Chapter 17
“Oh, what the—there's no ice in my water?”
While we were waiting for our pasta, Juhyeok went to drink some water, noticed there was no ice in his cup, and exclaimed in surprise.
“Ask an employee to bring some.”
“Guess I should.”
Hyeonwoo saw that and told him to press the call bell to summon an employee. Juhyeok was about to do so, but I stopped him and spoke.
“I'll take care of the ice!”
The two of them looked at me with expressions that said, ‘What is this guy talking about?’ But…
I wasn't saying that without good reason. Hehehe….
“Hah!”
As I held my hand over the cup and concentrated my strength in my arm, cold air flowed from my right arm, gathered together, and formed ice.
As the ice plopped into the cup of water, all three people at the table looked stunned.
“What is that? Magic? It's magic, right?”
“Seolhwa, what was that just now?”
The two of them stared at me in amazement after seeing ice appear from my completely empty hand, bombarding me with questions.
Hehehe…. Nice reaction.
It was a good thing I hadn't told them in advance—I wanted this reaction.
“It's nothing special…. Senior Narae said this is one of a Snow Woman's abilities.”
Ice creation and manipulation.
That was how my senior had defined my ability.
The ability to use moisture from the surroundings as a medium, create cold air that rapidly lowers the temperature, and make ice or snow….
She had explained the theory to me as well, but I hadn't understood it, so I just let that part go.
“Then can you make ice sculptures too?”
Apparently amazed that ice had appeared from my bare hand, Haru fiddled with my hand and asked.
“I can't make anything complicated yet. Creating ice takes an incredible amount of concentration, too….”
Since I had only recently learned this ability, delicate control was still a little difficult.
Like when I used it in my senior's laboratory last time, simply spewing it out was easy, but fine control apparently required practice.
If my concentration had slipped even a little earlier, a huge block of ice would have come out…. Hahaha….
While everyone was marveling at my ability, I suddenly realized that Hyeonwoo was the only one silently staring at me.
Huh, wait…? Why is he acting like that? Did I do something wrong?
Just as my eyes began to dart anxiously, Hyeonwoo spoke quietly with a serious expression.
“...I thought making your cheeks squishy was your ability, but I guess that wasn't it….”
...Let's pretend I didn't hear that.
======
A little while later.
At the end of our wait, an employee finally came to our table with the food.
“Your food is here.”
The pasta set down in front of me was generously covered in reddish sauce, with bacon and cheese on top combining to make my mouth water just looking at it.
The aroma of the pizza and garlic bread that came with the set also tickled my nose, and I could practically hear my stomach clamoring to be fed.
“It looks delicious~ I have to take a picture before we eat!”
Meanwhile, Haru took out a smartphone and began taking pictures from several different angles.
The three of us, myself included, picked up forks and chopsticks instead of our phones and prepared to eat.
“Thank you for the food!”
Unable to hold back my appetite any longer, I immediately speared the pasta with my fork and twirled it up.
I didn't eat it right away…. Instead, I cooled it with my icy breath until it was at an edible temperature.
Once I decided the pasta had cooled enough, I promptly gulped down a mouthful.
The sweet taste of the pasta spread throughout my mouth, and endorphins began racing through my head, cheering wildly….
The sauce was delicious, but the bacon and cheese on top were fantastic too….
The side bread had a wonderfully crispy texture, and the pizza had gooey cheese. I was certain this was a taste close to heaven.
I'm so happy….
Click!
Then the sound of a picture being taken rang out.
I turned to the side, wondering whether Haru had finally finished taking pictures….
Somehow, the camera was pointed at me.
“Heheh…. You look cute eating like a squirrel.”
“Mmph…! Mmmph!!”
Embarrassed at being photographed while eating so happily, I tried to protest, but I couldn't do it properly with my mouth full of pasta.
Ngh…. I'm not a squirrel…. There's a real squirrel somewhere else, you know….
======
“Ugh…. I can't eat any more….”
I said that while stirring my fork through the bacon-and-cheese pasta, of which about a third remained.
It wasn't because the food was bad. If anything, it was so delicious that I wanted to eat more, but I couldn't.
The reason was simple. I was incredibly full….
My belly, puffed out from the pasta and side dishes, had begun protesting and demanding that I stop putting more food in it.
When I was a man, I would have finished all of this and still had room left over….
