episode_0001

“Oh, Dad! I told you not to wear that!”

Today, the nagging from his daughter, almost like a high tone, began again.

The usual scene as always.

“Haha, it’s comfortable and nice, why do you keep saying that?”

Then, my daughter pointed out my outfit in a fuss.

“Well, I’ll give in a hundred times, since you’re used to trunks and running shirts, wearing dolphin pants and running shirts is fine. Yes, I think you can wear them like that… But why aren’t you wearing a bra?”

My daughter’s index finger pointed towards my chest. But it might be a bit embarrassing that it happened to be near the nipple.

-Boing.

“What, what! Ugh, I don’t like it. Doing such a cruel thing on your own… ”

Pressing firmly on my chest, my daughter seemed somewhat excited.

“Ugh! Uh…, Dad, I’m a little embarrassed.”

My daughter, Dayoung, quickly removed her finger from my chest with a surprised expression.

“Good night.”

From the small room, my second child, my son Dabin, appeared. Every time I see his output, he looks so handsome that I feel proud.

“Oh, are you up? Have breakfast.”

I put toast and eggs on the plate and walked to the dining table.

-Tap.

Quickly, three plates and one glass were set next to them.

This has been the scenery in our house for a month now.

“Oops! Dad, stop it!”

Dabin rubbed his sleepy eyes, focused, then looked at me, startled, covering his eyes.

“Oh, sorry. Maybe it was a bit stimulating for a teenage boy?”

I hurriedly went into the bedroom, put on a bra, and came out.

And so, breakfast began.

“You seem to be getting used to it now. You’re putting on your bra so quickly these days.”

Dayoung said as she ate her egg.

“Yeah, I know. It feels more familiar now.”

It’s been a month since this body became mine.

At first, after becoming this body, it wasn’t so bewildering.

A month ago.

“It’s gender dysphoria. Also known as TS syndrome. Have you heard of it?”

The diagnosis the doctor gave me when I suddenly became a woman overnight.

It had become a global sensation, and I heard there were cases in Korea too, but I never thought it would happen to me.

It hadn’t even been a month since my divorce from my wife.

Emotionally overwhelmed, I honestly considered suicide.

“Are you listening, Dad?”

“Anyway, when you’re eating, you shouldn’t be lost in thought… Dad is really strange these days.”

With two children, I couldn’t make such an extreme choice.

After all, wasn’t my only remaining hope after my wife left me?

“Ugh, you should experience something like this too. Living normally. Even if you catch a virus, there are aftereffects. What’s it called… It makes you blank out…”

“It’s brain fog symptoms.”

Dabin quickly supported.

“Yeah, brain fog. If a virus like that changes your gender like Dad’s…”

Dayoung frowned as if disgusted.

“Okay, I’ll tell you 100 times if you listen once, 100 times!”

Who does he resemble to be so irritable?

Even so, despite experiencing their parents’ divorce over two months and the big problem of their father’s gender changing, I must have been grateful for the way my children treated me as before.

That’s why.

“I love you. Dayoung, Dabin.”

I expressed it wholeheartedly.

Realizing that my departed wife and gender wouldn’t return, I realized that this moment right now is so precious.

That’s why I decided not to be stingy in expressing my feelings.

“Chee, chit! Lately, Dad’s emotional expressions are hyper. They say men start producing female hormones when they age, so he’s become more sentimental or something.”

Such words seem familiar, as 17-year-old Dayoung uses expressions that make her seem older than her age.

But she can’t beat real experience.

“Now that Dad is a woman, it’s true that female hormones are produced, but isn’t it a bit awkward to call a dad who hasn’t even reached 40 old?”

I’m 39. It’s too early to hear that I’m old. Plus, I’ve been diagnosed with a body age in the late twenties, so I’m at my prime.

Dayoung looks into my chest and asks, “Isn’t there an excess of female hormones?”

Honestly, this is a bit awkward.

“It seems bigger than Mom’s…”

Even Davin, after seeing it for a month, seems amazed.

My ex-wife, or rather Dayoung’s mom, boasted an unusually large size for a Korean with a D-cup.

“H-cup, truly extraordinary for a Korean.”

Of course, Dayoung didn’t inherit her mother’s size. If a high school student is a C-cup, still in her first year, there’s room for growth depending on various factors.

Yet, she envies my size immediately. Perhaps that’s what they mean by the unfortunate inability to have what others possess.

