“What exactly is the Baek Han-gyeol incident?”
It was a simple question that slipped out from a fleeting memory.
Not that I hadn’t given it some thought before.
But last night, Ahn Hyun’s tone when scolding Jin Su-hyun was like a warning—not to speak so casually about it.
It felt as if we were treading on forbidden ground.
“……”
That suspicion wasn’t baseless.
The sudden chill that fell over the warm conversation just moments ago was proof enough.
How much time had passed?
After a long silence, Heo Jun-young carefully reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a dark, worn wallet and hesitantly took out a faded photograph.
Was it taken at a hot spring?
The photo showed clear water and white steam in the background, capturing the bare back of Kim Su-hyun.
A white towel was wrapped around the lower body, but it was still a somewhat embarrassing picture.
Next to it was Baek Han-gyeol, also naked.
His face was flushed red, his expression slightly relaxed, and he was holding Kim Su-hyun tightly.
To sum it up: a rather amusing photo of Baek Han-gyeol lunging forward and Kim Su-hyun looking flustered.
At least, on the surface.
“This photo is…”
“It was taken during a trip.”
“A trip?”
“No, not that trip.”
Realizing the misunderstanding, Heo Jun-young quickly corrected himself.
“Not that trip, a different one. Jin Su-hyun took the photo. Without us knowing.”
He emphasized ‘without us knowing’ and ‘that guy.’
“When we caught him at the scene and interrogated him, he confessed that someone had asked him to do it. They said they’d pay a high price for raw photos.”
“That’s… a crime, isn’t it? The clan lord just let it slide?”
“I don’t know why, but several women… especially Kim Yu-hyun, actively defended Jin Su-hyun. Said it might be understandable.”
“Ah, I see.”
Shin Sang-yong understood the whole story from that alone.
He was curious why Heo Jun-young kept the photo, but decided not to ask.
“In the end, Kim Su-hyun just let it go… Anyway, the important thing is this.”
Heo Jun-young tapped the photo, bringing the conversation back on track.
His index finger pointed precisely at Baek Han-gyeol.
Shin Sang-yong tilted his head.
“Hmm… Could it be a love confession? Haha.”
“That’s right.”
Heo Jun-young admitted immediately, and Shin Sang-yong’s eyes widened.
A small laugh escaped him, which was natural.
The tension briefly broke.
But Heo Jun-young didn’t move his finger.
Instead, he grew serious and fell silent.
Shin Sang-yong quickly wiped the smile off his face and looked at the photo again.
“Look here.”
Heo Jun-young pressed his finger firmly on a spot in the photo.
His neatly trimmed nail pressed against Baek Han-gyeol’s bare chest.
“…?”
After staring for a while, Shin Sang-yong’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Was it discomfort? Embarrassment? Hard to say exactly, but something felt off.
“Now that I think about it…”
The vague unease that had been lingering was none other than the chest.
Of course, not all men are muscular, and smooth skin is understandable.
The problem was the chest.
Soft, pale flesh rising gently,
A smooth, rounded curve,
Two low hills topped with shyly prominent, pale nipples.
And the firm elasticity supporting it made it hard to think of it as gynecomastia.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a woman’s chest.
“Could it be that Baek Han-gyeol is…”
With a sigh, Heo Jun-young slowly nodded.
“So, it turns out he was a woman.”
“That’s surprising,” Shin Sang-yong added, proud of himself for staying calm.
But Heo Jun-young buried his face in his hands.
Something felt off.
“Wait…”
After a moment, he spoke with a heavy sigh.
“He wasn’t a woman. He’s a man. Or rather, he was a man.”
He emphasized twice.
“Have you heard of transgender people?”
Transgender.
Shin Sang-yong wasn’t stupid, but it took him about three seconds to process what he’d just heard.
“W-wait a minute. So, Baek Han-gyeol, or rather, she—no, no!”
Shin Sang-yong was stunned, and Heo Jun-young showed a knowing expression.
“Don’t misunderstand. Baek Han-gyeol is still male sexually. He hasn’t had surgery.”
He spoke bluntly, then continued with a bitter tone.