Had my stomach capacity shrunk along with my body…?
“Seolhwa, are you okay? You don't look well.”
“It's nothing…. Don't worry….”
I couldn't bring myself to say that my stomach hurt because I had overeaten, so I told them it was nothing to ease their concern.
That didn't make the pain go away, though, and I was still suffering.
Ugh…. It can't be helped…. I should go to the bathroom for a bit….
“I'm just going to the bathroom for a moment….”
I asked my friends to excuse me, clutched my bulging stomach, and barely managed to stand up.
If I went to the bathroom and relieved my stomach even a little, I would feel better….
Thinking that, I moved toward the bathroom and entered the men's restroom.
With so many customers, the bathroom was crowded too.
Every toilet and sink was occupied.
And when all those people saw me enter the bathroom, they stared at me and froze.
...Huh? What's going on?
Wondering about it, I turned to the side, and a mirror hanging on the wall caught my eye.
Ah.
“I-I went into the wrong bathroom. I'm sorryyy!!”
I bolted from the restroom.
======
“Pffft, hahahahaha! Of course you'd attract attention walking into the men's restroom in that body! Pfft….”
“Uuugh….”
Of course, word quickly reached my friends that I had accidentally entered the men's restroom.
As a result, Juhyeok began laughing and teasing me mercilessly.
“You said, ‘Let's pay quickly and get out of here,’ and I wondered what was going on…. Pfft.”
“Well, habits built over several decades don't disappear easily, I guess…. Ahaha….”
The other two said they understood, but I could see them barely holding back their laughter.
I want to die…. As soon as possible….
I want to melt in the sunlight and disappear….
“The people in there must've been shocked too. Someone who was obviously a girl suddenly walked into the men's restroom, pfft.”
“Stop teasing me already…!”
Annoyed by Juhyeok's constant teasing, I launched a kick at him.
“Emergency evasion!”
But Juhyeok swiftly threw himself sideways and dodged my kick.
Tch…. What a sly bastard….
“At any rate, if you don't get used to situations like that quickly, they could cause serious trouble in all sorts of ways.”
Hyeonwoo, who seemed to have finally stopped laughing, spoke.
“Serious problems?”
“The bathroom is one thing, but if you accidentally went into somewhere like a swimming pool or a changing room, you could get into serious trouble too.”
“Hmm….”
True, until now I'd been holed up at home, so I hadn't had to think about it….
If I accidentally entered a changing room or somewhere like that in this body, I could even end up at the police station….
It really was a sensitive issue in more ways than one….
“The swimming pool should be okay, shouldn't it?”
Juhyeok, who had been quietly listening until then, finally opened his mouth.
Why would a swimming pool be okay?
“Since her breasts are small, it shouldn't be a problem even if she wore a men's swimsuit—pfft!”
Before Juhyeok could finish speaking, I hurled a massive block of ice into his abdomen.
Did he think I'd overlook sexual harassment just because I used to be a man? What an idiot.
“Well…. Anyway, I think you should become a little more aware that you're a woman now, Seolhwa. What would we do if you caused some kind of accident?”
Haru glanced at Juhyeok sprawled on the floor and spoke.
Hmm…. I really did have a woman's body now…. I should keep that in mind a little more….
“So how about trying makeup or wearing skirts, too? If you dress yourself up more, you'll gradually become aware of it!”
“Denied. I absolutely hate those, no matter what.”
I agreed that I should live with a little more awareness, but skirts and makeup were a separate matter.
Just because I'd become a woman, I didn't want to do things like that just to look pretty to other people.
“But you'd definitely be even cuter if you wore a skirt or put on makeup….”
“So what if I'm cute….”
Haru clearly desperately wanted to dress me up, but I firmly refused.
Even hearing someone call me pretty gave me goosebumps. If I put on makeup and looked in the mirror…. I would probably faint on the spot.
No matter how much of a woman I had become, it was difficult to change the habits and identity I had built over my entire life in an instant.
It had been a little less than a month since my body had become like this, but even now, my habits from when I was a man had barely faded at all….
Of course, that didn't mean I wanted to deny my identity as a man.
If anything, I even felt fortunate that I hadn't suffered the misfortune of suddenly transforming into a woman.
That was why I spoke firmly to my friends.
“My body may have become a woman's, but I won't throw away my pride as a man!”
“You know that's a flag, right?”
“Shut up!”