Seol-ah Becomes a Woman

by Outsider · 2026-09-01

Dawn on the day of the appointment.

The outside world was frozen solid by the last cold snap, but my room was filled with a sweltering heat like midsummer.

It was like a last-minute pump-up to get the fit right before going shopping.

Seol-ah: Hup! Ugh... Rratcha!

I gritted my teeth and finished the last squat.

Baek Seol-ah's body reflected in the mirror was no longer a 'wooden chopstick'.

Though still slender, her thighs had developed quite firm muscles, and flesh had filled out over her emaciated ribs.

'Good. This much should keep me from being last in P.E. when school starts.'

Three months had passed since Kim Cheol-su's soul had inhabited this body.

It was the result of taking every nutritional supplement imaginable and diligently eating all the nourishing food my aunt made for me.

Just as I was wiping away my sweat with a towel, feeling proud, and about to head to the shower, there was a sharp pang.

Zzzzzzt.

Seol-ah: Ugh?

A strange pain was felt deep in my lower abdomen.

At first, I thought it was muscle soreness. It's usually a bit stiff after a leg day.

But the pain quickly turned into a sharp blade, beginning to churn my insides.

Seol-ah: Ugh...! Wh-what is this? Why is it like this?

I clutched my stomach and collapsed.

Cold sweat poured down like rain.

I had a bad feeling. This wasn't just simple muscle pain.

Could it be... a hernia from over-exercising? Or appendicitis? Or... did the herbal medicine I'd been taking go wrong and twist my stomach?

Seol-ah: Hmph... Damn it...

I crawled into the bathroom.

I thought maybe washing my face with cold water would make me feel better.

But the moment I tried to sit on the toilet, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Seol-ah: ...Blood?

Blood had soaked through my pants. And it was vivid, fresh blood.

Instantly, Kim Cheol-su's 36 years of life experience rang an alarm bell in his head.

Rectal bleeding.

This was a sign that his internal organs had ruptured, or that a serious organ somewhere had a hole in it.

'Crazy... My organs burst just from exercising a bit?'

My vision went dark. Fear washed over me like a tsunami.

Am I going to die? I haven't even been possessed for a year, and now that life is finally getting better, I'm going to die like this?

Where can I complain about this injustice!

Seol-ah: S-save me......

I staggered and opened the bathroom door.

I had to call someone. I had to call 911, or Manager Choi, and rush to the emergency room.

But when I actually tried to speak, I was in no condition to be seen.

I couldn't let Manager Choi, a man, see me like this.

Just then, I saw Seo-jin unnie, holding cleaning tools, passing by at the end of the hallway.

Seol-ah: U-unnie...! Excuse me...!

At my urgent voice, she was startled and rushed over.

Seo-jin: Seol-ah student?! What's wrong! Your face is as white as a sheet!

Seol-ah: Blood... blood... I think I'm dying... My stomach feels like it's tearing... The blood won't stop......

I babbled incoherently, terrified.

Seo-jin unnie turned pale and, supporting me, peered into the bathroom.

And she witnessed the situation.

Seo-jin: !!!

I expected her to scream and call 911.

But her reaction was unexpected.

Her surprised eyes widened, then changed into a strange expression mixed with relief and emotion.

Seo-jin: Ah... Seol-ah student......

Seol-ah: Quickly... an ambulance... I think my organs have ruptured......

Seo-jin: Wait a moment! I'll bring your aunt! Don't move!

She didn't run out to call an ambulance, but her aunt.

No, why call your aunt when someone is dying!

A moment later, the door burst open with the sound of hurried footsteps.

Auntie.: Seol-ah!

My aunt rushed in, out of breath.

Following her, Seo-jin unnie wasn't carrying a first-aid kit, but a fluffy pink pouch, a towel, and warm water.

I crouched on the bathroom floor, whimpering.

Seol-ah: Auntie… I think something burst while I was exercising… There's blood….

Auntie: Oh my goodness….

My aunt hugged me tightly.

But the tears in her eyes weren't tears of worry, but tears of emotion.

Auntie: Our Seol-ah… finally… finally you're healthy again.

Seol-ah: ……Huh?

Seo-jin unnie said.

