After the Incident

When I rushed straight home after work, I was a little surprised. According to what Mr. Minsu told me, on Jia's first day after transferring, she thought a friend was being bullied, followed that friend, witnessed the perpetrator, and helped her friend.

"So Jia wasn't hit, right?"

"She wasn't hit, but the student cursed at her and swung a fist, which the bullied friend blocked."

"What happened to that student?"

"The student's homeroom teacher called the police officer assigned to the school, and the school is handling it."

Sigh... Why did things like this keep happening around Jia? She had become the target of a criminal group, fainted because she wasn't well, been taken to the hospital on her first day after transferring, and gotten caught up in school violence... I couldn't let my guard down, so there was no way I could stop worrying.

"Since Ms. Jia fell asleep so early, she may wake up in the middle of the night. Should I wake her?"

"Yes, I'd appreciate that. She needs to eat dinner too."

After hearing my answer, Mr. Minsu began waking Jia. While I was preparing dinner, the uniform shop contacted me.

'We urgently contacted a uniform shop in another region and received the necessary fabric. If you visit us, we can make her gym clothes.'

It had been bothering me that Jia had to go to school without gym clothes, so I was relieved that it seemed we could resolve the issue. Mr. Minsu must have woken Jia, because he came out to the living room and was preparing to leave.

"Oh? Are you leaving?"

"Yes, Ms. Jia is awake."

"If you're not busy, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Mr. Minsu thought for a moment, then said, 'Since I've finished work, I have time.' and sat down at the dining table. Jia also came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes, and it seemed the hot compress had eased her pain.

"Yaaawn... Unnie... I missed you... Yaaawn..."

"You're awake? How's your stomach?"

"It feels a little better after using the hot compress."

"Can you eat dinner?"

Jia nodded with a smile, apparently feeling much better after using the hot compress. A light meal with a mild soup would be best today. After dinner, Mr. Minsu urged Jia, 'Please take care of yourself, and if anything happens, please, please at least text me.' He then told me he had enjoyed the meal and went home.

*

Sigh... I never thought the homeroom teacher would call the police... Maybe Seo Seongjin, the homeroom teacher, was worried about his own neck and called the police officer assigned to the school. The officer might not be very trustworthy from the victim's perspective, but from the perpetrator's perspective, the police were still the police. It was irritating... But if I was being suspended anyway, did I even need to care?

"Student, this is going to be difficult if you keep being so uncooperative."

"What do you mean? I didn't deny anything the victims said, so isn't that the end of it?"

I didn't understand what the police officer was saying. Couldn't they just punish a bad student like me and be done with it? Why did the officer want to hear my side of the story?

"We've confirmed that there are definite victims and that Jihye is the perpetrator, but testimony can't be based on hearing only one side of the story."

"If I give my statement, will you decide my punishment and send me home?"

"You'll be able to go home before it gets too late. The victims have all gone home."

Even if I went home, my parents wouldn't care about me... They hardly ever came home in the first place, so I was effectively a nonexistent member of my family.

"For the whole of last year, I continually bullied a student named Choi Yuna, extorted money from her, and messed around like that. About five kids followed me too."

"I see. Those students will all be punished too. We'll call them in tomorrow to hear their statements, and the disciplinary committee will meet the day after tomorrow."

"What? That quickly? Doesn't it usually take about a week??"

I was utterly shocked. What was going on? The only ones among the kids I'd bullied who were unusual today were the boy whose face I scratched and that huge-breasted pig yesterday... The boy was extremely timid and didn't seem to have any friends, so he wouldn't cause much trouble... Then what about that pig? Was she the transfer student?

"The punishment will probably be a month-long suspension..."

"Go home before it gets any later. You haven't eaten dinner, have you?"

"I haven't... You're not seriously saying you'll eat with a bitch like me, are you, Officer?"

"Looking after lost students like you is part of a school liaison officer's job. What do you want to eat?"

How ridiculous. What kind of police officer took care of a rude school-violence perpetrator? Whatever. I was hungry, so I might as well go get kimchi jjigae.

"Kimchi jjigae sounds good."

"All right. I need to stop somewhere on the way and finish work before I head home, so could you wait a little?"

