chapter 10
10. A Farewell to a Friend and a Letter
After the check-out, I entered the shelter with the agents following the judge’s words.
Arriving smoothly, I took out my ID card and unlocked the lock.
The door opened with an electronic sound, and I tried to enter the room with the agents.
“Now, come in.”
When I turned around to guide them into the room, the agents were looking at the entrance of the room with me in a restless state.
“That, Mr. Jinhyo. I have a question for you.”
“Yes? What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry to ask you this….”
The agent seemed to find it difficult to ask, and after a long pause, he opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Well, would you really mind if we follow you?”
“Anyway, it might be uncomfortable or unpleasant… ….”
Ah~ that was it.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”
“──!!”
“——Thank you!”
“Then, come in.”
I opened the door wide and led the agents in to show that I was really okay.
I entered the room first, and the agents followed suit, stepping cautiously into the room. In a very rigid way.
“Excuse me… hahahaha This is male…….”
“Sue, ha. Smells good…….”
The agents who entered the room were leaving comments in low voices. I couldn’t hear the contents well, but it didn’t seem like I was evaluating it negatively.
Funnily enough, the agents were not moving their necks, only rolling their eyes and scanning the surroundings.
It was fun, like a chameleon looking for food in a documentary.
It’s okay to just look around.
If you just roll your eyes like that, your eyeballs will hurt.
I stood in the middle of the room and looked around, thinking about the health of their eyes.
Come to think of it, how should I separate the luggage?
“How should I divide the burden?”
“Sueup, haa—… hot! You mean Jim?”
“Huh! Anything you need to take with you right now, you can put it in this bag here.”
The agent handed me the travel bag he was holding and said.
“And if you let us know about the rest of your luggage, we will make a note of it and pack it separately.”
“Hmm, that’s simple. All right.”
Actually, I didn’t have that many personal items at the shelter.
Other boys buy a lot of personal items and decorate their rooms….
I wasn’t good at decorating the room, and I was satisfied with the basic items provided by the shelter, so I had few personal items.
So I thought I would be able to finish packing faster than I thought.
I thought hard about what I needed right away.
At times like this, I heard that it’s good to assume that you’re going on a trip. What do you need right now….
“Um…. Should I start with a toothbrush, foam cleansing, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion?”
I went into the bathroom and grabbed the toiletries.
After packing the toiletries, the agent found a small pouch in his hand.
She held out the pouch to me, leaving it open for me to put my things in.
He is a very smart person.
After getting the toiletries, I went to the bed and fell into a moment of trouble.
“Um, sorry over there.”
“Yes, Mr. Jinhyo. What are you doing?”
“Could you take the blanket and pillow with you?”
“Of course. You can take any items that Jinhyo used at the shelter with you.”
“Hey, then can I take this bed with me if I want?”
“Yes, it is possible. Shall we include it on the packing list?”
“Ahahahaha, no. Just joke.”
Ah, but the bed was terrible.
“Then, please pack this blanket and pillow.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Upon hearing my request, the agent nodded and began to jot down notes in his notebook.
I looked around to see if there was anything else, but there was nothing I could take with me.
I really have nothing to bring. No, I had very few of my things in the first place.
It’s a shelter that gets everything if you ask for it, but I’ve rarely asked for it.
I lived a very frugal life.
Recalling the life at the shelter, which was growing rapidly, I approached the closet.
When I opened my closet, it was full of clothes with the same design as the one I was wearing.
It was designed like a mixture of a patient uniform and a school uniform, and was a uniform issued by the shelter.
There was no specific rule at the shelter to wear only these clothes. There’s a reason why these clothes are comfortable and neat to wear, but…….
Men’s clothes in this world were designs that I was very reluctant to wear by my standards.
Fluttering, refreshing,
Pink, cute,
Pastel tones mixed with lace.
Clothes that are difficult for women in my previous life to digest, very girly by my standards, were the average clothes worn by men in this world.
It’s been 13 years since I was born in this world, but I couldn’t think of anything to wear.
That’s why I’ve never worn anything other than the shelter uniform.
