“Mph...!”
‘I get it, so move your hand, you bastard!’
“Are you done screaming now?”
“Mmm-mph!”
‘No, that was because you startled me!’
‘Haa...’
—Nod nod
Only after grudgingly bobbing his head a couple of times did Ihoeseo regain the freedom to speak.
“Puha... No, but how could you just grab someone's face with your dirty hands out of nowhere?”
“Because you were being fucking loud, I told you.”
“Yeah, fine, but why'd you cover my mouth after I'd already finished screaming?”
“Uh...”
‘Was it?’
“You think so too, don't you?”
If it came to that, Hagangin had a thing or two to say for himself as well.
“If you're going to nitpick, if you hadn't pulled your pants down in the first place...”
—Shoot
“What? You said you didn't see!”
“No, there's no way I couldn't see that. Use your common sense. By the way, didn't you say your eyes don't work well? But you were looking straight at me?”
Ihoeseo sighed and said,
“Haa... I can hear just fine, and it's not like I'm completely blind, so yeah.”
“That makes sense.”
“……”
“Hey, don't just stand there. Sit down somewhere.”
“Huh? O-okay...”
Hagangin backed up and sat on the edge of the opposite bed.
“...So, your eyes.”
“Yeah.”
“They giving you a lot of trouble?”
With an incredulous expression, Ihoeseo said,
“Of course they are. Everything's blurry as hell, and if it's too bright, I can't see shit.”
“Really...? That must be tough...”
This time, it was Ihoeseo who asked.
“I'm asking you now.”
“What?”
“Do you know what happened? With this?”
“You mean why you're in the hospital?”
“Not just that... But yeah, for now.”
“Hmm...”
“Well...”
“Don't drag it out. Spill what you know.”
“Ahem, first off, you didn't show up by our meetup time, so I texted you.”
“Yeah.”
“But even after ten minutes, you hadn't read it.”
“Back then... I couldn't move. So?”
“We were going somewhere you wanted to go anyway, so I was just going to head home.”
“But then, it'd been a while since I'd been to your place, so I thought I'd drop by to see your face and startle you. Ordered a hamburger and everything...”
“Ah, the hamburger. Damn... What a fucking waste.”
“That's not the important part. Then what?”
Ihoeseo tapped the bed, urging him on.
‘Like it's not even his money...’
“Sigh, so I got to your place and punched in the code like you told me, but the door wouldn't open. When I looked, you were lying there covered in blood.”
“……”
‘When did I even give you the passcode, bastard.’
“At first I didn't even know it was you. Anyway, I thought I'd killed you or something. Something was caught in the door, and blood was trickling out.”
“I freaked out, closed the door, called emergency services right away, and now here we are.”
“Ah, come to think of it, I was too panicked to get a proper look, but your clothes were bigger than your body, huh?”
“Long story short, it means I saved your ass.”
“Live your whole life in gratitude.”
Hagangin puffed up his chest with a slightly heated voice.
“My body's a fucking brat's, my eyes are ruined, and you want gratitude? Bullshit...”
“I wonder if I can even play games properly with these eyes.”
Ihoeseo closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then spoke again.
“Hey, let me ask you one more thing.”
“What?”
“Am I... not awkward to you?”
“Right?”
“We've met a few times, and we video chat every day.”
“Plus we've known each other for years and done all sorts of crazy shit together. If it's awkward now, wouldn't that be weird?”
“No, what I mean is...”
“What you mean...?”
“What? Don't stop mid-sentence.”
Ihoeseo closed his eyes again and said,
“I-I'm... different now. Doesn't it feel uncomfortable at all?”
“……”
“Ahem.”
Hagangin tried to hold back his laughter but failed.
“Bwahaha!”
Having asked the question out of genuine consideration, Ihoeseo found Hagangin's roaring laughter—bordering on mockery—rather spiteful.
“Why the hell are you laughing?”
“I asked you seriously, damn it...”
“No, no, think about it.”
“About what!”
“Don't you think you've forgotten the most important premise for what you just said to even make sense?”
—Sliiide
Hagangin lowered his gaze, which had been level with Ihoeseo's eyes, about twenty degrees downward.
“...Hey, you'd better choose your next words carefully.”
Hagangin approached Ihoeseo, who sat there with his eyes squeezed shut, sniffling as if furious.
—Tap tap
“Are you a girl?”
“I told you a hundred times I became a girl.”
“No, not your body.”
“Then let me rephrase.”
“Your thoughts, your actions, your mindset—has anything besides your body actually changed?”
“No... right?”
Ihoeseo felt a slight pang about how he'd been bawling until just moments ago, but decided to let it slide.
“Yeah, that's what I'm saying.”
“No matter how much of a tiny-ass girl you've become, your core hasn't changed.”
Before he knew it, Hagangin was speaking right beside Ihoeseo.
“And so what if you have changed? That thing earlier... the game, too. I'll help you adjust this time.”
“….”
Ihoeseo looked at Hagangin a little blankly.
He couldn't see clearly, but for Hagangin's face to be visible straight on from her eye level, Hagangin must have been deliberately lowering his head.
‘Wow, fuck, did he secretly take a speech class or something?’
“Ha, fine. You've sure got a silver tongue.”
“Huh? What?”
“Nothing.”
“And no matter how fucked my eyes are—can't even tell lava from water—I swear if I lose to you, I'll chop my own hand off.”
Ihoeseo once again had that shitty look in his eyes, just like his old self.
“Shouldn't that be my line? If I lose to some bastard gaming with fucking sunglasses on, I'm the one who...”
“What? Someone like you, I could beat with my feet...”
The drinks he'd bought were forgotten as the two continued talking late into the night.
