Chapter 2
About an hour after I finished breakfast, the nurse and doctor came in to review the scans. They said there was nothing unusual and that I could probably be discharged tomorrow.
"You'll probably need quite a lot of clothes when you leave the hospital and go home. Would you like some help?"
"Clothes?"
"Yes. Your size has changed in several ways, so it would be best to buy new ones."
"Ah, that's true."
Come to think of it, she was absolutely right.
I had no idea about my height... but my overall build had gotten smaller; the parts that were supposed to be tucked in had gone in, while the parts that were supposed to stick out were making quite a statement. I would have to learn what kind of women's clothes to buy... right?
Still, after eating breakfast, I could feel that my body's sensations were unusually sensitive.
It was strange enough that my body had changed overnight because of an illness, but since the change had happened so suddenly, it made sense that my senses felt strange too.
In stories set in worlds where science has advanced, they sometimes detach and replace a person's head, so I suppose it would be even stranger if someone's body changed.
"Um... My body's sensations seem a little sensitive... Is that okay?"
"Is there anywhere that hurts badly or feels particularly strange?"
"Mostly my lower abdomen and upper body..."
"Your organs changed in a short period of time, so that could be the reason. It could also be a side effect of the transformation or part of the process of your body adapting."
I nodded while rolling my shoulders.
"Ah, your shoulders and waist probably feel a little uncomfortable too. Considering how much your body has changed, that's normal."
My face grew so red it felt hot.
Ugh... This is so embarrassing.
"We have some free time today, so if you're okay with it, would you like to go clothes shopping?"
"N-Now?"
"Yes. You've eaten breakfast, and if nothing is seriously wrong with your body, we can take a walk and buy some clothes."
Could nurses usually be this kind...?
Didn't they usually just do what they had to do...? I was grateful that she was taking care of all these little things for me, but...
The nurse pointed toward the hallway outside the hospital room and said,
"It would be a little awkward to go out in patient clothes, so I'll lend you some of my regular clothes."
"I-Is that okay?"
"The hospital rooms are mostly empty, and most of the staff are here at work, so it should be fine. I think it'll be okay for you to go with Nurse Park."
"Yes... Thank you."
*
I followed the nurse to the changing room, changed clothes, and headed outside the hospital.
It was probably because I looked like this now, but until yesterday, I had definitely been a man with all the right parts... This felt so awkward.
"Ah, now that I think about it, we should buy underwear first."
The nurse said this while glancing at my breasts.
"I-I, um, I guess so? Ahaha..."
I jumped in surprise and stammered out a flustered reply.
"This might be embarrassing, but... maybe because you're not wearing a bra, they're bouncing quite a bit..."
"Th-That's true... Maybe they're shaking so much that my shoulders..."
"Wow... I'm fucking jealous..."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
My face had turned so red it felt like it might burn, and I covered it with both hands as I entered the underwear store.
I had felt the same way when going to the shopping mall, but this was so embarrassing.
I wondered whether I even belonged here, and I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible...
But the overwhelming number of eyes I could feel while walking down the street...
If people were going to stare whether I wore one or not, it would be better to wear one and at least reduce the bouncing.
"Hello~ We came to have her size measured."
"Ah, yes, you mean her size? I'll measure it right away~"
"Ngh..."
The employee only had to place a measuring tape against me to take my measurements, but an odd sound escaped me.
"Please bear with me for just a little while~ I need to measure accurately so you won't be uncomfortable later."
"Y-Yes... Ngh..."
Even when I tried not to make a sound, whenever it brushed against my nipples, a little "Ngh..." slipped out. It couldn't be helped if I wanted them to take my measurements, but it was embarrassing to make those sounds.
I felt like some kind of pervert, and it was humiliating...
"Try one on in your size first, and if it fits well, you can choose whichever ones you like."
"Yes."
The nurse leaned over and whispered to me.
"Would you like me to show you how to put it on if you don't know...?"
I nodded.
The employee might think it was strange, but it was better than struggling helplessly because I couldn't put it on, right?
The nurse and I entered the changing room together, and I took off my clothes first.
"You can put it on from the front and fasten the hooks in back, or fasten the hooks in front and then turn it around to put it on."
I followed her instructions and fastened the hooks after putting it on from the front, but I wasn't used to it, and perhaps because it was so large, I couldn't reach the hooks properly. In the end, I had to get the nurse's help.
After the nurse left, I took off my bottoms to put on the panties, but...
“...I was definitely a man just yesterday...”
I could barely see past my breasts, but seeing the men's underwear I usually wore made my heart clench.
As a child, I had painful memories of triangular briefs chafing against me, so I had always worn boxers or oversized trunks. Now I had to wear women's underwear.
