Gender Reversed Geum Taeyang - Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Conflict and Reconciliation

“…Geum taeyang ?”

“Um, Rete, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

It’s quite a peculiar situation. A beautiful woman and a handsome man facing each other, addressing one another with strange names.

The woman’s eyes are filled with anger, while confusion fills the man’s eyes.

“Oppa…? Do you know her?”

“Well, I do know her…”

For Yuhan, who had been joking about Ari during broadcasts thinking they’d never meet in person, this unintended encounter was particularly shocking.

If they had met later, emotions might have been more diluted, but weren’t they two people who had bad blood between them until very recently?

Also, Yuhan, being quick-witted, had somewhat anticipated that he might have influenced her sudden four-day broadcasting break due to mental stress, which he’d heard about.

With those sharp instincts, he could tell something was seriously wrong with the current situation.

Judging by the disgust evident in their expressions, its direction, and the relationship between them, he was certain there must be a major misunderstanding.

“Rete, could we talk privately for a moment…?!”

“You piece of trash! How dare you come to an orphanage and do such things?!”

Yuhan, who had lived a tough life and dealt with various incidents during his part-time jobs, usually maintained composure and was trying to understand the current situation as calmly as possible.

But Ari’s response was different.

She had always been on an elite track and remained among the top students in South Korea. Her family was harmonious, her parents were wealthy, and she generally associated with people of good character.

Her intelligence, superior to others, always derived logical conclusions and showed exceptional ability in finding evidence for correct answers.

While Ari typically maintained a calm mind and exercised thorough self-control in normal situations, there were times when she couldn’t.

When confronting hostile people.

It was the same when she fought with scary older girls in her neighborhood as a child, and when she argued with the bullies in her class during school days. Ari always struggled to control herself in such situations.

And for Ari, this encounter with Yuhan fell into that category.

A face-to-face meeting with someone she perceived as hostile.

While Yuhan didn’t harbor any significant animosity toward Ari, she didn’t see it that way.

Her judgment had long been clouded by uncontrolled emotions.

Mixing thoughts of needing to save the child from Geum taeyang and the belief that one should never show weakness when confronting thugs, Ari rushed at Yuhan to grab his collar.

No. She tried to. If Sehee hadn’t intervened.

“Who are you to talk to oppa like that!”

Bewilderment settles on Ari’s face. Her brain, which she usually prided herself on being exceptional, couldn’t keep up with the current situation.

“What… I was trying to help you…!”

Slap-

A crisp sound rings out. Sehee had struck Ari’s cheek. Silence descends.

“What kind of woman rushes to hit a man?”

Ari’s face rapidly hardens.

The thugs she’d met in her life had their limitations.

People who were clearly aware that throwing punches would complicate their school life and who worried about their school life and future.

Therefore, Ari had never been hit by anyone.

The situation of being physically struck for the first time in her life was shocking enough, but that wasn’t the end of it.

The fact that a child she’d judged to be threatened was striking her to protect the man she’d judged to be threatening could only mean one thing.

The thought that her judgment had been wrong flashed through Ari’s mind.

She had never thought she’d made wrong judgments in her entire life, and indeed, Ari’s judgments had always been accurate.

But now, due to her misjudgment, she had tried to physically threaten a man.

Six people witnessed this situation. It was an undeniable mistake. She had tried to hit a man because of her own error.

Ari couldn’t keep her mind straight.

###

“…Did I really look that much like a thug? Like I was threatening the kids?”

“I’m so sorry… I truly have no words…”

At a café near the orphanage. At a corner table sits myself and a beautiful woman. Her name… I don’t know, but her nickname is Rete. A woman I seem to keep getting tangled up with.

Usually, I maintain my composure in awkward situations, but earlier was truly maddening.

While I could understand how the situation might lead to misunderstandings, it was beyond imagination – Rete rushing at me with sudden aggression, the women with cameras giving me hostile looks from behind her, and Sehee striking Rete.

It was utter chaos.

