Ch.44Timid High School Girl Outcast

Heo Yoon handed a dusty grenade to Seok Hyunmin.

“No time, pull the pin.”

Soon the safety pin fell to the ground.

With a ping! sound, the grenade was passed back to Heo Yoon.

“Noona, the timer is running now.”

“I know.”

Heo Yoon gripped the grenade while glaring at the enemies across from them.

Judging by the momentary pause in gunfire, they seemed to be attempting a charge.

If so, this would be their only chance.

One.

Two.

Whoosh-!

The round metal object cut through the air.

One of the primates let out a sharp cry, but wasn’t given time to react.

The fully primed grenade exploded in mid-air.

BOOM!

Heo Yoon, peeking out from behind a wooden bookshelf, watched as bits of fur scattered and dropped onto the grass with soft thuds.

“That got all of them.”

Seok Hyunmin stared blankly at the rising smoke with his mouth open.

“Holy shit.”

Heo Yoon laughed with a “heheh” and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Was that cool? I was just copying what I do in PUBG.”

“No. How is this the same as a game? If you make a mistake, you’re the only one who dies?”

“Hey. I made my decision after running simulations. You just need to go with your gut.”

Heo Yoon stood up, brushing dirt off her clothes.

“The elevator’s that way, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

There was really no need to ask for directions.

In the gradually darkening horizon, the red elevator light was blinking in the distance.

* * *

I lay in bed with the blanket pulled over my head.

Maybe it’s because I just had a brush with death, but my heart won’t stop racing. My breathing keeps getting faster. Everything goes dark when I move even slightly—I’m definitely having a panic attack.

Knock knock.

Jung Haewon’s voice comes from outside the door.

“Noona, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I come in?”

“No. Just rest on the sofa.”

Even talking is exhausting right now.

I’m sweating profusely even though I’m lying still. This isn’t the first time I’ve nearly died, but the fact that I’m reacting like this now might be because stress has been building up.

My head feels like it’s about to split open. I’m crying for no reason.

As I wipe away my tears, Jung Haewon knocks on the door again.

“Noona!”

“What!”

“Someone’s trying to open the door outside!”

I immediately got up and went outside.

When I opened the door from inside, Choi Serim was standing there. Behind her was Yoon Daju, looking completely exhausted and panting heavily.

Choi Serim let out a deep sigh, then called my name and approached me.

“…I’m glad you’re safe.”

Choi Serim slowly raised her hand.

“Hold still.”

And her cold fingers rested on my forehead.

My eyes closed involuntarily.

…Strange.

When I opened my eyes again, my head felt much clearer. The shortness of breath was gone, and I felt much better.

Is it because seeing other people made me feel relieved?

Choi Serim looks at me and smiles slightly.

“But who’s that next to you?”

“Ah. This is—”

Just as I was about to introduce him, Jung Haewon suddenly jumped forward.

“I’m Jung Haewon! Nice to meet you!”

“Oh? Uh… nice to meet you too.”

Choi Serim rarely looks flustered.

“He’s a high school student who got trapped here while filming an abandoned building for his internet broadcast.”

I added an explanation.

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Internet broadcasting is quite harmful. I should have studied harder back then.”

Jung Haewon speaks as if he’s discovered all of life’s truths.

Choi Serim nods along, pretending to agree.

“That’s right.”

Jung Haewon, who takes every opportunity to act cheeky,

and Choi Serim, who always maintains her mystique by staying quiet.

Putting these two together, I really think they don’t match at all.

Anyway.

“But why has Daju been so quiet this whole time?”

When I asked, Choi Serim made an apologetic face.

“Ah. Well, we ran a lot. I twisted my ankle in the middle.”

“Yeah, I nearly *huff* died carrying her on my back. Do you know *gasp* how hard it was dragging her here?”

Judging by her panting, she looks like she might pass out any moment, but Yoon Daju still manages to talk non-stop.

She’s really something else.

Choi Serim reaches out and gently rubs Daju’s back.

“I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t asking for an apology. Whew… I was just saying.”

“But noo—”

I almost called Choi Serim “noona,” but quickly cut myself off.

“?”

Jung Haewon is right here.

To be clear, I don’t want him to find out that I was originally a man.

This has nothing to do with female corruption. In my heart, there’s only room for Choi Serim noona.

Jung Haewon is the only normal younger sibling here, and I don’t want to receive pitying looks from him too.

I remember how much Yoon Daju looked down on me when I told her the truth.

I want Jung Haewon to remain a comfortable younger brother. Not a crazy girl who’s always trying to make fun of me.

So, I corrected how I addressed Choi Serim.

“Unnie. Shouldn’t we at least ice your ankle?”

I said it out of genuine concern, but Choi Serim just quietly smiles at me.

It’s not a smile of appreciation for my concern, but one that suggests she’s seen right through me.