Seo-jin: It didn't burst. It started. Your period has returned!

Seol-ah: ……?

I looked up at my aunt with a momentarily blank expression.

Period? Menstruation? That… thing women have once a month?

'Ah.'

Only then did a forgotten piece of common sense hit my brain.

Baek Seol-ah is a woman. And healthy women have their period every month.

The biological rhythm that had stopped because Seol-ah was too weak for the past few months had returned to normal thanks to my desperate efforts.

Seol-ah: Ah….

The relief that it wasn't a fatal illness. And the shame of this raw situation, which I had never experienced as a man.

Two emotions surged at once, and my face flushed as if it would burst.

Seo-jin: Congratulations, Seol-ah. It's truly… truly a relief.

My aunt sniffled and stroked my back, and Seo-jin unnie skillfully prepared to clean up.

I bowed my head deeply, wishing I could hide in a mouse hole.

It would have been less embarrassing if it had been appendicitis.

However, in the wake of the relief and shame, a much larger and more terrifying tsunami rolled in.

Having a period. Medically… that means ovulation has begun.

And if ovulation is happening…

'That means… I can get pregnant.'

A nuclear bomb exploded in my head.

I, Kim Cheol-su, was born a son of South Korea, a tough guy whom even gangsters wouldn't dare mess with.

But now… I have a body that can have a baby?

I imagined it.

My belly swelling up like Namsan, me having morning sickness, me lying on an examination table at the OB/GYN.

'Aargh! No! Stop! Don't imagine such things!'

Goosebumps covered my entire body, to the point where chicken skin felt like it would pop out.

This was a problem on a completely different level from understanding the gender change with my head.

My bodily organs had officially notified me.

[Notification: You can now officially become a mother.]

'Don't be ridiculous! I'm a father! My identity is closer to being a father!'

But my unfeeling body remained silent.

Instead, the throbbing pain seemed to mock me, saying, 'No, it's not. Accept it.'

I slumped to the bathroom floor, paying my respects to my lost masculinity, and let out a silent scream.

The three rules I had made in the hospital bathroom came to mind.

This body isn't mine. Don't look at it. Only do what's necessary.

…I need to add a fourth rule.

Fourth. This body does its own thing without asking me. Accept it.

When I came out of the restroom, thanks to the lightning-fast response of the helper unnies and my aunt, I barely managed to preserve my 'social dignity.'

The bed sheets were replaced with fresh, fluffy ones, and I was changed into clean pajamas and laid down on the bed.

But my mental state was still in tatters.

'Is this... a woman's life?'

The agonizing pain in my stomach persisted. No, it seemed even worse than before.

My back felt like it was breaking, and my mood was swinging up and down like a rollercoaster.

It felt like someone had put their hand into my stomach and was wringing my organs like a wet cloth.

When I was a man, I used to boast that nothing was harder than a military march, but I take that back.

This is a different dimension of pain.

When I took a body blow in the ring, at least I knew when it would end. The bell for the end of the round would ring.

There's no bell for this.

Seol-ah: Ugh...

A groan escaped me involuntarily.

My aunt placed a warm hot pack on my stomach and said,

Aunt: Don't do anything today, just rest well. I'll make you some red bean porridge.

With that, she left.

Only silence and my groans remained in the room.

Just then.

Knock, knock.

I heard a knock.

I was groaning, too weak to answer, when the door slowly opened.

Seol-ah: ......

It was Yu-ri.

She was dressed in her going-out clothes, all ready to leave.

Oh, right. We were supposed to go shopping at 2 today.

Her expression was deeply creased.

Yu-ri: ......The appointment time is almost here, what are you doing?

Yu-ri snapped with a sharp voice.

Normally, she would have gotten angry, saying, "Who told you to be late?", but seeing my current state, she frowned even more.

My pale face, the hot pack on my stomach, and the empty painkiller wrappers on the nightstand beside the bed.

I groaned and pulled the blanket up to my nose.

Seol-ah: I'm sorry... I can't make it today.

Yu-ri: Ha. This is unbelievable. After I got all ready.

Yu-ri let out an exasperated sigh.

Bang.

She slammed the door shut and left.

It must have been an expression of her anger.

