Chapter 31
Even though I thought he was reading way too much into things, I couldn’t say much since it was true I’d been looking at him.
“You’re interested, but scared I might pounce if you ask first. So you were just perking up your ears like a rabbit?”
“What rabbit… If you’re going to say weird things, just shut up and go to sleep. I’m tired.”
Though I said that, I was actually surprised inside. It was fascinating that he’d leave me alone despite knowing I was afraid he might pounce.
“Your memories might have regressed, but your emotions have developed quite a bit. It’s like you’ve become more relaxed after letting go of your obsession with success.”
I somewhat agreed with that. I didn’t know what Yoon Juwon was like before, but Kim Sojin had learned to compromise and adapt after experiencing several film projects fall through because production companies changed their minds. The director’s words had made sense too—that a film no one watches has no value as art, regardless of its artistic merit.
But relaxed in this situation? Sure, I’d been depressed since coming here, but I’d never felt relaxed. Or had I? Just recently, I remember thinking it was nice that my neck problems had improved since I wasn’t writing—just eating meals and lounging around watching TV all day.
“Whether you’re asleep or not, I have no intention of giving myself to a man who has no feelings for me, so don’t worry.”
I almost suggested he loosen the arms holding me so tightly, but stopped myself. It was already fortunate enough that he’d stopped pushing things further.
And so, all night long, I tried to sleep while deliberately ignoring the hot sensation against my ear and Hajin’s hand that occasionally moved across my chest.
***
The next day, I closed my eyes to avoid my reflection in the mirror and cursed the brothers. However, no matter how harshly I cursed them internally, it only reinforced how insane they were, providing no comfort whatsoever.
“Oh… this is insane.”
“Right? I knew it would be like this.”
“But hyung, where did you learn to do makeup?”
“I’m a model, remember?”
“Yeah, but men’s and women’s makeup are different.”
“Stage makeup is different from regular makeup, so men wear it just as heavy as women. Though Juwon doesn’t need heavy makeup to look pretty.”
My eyes were already closed, but I felt like covering my ears too.
“Hyung, open your eyes and look. You’re really pretty. When you put on the clothes I bought, it’s going to be incredible!”
Hahyun’s excited voice made my already anxious heart even more anxious. Surely they wouldn’t make me wear a skirt? No, that couldn’t be. Just because someone’s a woman doesn’t mean they have to wear a skirt.
“The makeup looks pretty, but your expression is terrible.”
I steadfastly ignored Hajin’s words. The cross-dressing would be temporary anyway, and after the special effects makeup, I’d look completely different, so I planned to keep my eyes closed until then.
“Hyung, what do you think I’m going to do that you keep your eyes closed? Aren’t you trusting me too much? Do you think I can’t do anything just because Hajin hyung is here?”
At Hahyun’s words, I finally opened my eyes. The sight I’d been trying to avoid appeared before me. A face with large eyes and beautiful features stared back at me.
Though my appearance wasn’t as strange as I’d expected, the fact that I’d been made up like this by another man was unsettling. Even when I was drunk at a college retreat and turned into a “woman” by my mischievous classmates, I hadn’t been as embarrassed as I was now.
“How is it? Isn’t it beautiful even to you, hyung?”
“Why ask such an obvious question? He has eyes—he can see for himself. Let’s just get him changed.”
The brothers were looking at Yoon Juwon’s reflection in the mirror with the brightest expressions I’d ever seen on them.
“I don’t like this.”
Hajin nodded as if he understood.
“I know. I appreciate you doing this even though you don’t want to.”
His words were gentle, despite his lecherous smile. What was this about? Was he thanking me for following his orders? When he occasionally said something reasonable in the midst of all his crazy behavior, I wanted to snap at him, but then I’d hesitate.
“Just endure it for today. We’re trying this as an experiment, and if it really doesn’t work, we don’t have to do it again.”
Come to think of it, today’s cross-dressing started with my single statement: “I want to go out.” Just as I was trying to think their intentions weren’t bad, even if their methods were questionable, all my positive feelings evaporated when I saw the women’s clothes in Hahyun’s hands.
