Chapter 2

Knocks were heard on the main door of the house where the party was taking place, but no one needed to answer. Jaesun entered along with Kimi and brightened up when he saw his best friend.

"Jaesun, I missed you," Lucy said, hugging him tightly.

Kimi pulled him away, laughing as she had to use a lot of force, but not enough for them to let go of each other. Thus, she squeezed herself in between them, hugging Lucy around the waist while being squished.

"You're really getting reduced to an atom like this," Ryeon commented, looking at her with squished cheeks.

Cho tried to stick her tongue out at him, but even that effort was impossible.

Jaesun was the one who gave up, leaving a little kiss on Lucy's nose and stepping back so she could hug Kimi.

"There's cake," Jungso announced.

Kimi had her face resting against her friend's chest, feeling at peace just having her there, but hearing that stirred her stomach, so she heard it rumble, then let go of Lucy and headed towards Jungso.

"Who came up with the idea of making a cake with the birth certificate?"

"Who do you think?" Sun-ha laughed, going to where the plates and utensils were. "Get comfortable, I'll serve."

"I'll help you," Ryeon offered.

Lucy looked at him, smiling softly as she saw her mother gladly accept the help. She watched as everyone settled in as best they could, and her father cut the cake.

"This one is yours," Jungso said, handing her a slice.

Lucy laughed. Her slice had "Jeon Lucy" written on it.

"I kept the birthdate for myself, and you, Kimi?"

"I kept Busan," Kimi laughed, showing it.

They ate and chatted about the trip – the parts they could discuss in front of their parents. But when they were partially full of that topic, Lucy said her goodbyes to Ryeon with a kiss and headed up the stairs to her room excitedly, with Jaesun and Kimi following her.

"Alright, spill the beans now!" Jaesun immediately requested, grabbing one of Lucy's pillows and sitting in the middle of the floor.

Kimi sat on the edge of the bed while Lucy settled among the pillows, wearing a silly and eager smile.

"We made love again."

Kimi smiled excitedly.

"That's not news, Lu. You two have passion, I've said that."

"It's true," Kimi agreed.

"I know, but... it's good to talk about it, I mean, to you guys. It was even better this time. The first time was good too, but this time it was... really, really good."

"Did you try any new positions?" Cho's curiosity made Lucy throw a pillow at her.

Lucy laughed, but the way she was hinting at it even made Jaesun want to ask the same question.

"It wasn't anything special, but... he... um, he..."

"My goodness, you're so shy!" Jaesun laughed. "Take a deep breath and tell us."

Lucy nodded, following her best friend's advice.

She took a deep breath and said, "He went down on me. He... down there."

Kimi gasped, surprised. Jaesun opened his mouth, quickly leaning towards Lucy. He touched her knees and asked, "How was it?"

Lucy was just a bit away from turning into a tomato, but she still answered.

"Good. Really, really, a thousand times really good!"

Kimi flopped back, kicking in the air as she muffled her screams into the pillow on her face.

Lucy laughed, covering her face, while Jaesun just laughed, biting his lower lip.

"Wow, Lu, I'm so proud! Didn't that bother you?"

"I thought it would bother me, but it was just at the beginning, you know? But... he did it, and he said I was the most beautiful girl of all while he did it! He said I was a girl while he had him in his mouth!"

Jaesun clapped excitedly, completely thrilled. Kimi threw a pillow at Lucy, taking deep breaths to recover her lost breath.

"How I love having you guys as my friends!"

Lucy denied it, still blushing too much.

"And did you return the favor?" Jaesun wanted to know.

"No, I almost chickened out with that, but I really want to do it."

"Next time you should, don't miss the chance."

"I won't," Lucy laughed, still shy. "But we made love several times. And I found out I really like being on top."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We did it with him on top, from the side, but when I'm on top, it's... different. I like how he looks at me, how he holds onto my waist, and... how he looks when..."

"I get it," Jaesun smiled. "It's a shame you discovered how great making love is just when you have to go back to studying."

"But you have your whole life ahead of you," Kimi lay down. "Just like us, unfortunately, we have to wait a few weeks to finally have some really nice lovemaking. Our future is more important."

"She's right," Lucy pointed out.

"Whatever. And changing the subject, now that you have your new certificate, are you going to change dormitories?"

"Can we be roommates, unnie?"

Lucy looked at Cho.

"It would be really cool, but I have no idea if they'll want to move me to a different dorm."

