Kangyeon Do.
She had settled on a name, but what came next was the problem.
Kangyeon left the alleys of Euljiro and sat down on a bench at the subway station. People passed by. No one looked at Kangyeon. No—correction. Women looked. Out of the corners of their eyes.
Kangyeon felt uncomfortable under their gazes. She had never received looks like these when she was a woman.
'I need to approach Yeonwoo first.'
But how?
Kangyeon took out her phone and checked Yeonwoo's KakaoTalk profile. She could contact Yeonwoo through her original account, but to Yeonwoo, Kangyeon Do was a stranger who didn't even know her contact information.
The one good thing was that
Kangyeon knew where Yeonwoo often went. A café near her office. After work, Yeonwoo always stopped there for an iced Americano. Whenever Kangyeon asked her to go together, Yeonwoo would say, "It's a hassle. I'll have it by myself," but she'd end up going with her anyway.
'I can go there around quitting time tomorrow.'
It was too simple to call it a plan. But there was no other way.
The next day, six in the evening.
Kangyeon was sitting by the café window. She'd ordered an Americano and was watching the door. Her heart was pounding like crazy. It wasn't her first time meeting Yeonwoo, but she was trembling as if it were.
Six twenty. The café door opened.
It was Yeonwoo.
A hoodie and jeans. A bare face. Earbuds in. It was a sight Kangyeon had seen hundreds of times. But seeing her from this body made it different. Yeonwoo looked small. They had been about the same height when Kangyeon was a woman, but now Yeonwoo only came up to Kangyeon's chest.
Yeonwoo ordered an iced Americano at the counter, then looked around for a seat. The café was packed. There was one empty seat. Across from Kangyeon.
'She's coming.'
Yeonwoo walked over. She pulled out the chair across from Kangyeon and sat down. She didn't look at Kangyeon even once. With her earbuds still in, she only looked at her phone.
Kangyeon opened her mouth.
"Excuse me."
Yeonwoo didn't hear her because of the earbuds.
"Excuse me."
She said it a little louder. Yeonwoo raised her head and looked at Kangyeon's face. Her expression was blank.
"...What?"
She was cold. Completely different from how she spoke to Kangyeon. With Kangyeon, it had been, "What is it~?" But now it was, "What?" Her tone didn't even sound like it had a question mark.
Kangyeon was flustered, but she tried to smile.
"Do you come here often? It's my first time in this neighborhood, so could you recommend a good place to eat?"
She knew she had just said the lamest line in the world. But she couldn't think of anything else.
Yeonwoo looked at Kangyeon. She gave her one once-over from head to toe. Then she put her earbuds back in.
"Look it up on Naver."
Then she lowered her gaze to her phone. That was it.
Kangyeon sat there in a daze. It felt like she'd been slapped across the face. No, being slapped would've been better. At least there would've been some emotion behind it. Yeonwoo's reaction right now had no emotion at all. Zero interest.
'...Is this really Yeonwoo?'
The Yeonwoo she knew wasn't like this. She smiled at strangers, kindly gave directions when people asked, and was just that kind of person. At least, that's what Kangyeon had thought.
But the Yeonwoo sitting right in front of her—
She had her earbuds in, was looking at her phone, and hadn't spared a 190-centimeter wolf-faced heartthrob so much as a glance after he spoke to her. It wasn't that Kangyeon had expected Yeonwoo to be more interested because she was handsome. It was the shock of realizing someone could be that completely indifferent to another person.
Kangyeon took a sip of her Americano and scrunched up her face at the bitterness. She normally always drank vanilla lattes, but ordering an Americano because she was a man had been a mistake.
'It's okay. It's the first day. First days are always like this.'
Kangyeon repeated it to herself. But a corner of her heart ached. Yeonwoo had really been that cold a person. She had only been kind to Kangyeon. Kangyeon didn't know whether that made her happy or sad.
Yeonwoo finished her Americano and stood up. She didn't look at Kangyeon even once. She slung her bag over her shoulder and left the café.
Kangyeon watched her from behind. Her small back. The cord of her earbuds swayed as she walked.
'I'll come again tomorrow.'
Kangyeon forced down the rest of her Americano. The bitter taste slid down her throat.
When she got home, she lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She was starting to get used to this ceiling too. The ceiling as seen from a man's perspective.
Her phone buzzed. It was KakaoTalk.
Yeonwoo: Dohwa, what did you do today? Something seriously annoying happened at work today
Kangyeon held her phone and stared at it for a long time. Yeonwoo's KakaoTalk messages to her were always this sweet. She didn't use emojis, but her tone was casual and warm. Was this really the same person who had said "Look it up on Naver" an hour ago?
Dohwa: lol what happened Yeonwoo: My team leader tried to make me work late again, but I left right on time Dohwa: lmaooo That's so you, Yeonwoo Yeonwoo: Of course. My time is precious Yeonwoo: But when are you coming out? Why haven't I seen you lately? Dohwa: Ah, I've been kind of busy lately lol Let's hang out soon
Kangyeon set her phone down.
Yeonwoo was looking for Dohwa. That one line—"Why haven't I seen you lately?"—pierced her heart.
'Yeonwoo, I was right in front of you today. I sat across from you. But you didn't recognize me.'
Kangyeon closed her eyes. She was going back to that café tomorrow. And the day after that. Until Yeonwoo looked at her.
Because if she gave up, she'd be stuck in this body forever.
But that wasn't the only reason. The reason she didn't want to give up wasn't just because of the curse.
Kangyeon pulled the blanket up. A man's body meant the blanket was too short. Her feet stuck out.
'...I should've ordered a vanilla latte.'
With that ridiculous regret on her mind, Kangyeon fell asleep.