"Sure, whatever..."

Even if I went home, I'd be alone, and I would have had to buy dinner anyway, so it didn't matter. Besides, considering that the disciplinary committee was being held in two days even though it would normally take at least a week... I must have touched something I really shouldn't have.

'Sigh... I really stirred up a beehive—a hornet's nest, no less.'

*

"Yuna, are you okay?"

"I'm... somewhat okay, but I'm not Jia, you know?"

"What?"

"Weren't you the pervert who stared at Jia's breasts during physical education and openly ogled her all the time?"

Looking at Jia's breasts during physical education wasn't a personal problem of mine; all the boys had done it... In fact, the girls had stared even more blatantly. It was true that I'd stared at Jia from the seat right behind her, but that was because I wanted to become friends with her. There was no point explaining, since she wouldn't believe me, so I decided to keep quiet for now.

"Yuna, aren't you hungry too?"

"I am hungry, but..."

Giving statements—or testimony, whatever—about the incident had taken some time, and the clock was already pointing to six. If Yuna didn't want to eat, we should go straight home separately, but if she was okay with it, we could get dinner at a nearby restaurant. I was a little hungry too...

"...I suppose once is fine. So what are we eating?"

"There's a decent budae-jjigae place nearby."

"Not bad. I'm hungry, so let's hurry."

We hurried toward the budae-jjigae restaurant. This was my first time eating with a girl other than a family member... Yuna had seemed displeased with me at first, dwelling on what I'd done, but since it was already this late, she must have decided to eat simply because she was hungry.

"This place is pretty good. I should come here with Jia sometime."

"I'm glad you like it. Refills of rice and ramen noodles are free here."

Yuna and I didn't talk much as we ate our budae-jjigae. Yuna kept talking about Jia and nothing else, saying things like, 'I wish Jia had come with us,' and, 'I should take care of Jia next time.' Someone else might have been offended, but Yuna liked Jia and I liked Jia too, so I didn't feel particularly bad about it.

"I'll pay. I'm the one who suggested eating."

"I don't mind... Well, thanks."

We parted ways after eating dinner. We weren't particularly close, and our only common ground was that we'd both been caught up in today's school violence and that we both liked Jia... The former couldn't be mentioned out loud, while everyone in our class liked Jia, so the latter wasn't something unique to me either.

"Take care."

"Take care, Yuna~"

We mixed our rice into the budae-jjigae and ate it, then enjoyed the ramen noodles before saying goodbye. I wanted to ask what Jia liked and things like that, but my image was still bad, so I decided not to and quietly walked home.

*

Someone seemed to be calling to wake me, but I couldn't wake up. Still, as the voice continued calling me, I gradually opened my eyes... Mr. Minsu hadn't gone home yet. It seemed he had been continuing to look after me.

"Mr. Min...su...?"

"Yes, I'm right here, Ms. Jia."

"Thank you for staying by my side."

"I'm just doing my job. Normally, I would have gone home, but you looked unwell."

I hope I hadn't been sleep-talking... That would have been awkward. I hoped I hadn't shown him anything embarrassing. When I checked the time, it didn't seem like I'd been asleep for very long. I'd slept with a hot pack attached, and my condition had improved considerably.

"Ms. Jiyeon is preparing dinner. I ended up staying to eat too."

"That's a relief. Unnie's cooking is delicious, so I was hoping you would stay and eat too, Mr. Minsu."

We went out to the living room and ate dinner, then saw Mr. Minsu off and talked with Unnie about what had happened today.

"You weren't hurt anywhere, were you?"

"No, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt, but... my friend and the male student who sits behind me were hit in the face."

"So there was a bad student involved."

"Yes. I heard there's a student like that in Class 8 who has been targeting my friend Yuna since last year."

Unnie looked upset after hearing my story, but she was relieved that no one had been seriously injured. She had trusted the school's good reputation enough to send me there, so she was worried that such a vicious student had been at the school after all.

"Let's go to bed together once your food has settled."

"Yes, Unnie."

If it hadn't been that time of the month, we would have talked much more and spent a livelier evening than this... But just as the gynecologist had told me yesterday, the pain during my period was worse than I'd expected. The doctor had also worried about me, saying, 'It must have been incredibly painful... When you feel like you really can't endure it, come to the hospital and get some medicine.'