“Changing gender these days isn’t as easy as people think.”
Indeed, changing one’s gender isn’t something you can just decide on a whim.
First, a psychiatrist must diagnose gender identity disorder and issue a certificate.
Then, the patient can get hormone therapy from an obstetrician.
After about a year of continuous hormone treatment and living as the desired gender, surgery becomes an option.
Only after this long, complicated process does one qualify.
“So that photo was…”
“Taken about six months after starting hormone therapy.”
A heavy silence fell.
Shin Sang-yong bit his lower lip, unsure what to say.
His teeth marks were clear.
“I don’t want to criticize someone’s choice. If Baek Han-gyeol had always wanted to transition, there’d be no issue. But… this isn’t that.”
Exactly.
If Baek Han-gyeol had simply confessed feelings for Kim Su-hyun, it could have been laughed off.
But the key point was that this happened after Kim Su-hyun’s charm had abnormally increased.
As far as Shin Sang-yong remembered, Baek Han-gyeol was not someone who wanted to live as a woman.
In other words, indirectly, Kim Su-hyun had caused a mental disturbance in Baek Han-gyeol.
It was hard to dismiss as trivial.
Especially since Kim Su-hyun, who was extremely wary of mental contamination, must have felt this deeply.
“Uh, well… I guess it all worked out somehow. You said he’s still male, after all…”
“Not exactly.”
Shin Sang-yong stammered, but Heo Jun-young immediately denied it.
“After the truth came out, everyone tried to stop him, but he was stubborn… wouldn’t budge an inch.”
“Stubborn? Baek Han-gyeol?”
“Yeah. We told him surgery was off the table for now, and if he insisted, to return to the whole plane and find another way. But I wouldn’t say it’s resolved.”
“That means…”
Shin Sang-yong wanted to say, “It’s not resolved at all,” but swallowed the words.
He wasn’t the type to speak recklessly about things he hadn’t experienced.
“Anyway, be careful yourself.”
As if wrapping things up, Heo Jun-young let out a long sigh and began tidying up.
“There’s no guarantee someone like Baek Han-gyeol won’t appear among us… It’s better not to act like before until you get used to it.”
Watching Heo Jun-young carefully tuck away the photo of Kim Su-hyun, Shin Sang-yong found himself unable to speak.
Meanwhile, at the same time—
“E-excuse me!”
Geun-won looked at an unexpected visitor in Vivian’s lab with an indifferent expression.
More precisely, only on the surface; inside, a faint confusion stirred.
Because the person before him looked female but was biologically male, and seemed to have business with him.
To be honest, Geun-won’s social circle was narrow.
Besides Kim Su-hyun and Vivian, he rarely spoke to anyone else.
Sometimes others came to Vivian’s lab, but mostly to see Vivian.
But Vivian was absent now, and this gender-ambiguous person had come looking for Geun-won.
Since no one had ever directly asked for him before, it was natural for Geun-won to feel unfamiliar.
“I’m sorry, but I came with a big favor to ask…”
A big favor.
Not a small one.
In this strange situation, Geun-won quickly scanned his mind.
He tried to recall how to respond appropriately, drawing on past memories.
Of course, his main reference was Vivian, with whom he had spent the most time.
Soon, Geun-won narrowed it down to two possible scenarios:
Vivian’s reaction when Kim Su-hyun came.
Vivian’s reaction when someone else came.
In the first case, Vivian’s hips had suddenly moved in a flashy way.
In the second, her attitude was similar, with slight differences.
Though it took a few seconds, Geun-won naturally chose the latter. (He still wondered why Vivian’s hips acted so strangely whenever Kim Su-hyun showed up.)
He raised the corners of his eyes, held his head high, sank deep into his chair, and crossed his legs…
It took quite some time before Baek Han-gyeol understood this as a silent “Go ahead, say it.”
After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke.
“Do you remember the forest from before? The place where we first met.”
Geun-won tilted his head.
“You mean the forest where the mist wrapped around us, and after spending the night, our bodies changed… Was it called the Misty Forest?”
The Misty Forest.