“But it’s too heavy, my shoulders ache.”

I didn’t understand when my ex-wife complained about her heavy chest, but now I seemed to get it.

“Oh, Davin. After you finish eating, could you massage Dad’s shoulders a bit?”

“Sure, really?”

As I tap my trapezius muscle and speak, Davin looks around in confusion.

Seeing this, Dayoung quickly gets up and approaches me from behind.

“Why are you asking a child to do that? It’s distressing. Be careful, seriously. Davin is at a sensitive age.”

Come to think of it, how vulnerable are adolescents going through puberty to sexual matters? I must have made a mistake.

-Soothing sounds-

Is this because I’ve turned into a woman?

When I was a man, I never felt refreshed by a woman’s weak strength.

“Ugh, there. Ahh! Refreshing.”

Now that I’m a woman, my daughter’s massages aren’t as refreshing.

“Stop! Don’t make weird noises!”

Looking at Davin sitting across with relaxed eyes, her face seems flushed.

“Sorry, but ahh! It’s refreshing…”

Each time I flexed my tightened muscles, it was so refreshing that involuntary moans escaped.

“Okay, that’s enough. I want to go to school.”

Saying this, I put the empty plate in the sink and urged Davin.

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly. We’ll be late.”

But Davin, blushing, didn’t budge from her seat.

“Just a moment. Wait a bit.”

Ignoring Dayoung’s urging, I eventually had to force Davin to stand up.

“Ouch, wait, sis!”

-Creak!-

The sturdy third leg greeted me.

With her face as red as a beet, Davin nervously brushed off Dayoung’s hand, grabbed her bag, and rushed out.

“Oh, Davin!”

I called out urgently, but she had already left the front door.

“Sigh, that’s why you should be more moderate, Dayoung.”

Dayoung, her face also red, scolded me.

“Whose fault is this anyway!”

Then she stormed out like Davin.

Alone in the house, I quickly cleared the table, washed the dishes, and changed clothes to go out.

A long sleeveless dress often referred to as a city chic look. If asked why I wear it… just because it’s comfortable.

When Dayoung insisted we go shopping together, I tried it on at her urging. Surprisingly, it was comfortable, well-ventilated, and perfect for hot summers.

Would it become a favorite outfit after that?

Anyway, I left the house today wearing a leisurely look.

***

Inside a small cafe in the downtown area near my house.

After ordering a coffee, I unfolded my laptop and started working.

Since becoming like this, I had applied for sick leave at the company. However, due to the nature of my work and the amount of tasks I needed to handle given my position, it felt more like working from home rather than taking sick leave. Nevertheless, once my life stabilizes a bit, I can commute to work again, so I had no complaints about it.

-Tap, tap.

The cafe was filled with only the quiet sound of typing.

-Tap.

A young man who seemed to be a waiter quietly placed a tray with coffee on my table.

“Oh, thank you.”

I instinctively picked up the coffee cup and took a sip of Americano.

There was a bread in front of me.

“What is this…?”

Seeing the bread placed in front of me without ordering, I looked at the young man, wondering if there was a mistake in the order.

“Oh, it’s on the house.”

The young man said with a clear smile. Perhaps he was the owner?

“Um…”

I hesitated whether I should accept it or not.

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand. You see, a while ago, a customer caused a scene at another cafe… I mean, at the Extreme Heart Cafe, and became a hero among the local cafe owners. So, it’s just a gesture of gratitude. Please enjoy it without feeling pressured.”

Ah, something like that happened not long ago.

It seems to have spread throughout the neighborhood already. I felt sympathy for the self-employed individuals, wondering how extreme the situation must have been to spread so quickly and even be called a hero.

“Haha, since you went to the trouble to prepare it, I’ll eat it with gratitude. Thank you.”

As the person I thought was a waiter stepped back and I tried to focus on work again, the phone left on the table rang.

-Ring, ring!

Luckily, the phone was on vibration mode.

-From your beloved son-

It was a call from Davin.

“Oh, son. What’s up?”

Davin hesitated over the phone.

“Oh, Dad. It’s nothing, but…”

Was he still embarrassed about what happened in the morning? It might be a common thing for a teenager going through puberty, but I worried if he was overly concerned.

“Oh, tell me.”

“I think you need to come to school.”

“What?”

Out of the blue, my son, who had never been in trouble before, suddenly received a summons to school.