Episode 7

by Muse · 2026-04-02

Ji-hoo gently took my wrist. His warmth brushed over the bones of my wrist, which felt thicker than yesterday.

Jihu: Let's go. Shower and go to bed right away. In my room.

If it were a conversation between a man and a woman, it would definitely sound strange. I suddenly had that thought for a moment. Then I nodded as if someone else was moving for me.

Me: ...Yeah.

The hallway leading to Ji-hoo's house was unusually quiet after the front door light was turned off.

Only our footsteps echoed distinctly, and my heart was beating even faster.

That night, of course, we didn't sleep in the same bed. I was in Ji-hoo's bed, and Ji-hoo was on the sofa...

Morning sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains. Ji-hoo silently watched me, sitting upright on his bed.

The confusion from last night still lingered in his eyes. I touched my body.

Perhaps I hadn't returned to my old self overnight. Perhaps yesterday's events weren't a dream.

Jihu: ...Did you sleep a bit?

His voice was cautious.

Me: Yeah. But... it's strange. I keep feeling something moving inside me? Not like that... just unfamiliar.

I looked down at the back of my hand. My fingers were thicker than yesterday, and the shoulders of the men's t-shirt didn't fit. My bones and muscles still didn't feel like my own.

Jihu: Jiyoon.

Jihu sat at the edge of the bed.

Jihu: Today... I can't go home.

Me: Why?

He pushed his phone screen in front of me.

He pushed his phone screen in front of me.

Caller: Neogen Pharma Clinical Support Team

4 missed calls.

2 text messages.

And finally, 2:14 AM.

- Ms. Yoon Ji-yoon, a follow-up check after the injection is required. Please visit or call today.

- If contact cannot be made, a verification process based on your address may be initiated.

I swallowed.

I: …Follow-up check? Why?

Ji-hoo: I don’t know. But the tone… it’s strange. It’s not a hospital, and at this hour?

Ji-hoo put down his phone and covered his head with one hand.

Ji-hoo: You said your condition yesterday… it was because of that medication. The pharmaceutical company is hiding something.

I: Hiding…?

I bit the inside of my lip. Yesterday's expression of Ra-eun was still vivid. Guilt, fear, but stronger than that, a face that was determined to 'protect.'

Ji-hoo: Today, Teacher Ra-eun said she would contact us. Let's get tested again.

I nodded at Ji-hoo's words and got off the bed. My body felt heavier than before, and my balance shifted with every step.

Ji-hoo: You wash up first.

Ji-hoo: I’ll be out for a moment.

I: Where are you going?

Ji-hoo: …You handle work.

Only then did reality hit me.

The hospital.

The desk.

The office with my name on it.

The dried coffee stain on my desk.

The monthly report.

The professor’s nagging.

Ji-hoo: Ji-yoon, don’t try to hold on right now.

Ji-hoo: You… almost disappeared yesterday.

Those words were not light. Even without taking a deep breath, my chest ached.

I: …Be careful and come back.

Ji-hoo: Of course. You… absolutely don’t go out alone here. Never.

His gaze was firmer than before, but I could feel a tremor deep within him. That tremor strangely seemed to brush against somewhere in my chest.

After Ji-hoo left, I slowly looked around his room. A space I had never entered when I was a woman. Instead of perfume, there was a faint detergent smell, nothing on the walls, and on the desk, a soccer ball keyring and a supplement container.

A room that was just like Ji-hoo himself.

Am I... really here right now?

I pinched my thigh. It hurts. This isn't a dream. At that moment, a message from Ra-eun came in. - Ji-yoon, can we meet again at 11 AM today? I contacted Ji-hoo too. Please… be careful. Please. I felt an invisible weight in that one word.

************************************************

Hospital.

* Ji-hoo's perspective. *

Ji-hoo: Um… I’m a family member of Yoon Ji-yoon.

Ji-hoo tried to speak as naturally as possible. His heart was racing like crazy, but he maintained an expression like a worried older brother.

“Oh, Ms. Ji-yoon hasn’t come to work yet?”

The person who seemed to be the head of the general affairs team, guided by a colleague, asked.

She said she was the HR manager.

Is she not reachable… is she sick or something?: A person who seemed to be a supervisor from the HR team, guided by a colleague, asked. She said she was the HR officer.