"And why wouldn't they? Lu, you have your documents now."

"I have a birth certificate, I still have to get all the other ones, and you know, these things take so long."

"It's your right to change, unnie, there's no way they can make you stay in the male dormitory anymore."

"Yeah, just because the room is vacant again after Yugjae left doesn't mean they can force you to stay. We'll protest if possible, but we won't allow that, okay?"

Lucy laughed at the way her best friend said that but nodded.

"Okay. Thanks for helping me so much."

"You're welcome, but let's go back to talking about sex, I don't like such serious and boring subjects in the morning."

"But sex is a serious subject."

"But it's not boring, especially ours. Come on, Lu, tell us, did you use the glow-in-the-dark condom?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about sex anymore. There's something else that's more exciting than that."

"What?" they both asked in unison.

Lucy laughed, her friends were indeed curious, but raising her left hand, she saw them once again looking surprised.

"I kind of... have a fake engagement."

***

"I really wanted to go to Seoul with you, I'm sorry I have to go to work."

"Don't apologize for being a responsible adult, Ryeon. Besides, my train is already arriving, I'm going straight to the university, and I'll call you when I get there."

"Promise?" Ryeon asked, pouting at her.

Lucy kissed him and nodded.

"I promise. And please, talk to my dad when you can, okay?"

"Me? But, babe, he really thinks I proposed to you. He wants to castrate me!"

Lucy laughed, shaking her head, but she left another kiss on his lips, trying to calm him down.

"Tell him it's all a misunderstanding, Ryeon. I've already told him, but he didn't believe me much. He said a ring is much more than a 'fake' one."

"Oh, man, I'm so screwed."

"No, you're not. Tell him it's just another way for us to show that we're a couple."

"Alright."

"Oh, he might start talking about weird stuff like sex and all that, please don't freak out, okay?"

"Are you sure I can't get on the train with you?"

Lucy laughed, patting Ryeon's shoulder.

"Of course not." She turned to see the train that had just arrived. "I have to go."

"Alright." Ryeon deflated, saddened by the impending farewell. "See you in six weeks?"

Lucy also sighed, it sucked having to go back to being apart for so long after spending an entire month together, and a whole week of loving each other.

"You'll see me as soon as I get off at the Seoul station. I'll call you."

"Alright. I love you, you know that, right?"

Lucy smiled, nodding as she brushed her nose against his, already feeling her heart break from having to leave.

"And who doesn't know that, huh? I love you too, Ryeon."

"Have a safe trip, babe."

"Thank you."

"Let's go already," Jaesun called. He was saying his goodbyes to Mark a little further away, just like Kimi was still saying goodbye to Jerry with a long kiss.

"See you later," Lucy whispered against her boyfriend's lips.

"See you." Ryeon sealed the words with a slow kiss.

Ryeon watched her go. He waved as Lucy boarded the train and got closer, still seeing her in the window, waving.

"I love you," Ryeon whispered, repeating it tirelessly.

Lucy smiled, pointing to the ring on her finger and kissed it.

Ryeon repeated the gesture with his own ring, feeling his heart swell.

"Wow, you guys are cheesy," Jaesun said, but deep down, he found them adorable.

"Shut up, Jaesun!"

Lucy laughed at both her friends, but she didn't stop looking at Ryeon. Even when the train started moving, taking her away once again.

***

"It's so strange here without Yugjae..."

"Yeah, I even miss him," Jaesun lay down on the empty bed. Lucy left her suitcases in the corner and sat on her own bed. "Are you going to the dormitory office now?"

"Now?"

"It's better. Classes start the day after tomorrow, what if another guy arrives to stay here?"

"That would be a nightmare..."

"Then let's go already." Jaesun got up. "Get your birth certificate and let's sort this out."

Lucy wasn't so confident, but she followed her best friend's instructions again.

"You shouldn't be here." a student said, pointing at Kimi.

"You should go check if I'm around the corner," she retorted.

Jaesun laughed, but heard Lucy gasp.

"Why do they care that Kimi is in the male dormitory and not me?" Lucy asked, upset.

"Because they're a bunch of bigots, that's why we're changing this today!" Jaesun exclaimed.

"But what if the girls don't want me in their dormitory?" Lucy, for a moment, felt apprehensive.

"And since when do you only go where you're wanted?" Jaesun looked at her sternly. "They don't have to want you, they have to accept it. You have the same right, come on."

