162) Chapter 23. Because We’re Friends. (1)
Fortunately, none of the girls in my group showed a face that looked like they disliked that girl or were wary of her.
I was a little curious about the reason.
If they were wary, there would have been a reason. Something like a prideful showdown as girls, maybe. Of course, judging from Soi, Chae-yi, and Hyeonji’s personalities, they aren’t really the type for that. Though Soi and Chae-yi did seem to feel a faint sense of wariness toward Jinwoo’s appearance.
As for me, I didn’t feel that uncomfortable around that girl, probably because she and I hadn’t had any physical contact.
Soi and Chae-yi have no hesitation about touching me. Even dressed like this, with so much skin exposed, they casually pressed their bodies against my back or arms.
Hyeonji still kept a bit of distance, but she still consistently joined in when it came to burying her face in my chest and hugging me every day.
“How long are you staying here? I’m here for three days.”
“We’ll be here at least five more.”
“Really? That’s great! Then is it okay if I come hang out a few more times?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Soi answered the girl’s question with a reluctant tone. The girl, however, didn’t seem to care at all, her face sparkling.
……She really does not want to stay with the elders of her family.
Well, I guess it might be a boring age for that.
Now that I look at her, her swimsuit seems a bit modest compared to her personality.
“You okay?”
After the girl left, I quietly asked Jinwoo.
“Is it okay if there are other girls besides us?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Jinwoo nodded.
“I-I got help, and besides, she doesn’t seem to know…….”
Hmm.
Honestly, I feel like that boy earlier was the one who wasn’t normal.
Or maybe not? I don’t really know. I’ve never had a crossdressing boy around me in real life.
I’ve seen girls doing pretty-boy cosplay at conventions, but that’s not really the same as full-on male disguise. They still looked very obviously like girls, and in a way, that was the whole point of the cosplay.
If someone around me had been stubbornly insisting they were a boy, would I really not have noticed?
……No, thinking about it, at the beginning of the semester I also thought Nam Jinwoo was actually a boy, so I guess I was fooled.
It’s more accurate to say, “I never even imagined it.” In many different senses.
“That was close.”
“Yeah, it was close…….”
Why are you smiling like that while saying it, Jinwoo?
Well, maybe later it’ll become a funny memory. Something to laugh about like, “You almost got caught back then.”
“What’s this, what’s this, you two are getting all serious. Let me in too.”
Soi suddenly shoved her face between us.
“Yeah, seriously. Just the two of you acting all dramatic. You’re practically getting married.”
“M-m-married?”
No, Jinwoo, reacting like that in this situation is weird, you know?
See, Soi and Chae-yi’s eyes narrowed again.
Ah, and—
I stretched my neck out and looked around.
Hyeonji was once again standing a little distance away.
When I waved my hand at her, she walked toward us. Why is she so passive?
……I wondered, and then suddenly noticed that Hyeonji still looked awkward and stiff.
Wait, still?
“H-Hyeonji, y-you’re pretty, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Wh-what!?”
But her reaction was so intense that I flinched.
Ah, was I not supposed to say that? Did it sound like I was teasing her?
But that thought vanished immediately because of Soi and Chae-yi.
“Then what about me, what about me!?”
“Y-you’re pretty? Soi has always been pretty.”
“What, so I’m not pretty?”
“N-no. Chae-yi has always been pretty too.”
What is wrong with these girls.
Everything feels chaotic.
But even while they grabbed my arms from both sides and demanded I call them pretty, even in the middle of all that chaos, I felt strangely happy.
It had been so long since I’d gone out to have fun with so many friends.
Ah, and it made me think—at least I am living my school life properly.
“Then, should we head back soon? Mom and Dad must be waiting.”
Soi said.
Only then did I realize how incredibly hungry I was. Right. We really had been out all day. Even for energetic teenagers, this was the kind of day that would wear anyone out.
“Ugh, I’m starving.”
Soi shouted, and we all laughed a little. Chae-yi, Hyeonji, and Jinwoo must have felt the same, because they were already holding their stomachs.
With the slightly reddened sky behind us, we hurried back toward the hotel.
*
Night had fallen, but of course we had no intention of going to sleep right away.
Uncle Dohyun and Auntie Yujin were using a different room from ours, but playing inside the room and playing outside were completely different things.