Yes… she suddenly collapsed. She’s hospitalized.: Employee

Oh no, is she okay?: Ji-hoo

Yes. So I was hoping to process her leave. I think she’ll need about a month or two for recovery.: Employee

The employee nodded without any suspicion and handed over the documents.

Please feel free to contact me again anytime, Ji-yoon... You've always been diligent... Why does it have to be at a time like this...

Ji-hoo couldn't stand there any longer.

He walked out, clenching his fists.

Those words overlapped on Jiyoon's face. Jiyoon, who was sobbing last night, Jiyoon, who said 'I'm scared' in a man's voice. What if the target was himself instead? If he had to live a life taken away from him as a man and live another life.

Ji-hoo: Ji-hoo took a deep breath and called Ji-yoon.

A small sigh of relief could be heard over the phone.

Me: …Thank you.

At those words, Jihu felt a warm tremor deep in his throat.

*** *** ***

After returning home, Jihu finished getting ready to go out and led me, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, towards the clinic.

Me: Here… there are too many people…

Jihu led me, who had my hat pulled down low, into an alley next to the clinic.

Jihu: It's okay. Teacher Ra-eun told me to come in through the back door.

A small staff entrance creaked open, revealing Ra-eun wearing a blue sweater under a white coat.

Jung Ra-eun: …Jiyoon.

Her eyes shook for a moment. Surprise, guilt, and… a strange emotion. I instinctively took a step back.

Me: Ah… um… Teacher.

Jeong Ra-eun: It's okay. Come closer.

Ra-eun reached out and lightly grabbed my wrist.

In that moment, my heart thudded loudly as if someone was knocking on the door from the inside. Ji-hoo's expression also hardened in an instant.

Jung Ra-eun: Let's go inside. Today… there’s something we must discuss.

Ra-eun's voice was low and shaky, and that tremor was even more frightening.

The moment the door closed, the sunlight outside was blocked, and only the sound of our breaths remained in the narrow examination room.

Ra-eun turned on the monitor next to the examination bed and spoke.

Jeong Ra-eun: Jiyoon, I received a call from the pharmaceutical company. What I got was… just two sentences.

She showed me her phone screen.

- The current condition of the procedure recipient must be confirmed.

- If there is no contact today, we will visit in person.

Me: Directly… visit?

My lips trembled.

Jihu: They… are coming all the way here?

Jeong Ra-eun: There is a possibility. This place is too noticeable. So… we have to move to another location today.

Move.

As that word reached my ears, my body stiffened momentarily.

I: Um… where should I go…

Jeong Ra-eun: Jiyoon.

Jeong Ra-eun: Ra-eun looked at my face. Her gaze was completely different from yesterday. Instead of guilt, there was determination; instead of fear, there was warmth.

Jeong Ra-eun: For now… staying here is dangerous. They are not scary people. But… Jiyoon's condition must never be revealed to them.

Me: Why… why?

Ra-eun took a moment to catch her breath and spoke very carefully.

Jeong Ra-eun: I also… don’t know everything. But from what I found out… it seems that the drug was originally developed in a category similar to ‘light fatigue recovery injection.’ It has strong short-term effects, making it difficult to use in general hospitals… instead, they gather data through private clinics.

She tightened her grip with her fingers.

Jeong Ra-eun: The problem is… the officially announced ingredients and the ingredients I saw… were too different. And when they demand ‘immediate contact’ from the patients… it means they are hiding something.

Ji-hoo: …Hiding? What do you mean?

Jeong Ra-eun: I don't know...

Ra-eun shook her head.

Jeong Ra-eun: However… it’s certain that Ji-yoon’s case is an ‘unexpected reaction’. The reason they are looking for it… is probably because of that.

Ra-eun's gaze turned back to me.

Jeong Ra-eun: Ji-yoon’s body… might have more meaning than just an ‘abnormal reaction case’ to them… that scares me too much.

The moment those words ended, Ji-hoo tightly grabbed my hand.

Ji-hoo: Ji-yoon. For now… stay with me.

His hand. A man's hand. And my hand holding that hand. A man's hand.

The warmth of both intertwined, tightening my chest in a melancholic way.

Jeong Ra-eun: For today…

Jeong Ra-eun: Please move to the temporary accommodation I reserved. It’s a place where people won’t notice you.

I: Are you going with us, teacher?