Now that I think about it,
Do I have to wear those clothes when I go out?
I really hate that…….
First of all, I thought it would be good to take these clothes with me as an excuse.
“Uhm, should I bring two sets for now?
Hey, could you pack these clothes too?”
“Yes, I understand.”
I took out the two sets separately, folded them up, and put them in my travel bag.
Then, what do you think is left?
Ah! Something important remains.
Drruck.
“Wouldn’t it be better to bring plenty of panties?”
“Whoops!”
“Hoop!”
I opened the closet drawer and took out the neatly folded panties one by one.
They were boxer shorts in the form of draws that existed in my previous life, but the design was a bit different.
Overall, it’s a cute design.
To be honest, it was a very burdensome design, but I had to wear it because I didn’t have anything other than these panties.
No matter how much I think about it, I really don’t understand.
Why do panties have to have ribbons on them?
And why is the pelvis part laced?
It was a really incomprehensible design.
Still, I couldn’t live without panties, so I gave up on this part.
“Umm, let’s just pack about 10 cards for now.
Could you ask me to send the rest in packaging?
Hey, this is the packaging….”
I turned to ask the agents to pack.
Then I turned my head and fell into embarrassment.
Because the agents had their backs to me and were staring at the wall as if they were being punished.
“… Excuse me?”
“Sin, sin, sorry. Ji, Jinhyo. As for that, cow, underwear, me, we can, according to the rules, regulations, can’t, drill, number.”
“Ha ha, ha ha. Ha ha, ha ha.”
One of the agents managed to explain in a very trembling voice that, according to regulations, she couldn’t touch her underwear.
And the other agent was breathing heavily as he pressed his face against the wall.
Huh? Was there such a rule?
Come to think of it, other clothes were collected in the communal laundry room, but underwear was washed in the washing machine in the private room.
“Eh… Then I’ll take care of the underwear separately.”
“I am really sorry. I-I would really appreciate it if you could put it in the box I brought and close it well.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Huh, ha. Hmm, ha ha.”
More than that, his breathing is very noisy.
Was my underwear so shockingly painful to look at?
First of all, I took a box on the floor and put the underwear one by one.
And by the time I finished packing the box, the agents were still staring at the wall.
After I packed my underwear, I looked around the room again to see if I had anything else to pack.
… Also there is nothing
Shall I keep this much?
After closing the box and closing the travel bag in case the agents would panic, I told the agents.
“It’s over. You can see it now.”
“Ah, black! Go, thank you.”
“Whoa, whoa. Excuse me.”
At my words, the agents turned around.
They tried to ignore the only closed box, the one containing my underwear.
“Do you have anything else to pack?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“Okay. Then, we will carry the bag.”
After taking my suitcase, the agents went out the door first.
After the agents left, I slowly looked over the room where I had been taken care of.
It was a shelter that I wanted to leave so much, but I felt so fresh to have to part with the room I had been fond of for a long time.
I felt a very profound feeling, both sad and regretful.
I bowed my head to the empty room for the last time and said hello.
“Thank you so much.”
Now, it’s really goodbye to the shelter.
After saying goodbye to the room I had been indebted to, I heard someone calling me from the hallway.
“Jinhyo!”
“Huh? Taehyung!”
When I turned my head in the direction of the voice, my friend Taehyeon was running toward me.
Taehyun, who was running across the hallway, stopped her steps in shock when she found the agents.
The quick-witted agents quickly grasped the situation. They bowed lightly to me and ran out into the hallway on the other side.
Only then did the agents disappear from sight, and Taehyun approached me again with a relieved expression.
“Jinhyo! Is it really true?”
As soon as Taehyun approached, he grabbed my shoulder and started asking me questions.
“Is it true that you are leaving the shelter?”
“Oh, that’s right. But how did you know?”
“Now the shelter is in trouble because of it! Ha, really you.”
Taehyun shook his head and let out a big sigh.
“Did you know that withdrawal is impossible?”
“Yes, I heard the explanation earlier.”
“So, are you really going to leave after knowing that?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Haaa.”
One guy too. Why is a young man sighing so much?
