episode_0012

4. Mokdong Settlement (3)

I couldn’t understand what on earth I was hearing.

You want me to take my clothes off all of a sudden? Is that really your taste?

” What?! Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly telling me to take my clothes off?! ”

It has gotten weaker, but I still feel a stabbing pain in my lower abdomen and pelvis.

I became increasingly irritated by her words, which I could not understand.

But she looked at my pants calmly.

” You should take it off since blood is flowing out, right? It’s not hygienic either. ”

Only then did I notice the red stain on my pants and the scent of blood.

” What…what is this..?! What the heck is this…”

Towards me, who was confused by the sudden bloodstains and pungent smell

She came over and stroked my head.

” It’s okay. It’s like that at first. Just take it off quickly, wash, and then change. ”

I felt a little bit calmer after hearing those words.

” Yeah, I got it… ”

So, following her advice, I took off my clothes, went into the bathroom installed in the room, and took a shower.

Wash off the slightly hardened blood on your thighs and other areas and soak in the bathtub.

Only then did she realize what had happened, and she lifted her head up,

” I took out the clothes and underwear I was going to wear from my bag and put a towel with it, so tell me when you get out, ”

” Yeah, thank you.”

To be honest, it was something I didn’t expect.

Even though my body had changed into that of a woman, I never thought I would experience something like this.

I hugged my legs in the bathtub and cried quietly as an unknown, sticky emotion rose up and threatened to rise up my throat.

*****

Once I let out my emotions, I felt quite relieved.

Was it because of my period that I’ve been feeling emotionally unstable lately?

As I was putting on the clothes she had given me, I looked at the cloth she had left behind and my eyes went dark.

” How do I use this..? No, I know how to use it.. but I don’t know how to use it. ”

I had no choice but to open the door and stick my head out.

” Uh.. Can you help me with this? ”

She said she understood what I said and came to me.

” So, this is like this ”

With her help, I learned how to put cloth inside my underwear to keep the blood from leaking out.

It was a little uncomfortable, but it was still a strange feeling because it was made of a fairly soft material.

” Thank you, in so many ways. ”

” Okay, we have to help each other and live together. We’re both women. ”

At those words, I had no choice but to finally admit that I had become a woman.

” So, what about that guy from earlier? ”

” What, you’re asking me now? ”

” No, come to think of it, I wasn’t in my right mind at the time, but I think I caused trouble, so that’s why I did that. ”

” Don’t worry, it’ll work out fine. ”

Since then, I’ve been leaning against the wall, rubbing my aching lower abdomen, and just sitting there blankly.

” Now that I think about it, I don’t think I even gave my full name, but I’m Charlotte Maniegne. Just call me Charlotte ”

” Seo Yeon-seo. I’m from Garam Settlement. What about you? ”

” I’m not a settler, I was just living alone and then I met Mr. Dosik and came here. ”

” Hmm~ ”

She came over to me, sat down next to me, and hugged me.

” You must have had a hard time alone. ”

At those words, I couldn’t stop the tears welling up in my eyes again and cried in her arms.

I don’t know anymore. I endured and endured the hardships I endured over there for almost 20 years to come back.

Isn’t this what it looks like when you come back?

Both I and the world were in a total mess.

*****

” Sorry, I guess this is why I can’t control my emotions these days. ”

” That’s possible. I’ve done that too. It’s okay because it’s your first time. It’s even more so at that age. ”

” Oh, so I’m an adult now? ”

I showed her through my watch as she looked at me with disbelieving eyes.

” What, we’re the same age. I’m also twenty-two. ”

” Really? Well, our first meeting was a bit weird, but let’s be friends ”

” Then, as a souvenir ”

She said it was a souvenir and put her hand on my cheek again, rubbing it hesitantly and smiling.

” Gu…ma…hae… ”

” Oh my, I’m sorry. The texture is good and the temperature is just right, so I kept reaching for it. ”

” Ugh… ”

He touched his swollen cheek and shuddered as if something was coming out from underneath him.

If I were to describe it, it felt like something hot, squishy, and soft was coming out of me.

” This is so annoying… ”

” What, what can I do? I have to keep going through this since I was born a woman. ”

No, I was born a woman… right? I don’t know anymore.

” So what are you guys going to do now? Are you going back to that Garam place? ”

” Well, originally I came here on a request with Hyunseok, so if I get another request, I’ll stay here a little longer, but if not, I’ll have to go back. ”

” Really? Then have you ever tried to conquer the top? ”

” Well, about four or five times? ”

” Really? Then, if it’s okay, do you want to go conquer the tower together tomorrow? ”

” Tomorrow? Oh, by the way, didn’t you originally say you were going to attack Mokdong today? I think I was wrong. ”

” Yeah, that’s why I think I should try conquering the top this time. ”

” Heung~ She’s a secretive woman. Well, I don’t hate her, but I like her. I’ll ask Hyunseok. ”

” Huh? Right now? ”

” You should just pull out the bull’s horns right away. He’ll just say he’s going to do it anyway.

He’s a guy who’s impatient because he can’t help others.

And you don’t have any ulterior motives towards Hyunseok. ”

” Wait, purpose? I don’t know about that kind of thing… ”

I tried to get up by moving my legs towards her as she was leaving the room.

I stopped and sat down again as the pain rose again.