"Jaesun's right, and don't worry, if anything happens, I'll trip them up and protect you." Kimi added.

"Yeah, she knows how to kick shins pretty well, got the right height for that." Jaesun winked. "You'll be well protected."

Kimi cursed him for making fun of her height, but continued with both of them to the coordinator's office. They had to wait for a long time before they could be attended to.

When they entered the office, the way the woman looked at Lucy seemed to show her surprise.

"You are..."

"Beautiful, she knows." Jaesun intervened. "Can we sit?"

"Sure."

Lucy followed the others, sitting in the middle chair, facing the woman.

"How can I help you?"

Jaesun and Kimi glanced at Lucy.

"Well, I... came to request a dormitory change."

"Did something happen?"

"Well, no, I—"

"What's your full name again?" the woman interrupted, typing something into the computer. "I'll check your record."

"I..." Lucy swallowed her irrational fear. "I came to change that, exactly." She raised the document. "I'm not Jeon Woojin anymore, as it's registered. Actually, I never was, you know that, but now I have a document to prove it, and I'd like to move to a female dormitory."

The woman raised her eyebrows, looking at Lucy's document.

"A female one?"

"Yes, you can see that I'm a woman."

"It's right here." Jaesun pointed, making the coordinator look at him over her glasses.

"Okay." The woman finally said. "Is your address still the same?"

"Yes." Lucy answered, taking a deep breath, relieved. "It's the same."

"Busan, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." The coordinator continued, her eyes fixed on the computer. "I'll need an updated photo ID. Do you have one, right?"

Lucy froze.

She lingered in her own breakdown.

"I... I'm going to get them soon. I've already scheduled the dates."

"Oh, you've scheduled already? But that doesn't mean you already have them. Unfortunately, I—"

"Are you really going to deny this?" Jaesun took the lead again.

"Well, it's the regulation, what can I do?"

"Help a woman." Lucy said. "Woman to woman, you know you can help me with this."

"It's true, a woman should help another, right?" Kimi added.

"Yes, but—"

"There's no 'but' here, Mrs. Jiwon. Lucy is indeed a woman. Please, help her with this. It's not a favor, it's her right!"

The woman sighed, looking at each of the young people.

"Unfortunately, I can't. I need this document to update her enrollment."

"You can't leave it as pending? She'll get it done, come on."

"I have the registration proof from the responsible agency." Lucy showed it on her phone screen.

"If you had a proof that you've already done it, and you just needed to pick it up, I could try. But this is just a scheduling confirmation, not actually valid."

"What the hell!" Jaesun burst out.

Lucy touched his arm.

"I'm sorry." The woman apologized.

Lucy sighed, needing a moment again, but nodded at the end, collecting her new birth certificate.

"You can come back when you have the proof of your documents with your new name." The woman said.

"I won't come back." Lucy said, determined.

"You won't give up, will you? Like before, I say it again: your grades are some of the best in the university. You are one of the best students here."

Lucy felt like crying, she hated that feeling she had, hated realizing how everyone wore prejudice like a shroud, trying to invalidate her, but she took a deep breath, looking into the coordinator's eyes with determination.

"No. I won't give up because of a biased system or people like... transphobic people. Everyone sees that I'm a woman, they just keep denying it. I won't give up my future because of things like that, but I won't come back here and humiliate myself once again to get what I'm entitled to. I'll find another place to stay."

Jaesun got up, looking at the woman's surprised face. Kimi opened the door and walked ahead, followed by Lucy and Jaesun.

"I'm sorry." Jaesun whispered, hugging his best friend's arm.

Lucy just shook her head, but a pain like no other was stuck in her throat. And as soon as they re-entered the men's building and entered the room where Lucy slept, they heard the loud cry she needed to let out before falling onto the bed, crying.

Kimi, who had curled up due to the scare, approached quickly. Jaesun hugged Lucy from the right and Cho from the left, shielding her from the pain that consumed her.

They didn't say anything, they just let Lucy cry all she had to cry. They knew it was necessary.

After minutes like that, Lucy sighed, sobbing softly.

"Do you have money saved?" she asked, sniffing.

"How?"

"I think I have twenty thousand won. Do you want to go out to eat?" Kimi asked.

Lucy shook her head.

"The money isn't for that."

"What's it for?" Jaesun looked at her, still attached to her.

Lucy raised her teary eyes and looked at them.

"For us to rent a little place of our own..."