“Why are you suddenly calling me unnie, Dabin?”

“Ah, well, there’s a reason…”

“Will you keep calling me unnie from now on?”

“…”

Choi Serim now has an expectant look on her face.

Ah. When things turn out like this, it makes me feel strange.

“Yes.”

“Can you say it once more? Serim unnie?”

“Um… Serim… unnie?”

Yoon Daju notices something odd and looks around.

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

Then she folds her arms and nods to herself.

Ah! So that’s it, she seems to be thinking.

“Then I’ll go rest inside first. Dabin unnie!”

This doesn’t feel like a good sign.

As Yoon Daju leaves through the front door, she casually drops a comment.

“Unnie, let’s talk later!”

Daju runs down the corridor with light steps. Jung Haewon watches her retreating figure intently.

This is beyond a bad feeling—it’s absolutely terrible.

“She’s older than me too, right?”

So I took out my frustration on Jung Haewon who was asking me.

“A high schooler shouldn’t be looking for younger siblings. Just call everyone hyung or noona.”

“Dabin.”

“Yes? Noo—no, unnie.”

“Haewon just got here and must be having a hard time, don’t bully him too much.”

“Yes…”

Even though I try to act tough in front of my younger brother, my voice automatically becomes softer when I talk to Choi Serim.

This must be quite obvious.

“Wow. Lim Dabin noona is something else. Your attitude changes completely depending on who you’re talking to.”

“What? You two became friends already?”

“Yes. I believe we quickly bonded as comrades after going through life-threatening challenges together.”

I jabbed Jung Haewon in the side as he smoothly delivered this speech in front of Choi Serim.

“Ow!”

“This kid is talking nonsense. Unnie, are you sure your ankle is okay without treatment? From what I heard, you can barely walk right now.”

“No, it’s not that bad.”

“Let’s ice it first. Even if we leave a proper examination to Yoon noona later, we should at least reduce the swelling.”

Choi Serim looks at me and chuckles.

“Yoon noona?”

“I mean Heo Yoon unnie. I misspoke. Anyway, follow me to room 701. Haewon, you come help Serim unnie walk too.”

“Yes!”

Jung Haewon supports Choi Serim’s left arm.

As I try to support Choi Serim from the other side, she whispers quietly next to me.

“Dabin, why did your personality suddenly become so strong?”

“What? I’ve always been like this.”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, really, I’ve always been like this.”

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin returned about 10 minutes later.

***

“Oppa. No, Lim Dabin-ssi. You don’t have any choice right now, okay?”

“Daju, please… I’m begging you.”

It was a few hours after the hellish emergency broadcast had ended.

The late afternoon sunlight was streaming through the window, but I couldn’t feel comfortable despite basking in the warm light.

In my home, room 704.

Daju was sitting cross-legged on a chair, while I was sprawled on the floor below her, completely flustered.

Yoon Daju looked down at me with a triumphant smile.

“You still don’t seem to understand the situation. If you don’t wear this, you’ll lose all authority as an older person, you know?”

“Yoon Daju. Don’t you think this is going too far?”

“Ah! Should I call you oppa instead of unnie? Haewon is resting right next door, you know?”

“…!”

“Put it on.”

I slowly lowered my gaze.

Between Daju and me,

on the floor, lay a maid outfit.

“I’ve checked the size. It should fit you well, oppa.”

“Daju, this is really not okay.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Yoon Daju gave an evil smile.

“You’ll be looked down on by a much younger sibling. I wonder if that’s really okay. Even if there’s not much age difference between us, Haewon is still a school kid. Being pitied by someone like that. Plus, now that he knows you were originally a man, he’ll probably make all sorts of jokes. Right, Haewon said he likes internet broadcasting. What if sexual humiliation gets added on top of internet jokes? Wow. I don’t even want to imagine it, but what can we do?”

Her description was so vivid that I couldn’t help but imagine it.

If momentary shame could prevent a miserable future, wouldn’t that be honorable?

“Fine.”

“What’s fine?”

Daju looked down at me with an expression that said she was having the time of her life.

I gritted my teeth.

“I’ll wear it. That’s what you want, right?”

“Good. You made the right choice, Dabin oppa.”

As if she’d seen this scene in a manga and was impressed by it,

Yoon Daju dropped the outfit in front of me with practiced form.

“No, I should call you ‘unnie’ now, right?”

I was about to scream but held back.

“Sigh…”

“If it’s hard for you to put on women’s clothes, oppa, I can help dress you.”

“I can… do it… myself…”

“That’s good then.”

“You fucking… You’re really crazy, you know that?”

Daju just smiles perversely without any particular reaction.

While glaring at the crazy Yoon Daju with the scariest expression I could muster, I slowly began to take off my clothes and place them on the floor.

Starting with the hoodie I was wearing on top.