Chapter 19
After the movie ended and the end credits began to roll, I sat quietly without saying a word, enjoying the lingering warmth in my body as I ate the remaining popcorn and drank my soda.
"Jia, did you enjoy the movie?"
"Yes, I don't usually watch romance movies, but it was fun."
"Really? I'm glad you enjoyed it."
In fact, this was practically my first romance movie, apart from one famous Chinese-language film they had shown at school. As even the end credits neared their conclusion, my senses returned and I grew embarrassed.
'I think I kept crossing and uncrossing my legs while watching the movie. At this point, Mr. Minsu probably noticed...'
Even just yesterday, I had been acting as though I were savoring the afterglow of masturbating (though I hadn't), so perhaps he knew everything and was only pretending not to notice out of consideration for me. I still hadn't surrendered to my body; the proof was that I hadn't touched myself even amid that heat. After leaving the theater, we decided to window-shop for a while and eat once it was closer to dinner, since there wasn't much time left until then.
"Hmm... Since I have to move tomorrow anyway, eating out should be fine."
"Then what should we go eat?"
I said this while looking at Mr. Minsu. Since I was able to move thanks to him, I wanted to eat something he liked together with him.
"Hmm... Let's walk around for a bit and think about it."
"Yes, I'd like to eat whatever you want today, Mr. Minsu."
"That sounds like a good idea, Jia."
Unnie smiled at me and held various clothes up against me. Since it was winter, summer clothes were being sold cheaply, and unnie excitedly held thin summer clothes, including dolphin shorts, against my body.
"Huh? These won't work~ The size is a little too small."
I felt strangely embarrassed at unnie's words. Come to think of it, my butt was so big that if I wore those pants, some of my buttocks would end up showing...?
"Jia, how about this? Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?"
"Oh, you're right. It's a really pretty skirt!"
The skirt unnie showed me really was beautiful. And as I looked at it, I found myself thinking, 'I would look really pretty in that skirt...' Not merely that it was pretty, but that I would look pretty wearing it... Maybe it was already too late... Feeling strange about how even my mind was becoming girlish, I was on the way home in the car when...
'! My... panties are way too damp...'
Maybe it was because I was ovulating. My discharge was already somewhat sticky, and getting aroused by the movie had made it worse... This could turn into an accident. I had to change as soon as I got home...
"Jia, you're going to use the bathroom and change too, right?"
"Y-Yes... It's getting kind of urgent."
Perhaps she was worried because I couldn't keep my legs still and kept squirming during the movie, so unnie thoughtfully brought up going to the bathroom. Mr. Minsu said he would park the car and wait outside, so unnie and I went inside together.
"Thank you, unnie..."
"It was nothing. It must have been hard holding it in, huh?"
After hearing unnie's reply, I went straight into the bathroom. When the thoroughly soaked panties I had only ever seen in comics came off my body, the unreality of it left me staring blankly for a moment.
'I want to deny that I was aroused... but my body was hot, and I kept squirming even with Mr. Minsu beside me... Anyone would have known I was aroused—or rather, in heat...'
My body... There were so many times when it moved differently from my thoughts, as if it weren't mine. When I was a man, I could simply ejaculate whenever I felt like it, and it would be over, but now it took time for me to heat up, and it also took time for me to cool down after climax. Every time that happened, it felt as though my body was telling me that I wasn't a woman but a female animal, which left me feeling strange.
"I suddenly felt it when I sat in the car... Watching the movie made my body act on its own..."
"It must be harder because you're not used to it yet. Let's hang in there."
After taking care of things in the bathroom and receiving unnie's encouragement, I became terribly embarrassed. I felt like a baby who had used the bathroom alone for the first time and was being praised for it...
'Am I a baby after all? My mind is an adult, but my body was reborn...'
Unnie was showing me love... She was incredibly devoted. Why did she take care of me this much when we weren't in any special relationship? Perhaps because she had helped and been considerate of me in such an embarrassing situation, unnie looked like an angel to me.
"Shall we go? Mr. Minsu will be waiting."
"Oh, right. Let's go, unnie!"
When our eyes met, I smiled without realizing it and felt happy, just as if... I were with my family...
*
"There you are. Shall we set out?"
"I kept you waiting, didn't I...? I'm sorry."
"Not at all. I haven't been waiting long."
Mr. Minsu must have waited quite a while, but he told me he hadn't been waiting long. We came to a park to take a short walk before dinner, but...
"Jia, if you're all right with it, would you sit on that bench for a moment? I have something to discuss with Mr. Minsu."
"Okay, I will. Will you be back soon?"
"Hehe, I will."
I sat on a bench for a while and took out my phone, while unnie and Mr. Minsu began talking a short distance away.