” I’m resting. I’ll be back soon. ”

After Yeonseo left, I moved to the bed and lay down there.

” Sigh, I have to feel this every month? This is driving me crazy… ”

I kept feeling pain as I rubbed my stomach.

The feeling of something ‘popping’ out of there was hard to get used to.

I tried to wait until Yeonseo came, but I was tired from moving.

Perhaps because my desire to ignore the pain was so great, my eyes soon closed.

*****

” What, when did I fall asleep? ”

I woke up rubbing my eyes and still felt the pain in my lower abdomen, but compared to yesterday, it was bearable.

” Are you awake? ”

Yeonseo combing and tying her hair.

The way the sunlight gently illuminated her was quite beautiful.

‘ As expected, the appearance is really good, but what does it say…’

Yeonseo grabbed my cheek and pulled it as if she was making a ‘squeak’ sound.

” Oh no, are you having bad thoughts again? ”

” What the…”

Letting go of the hand that was pulling me

” Hyunseok said it was okay. No, he said it was good that he could help ”

” What a nice guy. ”

” Right? But that’s too much and it’s a problem. That’s why I’m cutting it all out. ”

” Ah~ So that’s why you pick a fight with people who approach you like that? ”

” Bul-ye-shi. If someone heard that, it would sound like Bul-ye-shi was trying to approach Hyun-seok. ”

” No! ”

” Hehe, well then that’s what it must be like. I need to wash up quickly and eat breakfast before I meet you. ”

” Okay. ”

After a quick wash and change of clothes, I headed to the restaurant with her.

*****

” But those aren’t ordinary clothes, are they? Did you get them from the tower? ”

” This? That’s right. The things I’m wearing, and Hyunseok’s, are all things we received as rewards from the top. ”

” I see. ”

” And this, this is a pretty precious ‘artifact’. ”

She said this while rolling up her sleeves and showing the bracelet on her arm.

” So that’s an artifact? It’d be hard to tell you what the effect is, right? ”

” No, it’s nothing special. It’s just that you can see what a certain person will do in the future. ”

” What will you do in the future? ”

Only then did I understand what she had described about what I had seen.

‘No, you really saw me do that? More importantly, you really saw me do that…’

” That’s right, that’s why I saw our cute fire lady acting cute. ”

” It’s not a… aegyo…! ”

We arrived at the restaurant smiling like that.

” Yeonseo! Come here! ”

That man, a guy named Hyunseok, was the first to take his seat.

Yeonseo and I quickly packed our food and headed towards him.

*****

Last night, Yeonseo came to see me and asked if I wanted to join her in conquering Mokdong Tower, so I said yes.

Anyway, I couldn’t go back right away, and since he said he needed help, there was no need to refuse.

As I was waiting for Yeonseo while eating breakfast at the restaurant, I saw someone approaching me with that girl from back then.

Yeonseo said she would be back soon, brought food with her and sat down with the girl.

It just took a little while for the girl to sit next to me

” No matter how good it is, you can’t just go to the seat next to me like that, right? ”

Let’s say it like Yeonseo shot it off

” Huh?! No! That’s what it is…! ”

The girl blushed and got up from next to me, quickly moving to the seat next to Yeonseo.

” Don’t be like that. You might make a mistake. ”

” Hmm, is that really a mistake? ”

” Ugh… ”

So the three of us ate and introduced ourselves, which we hadn’t had time to do.

” My name is Kang Hyun-seok. Just like Yeonseo, I belong to the ‘Garam Settlement’ and sometimes I get requests from other settlements like this. ”

” I…I’m sorry…ugh! ”

She grimaced, sticking her tongue out as if she had bitten it.

But even that look was pretty cute. It was enough to remind me of her, even though I can’t see her now.

*****

I tried to introduce myself properly, but for some reason I bit my tongue and was so embarrassed that my face turned red.

‘Ha, why do you only act like this in front of that guy…?’

After finishing the meal, I was moving with Yeonseo to the place where the strategy team was gathering.

Where did Kang Hyun-seok go? He’s over there handing out snacks to the kids. Even though they’re snacks he was supposed to eat.

” See, am I right? If the kids ask for snacks, you’ll give them all? ”

” What, what can I do if the kids give it to me? Isn’t that possible? It’s just a snack? ”

” Ha, you didn’t understand what I was saying. Do you think snacks are easy to obtain in this day and age? Even those are hard to obtain. ”

When I heard that, I felt the energy of a fool, just like Yeonseo said.

Yeonseo glared at Kang Hyeonseok, who had suddenly followed behind us.

” Why did you give away the snacks you worked so hard to get? No matter how much the kids asked for them! ”

” But they’re kids, right? I’ve been eating a lot, but those kids are hard to get, so they probably haven’t had a chance to eat it properly, right? That’s why I gave it to them. I’m okay. ”

As he spoke, his appearance sparkled, perhaps because of the sunlight.

‘This guy, he’s a pretty good guy, isn’t he?’

” What do you think, Charlotte? No matter how I look at it, Hyunseok is a pushover, right? ”

” Huh…? Well, it’s okay since it’s a good intention, right? If the kids asked for it, I would have given it to them. I’ve eaten a lot compared to them. ”

When I answered like that, Yeonseo shook her head ‘shaking’

” Oh my, it’s okay for people to meet each other, right? ”

No, that’s not it… It’s not like that… It’s definitely like that.

really…!