Chapter 7: Nonetheless

After the incident was resolved, the first thing to do was a paternity test with my father.

At first, my father insisted it wasn’t necessary and begged me to let it slide, saying it was just a joke. But ultimately, it was carried out under my mother’s insistence.

The result was, unsurprisingly, 99.993%.

Until that moment, my father seemed halfheartedly playing along with the farce. But with the test result, it seemed he finally accepted the fact that I was Eugene.

“…Honey, just to be sure, there wasn’t another child between us, was there?”

“You’re saying something ridiculous again.”

“I’m serious. It’s just hard to believe. Eugene turned out like this…”

“Turned out like this? What’s wrong with Eugene? She’s just beautiful.”

“…You don’t understand the heart of a father who’s lost his son.”

I couldn’t entirely blame him for feeling that way.

There’s a common dream among fathers with sons: to share a drink with their grown-up son and pour out their genuine feelings.

Of course, in my case, there was no way I could have ever drunk alcohol before, so my father’s dream might have been destined to go awry from the beginning.

Or maybe I’m the one who went awry.

Even though it wasn’t my fault for being sick, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.

Lost in these thoughts, I realized my father’s gaze had shifted to me.

“So… you can walk now.”

“Yeah.”

He must have seen it countless times already, but for him to bring it up now meant he was finally accepting me as Eugene.

“Does anything hurt?”

“No.”

“What about the hospital? What did they say?”

My mother answered instead.

“She hasn’t gone yet.”

“…What? Are you out of your mind? The kid’s like this, and you haven’t─”

“Do you want to parade her around like a zoo monkey? I can’t do that.”

“Parade her like a zoo monkey? You know that’s not what I meant.”

“No matter what you say, I’ll go along with what Eugene wants.”

“Hm…”

Realizing he couldn’t persuade my mother, my father turned his gaze back to me.

“…Eugene, what do you think? Don’t you think you should visit the hospital? How can we know if there will be side effects? Didn’t you have a seizure?”

It was a valid point.

After the seizure, my entire body had transformed.

It was almost a miracle that my parents’ DNA still appeared in the test results.

I even instinctively felt death looming at that moment. If something like that were to happen again, who could predict the outcome?

Still… I didn’t want to go, no matter what.

“If I get sick later, I’ll go then. Right now, I’m fine. Really.”

“…That stubbornness. You’re definitely Eugene.”

Although my father didn’t seem entirely convinced, he seemed willing to wait and see. If something felt off in the future, I could always go to the hospital then.

At least, that’s how I saw it.

“Well then…”

My father shook his head and checked the time on his smartphone.

“I’ll head straight to the office. You take Eugene home.”

“Alright.”

“Dad.”

“…Hmm?”

My father responded after a brief pause.

Even though he knew in his mind that I was Eugene, it would take him some time to fully adjust to the reality.

“…What is it?”

“If you ever need a drinking buddy, let me know.”

The dream of a father with a son.

I didn’t fully understand it, but indulging him once in a while wouldn’t hurt.

“Ha.”

My father let out a chuckle, as if taken aback.

I laughed along with him.

The changes began to show in the smallest of ways.

“Uh… are you eating with us?”

That was the first thing my younger sibling said when they saw me sitting at the dining table for dinner.

“Just talk to me normally.”

“Is something wrong with you, oppa? Or is unni acting weird too?”

It seemed that my sibling, having heard about the test results from our parents, was starting to accept the fact that I was Eugene.

Of course, that acceptance only scratched the surface; it was still clear they hadn’t fully adjusted.

“Just call me oppa.”

It’s easier for me too.

I hadn’t even thought about the issue of titles.

“Does it feel strange for me to be here?”

“No, it’s just… you never used to eat with us. I was just curious.”

Normally, unless it was a special occasion, I didn’t eat meals with my family.

There were many reasons for this, but the biggest one was the inconvenience of moving around and my different daily routine.