*
"Ms. Jia, about what happened last time...?"
I asked carefully.
"We don't know what caused it, but Jia's body seems to become more sensitive whenever she's ovulating."
"Then will she faint again like last time?"
That meant it might happen every month.
"She might faint if she feels pain instead of heat, but the risk is lower than it was last time."
"What can I do to help...?"
Then what could I do to help when she wasn't feeling pain?
"It wouldn't be unreasonable to think there might be nothing you can do, but there are ways to help."
"Won't Jia be hurt?"
"Oh, Jia trusts you, so she won't. The ways you can help are making sure she has warm water, preparing a warm compress if she seems to have a stomachache, and... giving her some time alone...?"
No matter what happened, Jia would probably be embarrassed, but Jiyeon, who had to be at the hospital on weekdays, wouldn't be able to help much.
"Yes. Then I'll help Ms. Jia when you're not around, Ms. Jiyeon."
"Actually... Jia can deal with it herself, but she's probably still scared. She may become so sensitive that even I can't imagine it..."
...That must be true. Jia had never lived in that body before either, so there must be many things she didn't understand about herself, and she still wasn't used to it. Jia couldn't hear this conversation, but I wanted her to know that there was someone dependable who would stay by her side.
"Ah, over there!"
"Ms. Jia!"
Seeing a group of men approach Jia, Jiyeon and I ran over together. I would protect Jia.
*
It was a relief that Jiyeon unnie and Mr. Minsu seemed to get along so well, too. When I first saw them at the hospital, they had been strangers, so I never thought they'd become close, but standing together like that, they looked like a striking pair. As I fiddled with my phone out of boredom, I sensed intense gazes along with the sound of footsteps approaching. 'I understand, but everyone's staring at my breasts way too hard...' Haa... I could just ignore them, right?
"Excuse me."
"..."
"Excuse me!"
...! I was getting déjà vu. Something like this had happened last time too... As soon as I thought that, my field of vision narrowed and my mind went blank. 'Someone, please help me...!'
"When someone is talking to you...!"
"Excuse me. Let's stop here."
Just as I trembled in fear, Mr. Minsu, who had been watching me nearby, approached me, unlike last time.
"Hey, if you're all right, would you like to come with us...?"
Perhaps they noticed Mr. Minsu approaching, because the group turned their gazes toward him.
"She's with me. Is there something you need?"
"Uh, no..."
"Can't you see that you're making her uncomfortable? I'd appreciate it if you moved along."
The group didn't say anything, but they must have swallowed their complaints. Mr. Minsu was fairly tall and well-built, so fortunately they kept walking until they were out of my sight. I was glad there hadn't been a confrontation.
"Ms. Jia, are you all right?"
"...Yes... I'm fi-fine..."
I slowly stood up and answered Mr. Minsu, but I felt dizzy as soon as I got to my feet.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes... I didn't expect this either, but when an unfamiliar man addressed me like that..."
"You don't need to say anything more. Some things are understood without words."
As soon as Mr. Minsu finished speaking, unnie hugged me. In her arms, I could feel my body trembling a little, which made it feel even stranger...
"How about we eat at home?"
I could only nod. My mind might have said, 'Why are you making such a big deal out of this? You're a man,' but my body said, 'I can't win. This is terrifying.' I didn't know how I would have reacted without the previous incident, but after going through it, my body could do nothing but tremble in fear at people like them.
"Jia, do you want chicken?"
"Yes!"
Strangely enough, just hearing unnie mention chicken eased my mind a little. Since walking to pick it up would take some time, we ordered delivery as we went inside.
"Shall we wash up before the delivery arrives, Jia?"
"Yes, I'd love to!"
"...I'll watch TV."
If we all went inside, there would be no one to receive the delivery... but I was desperate to wash up, so I felt bad leaving Mr. Minsu outside.
"Jia, are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm all right now... Those people were only showing interest in me, and it should have been enough for me to refuse them myself..."
"It never hurts to be careful, right?"
"Yes..."
Unnie didn't look very happy, so I decided I should be careful and stay safe so she wouldn't worry.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
"I know, right? Did he go buy beer?"
When I came out fully dressed, Mr. Minsu was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone to buy beer, as unnie suggested?
"Let's dry your hair first."
"Yes, pajamas are comfortable."
"Right? It's so nice to put on something comfortable at home and eat chicken~"
I hadn't liked chicken much before—not the meat, just the bones—so I decided to enjoy it. Five minutes after I started drying my hair, Mr. Minsu returned with beer.
"The delivery was taking a while, so I only bought beer."
"It's not that you're embarrassed he might accidentally see you, is it?"
Unnie flashed Mr. Minsu a grin.