A cream-colored knit top, a red skirt, and peach-colored stockings—they seriously expected me to wear those? I frowned and looked back and forth between the clothes Hahyun was holding and his face. Hahyun handed them to me with a grin.
“Hurry up and put them on. I’m dying of curiosity!”
“…”
As I remained silent in disbelief, Hahyun tilted his head with wide, innocent eyes.
“What’s wrong? Ah… you don’t know how to put them on. Should I help you dress?”
“N-no! I was a model, remember? I’ll figure it out. Haha.”
I reluctantly took the clothes from Hahyun and looked at the two men just standing there, apparently with no intention of leaving while I changed.
“Aren’t you going to leave?”
“We’re all men here. Why do you think changing rooms are separated by gender?”
“…”
“Hahyun’s right. You said you knew how to wear women’s clothes because you were a model, but I guess you’ve forgotten. Don’t you remember at shows, we had to change in one minute regardless of gender? You don’t remember?”
Hajin, who’d been quiet, just had to chime in at moments like this to make me feel worse.
I laughed awkwardly and resisted as long as I could, but finally turned my back when I saw Hahyun’s expression gradually darkening.
To minimize the time spent undressed, I ran through a plan in my head. Put the skirt on over my pants, then take off the pants. Then unbutton my shirt, put the knit on over it, and unfasten the shirt from inside the knit!
Having finished planning, I immediately put it into action. But the first step brought problems. Why were women’s skirts these days all so tight? It was impossible to pull it on over my pants. I heard giggling from behind.
“I thought you knew how to wear women’s clothes! You need to take off your pants first. What are you doing? It’s so cute.”
“He’s probably trying to put the skirt on first and then remove his pants from underneath so he doesn’t have to strip. Still, he’s adorable.”
“…”
I disliked Hajin, who was mocking me while completely understanding my plan, far more than Hahyun, who was genuinely curious. I mean, if he knew, he could at least look away.
I convinced myself this was just a public bathhouse and forcibly changed my clothes.
***
A different man stood before the mirror. Hajin’s suggestion to have the special effects makeup done to look like a woman since I’d be in drag anyway was immediately shot down by Hahyun, who insisted that absolutely no one else should see me cross-dressed.
The makeup artist didn’t ask any questions, but as soon as they arrived, they attached various prosthetics to my face, transforming me into a completely different person.
So Hajin had never intended to make the special effects makeup look feminine—he’d just talked about cross-dressing to tease me.
Anyway, after the special effects makeup was complete, my original appearance had vanished entirely.
“See, I was right? Who would think of Yoon Juwon looking at this?”
“Wow… you’re right. Even I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him outside.”
When I first heard about going out with special effects makeup, I was skeptical. I thought people who knew me would still recognize me, no matter how perfect the makeup was. And to be honest, I was a bit scared since I was under suspicion.
A strange woman stood in the mirror. Fair skin and soft facial lines harmonized with a slender figure, and the skirt and knit fit perfectly as if they’d been tailored. Moreover, the features that looked gentle despite my personality—and even gave off an air of mystery—were captivating enough to entrance even me, a man.
No wonder the brothers were losing their minds.
Mesmerized, I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection in the mirror. Hajin gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder and asked:
“It’s not so bad, is it?”
“I guess not.”
“Come on, what are we waiting for? Let’s go out already. Where should we go today?”
“First, we need to buy a laptop. After that… well, what should we do?”
The brothers looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
“Isn’t there something you want to do?”
“…Not really.”
Hajin laughed helplessly.
“Hahyun, neither you nor I have ever dated Yoon Juwon, so how would we know what he likes to do?”
“That’s true… This is our first date. If I’d known, I would’ve planned what to do in advance…”
I thought I’d feel triumphant seeing the brothers—usually so sharp—suddenly turn into fools, but I didn’t at all. What kind of bewitching charm did Yoon Juwon possess to turn two perfectly normal men into such idiots? Was it even possible that at their age, they’d never been on a date before?