It was far more practical and efficient to have my meals served at my desk rather than having someone go through the trouble of moving me to the dining table.

On top of that, my schedule didn’t align with theirs, making it difficult to have meals together even if we wanted to.

But that was in the past. Now that I was no longer restricted in my movements, it seemed fitting to join the family for dinner.

“From now on, I’ll eat with everyone.”

Like a normal family.

Doing things I should have done long ago.

“Ah… I see.”

My sibling fell silent again.

It seemed they couldn’t bear the awkward atmosphere.

As we sat in silence, staring at our smartphones, my sibling was the first to break the quiet.

“Um, oppa, I’ve been curious about something since yesterday.”

“What is it?”

“What tint do you use? The color looks so pretty.”

“…I didn’t put anything on.”

“You mean that’s your natural look?”

Their reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

When I looked at my face, even I couldn’t find the right words to describe it.

“How would I know anything about makeup?”

“Oppa, that’s such an outdated thing to say. Do you know what era we live in? Guys wear makeup too.”

My sibling seemed to notice something odd at this point, and an awkward atmosphere settled again.

“What are you two doing? Bring this over.”

It was my mother’s voice breaking the silence.

Her timing couldn’t have been better.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Since my father’s work ran late today because he took the morning off, dinner was just my mother, my sibling, and me.

“It’s delicious.”

“Eat plenty.”

Having dinner with my family after so long was immensely satisfying.

“Eugene, you can bathe by yourself now, right?”

Just as I was thinking it was about time to wash up, my mother dropped a bombshell.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Good, then go ahead and do that.”

With those words, she went back to her room.

After the many things that had happened over the past two days, she looked visibly tired.

But for some reason, I felt strange.

It should have been a natural progression, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that my mother and I were growing distant.

Until now, I had always needed someone’s help to bathe.

While I could manage simple tasks like washing my face or brushing my teeth on my own, taking a shower always required assistance.

“This day was bound to come eventually.”

I had become a woman, and the illness that had once chained me was cured.

Setting aside the former, the latter was a miracle I had long prayed for—something worth thanking the heavens for.

I needed to gradually come to terms with my changes.

I was still Eugene, but I had to live differently now.

“Hmm.”

It’s no big deal.

Thinking that, I slowly undressed in the bathroom.

The soft sound of clothes slipping to the floor seemed unusually loud today.

With the fallen fabric, the reflection in the mirror revealed an entirely new me, laid bare.

“Oh…”

An involuntary gasp escaped me.

Perhaps the shock was even greater because I had never really faced my naked body until now.

Among the many striking features, one stood out the most.

“…It’s pink.”

The fact that I was having such thoughts about myself felt deeply embarrassing, but it was undeniable. That’s what I saw.

The person in the mirror was still unfamiliar, breathtakingly beautiful, and undeniably me.

I had to accept that.

It’s strange.

Everything that’s happened to me lately has been wonderful, yet I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“Sniff…”

Fearing that my sobs might escape beyond the walls, I cried as quietly as possible.

Instinctively, I understood the root of my sadness.

I was scared.

Scared of the changes happening to me, scared of what the future held for this changed version of myself.

Fear arises from ignorance.

I hadn’t expected my mother to suddenly feel so distant.

I thought there would be a bit more time, even just a little more.

It was a misconception—a delusion born of ignorance.

I didn’t know anything.

And that made it all the more frightening.

“Sniff… sniff…”

I forced myself to swallow my sobs.

Straightening the legs I had crouched down on, I slowly stood up, trying to embrace the blessing that had come my way.

“…Idiot.”

A guy crying over something like this?

It was so ridiculous I couldn’t even find the words.

Or maybe… that wasn’t entirely true anymore.

After shedding a flood of tears, I realized how absurd I must look right now.

“Sigh…”

I worked to steady my breathing.

I didn’t know what the future held.

Many things would change before I even had a chance to fully adapt.

And yet—

Still,

I will live.