episode_0003

I started looking for a restaurant to eat.

“So, is there anything you want to eat?” Jiwoon replied with a casual smile to my question.

“I have a broad palate, so I’ll eat anything.” I didn’t know how to respond to that statement.

If she eats anything, then I guess anything will do.

Thinking like that, I entered a nearby rice soup restaurant.

“For men, it’s sundae gukbap.”

“But look at you. You’re a woman now.”

“Well, I used to be a man.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that statement.

Since it wasn’t exactly wrong, I couldn’t find the right words to say.

With that in mind, I checked my phone and decided to wait until the rice soup arrived.

While waiting, Jiwoon kept staring at me.

I couldn’t understand why she was staring at me like that.

Wondering if something was wrong, I asked her what was going on.

“I envy being able to use your phone.”

Ah… She wasn’t staring at me all this time; she was looking at her phone.

“There’s a web novel I need to read today. It just got updated. Can you show it to me?”

Almost on the verge of tears, she continued to gaze at me.

Letting out a sigh, I agreed and handed her my phone.

“Oh, I’ll read it quickly and give it back.”

Saying that, Jiwoon slowly began reading the novel.

Seeing her smiling face, I felt good.

While waiting for quite some time, the rice soup finally arrived.

As I ate, I looked at Jiwoon.

“Put your phone away when you’re eating.”

Taking her phone away, I glared at Jiwoon as she pouted and inflated her cheeks.

When she noticed me looking, Jiwoon took out her phone and started reading the novels she had downloaded.

Ah… I did say the phone should be put away, not taken away.

With that thought, I reluctantly watched Jiwoon quietly while eating.

**

After finishing our meal, we left the restaurant.

Jiwoon said she was cold and suggested going home.

As we tried to hail a taxi to go back home,

“Jihoo, I want to eat this.”

Jiwoon grabbed my arm and expressed her desire to eat something.

I followed her gaze to see her pointing at a box of tangerines.

She wants to eat those? Thinking so, I bought a box of tangerines and headed back home.

We took a taxi and arrived home.

Upon entering the house, Jiwoon jumped onto the bed.

Covering herself with a blanket, she started looking at her phone.

Seems like all she does is look at her phone as soon as she gets home.

I bought her underwear and food today.

I think I’ve done everything I needed to do today.

Saying I’m leaving, I tried to go out.

“Oh. Are you leaving already?”

Jiwoon looked at me with a surprised expression and asked if I was already leaving.

“Well, I bought you underwear and food, so you should be fine. I should go too.”

Upon saying that, Jiwoon started looking at me with a somewhat disappointed expression.

Well, maybe it’s because we haven’t seen each other in a while? It shouldn’t be a problem to stay a little longer.

But I have things to do at home.

Saying I’m going back, Jiwoon expressed her disappointment, bid me goodbye, and I returned home.

Once home, I received a message from Jiwoon.

“I’m bored.”

Seems like she contacted me because she was bored.

So, what does she want me to do? I wondered as I asked her why she called.

“It’s the weekend tomorrow. Jihoo, where are we going?”

It wasn’t like I had any specific plans for the weekend.

“I’m not going anywhere. Why?”

In response to my words, Jiwoon chuckled and said, “I want to visit your place.”

The reason was quite simple.

If she wants to come over to our place, then there shouldn’t be any issues.

“Can you find our place?”

“Come pick me up.”

With that, she hung up.

Should I just give up? I’ve thought about it several times. But I can’t help it. Let’s go pick up Jiwoon tomorrow. With that thought in mind, I went to take a shower.

But… Bringing a girl home to our house.

No matter how much I think of Jiwoon as a guy in my heart, Jiwoon has become biologically female now.

This could be a big problem if I mess up.

**

The next day, I brought Jiwoon home.

“Wow, the house is spacious.”

“I chose a house close to the university, but unfortunately, it’s a two-room.”

I also checked the prices for studios, but since the deposit was a bit cheaper and the monthly rent was the same, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to pay a little more for the deposit and choose the two-room.

Indeed, it was a very spacious house to live alone.