Whenever I went to the bathroom or took off my clothes to shower, I had always felt that thing between my legs. Now it was gone.
There was something I'd noticed whenever I went clothes shopping in person.
Whenever a pair of pants caught my eye because they looked nice, an employee would tell me they were women's pants and direct me to the men's section.
Of course, the employees were only trying to keep customers from buying the wrong thing, but it wasn't just once or twice. Every pair of pants that caught my eye ended up being women's, and I remembered feeling a little sad about it.
I didn't buy clothes in the first place, and I only went shopping when my parents occasionally told me to get some and dragged me along,
so I was too lazy to look closely and just picked something I liked. I could tell when a top or shorts were women's clothes, but with long pants, it seemed hard to know without examining them carefully.
Every time I went shopping like that, whenever I picked out pants, an employee would say, ‘Miss, the men's pants are over here.’
The employee hadn't done anything wrong, and neither had I, but it still felt strange.
Of course, men's and women's pants were probably separated because their sizes and skeletal structures were fundamentally different.
But...
”Are you fully dressed?“
The knock brought me back to reality, and I hurriedly answered.
“N-No, just a moment!”
“You can take your time.”
Ah, I'm crying.
Why am I crying over something so insignificant?
It feels like I've lost something. No... I did lose something.
My life as a man—something I had never been able to reveal, or perhaps hadn't even known was there.
After putting on the underwear properly, fastening the bra as the nurse had taught me, and adjusting my breasts, I opened the changing-room door and stepped out.
The panties fit snugly against my smooth groin, while the bra holding my breasts in place was a constant presence.
On top of that, wearing the nurse's borrowed pants made me understand why men couldn't wear women's pants.
My size must have been somewhat unusual, but my hips were quite large. The panties fit perfectly because they had been chosen after measuring me, but the borrowed pants were a little tight.
“How do they feel? Do they fit your body okay?”
“I-It feels a little strange, but I think the size fits.”
The nurse smiled and recommended several kinds of underwear to me.
Some sets didn't have bras in my size, but a few bras came in truly large sizes, so I bought about ten sets of underwear.
“Thank you for going to so much trouble for me. I don't know how to repay you.”
“Oh, don't worry about something like this~ If you really feel bad, you can let me touch your breasts once later.”
“W-Wait, what?? My breasts??”
“Ah, right, you were standing there with such a perfect figure that I couldn't believe you had been a man until yesterday... I'm sorry. But people who are close often lightly touch or play with one another.”
“I-I see...”
“Now that we've bought underwear, we need to get some outer clothes too, right? Let's buy lunch on the way.”
“A-Are you sure? You came out while you were working...”
“Helping you, Jihoon, is my job for today. Anyway, have you thought of a name?”
Ah, right. My name... Honestly, I hadn't thought about it.
I couldn't keep being called Jihoon, a man's name, forever.
I didn't think I was the kind of person to judge names based on stereotypes, but no matter how I looked at it, Jihoon was mostly a man's name. If a girl had been named Jihoon, she probably would have applied to change it as soon as she got a little older.
“You're right... I forgot to think of one.”
”How about Jia?“
”Jia?“
“Yes, Han Jia.”
”Ugh...“
My face reddened again, and I covered it with both hands.
”Are you very embarrassed?“
”Yes... It's been less than a day since I changed, and when I look straight ahead from my own perspective, aside from the weight of my breasts, I still don't really feel like I've become a woman.“
”I see.“
”H-Huh? Wait a second, Nurse!“
“Please call me by my name today.”
“Sh-Shall I?”
”Yes, my name is Park Jiyeon“
”Yes, Jiyeon... Argh!“
The place Jiyeon led me into was a huge shopping mall.
She said, ‘It might be tiring, but it's better to look at various clothes yourself and go through them one by one,’ as she pulled me along...
Whether she intended to dress me up like a human mannequin or simply enjoyed shopping after escaping her stressful workplace, Jiyeon showed me all sorts of things and said we'd stop by the cosmetics section on the first floor at the end.
I could feel countless people's eyes on me whenever we passed by.
Men and women, young and old, all looked at my breasts at least once.
The men stared with surprised faces, going, “Wow...,” just as I had, while the women swept their eyes over my entire body with intense gazes.
Whenever children passing by occasionally said, ‘Wow... They're huge,’ I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.
But what could I say to little children? Most of the ones who said things like that were girls, anyway...
The boys only stole glances at me with curious eyes, but... if I had seen such huge breasts just yesterday, I probably would have stared at least once too...
”Brace yourself, Jia!“
“What?? Aah!”
Jiyeon grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me around, holding different clothes up to my body one by one and telling me to pick out whatever I liked.
This was bad. I had been dragged into shopping hell...!