NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
I remembered exactly who she was. Yes, she wasn’t someone who was directly related to that incident. But in a sense, she might have been the most deeply connected person.
“I was unsure, but you helped me remember who it was. I should have spoken more appropriately; you crossed the line.”
“That’s an interesting expression, senior. No, Seol-guk.”
“You’re the junior who was with Kang Seong-hye that time, right?”
“You have a good memory.”
“It’s thanks to how hard you struggled to be remembered.”
“Yes, I’m glad you remembered. I was going to write an article about that incident just as it was, but it would have been unfair if you didn’t even remember it, you assailant.”
“Assailant, huh? It’s a funny story. That wasn’t assault; it was just an expression of justified anger.”
“Still, do you think that hitting a girl’s cheek is acceptable?”
“Didn’t you think that hitting me back would be a possibility after you struck me first?”
Right, strictly speaking, I was the one who got hit first. Then Jin Seo-hye shouted with a voice full of anger.
“You were the one who outed me first!”
“It was Kang Seong-hye who spread around that I was an orphan.”
As the argument escalated, the attention of the surrounding writers and reporters shifted towards us. However, Jin Seo-hye continued to express her anger without caring about that. Did she come here prepared to lose her job? I couldn’t understand it.
Yes, it would be difficult to understand this conversation easily.
Naturally, I wasn’t well-liked in the department even before going to the military. There were quite a few girls who would weep at my evaluations during critique sessions. Kang Seong-hye was one of them.
I don’t know how she found out, but Kang Seong-hye spread the fact that I was an orphan throughout the department. It was something I had kept hidden. As revenge, I exposed Kang Seong-hye’s secret.
It was a story I had heard from Gang Hwa-won, a girl from the same department.
Kang Seong-hye was a lesbian.
After I revealed that, I was slapped by Kang Seong-hye, who came running in tears. I returned the favor.
Basically, I was just returning the attack that Kang Seong-hye initiated first. Ultimately, my already poor reputation plummeted. Kang Seong-hye wasn’t any different. After that, she dropped out, and I enlisted.
That was the entirety of the incident.
But until today, I hadn’t realized there was someone I had left out.
Kang Seong-hye was a lesbian. That meant there must have been a partner somewhere.
It was Jin Seo-hye.
At that time, I couldn’t know who the partner was, but considering that Kang Seong-hye’s best friend, Jin Seo-hye, hated me this much, the identity seemed clear.
“If you hadn’t behaved that way during the critique sessions, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“So, was there anything wrong with my evaluation? I just gave a rational evaluation. I was just a bit honest.”
“Honest? That was just rude and disrespectful! Do you understand how terrible it is to insist you did nothing wrong? Do you think it’s right to mock and ridicule people just because they’re women? I could tell from your disgusting writing. You were abandoned by your mother, right? Is that the source of your misogyny? Are you still unable to forget your mother?”
“I don’t call this misogyny. I just hated someone who rightly deserved to be hated.”
“That’s your story.”
“This is why I dislike women like you.”
“You! Do you even know what happened to Seong-hye?”
“I don’t know. I have no interest.”
“Seong-hye committed suicide. Because of you!”
“Is that so?”
Frustration was slowly creeping in. Yes, that woman had committed suicide. Because I outed her. So what did they want me to do? After all, it was Kang Seong-hye who touched me first.
“How can you say that now? Someone died!”
“Did you expect me to mourn for her? Or do you think I could resurrect the dead?”
“You… are a demon! You should have been the one who died!”
Yes, perhaps I should have been the one to die. But right now, in this moment, I was the one alive, and the one who chose death was Kang Seong-hye.
It had nothing to do with me anymore. I packed my things and stood up.
“I’ll take my leave. I don’t think further conversation will yield anything productive. I won’t stop you from writing about the interview content, but if this conversation appears in an article, I’ll consider legal action….”
At that moment, a strong dizziness swept over me as I stood up. Grabbing onto the chair, I collapsed.
Since everyone had been focused on me and Jin Seo-hye, that scene was, of course, visible to everyone.
However, for some reason, their expressions were serious.
“What….”
In that moment, I realized something was flowing down my face. Had I hit something and gotten a wound? But no, the substance that was flowing was indeed blood. I hadn’t simply hit one spot.
Blood was flowing from my nose. Soon, I felt a strong wave of nausea and vomited. Since I hadn’t eaten anything, all that came out was blood and bile.
“Call 119! Quickly!”
The shout of the senior from swimming echoed in my head, making me dizzy. I could no longer maintain proper control of my body, and my consciousness was fading away.
The senior was holding onto me. But the last thing I saw before losing consciousness wasn’t the senior’s face. It was Jin Seo-hye’s face, genuinely surprised but still smiling.
I should have stopped the pointless argument and left this place long ago.
No, I shouldn’t have come to such a place in the first place.
If I had known a junior from the same department was a journalist, giving up would have been the right decision.
Would that have changed anything?
I didn’t know.
I lost consciousness just like that.
~
Emerging from the long tunnel at the border, I found myself in Seol-guk.
It was the first line from my most disliked novel.
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw, not surprisingly, was the ceiling of a hospital. Since I had called 119, it was only natural that I was in a hospital.
My whole body hurt. I didn’t know what illness had caused me to collapse, but it was clearly serious. I couldn’t move my body properly.
As I managed to slightly turn my face, I made eye contact with the nurse who had just entered through the door. Seeing my presumably grimacing face, the nurse froze a bit, then quickly closed the door and left.
I tried to call out to the departing nurse, but my throat hurt, and I couldn’t speak.
After some time passed, a doctor entered the room accompanied by several nurses.
“Ah, Seol-guk. Is that you? No need to answer. If it’s you, please blink twice.”
Fortunately, the doctor didn’t force me to speak right away.
I blinked twice.
Then the doctor held out a stethoscope and began to check my heartbeat. Soon the doctor spoke.
“Seol-guk, it may be hard for you to accept, but I would like you to listen calmly.”
I felt a bit scared by the gravity in the doctor’s voice. Could it be an incurable disease? Or is it a life-threatening kind of illness?
“Fortunately, your physical condition is okay. You might feel some pain now, but you should recover soon. There is no threat to your life.”
The doctor negated my guess. That was a relief. But then why was he speaking as if I would inevitably be shocked?
“There is a rare disease known to the general public, called Sudden Gender Dysphoria Syndrome. There are about three patients in Korea. I apologize for bringing this up, but that is your diagnosis.”
Sudden Gender Dysphoria Syndrome? What kind of illness is that? What is the doctor saying to me right now?
“In simple terms, it means that you… have become a woman. I know it’s hard to believe.”
The doctor was clearly joking. What kind of nonsensical nonsense is that?
Did he sense my expression, the doctor sighed and said.
“Nurse, hold him for a moment.”
Why? I can’t move anyway. Did he think I would cause a scene? In any case, the nurses gripped my arms. Another nurse handed the doctor a small mirror.
And when the doctor held the mirror out in front of me, the first feeling I had was one of nausea.
Nausea poured over me, and it was horrific.
I was no longer there in the mirror.
There was just a strange woman.
Unable to accept the situation, I soon realized why the nurses had to hold me.
There was no way I could not have a seizure after seeing this sight.
“Heart rate is skyrocketing!”
“Give him sedatives immediately.”
I didn’t know.
I felt the sedative entering my body while I even forgot the pain.
I soon lost consciousness and fell back into sleep.