NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 15
Time passed a little, and it was the day of my discharge. Naturally, when I was being discharged was a secret to the outside world. According to the hospital, I would keep up the pretense of not being discharged for quite a while. Of course, it wasn’t something the hospital was capable of doing; it was the National Intelligence Service that had helped out.
There was nothing to pack. Just my smartphone. The clothes I was wearing when I was brought here were no longer wearable, and I had heard they had been thrown away due to being soaked in blood. So, I was waiting for Ham Yejin to bring me some clothes. I couldn’t be discharged in a hospital gown after all.
The door opened, and Ham Yejin handed me a paper bag filled with clothes. I accepted it without thinking, but my expression hardened when I looked at the topmost item.
“This is….”
“It’s underwear.”
Yes, it was underwear. I hadn’t worn anything other than a hospital gown during my stay here to check my condition, so I hadn’t worn any underwear.
But to go outside, I had to wear underwear under the clothes. That was an obvious fact. Although I wasn’t completely blindsided, I was somewhat prepared, but I never expected it to be like this.
The underwear that Ham Yejin brought was children’s underwear.
I didn’t think she had bought it just to mess with me. It wasn’t because I trusted Ham Yejin. Simply put, if she had really wanted to mess with me, she would have brought something like character-themed panties. It was children’s underwear, but it was made of plain cotton. I just never imagined this situation.
Seeing that I was at a loss for words, Ham Yejin muttered as if to excuse herself.
“…That was the only size available. And since there are still lumps on my chest, I thought a junior bra would be appropriate….”
“How did you find out my size?”
“I obtained it from the hospital.”
It seemed they had checked all sorts of things while I was sleeping. The mere fact that I had to wear this was a huge stress, but I couldn’t endure not wearing it. How could a man who used to be statuesque have shrunk to a size where children’s underwear fit him?
In the end, I sighed and picked up the underwear.
Then I looked at Ham Yejin, who was silently watching me, and said, “Please leave.”
Ham Yejin understood my words immediately and went outside. If she had said something like it doesn’t matter since we’re both women, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back. I didn’t even know what I could do in this pathetic state if I couldn’t tolerate it.
Setting aside self-pity, the immediate issue was wearing the underwear. I couldn’t understand why just putting on a piece of cloth made me feel so tense.
I took off my hospital gown and glared at the children’s triangular panties in my hand. I closed my eyes tight and lifted my legs to slip them on. It wasn’t the first time I had worn triangular panties, but the feeling was somehow different. I could immediately feel that the male parts that used to hang between my legs were gone.
Of course, I had felt a sense of discomfort at the lightness in the middle before, but wearing a loose hospital gown had lessened my concern. However, these tight-fitting panties would constantly remind me during the time I wore them of what I had lost. They felt like shackles.
I felt a wave of nausea.
Next, I put on the junior bra. Thankfully, it wasn’t one of those complicated ones with hooks that I had read about in novels; it was simple enough to put on. If I had needed Ham Yejin’s help, it would have been terrible. Just thinking about it made me want to vomit.
The other clothes were just a plain t-shirt and pants. It was a relief that she hadn’t brought a skirt. No, that should have been obvious. If she had brought a skirt, I would have told her to tear it up and get me something else. I wasn’t sure if I could tear it with these hands.
The clothes fit surprisingly well. They weren’t too tight, nor were they too loose; they were just a bit larger than perfect. Knowing that this hospital and the National Intelligence Service had all my body measurements felt strange.
Of course, I understood that it was unavoidable, but accepting it emotionally was a different matter. Was the hormone treatment already starting to kick in? I found it difficult to control my emotions.
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I pulled out the last item from the bag. It was a hat.
It was a large hat with a long brim, designed to cover my head. It looked plain, but it was so big it felt like it would stand out. However, it was a much better choice than wandering around with my white hair exposed.
“…I’ve put everything on.”
Ham Yejin opened the door and came in.
“You look… good.”
I ignored her words. Hearing that children’s attire looked good on an adult man was hardly flattering.
Anyway, I was ready now. I followed Ham Yejin out the back door of the hospital. Thankfully, we managed to reach the parking lot without running into anyone.
In the parking lot, Ham Yejin brought out an expensive-looking foreign car that would be very hard to buy with the salary of a National Intelligence Service employee. Unsurprisingly, Ham Yejin sat in the driver’s seat, and I took the passenger seat. If someone were to spot me driving like this without an ID, I wouldn’t know what I could do.
