After exiting the Gate, I registered my entry and exit information again.

  Only when I stepped outside did I realize my clothes were completely ruined by monster blood, bodily fluids, and my own sweat.

  "Can I get in the car like this?"

  "No way. You need to change."

  Uh... change clothes?

  Crap! I didn't bring any spare clothes at all.

  Si-hyun was retrieving his backpack from the back seat.

  "Hey... Si-hyun?"

  "You didn't bring clothes, right?"

  So perceptive. He probably noticed when we met this morning that I wasn't carrying a bag.

  Si-hyun handed me a plastic bag containing his clothes and a towel as if he'd prepared it in advance.

  "Use the changing room over there. Wipe yourself down and change."

  "Okay, thanks for being so prepared."

  I found a hunter's changing room and took off my protective gear. The inside was completely clean, no monster blood at all. The equipment had done its job well.

  But all the sweat had been trapped inside.

  I quickly wiped myself with a damp towel and checked the clothes Si-hyun gave me: an oversized hoodie and capri pants.

  I wondered why capri pants, then immediately remembered our height difference.

  Wearing Si-hyun's clothes, the hem of the hoodie reached almost to my knees.

  I stuffed my gear back into the bag. When I left the changing room, the outfit felt strangely mismatched.

  The ride back was actually quite pleasant.

  We discussed today's battle details and debated where to explore next.

  "The Artifact seems to work well."

  "Really?"

  "You were always worried about being too weak before."

  Ugh... that brought back bad memories. That happened right before my period, and it was my first time in that situation, so I panicked.

  "Can we... skip that topic?"

  "Sure. I'm just glad you're feeling better. I was really worried before."

  "I should be the one apologizing..."

  "You weren't feeling well. I understand."

  Why understand? Why assume I was in pain?

  Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place.

  Si-hyun insisting on scheduling our first expedition for today, his quiet consideration throughout, never mentioning that incident, though I wasn't certain yet.

  But my body's instincts screamed: he knows. Because he knew it was my period that day, he didn't press me, easily accepted my apology, even said "it must have been hard."

  If I were male, that pathetic performance would have earned me ridicule.

  And when I took leave the next day, he didn't ask "does it hurt?" but directly said "rest well." I never mentioned having pain, how did he guess?

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  Once suspicion took root, evidence started pouring in.

  The question was: should I actually confront him about this?

  Asking would mean announcing to Si-hyun "that day was my period", how is that different from confessing?

  Even as a male, this would be utterly embarrassing,

  "Si-yeon?"

  "What!"

  "You're acting strange."

  "It's because...!"

  Ah! I almost slipped up, all because I was thinking about whether to confront him.

  "Because of what?"

  Seeing Si-hyun's smug face made me inexplicably angry. I really wanted to punch him.

  If I could land one punch, what did shame matter,

  "Si-hyun! You knew that day was my period, didn't you?!"

  The tires screeched as the car jerked to a sudden stop. Fortunately, there were no vehicles behind us, narrowly avoiding a major accident.

  "That... that day? I don't understand what you're talking about...?"

  Si-hyun was clearly flustered, his eyes darting and words stumbling, a sight I hadn't seen in a long time.

  So long that it made me want to tease him even more,

  "my period... "

  I threw out the word without any delicacy, basking in triumphant satisfaction. Crossing my legs and folding my arms, I lifted my chin, waiting for his surrender.

  But what came wasn't admission of defeat.

  With a sharp "thwack," a hard knock landed on my forehead.

  "Ouch!"

  This was no light tap, he'd put real force into it. The pain brought tears to my eyes.

  "Is that something you just say casually!"

  I finally realized I'd crossed a line. No matter how close friends we were, certain topics shouldn't be brought up between opposite sexes.

  "Ow..."

  "Ah, geez."

  Si-hyun sighed deeply and pulled over to the emergency lane, turning to stare at me.

  Facing his expression that hovered between anger and exasperation, I silently bowed my head.

  "Hey, Jeong Si-yeon."

  His suddenly lowered voice sent chills down my spine.

  "Say something."

  "...Yeah."

  I stole a glance at his face but couldn't read any emotion, only feeling the heavy atmosphere.

  "Don't you have any shame?"

  Really now. But like a fool, feeling my confidence surge, I'd recklessly played my dangerous card.

  "You're a girl now, you need to be more careful."

  "Yeah..."

  What seemed to anger Si-hyun wasn't anything else, but my recklessness.

  Even after suffering so much last time, I still found it difficult to act like a girl would.

  Perhaps it was natural, having lived my whole life as a man until now.

  "Sorry."

  "I apologize for hitting you, and about that... actually I knew already but even if you notice such things you shouldn't say them out loud, which is why I didn't mention it."

