Chapter 25 – The Hard Question to Answer

From the first question, I felt like I was driving in a pinch and my head stopped for a moment.
How can you ask such a difficult question to answer?
…What should I do if the next question is at a similar level?

“That day?”
“When I went to Kim Joo-won’s room.”
“Uh…”

How should I answer this?
Should I tell the truth or should I not answer?

…No.
Yoon Shi-hoo still doesn’t know the exact identity of me and Kim Joo-won.
Don’t you know yet?
That day, the woman in Kim Joo-won’s room was me.

“Well, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“…If it’s a lie, I’ll tell the instructor right now that you’re a woman.”

So I opened her mouth, thinking of letting go of her pretense.
Of course, Yoon Shi-hoo is not an idiot either, so as soon as she hears what I say, at first she’ll think it’s a lie.

“I really don’t know.”

Rather, it is me who comes out like that, thank you.
I’ve never done anything intimidating.
Ordinary people often feel shaken when they go out strong against threats.

And Yoon Shi-hoo was no different in that respect.
The head is good.
She and he are still ordinary people who can’t help it.

“I don’t even know what the day you are talking about is in the first place.”

Again, my thoughts were not wrong.

“Hmm, is that so?”
“Rather, I’m more curious. How the hell did you know I’m a woman?”

Yoon Shi-hoo is not a regressor who has lived several lives like Kim Joo-won.
Because she is a person with fairly common sense, she cannot lead the situation like a madman.
The opportunity to reverse the initiative came to me.

“I know my dressing up isn’t perfect. But you were surprised to see me earlier too.”
“Oh, what did you do?”
“It’s to the point where I want to ask you out loud. What the hell did you see to know?”

Her mind raced wildly.
Don’t let Yoon Shi-hoo think of anything else.
You could ask questions, but it was important not to give him time to think about her.

“Oh, that’s…”

When I asked a question, Yoon Si-hoo showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
Did you not expect me to ask you a question here?

Ay no way
He’s a smart enough guy to deserve a class leader spot.
I couldn’t have expected that much.

“Actually, I didn’t mean it, I saw it earlier during the day.”
“What?”
“The way you look with Kim Joo-won…”

Did you see that?
But he couldn’t have guessed my identity just like that.

Even Yoon Shi-hoo, she was briefly surprised when she saw me as a woman now.
The difference between her disguised as a man and Lee Seo-ha’s true self is that big.

“If it’s daytime.”
“The image of you and Kim Joo-won fighting and breaking up.”
“Why is that?”
“To be honest, I didn’t even think of you as a woman until then, but when I see you as a woman in plain clothes, I keep thinking of Seoha Lee.”

I feel good.
Well, that means you can learn how to handle your abilities fairly quickly, right?
I can’t even make a dimensional door yet.

“But strangely, I was followed without my knowledge.”
“Okay?”
“Uh. I guess I was chasing after something familiar, but wished it wasn’t.”

…It was there.
Seoha Lee’s dimensional ability is, to the point of being said to be special.
It’s the only one in the world, and it’s a pretty unique ability.

“You must have seen me use my abilities.”
“Huh? Isn’t that so?”

It was the moment I was trying to understand.
You’ve never seen me use my abilities?
Then how did you know?

“What?”
“I haven’t seen you use your abilities directly. Just.”

My heart skipped a beat at the moment of interruption.
I wondered if I had leaked proof that I was a woman without even knowing it.

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, when I broke up with Kim Joo-won earlier.
I was so angry that I unknowingly threw the paper bag with my clothes on the floor.
Did you see that?

‘Crazy.’

In an instant, her face seemed to turn red.
I was fooled by Kim Joo-won and soaked her underneath.
Thanks to that, it wasn’t a possibility at all, considering that only the crotch was wet.
My clothes are wet, but if I see my pants with only the crotch wet…

“After using your ability, an afterimage remains.”
“You, you saw-. What?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no. What did you mean by ignoring what I said earlier?”

The moment I lost my composure and tried to spit out nonsense in the delusion that came to my mind.
I came to my senses at Yoon Shi-hoo’s words, coughed for a while, and cleared my throat.
As if the words came out without me knowing.

“If you use your ability, it leaves an afterimage.”
“Afterimage?”
“What, I guess you didn’t know. When you use your abilities, there will be an afterimage for a while, didn’t you know?”

Under.
Did you get caught because of that?

“Especially, the afterimage that made me know it was you earlier remained stronger than when you normally use your abilities.”
“…Okay?”
“Perhaps it only occurs under certain conditions. Around the center of the blue halo, there are cube-like objects floating around.”

