TRPM 248

chapter 248

Son Ji-hye, a man who always dresses in women’s clothing.

He had never been particularly talented at physical activities since he was young.

According to his parents, he had barely managed to roll over by the time he was one year old.

He had spent over six months in an incubator before that, but that was no excuse. Other babies had similar incubator experiences, yet most managed to roll over between eight and nine months.

“It wasn’t just rolling over; he was slow to stand on his own two feet too.”

While most children learn to stand within six months after rolling over, he was unusually slow. He had only managed to stand by the age of two. Naturally, his parents constantly worried about him, frequently taking him to the hospital to check if something was wrong with his body.

“…Even when I went to school, it was the same.”

In elementary and middle school, he realized that his body was abnormally weak compared to other children. Fortunately, he wasn’t bullied, but because he lacked the strength to join in games or outdoor activities, he returned home immediately after school and couldn’t make proper friends.

By the time he graduated middle school, he had awakened and improved physically, but even then, his abilities were below the average for ordinary middle and high school students. When he tried to enroll in a high school specialized for awakeners, they hesitated and suggested he might be better off attending a regular high school. His physical abilities were simply insufficient to keep up with the courses at an awakener-focused school.

“But I wanted to change.”

Refusing to remain weak, he enrolled in the specialized high school for awakeners and achieved respectable grades. His awakening abilities were low, but in theoretical subjects, he ranked near the top. Though he couldn’t enter an academy for awakeners due to his physical limitations, he managed to enter a university successfully.

“…It probably started in university—my interest in dressing as a woman.”

Having joined the drama club in high school, he continued this hobby at university. He wasn’t majoring in theater, just participating for fun. In his university drama club, there were very few female students, so male students often played female roles, dressing as women.

Son Ji-hye excelled at this. At first, it felt awkward, but eventually, he realized that he felt more confident in women’s clothing than in his usual male attire.

“Was I supposed to be born a woman?”

With this thought, even after graduating and becoming a teacher, he continued living in women’s clothing. His parents and acquaintances who knew he was male were bewildered, but seeing how much brighter he seemed dressed this way, they couldn’t bring themselves to stop him. And so, Son Ji-hye continued living as a cross-dressing man.

“What should I do…? What should I do…?”

Then, a trial appeared before him: the relay race.

“Hoo… let’s take a deep breath… hoo…”

Physically weak for an awakener, he worried about becoming a laughingstock and tried to calm himself. Though repeated training had made him stronger than ordinary civilians, it didn’t mean he could handle his body skillfully.

“Teacher!”

“?”

While he took deep breaths, a voice called from behind.

“Cheer up!”

It was Lee Ha-eun, waving a cheering stick. Not only her, but all the students from Class 1-1 held cheering sticks. Even Han Geon-woo, lying down, was waving one.

“…Heh… alright, I’ll do my best!”

Imagining Han Geon-woo lying down and waving the stick lazily made him smile slightly, and then he headed to the center of the field for the relay.

Moments later…

“Ugh…”
“Oh my…”
“Oops…”

Teacher Son Ji-hye, running with all his might, tripped over his legs and fell. Still, he got up immediately and passed the baton. During his run, the opposing team swapped runners three times. No matter how hard his team ran, closing that gap seemed impossible.

“Wasn’t that the first-year math teacher just now?”
“I envy the first-year students…”
“If I’d taken classes from that teacher, I might not have given up on math.”

Seeing the teacher fall and get up again, the male students became captivated by him.

“…More people are captivated by him than before I returned…”

Though the teacher had no special charm-related abilities, it was the only way to describe the effect. Looking around, over half the male students were watching Teacher Son Ji-hye, who was now being treated by the school nurse for injuries sustained while falling, rather than running. Female students and other teachers aware of his true gender were also more concerned about his condition than the race.

“Those running teachers are unlucky.”

Because most eyes were on Son Ji-hye, the cheering for the running teachers diminished. But it wasn’t disappointment—they worried about Son Ji-hye.