"Jia, are you sure you can manage without medicine?"

"I'm fine. I can get painkillers from the nurse's office, so it won't be dangerous. My classmates are taking good care of me too."

"That's a relief. Let's wash up and go to bed together."

It would be best to wash up and go to bed before it got any later. I did feel a little better after getting a good night's sleep... I didn't know whether I would have to give more statements or something similar to the teachers at school tomorrow, but I wasn't sure whether my body could handle it. I should just sleep...

"Oh, right, Jia. The uniform shop contacted me."

"Really?"

"They said they had contacted a uniform shop in another region and secured the fabric, so they could make your gym clothes."

"That's a relief. I didn't have gym clothes during physical education today, so I only took the grip-strength test."

When I told Unnie that my grip strength was 21 in both hands, she seemed a little worried. It was understandable, since that was lower than average...

"I'll talk to them on my way to work tomorrow. When your gym clothes are ready, do you want to pick them up on your way home from school?"

"Yes, I will."

Unnie must have been very concerned that I didn't have gym clothes. Was it really something to worry about just because I had to wear my uniform during physical education while everyone else had gym clothes...? I thought about that as I fell asleep in Unnie's arms. I wondered whether I would have trouble sleeping if she wasn't there.

*

It's morning... When I woke up, Unnie had already washed up and was preparing breakfast. I should wash up and get ready too...

"You're awake, Jia?"

"Good morning, Unnie."

After washing up and drying my hair, I realized I might not be able to fit in with the girls. I might look like a girl on the outside, but I wasn't truly a girl. I'd lived as a man all my life, and I wasn't particularly sociable, so I hadn't been good at getting along with many people.

'For now, maybe they're only spending time with me because I'm a recent transfer student and they're curious about me and find me interesting?'

My body really was strange, even to me, so perhaps people were talking to me because they were drawn to my appearance. I couldn't behave as naturally as the other girls, and I didn't know much about the things girls would naturally be interested in.

"Jia? What are you worried about?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Thank you for the meal~"

Hmm... How could I get along normally with everyone? As I thought about that while brushing my teeth after finishing breakfast, Unnie seemed very concerned.

"Jia, are you all right?"

"...I was just wondering whether I'd be able to get along well at school."

"You can do it, Jia. You don't have to worry about it so deeply."

"Thank you, Unnie."

Being comforted by Unnie did make me feel a little more at ease... but I was still worried. Someday, when the kids realized I wasn't a normal girl, wouldn't everyone start keeping their distance from me? Since there was quite an age gap between us, I didn't think I could completely blend in either... Even with a rough calculation, the kids who had been in elementary school when I was in high school were now the ones around me...

'Twenty minutes to school on foot... That's about the same as when I walked to middle school.'

The difference now was that the route to school was almost entirely flat, so it was less tiring. I saw many students on the way to school, but none of them were people I knew. I wasn't technically suffering from low blood pressure, but mine had dropped below normal, so I felt a little weak in the morning.

'Mornings used to be merely bothersome, but waking up has become a little harder...'

I got up early because drying my hair took time, but my body now needed a little warm-up before I could exert myself. If this had been a body I'd lived in since childhood, I might have moved naturally, but perhaps because a body I'd lived in for over twenty years had changed in less than a week, I could feel that it was completely different from before in more ways than I could even put into words, including ways I wasn't consciously aware of.

'I'm already at the school gate... Maybe I got here quickly because I was lost in thought.'

"Jia!"

"Huh?"

Someone called me, so I turned around and saw Yuna standing there. Why had she called me? Yesterday's incident must have been difficult for her...

"I kept calling you, but you didn't hear me. What were you thinking about?"

"It was nothing, haha..."

"Come on, your face practically says, 'I'm worried about something.'"

"It's something really personal, so I can't tell anyone about it."

Yuna smiled as if it didn't matter, took my hand, and headed toward the classroom with me. Even so, we'd only known each other for a short while. Did Yuna really like me that much? Then again, seeing how clingy she'd been at the hospital, she seemed to rely on me a lot.

