I clearly went outside to buy new clothes for the holiday.
But somehow, not only did I get caught up in various incidents, but in the end, it was revealed to my lover, Dokgorin, that Samajak is actually a woman.
I was truly in a bind.
I managed to get through that moment somehow, but since nothing was resolved definitively, follow-up actions were naturally required, resulting in this three-way confrontation.
*
Lunchtime.
Usually, we would have scattered to eat separately, but today was a bit different.
Ever since the revelation last weekend that my roommate, Samajak, has been secretly a woman, Dokgorin has been quite upset.
In a corner of the campus where people rarely walk, an uncomfortable silence enveloped the three of us.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
After a long silence, Dokgorin opened the floor with a question, to which Samajak replied tersely.
Both of them had prickly personalities, making even a typical conversation difficult.
However, it was evident that Samajak was the one who was at a disadvantage here.
“You’re a woman, right? You can’t seriously think of staying in the male dorm, can you?”
“……”
Samajak sealed her lips tightly under Dokgorin’s relentless probing, attacking her sore spot directly.
In truth, once Samajak herself confessed she was female, this was a losing battle for her.
Admitting she had entered the school while lying about her gender was already a serious issue.
“I thought a lot after we broke up yesterday. You were right; as your partner, I can’t force you not to like other people. But that’s a separate issue, don’t you agree?”
As Dokgorin approached the matter logically just like she did the day before, Samajak nodded, unable to deny it.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“I won’t say much. Just admit you’re a girl and leave the male dorm.”
“What if I don’t comply?”
“Then I’ll have to reveal the truth myself. Isn’t it better to settle this quietly rather than escalate the situation?”
Samajak bit her lip in the face of Dokgorin’s blatant threat.
The worst-case scenario we had both anticipated was now looming before us.
I looked at Samajak with pity and spoke up.
“Rin.”
But sensing what I wanted to say, Dokgorin cut me off sharply.
“Sorry, but Chilbongi isn’t going to listen to whatever you have to say.”
With a solid wall erected, there was nothing I could do.
While I was deep in thought about Samajak’s predicament—
“Well, well, what a pleasant surprise to see you all here.”
An unexpected person interrupted our conversation.
*
In the student council room.
There were numerous rumors circulating within the academy, but this was my first time actually being here.
“I never thought you, who ran away from home, would enroll in Cheonmu Academy.”
“…I’m sorry, Older Brother Dam.”
While we were chatting on the campus, we unexpectedly ran into Jeongalgyun, the grandson of the headmaster of Cheonmu Academy and the 98th student council president, Jeongalgeondam.
It had already been two years since we briefly hung out on our way to Jang-An, and he seemed to remember our faces well.
“What’s the relationship between the two of you?”
Then Jeongalgeondam cheerfully remarked with a laugh.
“Samajak is my cousin. We’ve known each other since childhood.”
This made Samajak shrink shyly, her usual prickly demeanor now replaced with bashfulness.
“From what I gather, it seems there’s an issue because Samajak entered the academy disguised as a boy. Would it be alright if I resolved that?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, can I ask how you plan to resolve it?”
“I’ll go to the faculty office and explain directly. If there’s any responsibility to bear, I’ll share it. If it comes down to being expelled, there’s nothing I can do.”
His response was surprisingly sensible, easing the previously tense expression of Dokgorin.
“Well… if that’s how you want to handle it, I have nothing more to say.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Dokgo Sojeo. I’ll scold Samajak separately.”
As Jeongalgeondam looked at Samajak, she averted her gaze with a flustered expression.
It seemed fortunate that the situation didn’t escalate into chaos and wrapped up well enough.
Internally breathing a sigh of relief, I watched as Samajak and Jeongalgeondam had a conversation, feeling a warm smile creep onto my face.
*
After that.
Samajak, accompanied by her cousin and council president Jeongalgeondam, reportedly started by apologizing to all staff present, abruptly stating, “I’m sorry for lying!”
Initially, the teachers were confused by the situation, but once Samajak returned to her original form, they were astonished, especially the dorm supervisor, who was said to have been the most shocked.
Normally, such matters should have been stopped at her level as the dorm supervisor.
Anyway, having revealed her identity, Samajak received quite the scolding, but thankfully, it didn’t lead to expulsion.
However, deception could no longer continue, so she was ordered to disclose her true identity to her classmates, which resulted in the current situation.
“Fellow students, I apologize for deceiving you until now.”
At the morning assembly, Samajak stepped forward to bow her head, catching many off guard about why she was doing this. However, as Samajak loosened her disguise and returned to her true self, reactions began to heighten one by one.
“No way!”
“She’s a girl?!”
“No wonder my heart raced every time I saw her!”
Watching this unfold, our homeroom teacher, Soyucheon, cleared his throat awkwardly and said with an embarrassed expression.
“As you can see, Samajak had personal reasons for disguising as a boy, but she is indeed female. Please treat her as such going forward.”
Having revealed her original gender, Samajak sat in her seat with a deadpan expression, but given how shocking the news was, the uproar didn’t seem to settle down easily.
*
Originally, Samajak faced disdain from both males and females alike, but today, she was quite the popular figure.
Contrary to my initial worries, no one questioned her about disguising as a boy to enter the academy; it seems the reveal of “Ta-da! I’m actually a girl!” was simply too shocking.
I certainly felt grateful for that, yet it felt somewhat odd to see Samajak, who had previously had no friends but me, actively conversing with other students.
However, knowing this was better for her, I refrained from intervening.
Once all the classes ended and we returned to the dorm, we finally had some time to talk.
“This is our last day sharing a room.”
“Yeah.”
Now that Samajak’s true identity as a woman was revealed, she couldn’t remain in the male dorm anymore.
It was somewhat regrettable, but I couldn’t deny her that, so I didn’t express my sadness.
As we settled into our final night’s sleep, I surprisingly found it hard to doze off.
“You were planning to hide you were a girl until the end, weren’t you?”
I opened up, and perhaps sensing I was still awake, Samajak turned to me.
“Yeah, that was the plan.”
“Things turned out this way; don’t you regret it?”
Then, Samajak couldn’t answer right away.
If I hadn’t come to learn her secret, perhaps she could have maintained hiding her gender all the way until graduation day.
Yet now, entangled with me, the truth of her being a woman had been revealed to all the students, dramatically changing her original intentions.
In response to my question, Samajak spoke.
“Sure, the circumstances have changed since I first entered, but I don’t regret revealing I’m a girl. That’s how I gained the right to like you.”
“But I can’t reciprocate your feelings, you know?”
“We’ll see how that turns out.”
With that, Samajak flashed a playful smile, as if to challenge me.
“As I said before, I haven’t given up. Even if your heart is with Dokgorin now, who knows what might happen later?”
I couldn’t help but feel that the women I got involved with all had strong personalities, but knowing I had no say in her choices, I decided to hold my tongue.
“Do whatever you want.”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
With that, Samajak turned her back to me.
I quietly stared at Samajak’s small back and said,
“Goodnight.”
To which Samajak replied without turning around.
“You too.”
