Creatures Swayed by Their Environment

Given my work, I work in an environment with many women. Having been born a man, though I can make the effort to understand women’s feelings, their true hearts I’ll never know for a lifetime.

For example, don’t you have a memory of a conversation like this?

Woman A: “I got my hair cut yesterday, but I cut it too short.”

Man K: “You look youthful—isn’t it comfortable for the season ahead?”

Woman A: “Thank you. That’s true, but don’t you think it’s too short right here?”

Man K: “Not at all—I think it suits you.”

Woman A: “Really? But considering the balance with the bangs, isn’t it a little short here?”

Man K: “Now that you mention it, a little—but it’ll grow back soon, so no worries.”

Woman A: “Ehh, why would you say that…”

At that one remark I fall into a maze and no longer know what to reply.

Also, at a dinner where I’m the lone man among many women, talk of fashion, travel, and ingredients flies about from group to group. Bewildered as to which conversation to join, in a state of darting glances my head gets muddled, and I end up concentrating only on eating.

Women are amazing—they strike me as superior creatures who possess, more than men, the knack of enjoying life flexibly and as the moment demands.

But along with the experience points, I too have grown fairly accustomed to the female mind. When I suddenly come back to myself, there are moments I catch myself, with a start, having slipped into women’s speech: “I think that’s just lovely~.”