“Isn’t this quite an expensive car?”
“I’m not sure. It was a gift…”
Who gives someone a car as a present? I had considered her just a stiff National Intelligence Service employee, but it seemed she was actually from a wealthy family. My already dwindling favor for Ham Yejin plummeted even more.
Ham Yejin carefully drove out. It didn’t seem like she was inexperienced at driving; it was just that her personality seemed to be naturally cautious. I realized while absentmindedly watching outside without my hat that the car wasn’t heading toward my house.
Could it be?
“Wait, this isn’t the direction to my house.”
Sudden chilling images flashed in my mind. It was ridiculous scenarios like the National Intelligence Service kidnapping me and selling me off to a research lab. Unfortunately, science fiction was not my specialty.
Thankfully, Ham Yejin immediately revealed the truth.
“We’ve cleared out Seol-guk’s house. Everything that could be moved has been moved, and the house is likely under someone else’s name by now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Reporters were lurking around Seol-guk’s house. We caught some of them, but there were also people trying to break in. If you go back there, you’ll be caught by the reporters immediately.”
“Then where am I supposed to go?”
“I found a room for you about 30 minutes away from the hospital. It’s a place managed by our National Intelligence Service, so you won’t have any major issues living there, and it shouldn’t be too much worse than the house you used to live in.”
They had said they couldn’t provide much help, but their after-service seemed quite thorough. However, it still felt like speculation, and Ham Yejin finally disclosed the truth.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. Though they claim to manage it, in reality, it’s a pretty much abandoned building. Originally, it was meant to be just a temporary place for you to lay low, but since things turned out this way, we decided to let you borrow it for a while. You won’t need to pay rent.”
“It’s free of charge?”
“It’s deducted from the funding.”
They were incredibly stingy, to a degree that was hard to imagine. It was infuriating.
“The country isn’t that kind to individuals. However, because of your previous circumstances, you’re a bit more fortunate than others.”
“Previous circumstances?”
“Perhaps the doctor mentioned there are three patients with sudden gender transition syndrome in Korea.”
“And?”
“There were originally five.”
What Ham Yejin implied was too straightforward and simple, and in terms of literature, it was a total zero score. But at least it was easy to understand.
The walls that had sealed the windows, the doors locked to prevent leaving the ward—these were not complicated questions.
“So now, including Seol-guk, there are four of you.”
I had no intention of forming a group about this, so it wasn’t really information I wanted to know. Even if I wanted to meet them, I wouldn’t be able to. And they probably wouldn’t want to meet me either. I wasn’t disinterested; I was curious about how someone in the same situation was living. That was all. Just that was enough for me not to want to know more.
Ham Yejin’s luxury foreign car drove at a slow pace, and after surpassing the 30 minutes she mentioned, we finally arrived about an hour later. During that time, I was already in a state of exhaustion. Even though she drove so slowly and safely, I still suffered from motion sickness.
As I got out of the passenger seat and stumbled, Ham Yejin supported me.
“Can you walk?”
“…Of course.”
If I had said I couldn’t manage, I felt like she would have just carried me. I absolutely hated that idea, so I forced myself to walk out with a show of bravado. The house was a small multi-family dwelling, and I could sense no one was inside.
“You can use room 105 here.”
Ham Yejin led me to the innermost house. Of all the places, it had to be the one all the way at the back. Breathing heavily, I finally reached in front of room 105, and Ham Yejin unlocked the door.
“The password is 1224. You can change it later.”
As soon as I stepped inside, I collapsed on the floor of the entrance. I couldn’t walk anymore. In the end, Ham Yejin had to pick me up and move me to the sofa in the living room. I absolutely didn’t want to be treated like luggage, but being handled like that didn’t feel great either.
Still, lying down and catching my breath seemed to help a bit.
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t able to bring any furniture. You’ll have to use what’s already here. However, I did bring all your personal items, like books and things that appeared personal.”
“The National Intelligence Service’s privacy protection is impressive.”
When I sarcastically remarked about them having handled my personal belongings at their whim, Ham Yejin coughed awkwardly. Looking around the room, I could see many items that had once been in my own home. Still, it didn’t look like it would be a huge problem living here. Some parts even looked better than my previous house.
“The house is fine.”
“Let’s rest for a bit before talking.”
Ham Yejin was correct. I was too tired and exhausted to think about talking any longer.
I lay back on the sofa and soon fell asleep.