"Okay... That's completely okay." 

Almost flinching at the words that leave his mouth, Sunggyu doesn't know if he should feel grateful that he had managed to keep himself from putting his foot in his mouth or if he should feel terrible for not believing in what he had just said. His mouth suddenly tasting bitter and ashy from the anxiety that was currently coursing through him like a swift-acting poison, Sunggyu finds the words that he had just uttered may have sounded sweet and kind, but he hadn't really said them with that intent. 

The shock of his sister's revelation had caused his mind to go blank in a way that his mind had never done so before, while his palms became wet and clammy to the touch. The inability to think of something to say felt crippling, especially since, somewhere deep within him, he couldn't help but feel as if she was just confused and unaware of what she was telling him--of what she was asking him to do. Even if those sentiments were completely valid points, this was his sister, and he couldn't just say something like that. Not with the way she was looking at him.

The girl may have been only eleven, but she was looking at him with eyes of someone much older and that kind of freaked him out. His sister wasn't doing this with the mind of a child, even if the childlike sincerity was there, but was urging him to understand as an adult. Because to her, Sunggyu was an adult, just like their parents were. And that was scary, because seeing her tell him that she wasn't a girl, but a boy, he found it hard to comprehend such a thought, let alone understand that consequences of what that actually entailed. 

The statement sounded ludicrous to his ears, but seeing the little girl that had barely reached the bottom of his chest give him a small, watery smile, instead of the confusion and fear that she had displayed to him earlier, he found himself muttering some words. Words that somehow managed to make her smile instead of cry, even if he couldn't bring himself to do anything more than let his sister feel as if what she had just told him was actually something normal. Never mind the thought of him being okay with it.

(He wasn't... At least, not at the moment.)

However, not wanting to see her cry, he had decided to give her a small smile that had barely reached his eyes instead. And when she had asked him again if he had still loved her, even if she was a boy that was stuck in a girl's body--that her body wasn't right, Sunggyu didn't have the heart to say no, let alone call her she pronouns. He had found himself asking if she had thought of something that she would like to be called; Sunggyu doing his best to not let himself falter when she had quickly burst out with a name so similar to her own, but still boyish enough to go with her new gender, he had almost breathed a sigh of relief when he had hid an insensitive grimace. 

The lies making his stomach churn horribly, he forced himself to let the name linger and dance along his tongue. 

"Myungsoo... Myungsoo-ah... Myung... Soo-ah... I-uh, I like it." 

Only for an excited shriek to blare into his ears, it wasn't long before his sister had jumped into his arms in a grip so tight that it felt a little hard to breathe. Arms swiftly moving to wrap themselves around the little girl, Sunggyu's thoughts were filled with doubt and repetitions of his sister's new name.

His heart may have been heavy, but somehow, it wasn't opposed to the idea that Myunghwa wasn't his sister anymore, but a younger brother instead. While his mind, that was a different story, because even hours after putting his sister to bed, he still had trouble with the name and referring to his sister as anything other than a girl within his head.

He'd soon regret that decision to keep silent and lie, because months from now, he'd have to experience something much, much worse. 

Notes: So I'm still on the fence of completely writing out this idea, but I have been doing some research and I thought I'd write a scene to see how things may go. And this is what I have and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to write, so when I get the chance, I may be putting a lot more effort into this idea (doing a lot more research than I am now) and write something a lot more substantial sometime within the future. However, despite that, it would be nice to get some feedback if anyone is willing to spare it.