"Absolutely not."
"Come on~ You were secretly looking forward to it, weren't you~?"
"I always keep myself properly covered, so don't worry, Mr. Minsu."
"Thank you."
Amid Jiyeon unnie's teasing, Mr. Minsu handed me a cola with an expression that seemed to say he was grateful I had saved him. I didn't know what condition my liver was in, but it would be troublesome to drink alcohol with a face that looked like a minor's at first glance. Besides, my body didn't seem to have grown any sturdier... By the time I had finished drying my hair, the doorbell rang, and I went to the door to collect the chicken.
"You like boneless chicken, right?"
"Wow, that's amazing. How did you know, unnie?"
"I didn't know in advance, but considering the size of Jia's mouth, boneless chicken is more convenient, right?"
"Hehe, that's true."
It looked like there was quite a lot of chicken, but Mr. Minsu ate a fair amount, so I wasn't too worried. 'If there's a lot left, we can heat it up and eat it for breakfast tomorrow.' Looking at it now, there were three boxes of chicken: one original fried chicken from P Chicken, and one each of salted and seasoned chicken from G Chicken. I sometimes bought G Chicken because it was good mixed with rice, and it was delicious when eaten this way... but wouldn't it make me gain weight...?
"Thank you for all your hard work this weekend, Mr. Minsu."
"What do you mean? Ms. Jia had a much harder time than I did."
"For the move tomorrow, please get up in the morning and contact me once you're ready. It's a fairly nice place, so I'll take care of every detail."
"Thank you, Mr. Minsu. I'll repay you with a dress next time."
Jiyeon unnie once again casually unleashed another frightening attack at Mr. Minsu. Wouldn't she look like some kind of succubus to him...? 'Even if I give you the reaction you want, won't you be more interested in what Jia is wearing?' She might spring that deadly either-or question on him...
"Cough, wh-what do you mean by a dress?"
"It's the beginning of the year, isn't it? There's Lunar New Year in February, and I've been invited to a party taking place in January."
"A-a party?? I don't think it's the kind of event I could attend."
"I can invite several people, and of course the people I'll invite are Jia and Mr. Minsu."
Mr. Minsu probably had something to say, but unnie's expression was fairly serious, so he didn't say anything else.
"A party...? A dress...?"
Of course, hearing that there would be a dress and that I was being invited to a party left me fairly flustered too.
"It's all right. You don't absolutely have to go, and you can skip it if you don't want to."
"If unnie is going, then I should go too. And I've never worn a dress, so I'm curious."
"Really? I'm very curious to see Jia in a dress too."
While we were having this conversation, Mr. Minsu just ate chicken, watching my reaction. He didn't need to be so careful... I think unnie had made him far too tense.
"You seem really tense, Mr. Minsu... Are you all right?"
"Haha, I'm fine."
Mr. Minsu quickly smiled at my words, and his expression brightened. From his perspective, did I look something like a savior? We all spent a happy evening together, and before the next day—the day I had to move—arrived, we decided to enjoy one last pleasant night in the home I had grown attached to during my time with unnie.
"Then I'll be going."
"Huh? Can't you drive?"
"I asked a friend who was hanging out nearby. Fortunately, he answered my call before I started drinking."
"Ah, that's a relief. See you tomorrow!"
"Yes, see you tomorrow. Sleep well, Ms. Jia."
This time, we saw Mr. Minsu off all the way to the front door. After returning inside, unnie and I chatted and laughed, but my eyelids began drooping again, and we soon fell asleep.
*
"Thanks, man. When you're in such a depressing situation, chicken and beer are exactly what you need to take your mind off it."
"Puhahaha! Yeah! That's true! Hahahaha!"
I was simply grateful for my friend's hearty laughter after he granted my request.
"Hey, Minsu. But what happened?"
"You know how you can take what I say or leave it?"
"I know. It's not as if I don't know what you do."
My friend said that and turned serious.
"There's someone in a... rather unusual situation. I've been assigned to handle their case."
"Did they get caught up in some kind of bad incident?"
"......Yeah."
"If you're saying that, then the situation must really be serious."
"It is. It's a truly heartbreaking situation."
Thinking about those incidents and the pests drawn to Jia, my face twisted.
"Minsu, you're going to sweep them all away, right?"
"If I get the chance and the time comes, I will."
I rode home in my friend's car, suppressing the anger boiling inside me.
*
Huh...? Where did unnie go...? We had definitely fallen asleep hugging each other, so I would have known if she had gotten up...
"Jiyeon unnie? Where did you go?"
