Chapter 5: Look, nothing happened.

“Fine, I didn’t know! There are all kinds of people in the world, so why live so rigidly?”

I had no choice but to admit it.
How could I say I was a guy until yesterday? No one would believe me.
Or maybe, with this bizarre situation, someone might?
Either way, saying it wouldn’t help me at all.

[Gallery owner’s got some guts;;]
[Her rage is f*cking hilarious lol.]
[Not knowing your clothing size isn’t that weird lol, same with underwear, right?]

I decided to go full shameless and ignore them.

“I’m not a streamer, you know. You guys get that, right?”

[Lol, we thought you were a pro streamer.]
[The problem is you respond too well.]
[But seriously, this must be stressful. Don’t go too hard for laughs lol, I feel bad for you.]

Thankfully, some people took my side.
Though it wasn’t exactly comforting that they kept the channel ON while saying that.

To cool off, I grabbed the beer I put in the fridge earlier.
I sat at my desk and set up some snacks.

“I’m gonna watch a movie, okay? It’s a romance, so if you’re not interested, turn off the channel.”

[Gallery owner… you watch those kinds of movies?]
[Already prepping the tear ducts lol.]
[What’s the movie title?]

“I’m not saying the title because someone’s bound to spoil it. If you wanna watch, buy it and join me.”

[How do we buy it without the title, dumbass?]
[She means buy it when she starts it, idiot.]
[Lmao, who’s actually gonna buy it?]
[She’s making us do a group movie watch lol.]

I wondered if this was okay, but whatever.
I need to watch movies to live too.
I’m watching it legally with my own money.
As soon as I started the movie I’d bought, the complaints erupted.

[‘I Don’t Know Love’?]
[Whoa, isn’t this super old-school?]
[You paid for this?]
[There’s nothing to spoil lol.]
[Who doesn’t know the plot?]

“Don’t you know oldies are goodies? If you’re not interested, turn off the channel. I’m focusing on the movie now.”

They called it old, but it’s only 12 years old.
It was pretty famous back then, but I never watched it since I wasn’t into movies.
I don’t usually go for romance, but after browsing, this is what I picked today.

The plot was predictable.
Emotionless protagonists pile up misunderstandings until they finally face each other.
But with a limited time for love, it’s a painfully emotional movie meant to tug at your heartstrings.
For some reason, my eyes were burning.

[Yo, you crying? Lol.]
[Gallery owner’s super emotional lol.]
[But watching it again, it’s f*cking sad.]

“Ugh, crying? As if.”

Maybe it’s the alcohol.
Or maybe the movie’s just that sad.
Or maybe it’s this changed body.
I never got tipsy from one or two beers before.
Could my usual steady emotions have shifted somehow?

[I hate romance movies, but this is f*cking sad.]
[I skipped this movie before, but thanks to you, it was fun.]
[Like she said, I bought it. Here’s my proof.]

The gallery started talking about the movie.
It felt like watching it in a theater with others, not alone.

Seeing similar reactions to mine was relatable.
This might actually be kind of nice.

After the two-hour movie, it was already dark outside.

“I’m gonna get ready for bed.”

[What? Sleeping this early?]
[It’s not even 11, and you’re sleeping??]

“I’m just tired and want to sleep early.”

As a shut-in, I usually stay up late on my phone, but today was mentally exhausting.
I didn’t do much physically, but doing unfamiliar things takes a toll, and my day was full of that.

“You’re not gonna watch me sleep, are you?”

[Ever heard of sleep streams?]
[Lmao, you think they wouldn’t watch?]

Ugh… Thinking they’re watching makes falling asleep creepy.
But I can’t not sleep, so I lay in bed.
Once I did, sleepiness hit hard.

I ate snacks instead of dinner, so I was full.
Exhausted but warm, there’s no way I wouldn’t fall asleep.

I drifted off and woke up in the middle of the night.

“Ugh…”

I grabbed water from the fridge. It was around 3 a.m.

[You up?]
[Don’t chug cold water like that.]

“You’re not sleeping?”

[Was about to.]
[3 a.m. is still daytime, right? Lol.]
[I gotta work, but I can’t sleep.]
[Was gonna sleep after a bit, but your sleeping habits are so bad it’s hilarious lol.]

“My sleeping habits aren’t bad.”

[Bullsh*t, you threw the blanket on the floor, then fumbled for it when you got cold.]
[Lmao, I thought you weren’t even sleeping.]
[You were scratching your chest, and if your shirt lifted a bit, we’d have seen something, damn.]

Why would I throw a perfectly good blanket on the floor?
They’re exaggerating to mess with me.

“Whatever, I’m going back to sleep…”

Yawning lazily, I lay back down.
Beep. A sound rang out at that moment.

Click-click-click-click.
Beep-beep!