"Yuna, about yesterday..."

"I was a little sensitive, wasn't I? Even though it wasn't that time of the month..."

"It's okay. Everyone has personal matters. But is your face all right?"

"The school nurse took good care of me, so I won't have a scar."

She looked fine and was talking to me normally, so she must have pulled herself together. Now I only needed to check on Jinwoo in the classroom... When I entered, Jinwoo wasn't there, so I decided to sit down and wait for him.

"Oh? Jia's here~"

"Jia's pretty even in the morning. Don't you wear makeup?"

"Hi, Jia~!"

The students noticed me entering and all spoke to me at once. I didn't think I would ever get used to several people talking or asking questions at the same time.

"U-Um... I don't really wear makeup..."

Perhaps the girl who had asked whether I wore makeup wasn't satisfied with my answer, because she brought her face close to mine and examined it from different angles.

"D-Did something happen?"

"Hmm... Your face is so pretty that it's hard to believe you aren't wearing makeup..."

I did apply basic skincare products, but that was because Unnie had asked me to take care of my skin. I wasn't using makeup simply to look prettier that day, such as blush or eyeliner. Besides, I was a high school student now, and there was nothing good that would come from wearing that kind of makeup.

"Do you really only put on basic skincare products?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You're pretty even without makeup... but I think you'd be even prettier with it..."

"I'm still a high school student, so I'll wear it when the time comes."

For now, it was safer not to wear makeup that added noticeable color, since I was a high school student. Products applied after washing up were often the kind men used too, so they weren't a big problem, but most schools prohibited makeup that added color to the face for decorative purposes.

'It varies from school to school, but there aren't many that allow heavy makeup or dyed hair...'

Oh, homeroom was about to start. But why wasn't the teacher coming in...? The teacher arrived five minutes later, checked attendance, and called me to the faculty office. What was going on? There had to be a reason, so I followed the teacher without asking. The faculty office was nearly empty because most of the teachers were conducting homeroom, with only a few teachers who weren't homeroom teachers remaining there.

"Jia, did anything happen yesterday? Tell me honestly."

"Other than what you saw on Monday, nothing happened yesterday."

"I heard Yuna had been bullied by Jihye since her first year. It seems she hid it and endured it because she didn't want to show weakness in front of her classmates."

......

I had nothing to say. It had happened before I transferred, and when Yuna was a first-year high school student, I had been a college senior after returning to school. So why was the teacher telling me this? Was it simply to investigate the incident? Or was the teacher asking me to look after Yuna?

"Hwang Jihye will receive a thirty-day suspension. The disciplinary committee will meet tomorrow, but..."

What? Didn't disciplinary committees usually take at least a week? They were holding one tomorrow over an incident that had happened only yesterday?

"The principal and vice principal are taking this matter very seriously, so they moved the committee's meeting forward considerably. It has also dealt a major blow to our school's reputation."

"I see..."

The teacher continued by asking what I had been doing when Yuna disappeared and whether I knew anything about someone who was supposedly stalking me.

"I thought Yuna must have needed some time alone after showing me such an embarrassing side of herself. She also left the classroom as soon as fifth period ended..."

"I see. And as for the stalking, you're the victim, Jia, so I'll tell you directly. I heard that Jinwoo has been secretly following you."

"I do feel Jinwoo watching me, but he seems timid, so I thought he didn't have any friends. I assumed he wanted to become friends with me, so I pretended not to notice..."

After hearing that, the teacher thought for a moment, then took my hand and began speaking, saying that stalking could be a crime even if he had his reasons.

"Jia, look me straight in the eye and listen carefully. It's true that Jinwoo always went around alone and had no friends before you arrived. But I heard that he had three friends in his first year."

"Yes..."

"Even if he wants to make friends, what Jinwoo is doing might be stalking you. So if anything makes you uncomfortable or you think Jinwoo is crossing the line, tell me immediately, okay?"

Could Jinwoo really be that kind of person? I didn't think so, but if the teacher was right and he was stalking me with bad intentions... I should talk to him directly. By the way, Yuna must have told the teacher because she was worried about me... Yuna surely wouldn't trust Jinwoo now. How could I get the two of them to reconcile?