“Just stand there for a second. Let me get a proper look at you.”
Marrying a bride, honestly. No matter how many times I told him to let it go, Chae Jinyeong would bring up that thing from when we were little every time he wanted to tease me. In the end, I was the one who’d given in first. The word “bride” had been said so many times it had practically grown calluses on my ears — between us, it was nothing more than a running joke.
I stood him in front of me and stepped close, looking him over from every angle. I touched his shoulders, tapped his collarbone. Each time, Chae Jinyeong flinched slightly.
Why did I ever think this guy… was going to be an Omega?
The difference in our sightlines was undeniable now. The one I’d always had to look down at was now looking down at me. I was still sitting with that strange feeling when Jinyeong, who had been watching me, spoke quietly.
“Im Yuhan… looking at you like this, you’re pretty small.”
It wasn’t wrong, which somehow made it worse. I had the distinct sense that I would never again be able to look down at this guy. I twitched one eyebrow for no particular reason and redirected my gaze to Chae Jinyeong.
Same face, but a completely different body. That’s strange.
Seeming to know exactly what I was thinking as I stared at him, Jinyeong watched me for a moment and then tossed out a casual remark.
“By the way, Yuhan — it’s not just my height that got bigger.”
“Then what else got bigger.”
From the start, Chae Jinyeong had always had big hands and feet, as if predicting he’d grow tall.
“My dick got bigger too.”
“…What?”
For a moment I thought I’d misheard. Following the nod of Chae Jinyeong’s head, my gaze drifted on its own, without my permission, to the space between his legs.
Growth plates… speed that up down there too?
We’d seen each other naked before, but that had been years ago now.
But… did it actually get bigger?
“Want me to show you?”
As if he could read my thoughts, Jinyeong said it playfully, one hand tucked casually into his pants pocket. Even if I was a hormonal high schooler curious about everything. Even if this was the age when you get curious about the sizes of people around you. Even so…
“Hey, you’re…”
“If you don’t want to, fine.”
“Show me, bride.”
I was curious. He’s my closest friend, so of course I want to know. How much bigger did it actually get?
Chae Jinyeong naturally brought his hand to his belt, grabbed his waistband, and pulled it down in a way that said look all you want. I lowered my gaze and looked at it.
So — well — my first reaction was to close my mouth. A strange mix of disappointment and shock.
“You’re really not cute anymore…”
For someone over 180 centimeters, Jinyeong had long since stopped looking cute to other people — but now I truly felt like my own childhood had come to an end.
The Chae Jinyeong I was supposed to protect, the fairy-like Chae Jinyeong — he was gone. He’d been disappearing ever since we started reaching the same height, but now it was real and final. What remained was a Chae Jinyeong with a pretty face, a dark interior, and something else that had grown considerably.
“Liar. You’re saying I’m not cute?”
“Yeah.”
I’d been about to answer in silence, but I said it clearly instead. Chae Jinyeong looked at me as if turning something over in his mind, then scrunched his nose and smiled like this was actually a good thing.
His lips curved upward in a clean arc. I liked that face of his — the way he looked playful whenever he smiled.
“Then I guess it’s my turn to be the one who dotes on you.”
The voice that reached me was warm enough to tickle. Reflected in Jinyeong’s downward gaze was me, looking just a little bit sulky.
I know. I really had to accept it now. That Chae Jinyeong was no longer small or weak.
The Spring of Manifestation
[I can’t go to school today]
“What do you mean you can’t go to school?”
— …There’s just something going on.
It was not long after we’d taken our second mock exam in our third year of high school — I was waiting in front of his house when a text suddenly pinged in, and I called him right away. His voice was raspier than usual, lower, and the way he spoke had none of its usual energy. It didn’t feel like the Chae Jinyeong I knew.
He was always the type who couldn’t be bothered to go to school, which was why I always had to be the one to wake him up. I thought today might just be more of the same, so I said casually:
“Should I come in?”
— No, no. It’s not that. It’s really not like that today, so… it’s not, so don’t come.
“What are you talking about. Your voice sounds off — is your mom not home?”
— Please, Im Yuhan… just go today, okay? I’ll get there on my own.
And then the call cut off. I stared at my phone and furrowed my brow. Jinyeong had never once told me to go on ahead before. I stood there in front of his house, debating whether to ring the bell — then thought that maybe worrying this much was a little strange, and lowered my hand. Even so, the unease inside me didn’t disappear.
It felt worse because this had never happened before, not once. He’d always had a hard time getting up in the mornings — but whenever I called or came to get him, he’d be up in no time, as if nothing had happened. Sometimes to the point where I wondered if he was just waiting for me to come.
At times like those, he’d say things like come pick me up in a voice that was soft and teasing, laughing lightly as he said it.
Yuhan, I’m sleepy… come pick me up…
Hearing that sleep-heavy voice, my feet would move before I could even think about being annoyed, as if it were only natural. Reminding myself once again that Jinyeong needed me.
But today was different. Because not once, ever, had he told me absolutely not to come. Thinking back on it, this felt like the first time. Chae Jinyeong refusing me.
“…What on earth is going on?”
That refusal left me, strangely, in a bad mood. I knew everything about Chae Jinyeong — and he wasn’t the type to keep quiet when something came up. He’d always rattled off every little thing about his day without even being asked, so this felt even more off.
Even as I stood there staring at his front gate, there was no sign of Jinyeong appearing.
Just go ahead? He’ll get there on his own?
“If you’re that sick, why aren’t you calling me?”
I stared at the motionless gate with one eyebrow furrowed.
[Are you really sick?]
[I went on ahead like you said — why aren’t you here yet ㅡㅡ]
[Tell me what’s going on, I’m worried]
After arriving at school, not a single message came from Chae Jinyeong. Not even after homeroom ended and the teacher had come and gone. And that only made the unease worse.
I should’ve just gone in and at least checked on him. Is he in there suffering through it alone again?
Thinking about it, it was strange. On regular days when he was sick, he’d always ask me to stay by his side — but today, for whatever reason, he hadn’t said a single word about wanting me to come see him. All sorts of bad thoughts began drifting around in my head — what if he was actually seriously sick?
Even now, as the time for our next class period came around, the unread notification still hadn’t disappeared.
[Chae Jinyeong]
[Hey]
[Babe?]
Is he asleep? Even when Jinyeong was knocked out cold, a single babe was all it ever took to snap his eyes open. Didn’t matter if it was a text or anything else. But now, thinking that he might not even be in a state to look at his phone — my thoughts only kept spinning faster.
Most people manifested their trait around middle school, but Chae Jinyeong still hadn’t. I myself, like the majority of people, was a Beta — the secondary gender that made up over half the population.
There was a time when I used to think I might become an Alpha or an Omega. Back when Chae Jinyeong and I were very young. Literally when I still believed in the promise that Jinyeong would become my bride.
The day I first saw the manifestation notice with Beta written on it, I’d been worried — thinking Jinyeong might be disappointed.
I’m a Beta.