Then, a moment later, she burst the door open again and came back in.

And then she strode over to the bed.

'What? Did she come to grab me by the collar for breaking the promise?'

My sensitivity was at its peak due to the recent embarrassment and menstrual cramps, so I narrowed my eyes, fully on guard.

She silently placed the mug she was holding onto the nightstand.

Clink.

Steam rose from the mug.

The rich, pungent scent of ginger and jujube pricked my nose.

Yu-ri: ...Drink it.

Yu-ri blurted out.

Seol-ah: What is this... Did you poison it? Is this punishment for breaking the promise?

I retorted half-jokingly, half-seriously, in a weak voice.

Yu-ri's eyebrows twitched.

Yu-ri: What do you take my sincerity for? Poison, my foot. It's ginger tea. I put a lot of honey in it.

Seol-ah: ......

Yu-ri: Auntie looked busy, so I made it for you, so drink it all. It won't taste good if it gets cold.

She turned around without waiting for my answer.

Then, she paused for a moment with her hand on the doorknob, and without looking back, she casually tossed out a remark.

Yu-ri: ...Don't make a fuss, drink that and sleep. We can go shopping another time, can't we?

Seol-ah: Huh?

Yu-ri: That, if you warm your stomach, it gets a bit better. I'm like that too.

Click.

The door closed.

Inside the room, only silence and the faint scent of ginger tea remained.

I stared blankly at the closed door, then laboriously got up and picked up the mug.

Warmth spread through my palm.

Taking a sip, the sweet and spicy liquid went down my esophagus, gently soothing my twisted stomach.

'Delicious...'

Far from being poison, it was perfectly brewed ginger tea.

A wry chuckle escaped me.

'Look at her, look at her. Pretending to be angry when she came in.'

The missed appointment was just an excuse; it was obvious she was worried because I was sick and brought the tea up.

She acts like the world's kindest daughter in front of Mom and Dad, but she only truly cares when no one is watching.

Baek Yu-ri, she's truly an enigma.

Like the Christmas ramen, too.

Seol-ah: Hoo...

As the warm tea went down, the pain definitely felt a bit relieved.

I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Although my body was undergoing a harsh initiation as a woman, a corner of my heart felt strangely warm.

This household, at first I thought it was a Siberian wasteland. Turns out it was a gathering place for tsunderes.

I hugged the hot pack and mumbled.

Seol-ah: Alright... I'll go shopping next time and make you pay big time. Kim Cheol-su, no, Baek Seol-ah. You're doing well.

Outside the window, a fierce winter wind was blowing, but tonight, for some reason, I didn't think it would be cold.

* * *

Five days later. At the department store, as promised.

Yu-ri: This. This. This too.

As soon as Yu-ri entered the store, she quickly pulled clothes off hangers and draped them over my arm.

A knit dress, a pleated skirt, a flowy blouse.

I promptly put them back on the hangers.

Yu-ri: Hey.

Seol-ah: Huh?

Seol-ah: These are all skirts.

Yu-ri: You're a girl.

Seol-ah: ...It's winter.

Yu-ri pressed her hand to her forehead.

Yu-ri: So what do you want to buy?

I pointed to the opposite side of the store. The sports brand section. A feast of black, gray, and navy.

Seol-ah: Over there. Five sets of training wear, tops and bottoms. In different sizes.

Yu-ri: You're buying five sets of the exact same thing?

Seol-ah: The colors are different. Black, dark gray, gray, light gray, navy.

Yu-ri: That's the same thing!

Yu-ri yelled, and a passing customer looked at us.

Eventually, we compromised.

Five sets of training wear, my choice. In return, I would buy one outfit Yu-ri chose without complaint.

Yu-ri deliberated for a long time, then held out a white knit dress.

Yu-ri: This. You don't have to wear it. Just hang it in your closet.

Seol-ah: Why buy it if I'm not going to wear it?

Yu-ri: ...Just buy it.

She didn't explain any further.

I swiped my card and thought,

'A dress to just hang in the closet. What a person.'

I couldn't have imagined then when that dress would ever leave the closet.

The stormy winter break was coming to an end.

And at the end of February, standing in front of a full-length mirror, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Seol-ah: ...Is this me?