The sound of someone entering the door code.
The error sound of a wrong code.

My heart sank.

“Uh…?”

After a brief pause, they tried again.
Beep. Click-click-click-click. Beep-beep!!
I snapped awake and shot up.

[What’s going on? Weren’t you sleeping?]

“Someone… is trying my door code.”

[What the f*ck? Call the police.]
[Maybe it’s the neighbor?]
[She’s freaked out because it’s her place.]
[No, I mean maybe the neighbor’s pressing it by mistake.]

They kept talking, but waking up like this made my head spin, and I couldn’t think straight.
Should I call the police?
But if it’s nothing, I don’t want to cause trouble for everyone.

I got up and went to the door.

[What are you doing? You crazy?]
[Yo, I’m calling the cops.]

“Wait… don’t call yet.”

I pressed my ear to the door, listening.
Unlike before, there was no sound outside now.
Is someone there? Or did they leave?

I’d have to open the door to know.
But there’s no chain lock.
If someone’s lurking out there, opening it might be irreversible.

Some viewers still awake were already about to report it.
If it’s nothing, the caller, the police, and I would all be in a mess.

Explaining how I knew to call would be impossible, and it might upset everyone.

Gulp.
I swallowed, then flung the door open.

The moment I looked outside—

“……!!”

A silent, empty hallway stared back.
Even confirming no one was there, my heart kept pounding.

“Uh… no one’s there.”

[Are you actually crazy;;]
[Why the hell would you open it??]
[I was on the phone with the cops but hung up.]

“Look… even if someone came to my place on purpose, they’d be watching this, right? They wouldn’t dare try anything.”

[Lmao, your head’s full of flowers.]
[The world’s not full of rational people. You think criminals commit crimes expecting to get caught?]
[Her brain’s not lacking—she’s just fearless. Even as a guy, I’d be too scared to open it.]

“Whatever. Maybe it was a mistake from another apartment, right? They only tried twice.”

Even after saying that, most kept scolding me.
Come on, if nothing happened, isn’t that fine?
Weren’t they the ones laughing it off earlier?

“You guys said no one would have the guts to show up.”

[That was to calm you down.]
[That’s the same as this?]
[Wow, she’s so stubborn. What do we do with her?]

“Fine, I get it… I’ll buy a chain lock tomorrow and install it. Happy now?”

They keep the channel ON themselves but act like this.
Maybe they’re genuinely worried, but they’re just as selfish for not considering my perspective.

Maybe it’s the shock.
Or maybe it’s this complicated feeling.

Falling back asleep seemed impossible.
I have a first-period lecture tomorrow too.

My grumpy expression must’ve shown, because some finally started defending me, saying if nothing happened, it’s fine.

[She’s just a victim. She’s only 20.]
[It’s weird to handle it rationally.]
[Yeah, just be careful next time.]
[If it was just a drunk neighbor, that’d be hilarious lol. Check it out tomorrow evening.]

Ask a drunk neighbor if they tried my door code?
I don’t even know which neighbor, and they’d probably get annoyed.

I just said okay and moved on.

Honestly, it’s hard to imagine myself as a girl getting into serious trouble.
Until the day before yesterday, I was a guy.
Sure, there are bad people, but most prioritize their own safety.
Knowing so many eyes are watching, I can’t imagine anyone doing something bad to me recklessly.

“Okay. Can’t sleep, so how about some ARAM? I have first period, so I need to get ready early. I’ll take friend requests, first four only.”

[Lmao, after that, you’re playing ARAM??]
[She’s the real deal.]
[What’s her League IGN? Forgot already, damn.]

I’d be embarrassed if no one sent requests, but luckily, four filled up fast.
When someone asked about voice chat, I waved my hands frantically.
Knowing they’re watching is bad enough—letting them hear my voice would be creepy.

Even in ARAM, as a Master-tier player, I went hard for kills, and the game tilted in my favor.

“So, this is the average of those mocking my skills? Silver, Silver, Gold, Bronze?”

[Lmao, why are they so bad!!]
[But it does make a difference lol.]

“Shouldn’t we keep these guys locked in ARAM for the public good instead of letting them loose in the rift?”

Finally, I felt some stress melt away.
I was even having a bit of fun.
A small chuckle, but I think it’s the first time I’ve laughed since my body changed.

[She knows how to laugh.]
[Don’t laugh in public, seriously… it’s dangerous.]
[She was frowning all this time because of you guys lol.]
[I’ve got work soon and haven’t slept a wink.]

“Good. Get scolded at work for dozing off.”

That’s karma, right?

Chatting and gaming, morning eventually came.
It was time to get ready and head to class.

The thought of going to school filled me with dread.
Ugh, I don’t want to go. I really don’t want to go.

[What, you look like a cow heading to the slaughterhouse lol.]

Yeah, that’s about right.