Chapter 43

I chatted casually with Ham Yejin while eating sushi. We had already talked about how we had been doing up until now, but more topics came to mind while we were eating.

“Is it true that this is the first time you’ve played a game?”

“Well, I was an orphan, and with studying and writing, I didn’t have time to be interested in such things. They say late-learned thievery is scary, but I ended up getting completely engrossed.”

“Living too ascetically isn’t good either.”

“Still, I feel like I may have overdone it a bit. I need to prepare for a new piece.”

“Are you writing a new piece?”

Ah, come to think of it, I hadn’t mentioned that I was writing a new piece. I had only said that I was writing.

“Yes, though it’s not coming out very well.”

“What kind of writing is it?”

“Ah, that.”

I was about to naturally say the title of my new piece but suddenly shut my mouth.

Should I really say the title of my new piece…?

Of course, the title “Womb” wasn’t that strange. It’s a term that feminists claim is correct. But if I said I wrote that…

It was obvious what people might think.

For a moment, Ham Yejin looked at me with a curious expression as I fell into silence.

After some contemplation, I finally decided to say the title. After all, Ham Yejin knew that I was this kind of person, so she wouldn’t be particularly disappointed.

“I don’t know if you’ve read my previous novel.”

“I have. You mean ‘The Boy’s Womb,’ right?”

“Yes, while it’s not a direct sequel, I’m thinking of reversing the motif a bit. ‘The Boy’s Womb’ ended with the boy gaining a womb, so this time, I plan to write a story where a girl has her womb removed. The title I’m considering… is ‘Womb.'”

“I see.”

Fortunately, just as I thought, Ham Yejin didn’t show a large reaction. She just responded in her usual stiff but polite tone.

“Well, aside from that motif, nothing is really set in stone. I don’t only write when inspiration strikes, but you can’t write without any inspiration either.”

“I see.”

However, it seemed like Ham Yejin wasn’t particularly interested in this aspect. I felt like a guy on a blind date who was talking about things the girl didn’t care about. Since I fell silent, this time, Ham Yejin brought up the next topic.

“What games have you played?”

“LOI. ‘League of Eternity.’ Do you know it? It’s a pretty famous game.”

“Oh, that one. I play it occasionally. I played a lot long ago, but after getting a job, I haven’t touched it much.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Well, I think I stopped playing seriously after hitting Master about three years ago.”

“…Master?”

“Yeah.”

It was quite unexpected, but Ham Yejin claimed her LOI tier was Master. I wasn’t sure, but I knew that becoming a Master meant you had at least crossed the starting line to being a professional. Of course, no matter how you looked at it, Ham Yejin wouldn’t reach a level to go pro, but the fact that she was one of the few female Masters was surprising. That meant she was better than Gang Hwa-won.

I felt a bit uneasy, so I asked about Ham Yejin’s main. It might have been a tier she rode the bus to support.

But it wasn’t that.

“I was a top laner.”

Neither a bus nor a support. It was an unbelievably surprising story. Wouldn’t she have been able to get into a place like the National Intelligence Service if she were that good? With looks like Ham Yejin’s, she would have surely found success easily.

“There wasn’t an atmosphere at home to allow for that sort of thing. I wasn’t particularly interested in it either. The job I’m at now, I just ended up there by chance…”

Naturally, I wasn’t stupid enough to bring up the National Intelligence Service while outside.

“So, are you satisfied with your current job?”

“Well, I didn’t know until recently, but it’s okay for now.”

Ham Yejin smiled at me softly.

“I’ve made a friend I can share a meal with like this.”

…Is that so? Our relationship had come that far.

It felt so awkward that I couldn’t find the words. I wasn’t sure, but I felt my face turning red.

“I guess you may have noticed, but my family is quite… wealthy, so it would have been hard to do things like streaming.”

“I see.”

“Well, actually, until recently, I was considering retiring. Not anymore, though.”

“Is it because of…?”

“Yes, it’s because of Seol-guk. At the very least, I want to see the work through until it’s done. After all, I’m just a minor staff member and not taking on anything particularly important.”

It wasn’t overwhelming, but I appreciated Ham Yejin’s words.

“By the way, who gave you the car?”

“The car? My uncle. He gifted it to me to celebrate my job.”