*
Ihoeseo opened his eyes.
‘What the... Did I fall asleep?’
‘Oh right, the IV. I need to be careful.’
—Blink blink
‘I still haven't gotten used to it... My height, my strength, and above all, this vision.’
Even though he was clearly awake, it felt like a dream—distant things were blurred and smeared, and even nearby objects were only distinguishable by their general shape.
—Swish
‘Ah, my feet don't touch the ground!’
—Dangle dangle
It was a sensation he hadn't felt since he was a child—his legs being pulled down by gravity.
‘I used to be way taller than 180cm. What the hell is this...?’
Ihoeseo swung his legs for a while, then suddenly wondered where Hagangin was.
“My phone... There's no way I have it on me now. If anywhere, it's probably at home.”
—Creak
“What are you doing?”
Hagangin walked in holding a pharmacy bag in one hand and a bottle of green tea in the other.
“Where'd you go?”
“Huh? To pick up your meds. Grabbed some stuff while I was at it. Ah, and let's get a quick physical checkup before we head to your place.”
“……”
‘Honestly, I'm curious too.’
“Ah, I already got measured.”
“170.5 cm and 61 kg. A whopping 0.2 cm taller than last year.”
“Isn't that just because you changed socks?”
“And they say there's no tall person among those with decimal points in their height...”
“No, well... You are short.”
He'd hit one of Hagangin's few rage buttons head-on, but the reaction was calmer than Ihoeseo expected.
“What's with that reaction?”
“'Cause you're not in the 180s anymore.”
Instead, Hagangin struck back.
“What are you talking about? My body's a girl now, so you should compare me to the average girl's height!”
“Nyeah, nyeah. Like you'd be anywhere near average.”
“Just you wait!”
‘...Honestly, I'm kind of nervous.’
“Anyway, let's get you down.”
—Swish
“Hey, wait.”
“What now.”
“Just... Help me down.”
“*Snort.* Ah, shit, if I had your phone right now, I'd send you an instant 'lol.'”
“Stop teasing me...”
“Fine, fine. Your strength still hasn't fully come back, right?”
“But how am I supposed to help you down?”
Ihoeseo ran into an unexpected hurdle.
There were roughly two options that came to mind.
‘Grab his armpits and lower me down, or support my back and the backs of my knees...’
“Fuck, I'd rather get down by myself.”
“Huh? Can't you just lower the bed?”
“Ah.”
“Hwahaha, what were you even thinking?”
—Whirrr
“Now get down.”
“Ah, what about shoes?”
“I grabbed some from a nearby store. Just wear them until we get home.”
—Clack
“Here.”
What Hagangin pulled out was a pair of slippers.
“Hey, are you making fun of how tiny I am right now?”
“What are you talking about? Are you admitting you're short?”
“No, fuck, I just... Haa...”
“Gimme those, slippers or whatever.”
—Ding
“First floor. Doors opening.”
“Man... elevators sure are convenient.”
“Shut up... It's embarrassing.”
It was still too much for Ihoeseo, not yet used to his vision, to walk around dragging an IV pole.
So for the moment, Ihoeseo was holding onto the hem of Hagangin's coat while Hagangin matched his steps and pulled the IV stand along.
“We're friends, why go that far?”
“Does this sound like a compliment to you...?”
“Ah, here it is.”
The two entered the room with a sign that read 'Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.'
Perhaps because only a simple checkup was planned, no doctor was present.
“This is Student Ihoeseo, and this is...”
“Something like his guardian.”
“Ah, yes, the guardian...”
“Please have a seat over here first.”
The woman, who appeared to be a nurse, didn't ask any further questions and skillfully removed the IV needle.
“Ouch!”
“Pfft...”
“I told you not to laugh...”
“Don't remove the tape until the bleeding stops.”
“We'll do a simple measurement of height, weight, and eyesight.”
“Please take off your slippers and step up.”
—Ding
‘142.8 cm and 38 kg...? Isn't that way too light?’
“How many centimeters?”
—Glare
“Ahem...”
Blocked by Ihoeseo's glare and the nurse's silent pressure, Hagangin was prevented from seeing Ihoeseo's height.
“Can you see this?”
“No.”
“What about this?”
“No.”
“...You'll need to visit an ophthalmologist for the details, but approximately, it looks like both your eyes are around 0.07.”
“Yes...”
It was a shockingly low number, far below Ihoeseo's expectations.
‘I used to have over 1.2 in both eyes.’
—Pat
To Ihoeseo, Hagangin spoke in a sympathetic voice.
“It's not a big deal. I have 0.15 in both eyes, and I live without glasses.”
“Like that's fucking comforting, bastard. And get your hand off my shoulder.”
“Th-that student really should wear glasses...”
After the examination, Ihoeseo walked out of the changing room wearing a plain shirt, shorts, and slippers that Hagangin had bought that morning from a nearby discount store for under 20,000 won.
“What are you looking at.”
“I mean, right now you're going around in no panties and no bra...”
“Shut up!”
‘Why did he have to say that out loud?’
“Ah, wait, stay right there.”
—Flutter
“Wear my jacket. You'll freeze to death walking around like that.”
Ihoeseo was annoyed but couldn't find a reason to refuse.
‘It's not like I can say no...’
“I was gonna steal it even if you didn't offer.”
—Swish
“You go cold, then.”
“……”
“What now? You want it back?”
“No, it's just... Keuh, i-it looks good on you, is all.”
‘I usually wear 185 cm-sized outerwear, but seeing him in it...’
“Anyway, let's go.”
“……”
Suddenly, both of them imagined taking public transportation together the way they were now in the hospital—one holding the other's sleeve.
“...Should we take a taxi on the way back?”
“...Let's do that.”