Geun-won nodded slightly.
“Oh, you remember! Then do you also remember the mist that surrounded that forest?”
“……?”
“Could you make that fog again for me?”
“…!”
Keunwon’s eyes sparkled.
It was nearly noon by the time I finally shook off the wives who had turned into chicks.
I tidied my messy hair and returned to the office, but for some reason, Seraph was nowhere to be found.
Just before dawn, she’d been burning with a high fever, constantly calling out for me, but now the bed was neatly made with crisp white sheets.
The only thing left behind was a neatly folded note.
It read:
Hmm.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Seraph’s handwriting before.
It’s as refined and beautiful as her appearance.
Well, she’s not the type to summon me back and forth without reason, so I’d better head to the Summoning Chamber.
Taking my time to look around, I soon arrived at the temple.
Atlanta’s morning routine, after such a long time, felt… well, nothing special, really.
I guess five years is too short a time to expect any big changes.
Or rather, in this world’s time, it’s only been three days.
I stepped through the portal into the Summoning Chamber, where translucent wings fluttered over the ashen altar.
Though I’d read the note, seeing Seraph there brought an inexplicable sense of relief.
“User Kim Suhyun.”
Her calm voice.
Unlike yesterday, she looked me straight in the eyes as she spoke.
“Are you feeling better now?”
I smiled and crossed my arms; Seraph let out a short breath.
“My powers partially recover in the Summoning Chamber. I can resist to some extent.”
“Resist, huh… How was it outside?”
Seraph paused, as if lost in thought, then spoke calmly, as if sharing what she felt.
“I wanted to run to you, to cling to you, to act spoiled.”
Oh.
“Here.”
I spread my arms wide. Seraph sprang up, smiling brightly, leaning forward.
But then she suddenly froze, squinting at me with a gentle glare.
“Don’t joke about that.”
“Why, you don’t like it?”
“User Kim Suhyun, I’m serious right now.”
“…That serious?”
Her voice sounded slightly annoyed.
Seraph sat back down on the altar, adjusted her posture, and shook her head.
“I expected some change… but not like this.”
She muttered to herself, then looked at me with a hint of pity.
“I imagine you’re aware of it too.”
“Hmm…”
The change in me.
And the effect it’s having on those around me.
As Seraph said, I can’t say it’s without problems.
I don’t fully understand what’s changed in me, but it’s clearly causing issues in daily life.
And that’s not all.
Anyway, this isn’t the time for jokes, so I quietly sat down.
Still, I have to say, that’s Seraph for you.
Even after a long time apart, instead of catching up, she worries about my body first.
It made me feel a little better.
While nodding quietly, Seraph finally spoke.
“Shall we start by opening your user information?”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
This took longer than I expected. ^^;
Since there’s precedent, I imagine many of you were worried, but please don’t fret too much.
If anything happens over the next month or two, I’ll be sure to post updates regularly.
The next side story will be updated within the week.
(__)
As for the comments:
Aseolpeun Hooni / Haha, rather than that, think of this as preparation for events to come.
Paran Gaori / You have a good memory. I have an episode planned related to that, which ties into the ongoing Baek Han-gyeol incident.
Taeseong Sseup / Of course they’ll appear. With so many characters, it’s better to focus on them across multiple episodes.
Haesol / Suhyun’s charisma hasn’t disappeared. It’s still very much intact. Please look forward to it!
Motnanrija / Absolutely. I plan to introduce them connected to Suna at the right moment.
Raunellis / Sorry for causing concern. I have nowhere else to go besides Joara… ㅜ.ㅠ
Deulmaro / Ansol is one of the only EX-class users alongside Kim Suhyun. Heh.
Shatien / Nymue, the Obello Knights. Got it. The Obello Knights could be fun to write about.
UrDREAM / No, haha; I’m a very healthy man!
Ervantes / Jeong Ha-yeon was a devoted wife. You’ll understand what I mean after episodes 1 and 2. :)
Doz / Yes. Honestly, I’m planning many changes out of my own ambition, so I’m taking it slow. There were many things I wanted to improve during serialization, so there’s a lot to refine.