I couldn't hear unnie's voice. Had she gone out? Should I go look for her? But she needed some time to herself too... Ever since I started living with her in the home where she had lived alone, I had taken away a lot of her personal time. Of course, if unnie knew I was worried, wouldn't she say something like, 'That's not true at all, Jia. I'm happy because I have you'...?
'Still, it's strange that unnie suddenly disappeared...'
I had been with unnie until I fell asleep yesterday and had even slept beside her, but I missed her terribly.
"Unnie~ Where did you go~?"
Seriously... Where had unnie gone...? Oh? Come to think of it, shouldn't I be getting ready to move now? I should at least wash up. Just as I took off my pajamas and began removing my panties, shivering in the cold, the doorbell rang.
'Huh?? Is it unnie? But if it were her, she would press the keypad instead of ringing the bell.'
This was strange. It didn't seem to be unnie... I should get dressed again first. The bell rang again, making me hurry as I quickly put my clothes on.
"Yes~ Just a moment~"
But because unnie and I had promised always to be careful, I didn't rashly open the door and checked the intercom instead. Someone might wonder why an adult was being so cautious, but my body had become delicate and vulnerable, and although it sounded strange to say it myself, I had become quite a pretty woman... I had to be careful.
'Oh? I got a text from unnie.'
Since it was moving day, we had used up the ingredients in the house and hadn't bought anything else, so she said she was going out to buy breakfast. Uh... In that case, I should keep the door locked, right? But I had already spoken up...
"Who is it?"
I thought they might feel offended if they knew someone was inside but felt ignored, so I spoke through the intercom.
"Oh? Isn't Jiyeon there?"
"Y-Yes... She stepped out for a moment. She'll be back soon..."
"I see. You don't have to open the door, so don't worry about it."
What was that...? The woman beyond the intercom said that, then disappeared from view. Since I didn't know her, I decided to wait for unnie inside the house. She certainly didn't look like a moving-company employee...
"Hello~"
Thinking of Mr. Minsu, I called him to ask when I should start sorting the luggage.
[Hello.]
"Mr. Minsu, there's something I'd like to ask you."
[You're asking about the move, right? Ms. Jiyeon said she would contact me once she was ready.]
"Ah, I woke up this morning and unnie wasn't home, and someone I'd never seen came to the house."
[You didn't open the door, did you?]
"She was looking for unnie, but I hadn't received any notice, and she was a stranger, so I didn't let her in."
[Good job.]
"Hehe..."
[I'll be coming over later too, so I'll see you then.]
"Yes~ I'll hang up now~"
After hanging up, I checked the intercom once more, but no one was there, so I decided to wash up. If unnie came back, she'd open the door and come in, so I didn't need to worry too much. I leisurely enjoyed the refreshing feeling of my shower, then came out, put on my underwear and pajamas, and began drying my damp hair with a hair dryer.
"Jia~! Unnie's home~"
"Unnie~!"
I was so incredibly happy to see unnie that I turned off the hair dryer, walked over, and hugged her.
"Our Jia, did you get scared because unnie was gone?"
"Yes... I was so surprised."
"Someone I know came by looking for me. You didn't open the door, did you?"
"No. I didn't know her, and you hadn't left me a message..."
"Good job, Jia."
Unnie hugged me tightly and stroked my hair. It was still damp, but she continued stroking it with a pleased look.
"I bought convenience-store boxed meals especially for today. Let's eat together."
"Thank you for the meal~"
It had been a long time since I had eaten convenience-store food... At the hospital, I ate hospital meals, and afterward unnie either cooked or we ordered delivery, so I hadn't bought convenience-store food just to fill my stomach. Maybe drinks and snacks? (Though not as a proper meal.)
"Is it good, Jia?"
"Yes! It's delicious! Before, I felt hungry even after finishing a convenience-store lunch box unless it was a really large one, but with this body, I feel full after eating the whole thing."
"Right. Since we'll be busy moving today, let's eat a hearty breakfast."
I was incredibly happy to be sitting across from Jiyeon unnie, eating and chatting with her while we smiled. She wasn't my mother, but she warmly cared for me like one, and I was so grateful.
"After we finish eating and brush our teeth, let's contact Mr. Minsu right away. We need to pack."
"Yes. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Hmm~ I've already packed almost everything over the weekend, so there's nothing else to do. I'll lend you my bag, so just pack your personal things, like your phone, charger, and wallet."
In fact, unnie and I had packed most of our things over the weekend, so there wasn't much left to do. All I did was take pictures of the furniture in the house. I suggested it because I thought photographing where the furniture was positioned before the actual move would be helpful.
"I don't know whether it'll be tomorrow or whether we can do it today, but I'm excited at the thought of meeting Mr. Minsu and having our first housewarming party at the new place."
"I'll put in some effort for the housewarming!"
"Yes!"