It slipped out of my mouth. Ra-eun paused for a moment.

Jeong Ra-eun: …I’ll go later. You two go first.

Ji-hoo looked at me. His eyes were a mix of anxiety and determination.

Ji-hoo: …Shall we go?

I: ...Yes.

I answered quietly. In that moment, I suddenly realized. I am now in a man's body, slowly walking through the weight of two people looking at me with different feelings. Into the middle of a river of emotions that could flow anywhere.

As I stepped out of the clinic through the back door, sunlight poured in again, and Ji-hoo's shadow overlapped with mine. I spoke in a very small voice.

I: …Ji-hoo.

Ji-hoo: Huh?

I: What… will I become from now on?

Ji-hoo paused for a moment. And he spoke very softly.

Ji-hoo: …That’s for you to decide. Not your body. You are… Yun Ji-yoon.

I swallowed at those words, yet my heart trembled with a dizzying sensation. And, another realistic vibration. It was my phone. A message from Ra-eun.

- Be careful. Today… absolutely.

The motel was located a bit away from the city center. Instead, it was quiet, and the small sign made it inconspicuous. It was the place Ra-eun had reserved, saying, “Rest here today.”

When Ji-hoo opened the door, the room that unfolded before me had bright-colored wallpaper, a small table, and a single white bed. A delicate lamp that seemed out of place was turned on.

Ji-hoo: ...Is it okay here?

Ji-hoo asked. I nodded.

Me: It's a little... cramped.

Ji-hoo: It can’t be helped. They said not to leave any traces.

I sat on the edge of the bed. Ji-hoo locked the door and looked at me. His gaze was mixed with worry that hadn’t lifted since yesterday and something else.

Ji-hoo: Are you… really okay?

Me: ...I'm pretending to be okay.

The moment I answered like that, my throat tightened painfully. Even though I tried to hold it back, a small breath escaped.

Ji-hoo: Ji-yoon.

Ji-hoo came closer.

Ji-hoo: You can cry.

Me: I won't cry. This isn't something to cry about right now.

Ji-hoo: No. It's more than enough to cry about.

At those words, the tears I had been holding back truly began to flow. Tears flowing down a man's face seemed to fall much slower, heavier than before. Ji-hoo silently hugged me.

Carefully,

I leaned into Ji-hoo and burst into tears. I felt like I cried for a long time. I suddenly thought that Ji-hoo smelled faintly musty and sweet, mixed with men's cologne. I also thought, what am I doing, thinking this while crying.

Ji-hoo, who had been silently comforting me, spoke.

Ji-hoo: It's not about being a man or a woman right now. It's just... you're hurting.

It was at that moment. The center of my chest twisted and ached again.

Me: Ji-hoo...

Ji-hoo: Yes.

Me: I... I don't even know myself right now.

Ji-hoo: It's okay. If you don't know... I'll be by your side until you figure it out.

Ji-hoo's tone was very ordinary, but for some reason, it pierced my heart.

Just then, my phone vibrated again.

Jung Ra-eun.

My hand trembled. When I answered the phone, her breathing was the first thing I heard.

Jung Ra-eun: Ms. Ji-yoon... are you stable?

I wiped my nose and said.

Me: Yes. I'm with Ji-hoo... right now.

Jung Ra-eun: ...That's a relief.

Ra-eun's voice was somewhere between relief and tension.

Jung Ra-eun: You don't have any pain, do you? Is your body temperature... similar to usual?

Me: Yes. It's just... my heart is a bit...

Jung Ra-eun: That's natural.

Jung Ra-eun: The changes you're experiencing... are something no one could easily handle. I don't want to leave you alone... that's why I keep contacting you.

A small, breathless sound escaped me without my realizing it.

Me: ...Thank you.

Even after hanging up, Ra-eun's tone lingered in my ears.

Ji-hoo looked at my expression, narrowing his trembling eyes.

Ji-hoo: Teacher Ra-eun's voice... is very gentle.

Me: ...Is it?

Ji-hoo: Yes.

Ji-hoo: Something... not like she's dealing with a patient... just... you...

Ji-hoo trailed off. And very slightly, his expression became as if he had bitten his tongue.

Me: ...What are you talking about?

I said it indifferently, but my heart was pounding twice as fast. Ji-hoo looked inexplicably angry.