The ground is gone.
“… I expected this to happen at some point, but it really goes out.”
“What? Did you even expect it?”
“That’s right, you usually lived with the words that you wanted to leave the shelter.”
Eh? Really?
Did I say that often?
“You look like you have no idea.”
“Hey, don’t read other people’s thoughts.”
“I’m not reading your thoughts, it’s all on your face.”
Does it show on my face like that?
If this happens, I won’t be able to even have a proper social life.
When you go to the shelter, you must practice hiding your expression.
“… Where will you live once you get out of the shelter?”
“Huh? Of course I live with my mother.”
“What? What do you mean by that Why are you living with your mother instead of living alone?”
“… What do you mean by that?”
I was dumbfounded and asked my friend.
Then, my friend told me with a face as if asking why I was asking something obvious.
“Well, even if you are a mother, you are still a woman. Are you really okay?”
… Yes, it was such a world.
Even if it’s the same family, even if it’s the mother,
It was the men of this world who treated and looked at all women as the same.
It was a prejudice that I couldn’t understand.
Unable to just watch, I left some serious advice for my friend.
“My friend, don’t think that all mothers are the same woman.”
“… What do you mean?”
“Trust me.
If you see your mother as just an ordinary mother, not as a woman, then the world will look a little different.”
My friend didn’t say anything at my words and just looked at me with a dumbfounded face.
I said, patting the shoulder of such a friend.
“Anyway, I’m leaving. After looking into it, he said that he could visit the shelter in the form of a visit. I can’t guarantee it often, but I’ll come over from time to time.”
“… Isn’t it normal to promise to come over often at times like this?”
“Because I am careful not to make promises I cannot keep.”
I smiled and reached out to my friend.
After all, there’s nothing like a handshake to say goodbye.
My friend also reached out and grabbed my hand, probably knowing my intentions.
“How are you? Don’t cry because I’m not there.”
“… Who is crying? Don’t cry and say you miss life at the shelter.”
“Wow. That kind of thing won’t happen even if you wake up dead.”
“Ha, that’s all right…. See you next.”
I grinned again and said hello to my friend.
“Yes! See you next.”
After saying goodbye to my friend, I ran out to the hallway where the agents disappeared.
By saying goodbye to friends like that,
I came to the end of my life at the shelter.
◈◈◈
“He’s really gone.”
Taehyun stared blankly at the hallway where Jinhyo ran.
The sudden farewell to a friend was a great shock.
However, while saying goodbye to his friend, Taehyun heard something more shocking.
A word of advice from a friend.
That one word was a huge shock to Taehyun.
“… If she sees her mother as an ordinary mother, not as a woman, her way of looking at the world changes….”
Taehyun put his hand in her pocket.
Then, Taehyun took his hand out of her pocket and found a letter in Taehyung’s hand.
It was a letter from Taehyeon’s mother to Taehyeon.
Perhaps Taehyun thought that when her family visit was suddenly canceled, she sent a letter to complain to herself.
Didn’t actually open the letter and read it, but he thought it would be obvious without looking at it.
Because women are all violent and scary beings.
So, as usual, I didn’t read the letter and just threw it away.
But just now, after hearing Jinhyo’s story, Taehyeon became curious about the contents of the letter.
Are mothers really different from the women I heard about from the men at the shelter?
Taehyun mustered up the courage to open the sealed envelope.
Bu-wook.
“…… What are you expecting
There must have been written complaints about not being able to meet you with harsh words anyway.”
With that in mind, he took out the letter and read it.
There were only three concise sentences written in the letter.
『How are you doing?
It’s still chilly, so be careful not to catch a cold.
I miss you a lot.
-Mom-』
After checking the contents of the letter, Taehyun,
With a letter in his hand, he stood for a while in the hallway.
After standing there for a while, Taehyun muttered in a small voice.
“If I change my thoughts a little, will I be able to look at the world a little more brightly like you, Jinhyo?”
Taehyun went back to his room like that.
Returning to his room, Taehyun was writing a letter for the first time in his life.
The recipient is none other than
She was Taehyun’s mother.