Meal time was gradually coming to a close. I felt full long ago, but the sushi was so delicious that I had overindulged, and it seemed Ham Yejin was becoming full too.

“At home, they’re starting to talk about finding a suitable mate for me. If Seol-guk were still a man, I might have made a move on him.”

It seemed like it was the first time I had heard Ham Yejin joke. If she had made a move on me…

“If I remained the same, I might have accepted Ham Yejin’s confession.”

I threw the same joke back at her. Then we both burst into soft laughter without anyone having to say anything.

That concluded the meal. My hands trembled a bit when it was time to pay, but there was nothing I could do about it. The older employee from earlier was still looking at me with a curious expression, which made me feel uncomfortable.

We were on our way back in Ham Yejin’s car. Perhaps I had overindulged? I wasn’t feeling great.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Though I was feeling a little nauseous, I tried to pretend I was fine.

“By the way, there’s something I need to mention.”

“Suddenly?”

“It’s about your junior, Muk Ha-neul, that you talked about before.”

Suddenly, Muk Ha-neul here?

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not really. But have you had any trouble with her? When was the last time you met?”

“Trouble? Nothing like that. I haven’t seen her this week, but we went out together last week.”

Ham Yejin fell silent for a moment after hearing my answer. Why did she bring up Muk Ha-neul all of a sudden? I had a feeling she was hiding something.

As we arrived, I grabbed my dizzy head and got out of the car. Ham Yejin helped me. After a moment, the cold air felt a bit soothing.

“Senpai?”

I heard someone calling me in that situation. Of course, there was only one person who would call me that.

“Muk Ha-neul?”

Why was she in front of my house? It felt strange, especially after the conversation earlier.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I had something to do around here, so I dropped by. I sent you a text, but you haven’t seen it yet. I thought I’d leave if you weren’t home, but the timing was good.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Who’s beside you? Can you introduce us?”

Before I could say anything, Ham Yejin stepped up and introduced herself.

“Hello. I’m Ham Yejin.”

“Oh, so you’re the person from the government who is helping him?”

“Oh, I see. I’m Muk Ha-neul. I’m Seol-guk’s junior. Were you two out together?”

For some reason, Muk Ha-neul’s expression seemed slightly hostile. She was smiling, but it felt as if something bothered her.

“Yes. We just came back from the hair salon; I had a haircut for Seol-guk.”

And it felt like Ham Yejin was the same; she wasn’t smiling, but her usual stiff expression was even more rigid.

“Is it true that civil servants have free time? You’re going out together like this…”

“Managing Seol-guk is my responsibility. You could say it’s part of the job.”

The two were clearly at odds with each other. It was obvious to anyone, even me, and I felt quite awkward about it.

“Your hair… is tied up, Senpai?”

“Uh, she tied it for me.”

“Hmm… it looks good on you.”

However, Muk Ha-neul’s expression clearly showed her displeasure. Why was she angry? I couldn’t quite understand Muk Ha-neul’s reaction.

“Oh, I need to give back the hair tie.”

Now that I thought about it, I had borrowed this hair tie from Ham Yejin. I needed to return it.

“It’s fine. Think of it as a gift.”

“Re-really?”

“Hmm…”

The two of them were still looking at each other with strange expressions. Muk Ha-neul looked dissatisfied, and Ham Yejin had a stiff expression. I felt like it was a situation where I needed to mediate, but I wasn’t sure how.

“Well, now that we’ve finished our outing, you can go back now, right?”

“No, I think Seol-guk looks a bit dizzy, so I’m going to help him.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Senpai, I’ll help you, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I’m fine. It’s my responsibility, so it’s only right I finish this.”

I felt dizzy. And in this dizzying situation, it was amusing that…

I felt inspired.

From the way the two women were arguing, I imagined something. It was a distasteful thought treating myself like a child, but it was helpful.

Two women fighting over a child, Solomon’s judgment… The real mother said not to cut the child in half. But the non-mother said to cut it.

But if both women insisted on cutting the child in half, what choice should the child make?

The girl should become an adult. And for the girl to become an adult means she must become a mother.

Since she didn’t want to become a woman, the child rejects her own womb. A woman without a womb cannot become a mother, so the child would never become either a woman or an adult.

That’s how the story flows.

I wanted to write this immediately.

And then I opened my mouth, trying to say something.

“Uweck.”

But what came out of my mouth was not words, but vomit.