At that time, Rete looked quite distressed, Sehee was too excited about the dangerous situation I’d been in, and if orphanage staff came due to the commotion, it would have been awkward for everyone, so we decided to disperse and I brought only Rete here.

Yes. We’ve been through quite a lot for people who’ve never met before. It’s time we had a proper conversation.

“Are you still shaking? Try to relax.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll try.”

“…”

“Why, why are you looking at me like that…”

“Was getting hit that shocking? Well, I suppose it would be.”

“No… getting hit was fine, but the fact that I tried to hit you…”

From our conversation, it seems she’s lived quite a sheltered life.

Being born a woman in this world, did she grow up without ever getting into a fight?

Well, I suppose not everyone experiences physical confrontations.

“Pfft. Hadn’t we moved past that? Would I have even gotten hit by your punch in the first place?”

“Uh… no…”

“You shouldn’t say no at times like this.”

“I’m sorry…”

The conversation continued similarly. It took quite a while for Rete to relax. At the rate she was showing regret, she might have extended her broadcasting break for another week if I hadn’t accepted her apology.

There was no reason not to accept her apology when she showed such remorse.

The conversation with a relaxed Rete covered our accumulated feelings toward each other over the past few days and apologies about them.

Sometimes incidents that seem likely to develop into deep conflicts can be resolved with just a bit of simple dialogue. And a word of apology builds bonds between people.

Our interest is internet broadcasting. Our work is internet broadcasting. Even reviewing our broadcasts after they end.

Two people who seem very different on the surface but have many similarities. Before we knew it, we had become quite close friends.

“So, Geum-nim comes here every week?”

“Yes. It’s the most comfortable place, and it’s good to help the director since they’re probably short-handed.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to meet friends or something on your one day off per week?”

“Well… I don’t have friends. Though I’d probably still come here even if I did.”

Rete looked at me with a very curious expression when I said that.

When I asked if it was that surprising, Rete started sharing her own story.

A story about her boyfriend. And their disagreement about volunteer work and the conflict it caused.

Honestly, I didn’t really understand. What’s wrong with a lover doing good deeds? Especially since it’s just occasionally.

“It doesn’t seem like something to get that angry about… Isn’t doing good things just good? It’s not like you’re volunteering every day.”

“Oh… you think so?”

“Well, isn’t that the truth?”

“…You’re amazing.”

“Hehe. It’s not that impressive.”

The more I conversed with Rete, the more I felt we really understood each other well.

As new topics came up and we discussed them, we’d find ourselves expressing the same opinions.

As this continued, my evaluation of Rete kept improving. Her attitude toward me had completely changed too.

Even so, our conversation didn’t last too long. Although something bad happened today, we weren’t here to hang out but to volunteer.

It’s time to go back now.

“Rete-nim. I’ll explain things well to the kids, so don’t worry and continue filming your content.”

“What? I was thinking of just canceling and going back… I made many mistakes today.”

“You’ve apologized plenty already, haven’t you? If you still feel bad, we can do a collaboration stream or something later.”

“That, that’s not enough!”

She’s really apologetic about many things. Even though I’m not asking for anything.

From what I heard, Rete’s content seemed quite good. It would definitely help our orphanage too.

Moreover, wasn’t this content she wanted to film even at the cost of fighting with her boyfriend? I’m not cruel enough to interfere with that.

“It’s fine. It’s content you wanted to film, right? Oh, by the way, what’s your name, Rete-nim? We still don’t know each other’s names or ages, do we?”

“Ah… my name is Seol Ari… I’m twenty-three. What about you, Geum-nim?”

“Hmm…”

Ari’s expression was quite bright. Relief and joy could be seen in her curved eyes.

Although we hadn’t felt uncomfortable until now, we’d grown close in a short time and couldn’t keep calling each other by nicknames forever.

She looked quite young when I saw her face, and indeed she was. Same age as me.

We really do have many similarities.

Although we became friends rather suddenly, she’s my first real friend. And we’re even the same age.

“Seong Yuhan.”

“Twenty-three years old.”

I said with a bright smile.

“Let’s go, Ari.”

A deep blush appeared on Ari’s face.

(End of chapter)