HERMAPHRODITE

PROLOGUE

The doctor looked carefully at the monitor once again, his brow creased as he studied the mess of shadows and lines on the small screen. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the young boy lying on the table. He reached for the tube of gel and smeared some more on to the pale, exposed stomach. He pressed the delicate instrument against the skin and adjusted the monitor again. Regardless of how many different angles he looked from, the picture still remained the same.

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Mrs. Hwang took a seat in the visitors seat as Dr. Kang rounded his desk to sit on his own.

"Did the exam go well doctor, is he okay?"

"I was scanning his internal organs to see if I can determine the cause behind the minor anal bleeding you mentioned the boy recently suffered, as it could mean any number internal injures and illnesses," Dr. Kang opened the file folder containing the results of the boys exam, and slid it toward the woman, "Take a look here," he pointed out the various organs in the black and white photos, "these are the kidneys, and this is the bladder. Now, look closely, do you see that shading there?"

"Yes."

"That's an ovary."

"A what?!"

Dr. Kang nodded, "That is an ovary alright, and look here; this small organ is a uterus, it's not as large or well formed as it should be, but then again Jungkook here is only twelve and has yet to go through puberty. If I'm not mistaken, there is no vagina but there appears to be a small tube, very thin, that attaches the uterus to the lower bowel."

Mrs. Hwang was beginning to look rather pale. "You mean to say that Jungkook is a girl?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, not really. Jungkook is male. My guess is that Jungkook is a hermaphrodite."

"A what?"

"Hermaphrodite. Sometimes a child is born with the genitalia of both sexes and exhibits dual sexuality. This is my guess as to what has happened to Jungkook here. He is definitely male but he also has some female reproductive organs."

"H-how is this going to affect him?"

"From what I can determine from the ultrasound the female parts are non functional, dead if you wish, whereas his male side is doing just fine."

"Is there anything that can be done?"

Dr. Kang closed the file as he responded, "We can remove the uterus surgically, but such a procedure is expensive."

Mrs. Hwang sighed, "The orphanage is insured for check ups, and minor injuries and illness, we will never be able to afford such a surgery. Not to mention the attention, mostly negative no doubt, this would bring him if it ever got out. Just being an orphan already brings a negative light upon him in our country's society, the hate and stigma he'll face over this..." Mrs. Hwang was close to tears, "That poor, sweet boy, how will I tell him?"

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No more had been said since that day of discovery as Dr. Kangs follow up tests had turned up negative. Then, when Jungkook went through adolescence with no signs of anything other than his male side functioning and developing, Mrs Hwang had pretty much dismissed it from her mind, as she decided not to tell the boy, as it had no bearing on his life, and there was nothing to be done about it anyway, so why have him worry or stress over it. The only reminder of Jungkook's secret appeared to be in the slightly feminine features, like his tiny waist, his sweet face, and parts of his personality.

Yes, she wouldn't tell him, the poor boy was already dealing with enough as he was bullied at school for being an orphan, he even came home in tears once because some male classmates called him a 'pretty boy twink,' and made rude and inappropriate gestures toward him. No, he had enough to deal with, she wouldn't tell him.

And she never did.