“…As expected, Son Ji-hye’s team lost.”

The difference of about three laps due to him was compounded by the opposing team having faster teachers, resulting in roughly a four-lap difference by the end. Despite the fall, as an awakener, he wasn’t seriously injured. The school nurse applied light magical first aid and signaled the operations team that everything was fine.

“Announcement from the operations team: Lunch break will begin now for one hour. Students, please go to your classrooms or the cafeteria, or eat at nearby restaurants, and return to your seats by 1:30 PM. Dormitory students, your packed lunches are ready, so please collect them.”

After the signal, the lunch break began.

“Teacher… are you okay?”
“If the nurse only applied light first aid, he should be fine. If it were serious, he would have been sent to the hospital immediately.”

Magical healing has its limits. Unless it was Lee Ha-eun’s Resurrection, normal magical treatment is only like first aid. If first aid wasn’t enough, he would have been sent to a hospital. So he wasn’t seriously hurt.

The teacher then walked toward our class.

“Everyone, let’s head to the classroom for lunch.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. My wrist ligament is slightly stretched, but the nurse treated it, so it’s fine.”

A stretched wrist ligament was no big deal—no need for hospital examination.

“Let’s go to the classroom. I’ll show you the lunch I brought.”
“Oh, we already have packed lunches from the dorm, so we’ll take those first.”
“Alright.”

Elena and Eliot went to collect the dorm lunches, while the rest of us headed to the classroom with the teacher. Of course, we washed our hands on the way. After all, we were about to eat lunch.

“Cleanliness.”

Especially for me, sand stuck to my body as I had been lying down. I used a spell to remove the dust from myself.

Once we arrived at the classroom, the teacher said:

“My lunch is in the faculty room. Please wait a moment.”

I realized why the teacher wanted to eat with us:

‘He probably feels guilty about losing the relay because of himself.’

Other teachers were focused on his well-being, but he might feel awkward facing his team.

“Teacher, your wrist ligament is stretched, right?”
“Could you… carry the lunch with that hand?”

Two students who liked him, Lee Doo-min and Ryu Ah-min, suddenly said this.

‘They’re trying to score points by helping carry his lunch.’

The teacher blinked and replied apologetically:

“Yes? But the nurse treated it.”
“Only first aid though.”
“Please, don’t overexert yourself today… leave it to us.”

He nodded in apology.

“Then may I ask you to do it?”

Naturally, Doo-min and Ah-min nodded vigorously, while others looked at them in disbelief.

“Ugh… why am I not in Class 1-1?”
“If only I could replace those two…”

Passing male students mumbled this as they walked by.

‘I can’t wait for everyone to find out Teacher Son Ji-hye is actually a man…’

We entered the classroom, and the rest of the students followed, leaving the two boys to handle the teacher’s lunch.

“Hmm? Geon-woo, no bag? What about lunch?”

Lee Ha-eun asked as she took out her lunch.

“Of course it’s in my pocket dimension.”

I began pulling out each packed lunch from my pocket dimension—an enormous amount packed by Yeon Mi-rae.

The other students stared, and I told them:

“If you’re eating together, push the desks together.”

I wasn’t stingy. Mi-rae had packed enough, knowing I’d share. It had nothing to do with the silly text stuck to my back.

“Wow, really?!”
“Sausages, ham, salad, eggs…”
“There’s more side dishes than school lunch…?”
“Do… there’s tonkatsu too…”

Naturally, the students moved the desks closer. Soon, the teacher, the two helpers, and the siblings Elena and Eliot, who returned from the dorm, were amazed at the amount of food. I invited them to sit, and our class enjoyed a plentiful lunch.

“Oh… it’s cold…”
“Ahaha…”
“I tried warming it with magic, but it’s still…”

Unlike mine, the other lunches had been left at room temperature for hours and were completely cold. My lunches, stored in my pocket dimension, didn’t have that problem.