Plus, it stays stronger than usual.
Perhaps, even in the future, you should be very careful about using your abilities.
It’s the first time I’ve heard that afterimages remain.
Even if you are a writer who wrote a novel.
It is impossible to know all the information that is not directly set by the artist.

“That’s when I found out.”
“…I see.”
“Then can I ask a question now?”

After receiving unexpectedly important information, Yoon Si-hoo began to feel grateful.
This is because I found out in advance that there are bigger variables than I thought.
Using dimensional abilities while still a woman, if someone sees the afterimage that lingers on for a long time.
…I hate to think about it.

“Uh.”

She nodded her head at Yoon Shi-hoo’s question.
She denied her relationship with Kim Joo-won anyway, so there shouldn’t be any more difficult questions to come up with.

“That, uh.”

Of course, even if that’s the case, maybe it’s because I’m nervous without knowing it.
Yoon Shi-hoo’s words stopped at my movement.
His gaze was already below the nape of my neck.
Caught between her arms, he headed for her chest, which had subconsciously highlighted its presence.

“Ah, I’m sorry. My gaze was unknowingly…”
“No.”

Did he realize that he had unknowingly made a mistake?
Yoon Shi-hoo hurriedly handed him an apology and turned his head to the side.
Come to think of it, he doesn’t know?
What was my original gender?

“Because I understand.”
“Huh?”
“I know. If you’re a man, you can’t help it.”

Actually, I don’t really want to talk about it.
Because I don’t think it’s going to be very well received.
It’s not even realistic in the first place.

“I used to be a man too.”

But to tell you how I got into Tsinghua Academy.
It was also a fact that had to be revealed anyway.
Lee Seo-ha becoming a woman wasn’t something that happened in the original work, so I don’t know why.

“Here…”

I took out my boyhood ID from my wallet and gently held it out in front of Yoon Shi-hoo.
Actually, I didn’t tell them that I became a woman.
Registration will still be male, and that ID will have to fulfill its role as an ID.

“…Is this real?”

Does Yoon Si-hoo not believe it when he sees my ID?
His pupils as he looked at me trembled.
The way he looked up and down my body meant that he couldn’t believe the reality he was seeing.

“Then you should have reported it. First of all, as long as you’re a woman, it’s not right to go to Honghwa in principle.”
“…It’s not like that.”

In addition, if someone said that they were faithful to the principles, would they be disappointed?
Hearing that, he nodded his head.
A little resentment for him, who couldn’t even think about why I couldn’t do that, was rising up.

“Originally, it’s right for female students to go to Honghwa…”

He sighed.
In a half-desperate tone, he spat out words that agreed with Yoon Shi-hoo’s words.
I tried to think of it as the process of a derailed train getting back on track.
Even so, the feeling that I don’t think I’ll be understood seems to bloom with the feeling of resentment.

“But it’s Seoha.”

A bad flower that will eat away at my heart and the development of my novel.

“Huh…”

Hearing Yoon Si-hoo’s call, he raised his head and looked at him.
It sounds like you’re talking about something serious.
Unlike before, he gave me a rather weighty gaze.

“If I had known this before I knew you, I would have told the instructor right away and kicked you out of Cheonghwa.”
“…?”
“But not now.”

They talked about something quite unexpected and started talking while making eye contact with me.

“I think you must have had a reason to dress up as a man and enter Cheonghwa Academy.”
“…Really?”
“Well, it’s only a short period of time, roughly two weeks, but anyway, the person I’ve seen is like that. Even if you seem taciturn, you’re a thoughtful and considerate person.”

Did I, as Seoha Lee, look like that?
Actually, the reason I didn’t speak much except when necessary was because I was careful not to make a mistake in a woman’s voice.

“That’s why I was curious. Why did you dare to enter the male academy, even dressing as a man as a woman?”
“Mom…”

But the question that arose after that.
It was kind of hard to answer.

Shihoo. As for why I am here, Kim Joo-won is actually a regressor, and he has to raise him to prevent the world from perishing. He’s a regressor, so he’ll get really hot later on, but he needs help from my side to make that happen.

…Fuck.
When I try to answer, there is no answer.
What should I answer other than that to convince our 20-year-old, smart young man, Yoon Shi-hoo?

“Can you tell me what the reason is?”

I started to worry about Yoon Shi-hoo’s words.
What the hell should I answer, can I avoid that question without a doubt?
In his opinion, simply becoming a woman from a man was not enough reason to come to Cheonghwa.
I had no choice but to use Yoon Sihoo’s Namjoongnamgo Tech and opened my mouth.

“…It’s a little hard to talk about.”
“It’s okay. I can say anything, so can you tell me the truth?”

I inhaled and exhaled lightly.
Then to Yoon Shi-hoo.
He gave an answer that could not be easily put into words.

“Because I don’t have the confidence to live among girls.”