  Right. Knowing but not saying, quietly understanding, that's true kindness.

  I had failed to appreciate Si-hyun's consideration.

  But I needed to clarify things too.

  "If you knew earlier! You should've told me then! I, I was experiencing it for the first time too so I was really anxious, and I said harsh things to you and felt terrible about it, if you'd known earlier it would've been nice to give me some hint!"

  Hearing this, Si-hyun showed a panicked expression.

  "No, I only realized later..."

  What? He didn't know beforehand?

  He found out later...?

  Ah, uh... I thought Si-hyun had noticed from the beginning and was being considerate, but he only found out later too? Then what was I just saying?

  So, so embarrassing. Those words just now were basically me complaining to Si-hyun about how hard things were and acting spoiled, weren't they?

  Me, who was a man until not long ago, actually acting spoiled!!!

  "Th-then you should've said something anyway!"

  I didn't even know what I was saying anymore.

  Just felt confused and ashamed, wishing I could disappear into the ground.

  I covered my face with my hands.

  Si-hyun began gently patting my head.

  "Ah, what am I going to do with you. But those things really shouldn't be mentioned casually."

  "B-but it's not like I'd say it to anyone else...?"

  "Being careless like that will cause problems."

  He was right. A moment of carelessness often leads to major trouble.

  If I wasn't careful, I'd probably make similar mistakes again.

  "So how did you find out?"

  I asked to change the subject and avoid further scolding.

  "Uh, what?"

  "I'm asking how you noticed."

  "Well... I asked a girl I know..."

  "That sounds a bit suspicious." He said it without confidence or certainty, but I couldn't press further.

  Si-hyun had a much wider social circle than me. Probably knew because he was close with many girls.

  "Is that so? Sorry."

  "It's fine, no problem."

  Si-hyun was still patting my head.

  At first it felt annoyingly random, but the continuous patting started giving me this... indescribable subtle feeling.

  If I had to put it into words, was it happiness?

  Damn, as someone who used to be a man, was I actually enjoying having my head patted by another man?

  I swatted away Si-hyun's hand.

  "Enough. Stop being so considerate. I know you're kind but this is too much. If I'm having a hard time, I'll say so myself. Don't accommodate me too much."

  "Understood. Is this okay?"

  "Yeah, and sorry."

  "No need to apologize. I have things I'm hiding too."

  What a kind guy. Just after telling him not to be so considerate, he starts again.

  "But why didn't you contact me the past few days?"

  My curiosity got the better of me and I asked.

  "Met up with some friends and got busy. Why?"

  "Because I felt anxious..."

  Huh? Why was I anxious?

  Was I really feeling anxious just because I hadn't heard from Si-hyun for a few days?

  No way. It must be because Si-hyun's the only friend I can meet.

  I'm just paying special attention to Si-hyun. Yeah, that's definitely it.

  "Anxious?"

  " Just felt that way at the time."

  I deployed my ultimate conversation technique.

  "Oh, okay."

  Super effective!!

  Si-hyun quieted down easily.

  I could control Si-hyun!

  -

  Before heading home, we stopped by a cafe on the way.

  To discuss tomorrow's destination.

  We decided on the ant nest Gate in the Gongju city that we'd given up on last time.

  After setting our goal, we decided to sell the Magic Stones we collected today.

  Weighed about 103 grams at the government energy management department.

  Not bad for a first expedition with lots of competition.

  After exchanging them, we really had to part ways.

  "Want to get dinner?"

  I was grateful for Si-hyun's suggestion. I'd been feeling slightly regretful about going straight home.

  "Sure! What should we eat? Tteokbokki or pasta? Something like that?"

  "...You?"

  "What?"

  "Nothing. Want to eat tteokbokki?"

  "Yeah, actually I've been craving spicy food lately. Why?"

  "No reason. I was going to suggest something simple like soup rice."

  Soup rice... that's substantial food. And something we eat regularly.

  "Then let's have soup rice."

  "No. You want tteokbokki, don't you?"

  "Didn't I tell you not to accommodate me too much?"

  "No, I'm saying we should eat what you want."

  "That is accommodating."

  "I really don't mind. Should we go with your preference?"

  "Let's just have soup rice!"

  We had a role-reversal argument about whether to eat soup rice or tteokbokki.

  The problem was this dispute happened on the street.

  "Hey, you damn lovebirds! Flirting right on the street!!"

  Hearing that, both Si-hyun and I became awkward. Trying to explain we weren't a couple right then and there was impossible.

  We quickly left the street and got in the car. Si-hyun looked relatively calm, but I couldn't manage that. Si-hyun and I were a couple? Is that how we looked to others? Si-hyun and I are just friends...

  In the end, we didn't have soup rice or tteokbokki for dinner, but went to our usual hotpot place instead.