Although I initially signed the contract with the intention of living with someone else.

“Aren’t you lonely living alone?”

Jiwoon asked me if I felt lonely, but I didn’t particularly feel lonely or anything like that.

I didn’t feel lonely in my heart.

I do find it a bit challenging to clean such a large space, though.

Other than that, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Living alone wasn’t so bad.

Afterward, sitting on the floor, Jiwoon looked at me.

“You have a guest, why not offer something?”

Although it was annoying that he immediately asked for something, I decided to make coffee since he was a guest.

“Coffee? Don’t you have any cola or drinks at home?”

“No, I don’t.”

“A guy without cola at home, unbelievable…”

“If you don’t like it…”

Although Jiwoon tilted his head at my words, I made some coffee and sat on the bed.

“So, what are we going to do at my place?”

Seeing Jiwoon at my house, I asked what we were going to do.

Two guys… No, one person who used to be a guy and another guy, what could they possibly do together? I pondered.

“There isn’t much to do, is there?”

Jiwoon calmly replied that there wasn’t much to do.

Well, there isn’t much to do by meeting up anyway.

“Don’t you have any games at home? Games. Oh, isn’t that a PlayStation under the TV?”

Spotting the PlayStation under the TV, Jiwoon started looking for games.

Acting as if it were his own place, wandering around annoyed me, but since it was the same when we were kids, I couldn’t say anything.

Feeling a sense of nostalgia, I decided it was better to play party games together rather than doing nothing, so I brought them out to play.

Jiwoon smiled and suggested playing games together.

Thinking it would be fine for a short while, we started playing the game together.

About two hours into the game, Jiwoon started shaking his legs.

Thinking he might be uncomfortable, I asked what was wrong.

“Bathroom.”

He briefly said he needed to use the bathroom.

“It’s the first room on the right after you leave the bedroom.”

Upon my instructions, Jiwoon pressed the pause button and headed to the bathroom.

After about three minutes, I heard the sound of water running, and Jiwoon came back into the room.

“I’m back. But Jihoo, I have a question.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Who do you live with here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“There are two toothbrushes in the bathroom.”

I didn’t know how to respond to Jiwoon’s question about who I lived with.

If I said I lived with someone, he would ask who.

“I don’t live with anyone, I told you I live alone.”

“Right. But there are two toothbrushes.”

“There was someone I wanted to live with, but they refused.”

Upon hearing my response, Jiwoon was momentarily surprised.

“So, you couldn’t live together, like a roommate or something?”

As Jiwoon resumed the game after pausing, I didn’t know what to say.

I realized I hadn’t mentioned it before.

“Not a roommate.”

“Girlfriend.”

“What…?”

Jiwoon began to be visibly surprised by my words.

While the game world continued moving as the pause was released, this time Jiwoon seemed to be the one paused.

Al suddenly started acting strange, and I stared at him, wondering.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“We haven’t been in touch for two months. She became my girlfriend during that time.”

Ignoring my words, Ji-won pushed the controller aside, approached me, and grabbed my collar.

“Whaaat!!! You!! Are you trying to leave the single squad?!”

As he shook me by the collar, I thought his grip was surprisingly weak.

While he shook me, I realized that if I moved a bit, I could free myself.

“Hey, let go first and let’s talk.”

“You don’t sympathize with me!! You have a girlfriend! And you live alone! Has this bastard even had sex already?! I’m still single! I can’t even sympathize as a man yet! He’s already moved on to someone else!”

I couldn’t calm down at all.

I don’t know what to do in this situation.

Even if I tell him to calm down, seeing that he’s not calming down at all, I can’t find the right words to say.

And about having sex? Damn it, I’m still single.

How could he already move on when we’ve only been dating for a month and a half?

I wanted to calm Ji-won down with these thoughts, but he wasn’t even considering listening to me.

Should I just… kick him out?

Various thoughts raced through my mind, but after about five minutes of gripping my collar, the exhausted Ji-won finally said he would lie down on the bed and sleep.

“This is our place…”

Please, go sleep at your own house…