Naturally, none of us planned to go into the ocean after sunset, so we all changed into light clothes and stepped outside.
It was the midsummer night sea. Even though it was night, the heat didn’t disappear right away, and since it was near the ocean, the humidity was unbelievably high.
There were a lot of people around, so it wasn’t exactly quiet or peaceful either.
But that faint sense of bustle somehow felt like a festival, and it made my heart flutter.
We bought a few street foods with obviously overpriced tourist-trap prices, ate them, then all took off our slippers and walked barefoot along the beach.
We walked on the soft, ticklish sand, and before we knew it, we were running.
I wasn’t sure how it happened, but Soi and Chae-yi suddenly started racing each other again, insisting on catching one another, and before long, only the three of us—me, Hyeonji, and Jinwoo—were left behind.
“Phew, should we sit for a bit?”
When I suggested it, both Hyeonji and Jinwoo nodded.
We plopped down on a suitable spot on the sand. Some sand would get on our clothes, but well, we were at the beach—there was no helping it.
Jinwoo sat right next to me without hesitation, and Hyeonji tried to sit a little farther away, so I lightly took her hand. Her face flushed as she sat beside me.
Only then did my own face heat up.
What kind of courage did I even have to do that?
Well… maybe I didn’t have a choice.
Hyeonji kept trying to drift away on her own, so if I didn’t keep her close, she would end up distancing herself again.
And I had no intention of letting a friend I’d finally made drift away.
“Hey, um.”
“Yeah?”
I was staring blankly at the ocean when Jinwoo suddenly spoke.
I assumed she was going to talk about what happened earlier, so I was only half paying attention.
“The reason I go around dressed as a boy.”
A bombshell I never expected dropped.
“Ah—hey, wait.”
“Actually—ah, okay.”
When I suddenly cut her off, Jinwoo, who had been speaking naturally, shut her mouth.
“What? Why suddenly?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you barely ever talked about your crossdressing before. So I was wondering why you suddenly brought it up.”
“Ah, that’s…”
At my question, Jinwoo closed her mouth and lowered her head slightly, looking troubled.
Her skin was really pale. Even after playing outside all day, she didn’t have a hint of a tan—maybe some kind of special force of this world was at work.
That pale skin slowly turned red from her neck to her ears.
“B-because we’re friends.”
“Because we’re friends?”
“Y-yeah. Um, I… since I was little, I didn’t really have many friends.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“B-boys… when I got to know them, their gazes would get weird, and it scared me.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“A-and girls… at some point, they started disliking me.”
“Uh…… yeah.”
Didn’t the conversation suddenly get really dark?
Is this really something to say while blushing like that?
“S-so, I kept my distance and didn’t talk to anyone.”
“Yeah.”
“And now… I finally made friends, so I’m really happy.”
“Uh, r-right. I see.”
It had been a long time since I stuttered in front of Jinwoo.
But how could I not stutter in this situation?
Isn’t this a bit heavy? This friendship is heavy.
Not that my friendship is light. Maybe from Soi or Chae-yi’s perspective, my friendship might feel like this too.
But still, among the friends who’ve shown me their feelings, this kind of atmosphere was a first.
“So I was thinking… if we’re friends, then maybe it’s okay to tell you a secret.”
“……”
I looked toward Hyeonji.
She also seemed unsure how to take this situation, staying silent. But unlike when she was just shy, her expression was a bit serious—she seemed to be listening to Jinwoo very earnestly.
“…That secret.”
After thinking for a long time, I finally spoke.
“Is it something really important?”
“Um, I-I’m not really sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
“Yeah. I just… heard it like that.”
So she’s crossdressing without even knowing for sure?
But it wasn’t impossible to understand. There might be some secret only adults know. Something about her family history, maybe.
This world is like that. A world where monsters and superhumans exist—there could easily be a reason someone has to disguise themselves as a boy.
“Hmm, then… how about we wait until everyone’s gathered? And not here—somewhere quieter.”
“O-oh, really?”
“Well, that boy from earlier was here too.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Jinwoo look a little frightened.
Seriously, is this something you can just blurt out because the mood felt right?
I don’t think so.
Anyway, I looked around, and since I didn’t see anyone we knew, I let out a small breath.