122) Chapter 18. No? (8)
“Uh, g‑guys…?”
Terrified and trembling, she looked like a small animal cornered by predators.
She had her head lowered, back pressed against the wall, shaking as she looked up at me—
…Wait. Looked up at me?
Wasn’t she slightly taller than me when we first met? Not by much, and she always slouched so she looked a bit shorter, but when she straightened her back, I’m pretty sure I had to look up a little.
But now I was definitely looking down at her.
Maybe it was because she was cornered and lowering her head, but… no, it really felt like she’d gotten shorter.
Not that I suddenly grew.
And I’m pretty confident about this because in the original, Nam Jinwoo always looked down at the heroines. The descriptions were clear. If the protagonist were shorter than the heroines, that would’ve been a whole different kind of plot point.
“…Hey.”
Since I couldn’t bring myself to speak, Soi spoke first.
To keep Jinwoo from running, we had her cornered, with Soi, me, and Chae‑yi surrounding her.
Hyeonji stood a little apart, leaning against the wall, which somehow made the whole scene look even more like a group of delinquents cornering someone.
“There’s something we want to ask. Will you answer?”
Soi tried to soften her voice, but that only made Jinwoo more terrified.
“Yeah. It’s really important. Rua has something she wants to ask.”
“Huh? M‑me?”
“Well, you’re the one who was curious first. Actually, not just curious—you were convinced.”
“……”
Well… that’s true.
And since I’m the one who thought of it, having someone else ask would feel wrong.
I took a deep breath and looked at Jinwoo.
She was trembling silently, like she thought she’d done something terribly wrong.
Something wrong…?
I guess you could call it that. But not something wrong against me. Her cross‑dressing never harmed me.
I’m not the type to worry about every student in the dorms, but still—teenage boys aren’t emotionless robots. They don’t just strip in front of girls without a care. Sharing living spaces would obviously be uncomfortable.
In the original, Jinwoo stayed “male” until graduation, so maybe it could’ve been ignored…
“……”
But we’re close now.
And honestly, even aside from the boys, wouldn’t Jinwoo herself be suffering inside?
“Y‑you…”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
It wasn’t easy to say.
Even if I was sure, asking someone who’s treated as a boy at school—and insists she’s a boy—“Are you a girl?” felt… wrong.
And now that I think about it, there could be other complications. What if she’s a girl but identifies as a boy? What if it’s something like that?
But four pairs of eyes were on me.
Soi, Chae‑yi, Hyeonji…
And Jinwoo.
“I’m going to ask you something.”
I finally steadied myself. It was only possible because it was Jinwoo. She’s… easy to talk to.
“We’re friends, right?”
“H‑huh?”
Jinwoo’s face flushed red.
“Y‑y‑y-yeah, yes.”
One answer would’ve been enough.
Well, the first “y-yeah” was just stuttering.
“Friends shouldn’t lie to each other, right?”
…Why does this sound like something a delinquent would say?
Does every line sound delinquent-like when the situation feels like a delinquent scene?
“Y‑yeah…”
She hesitated.
I thought for a moment, then—just like with Soi and Chae‑yi—
Screw it.
“Are you a girl?”
I asked directly.
Silence.
A long silence.
Jinwoo jerked her head up in shock.
Honestly, that expression alone was enough. If she were really a boy, she wouldn’t look shocked—she’d look confused or annoyed.
Not that I know what her annoyed face looks like. The only expressions she’s shown me are crying, smiling, and terrified.
“W‑w‑why, why, why, why would you think th‑that…?”
She stopped mid‑sentence.
She must’ve realized she’d basically answered already.
I looked at Soi and Chae‑yi.
Both of them clearly took that as confirmation.
Soi pressed her hand to her forehead. Chae‑yi sighed and looked up at the sky.
I heard footsteps—Hyeonji approaching.
But no one interrupted.
“…Is it true?”
I asked.
Jinwoo lowered her head.
Her fingers fidgeted, tapping each other nervously.
What would she have done if someone else asked?
How did she hide this in the original story when she can’t lie at all?
…Was that why the author added all that drifting and dodging in the original?
In the original, Jinwoo had plenty of lines—first‑person narration, like most webnovels.
But most scenes were with heroines. There were almost no descriptions of how she acted alone.
She was described as delicate, but not this delicate.
The author must’ve hidden it intentionally.
Why? Did they think it would be a shocking twist?
“Is it not true?”
Or—
“Sniff.”
Before I could continue, Jinwoo sniffled.
Her shoulders trembled.
“H‑hey.”
I panicked as she lifted her face.
Her face was bright red.
A mix of embarrassment and sorrow.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Nam Jinwoo…?”
“…Sorry.”
She whispered.
“S‑sorryyyyy…”
Then she burst into tears.
Of course I panicked.
Her voice usually sounded like a boy’s—well, like a boy voiced by a female voice actor—but once she started crying, it was unmistakably feminine.
And if someone heard her crying here…
What would we even say?
We didn’t do anything terrible, but explaining why she was crying would be impossible.
And since I caused this, I couldn’t exactly tell her to stop.
Ah, screw it.
I reached out and pulled her into my arms.
Her face buried into my chest, and the crying stopped instantly.
She still trembled, but maybe she was too shocked to keep crying.
I gently patted her back.
“Hey, why are you crying over something like this…”
Well… I guess she could cry. It must’ve been terrifying.
But I couldn’t say that to her.
“W‑we’re not mad. We weren’t trying to scold you. We just… thought it’d be better if we knew. That’s all.”
“……”
She didn’t answer.
Then suddenly, I realized she was trembling harder—almost shaking.
“H‑hey, Jinwoo?”
“…Pffah!”
She finally pulled away.
Her face was a mess of tears and snot.
…And of course, my uniform was ruined too.
“…Are you okay?”
I couldn’t bring myself to point it out, so I just asked.
“Y‑yeah…”
She answered blankly, like her soul had left her body.
“D‑don’t worry too much.”
I took out a handkerchief from my pocket. Auntie Yujin always told me to carry one, and—yeah, adults know what they’re talking about.
I wiped Jinwoo’s face and asked:
“But weren’t you taller than me before? Why are you shorter now?”
“Ah—uh—that—that’s… insoles.”
…Insoles, huh.
Makes sense. She wraps her chest, so of course she’d use those too.
She probably wears the same shoes for PE and daily life.
…How does she change clothes during PE? Does she wear something underneath? Change quickly in a corner?
Thinking about it made me feel a little bad for her.
…And also for the boys who change in the same room?
But knowing the Principal, she probably arranged something. I should ask later.
“I‑I thought… you found out because of that…”
She started tearing up again, so I patted her back until she calmed down.
I had a lot more I wanted to say, but the atmosphere wasn’t right.
I sighed softly.
“…Do you want to go to that café today? The one with the super sweet desserts.”
After crying, you crave sweets.
At least I did.
When Jinwoo nodded, I finally relaxed and looked away—
And saw Soi and Chae‑yi looking extremely displeased.
…Hey, now’s not the time for that, right?
There’s tears, snot, and drool all over my chest.
Thankfully, maybe because they noticed that, they didn’t ask for the same treatment.
But the way their eyes gleamed—like they’d just gotten an idea—was a little scary.