Chapter 0 : Prologue – He was a high school boy who worked hard

I’m Jeong Semin, your average high school boy. Just finished the CSATs, about to become an adult—the usual. Looks-wise? Let’s just say I wasn’t blessed. Kind of a punched-in-the-face vibe, but I’m a smooth talker, so I get along with people.

“See ya, Hyeji.”
“Later! You too.”

After school, I parted ways with the three girls I usually hung out with and headed home. Changed into my part-time job uniform, threw on a jacket, and went straight to work.

“Hey, boss!”
“Semin! Thanks for coming in! Appreciate it!”

My boss? A total saint. I guess I’m lucky with people. Even the boss at my first part-time job, which I took to buy something I wanted, turned out to be an angel. Hyeji, Yura, Taeyeon… not a bad life. A little busy, is all.

“Ugh…”
“Welcome home.”

I’d get home late, and my mom would greet me.

“You need to wash your uniform.”
“Yeah, yeah…”

A little awkward between us, but we got along okay. Dad was usually out. His company kept him busy; he’d come home in the wee hours and leave just as early. Respect.

“…Allowance?”
“Nah, it’s cool. I’m earning money now.”

Truth be told, my family could afford most things. We were a comfortable, middle-class family. If I just studied hard, everything would be fine, except…

“Okay… Goodnight.”
“Night, Mom.”

…except the thing I wanted was insanely expensive. I’d always had this thing for motorcycles. A constant yearning. Isn’t it cool? A handsome guy on a two-wheeled internal combustion engine. I’m not handsome, of course, but I could work on my physique. Besides, no one sees your face under a helmet.

Slide

“Hooh… Next month, I’ll have it…”

But even after I got my motorcycle license and worked my butt off, money was tight. My favorite game had tempting updates, my friends were always making plans… I still managed to save some and keep some spending money. But insurance, acquisition tax… there were a million little money pits.

“…F*ck…”

I closed my eyes in frustration, again.

“…”

The truth is… The real truth is, Dad left. Mom was raising me alone, drowning in regret every day, but we were managing somehow, thanks to my older brother and sister, who were already grown. Our family had imploded. We were over 80 million won in debt, and Mom was barely keeping up with the payments on her meager salary. She insisted on staying in Seoul because I was still in school, which made the debt even more crippling.

Life’s a b*tch. That’s what I’d felt since starting high school. If I… if I didn’t do something… If I didn’t do something…

We… Our family…

“…”

So, every night, I wished on a star. Maybe if I wished hard enough, the universe would listen. Maybe someone would drop a winning lottery ticket right in front of me.

“…Haah, f*ck…”

But some things just weren’t meant to be. Time to get ready for school.

Oh, there’s this weird illness going around. What was it again? I should remind Mom to be careful.

*****

“…Ugh…”
“Semin, wake up…”

Morning. I had to get up around 5 a.m. because of my long commute to vocational school. I’d slept through my alarm, and for some reason, Mom hadn’t woken me up.

“…Semin…?”
“…Ugh…”

Or maybe she couldn’t?

“…Semin… is that you…?”
“…Huh..?”

When I opened my eyes, Mom was staring down at me, bewildered.

“…Uh…? What time is it…? Uh… uh…?”

I tried to tell her, to check my phone, but I froze.

“…Uh…?”

My voice was ridiculously high-pitched. My wrists were strangely thin.

“…Don’t tell me…”
“No, Mom, this is…”

I tried to explain, to prove I was Semin, but…

“We’re going to the hospital. Now.”
“Wh-what?”

Mom rushed me to the hospital.

Tap tap tap

“Hmm… Your TS is quite advanced.”
“What? What’s TS?”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, still in shock.

“If you’d come earlier, we could have caught it in the early stages and treated it… But at this point, you should go to the community center first…”
“Oh… Thank you…”

Mom and the doctor seemed to know what they were talking about. I was the only one lost and confused.

“What the hell is TS? That’s not real…”
“Apparently it is. I thought it was just in novels too…”

On the way to the community center to update my resident registration card, Mom explained.

“It started a few months ago. There’s this illness, the early symptoms are so subtle it’s hard to detect… But it affects your chromosomes.”
“Bullshit.”

I refused to believe it. But when we arrived at the community center…

“How can I help you?”
“My child…”

…and I requested a correction to my resident registration, and the clerk nodded, I knew.

“…Sh*t…”

My balls were gone. No more fantasizing about hot, steamy s*x. Damn it.

“…Haa…”

Marriage wasn’t even on my radar. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford a wife on my salary, and I’d brainwashed myself into thinking dating was a waste of money anyway. I was just a greedy high schooler.

“…”

Sure, I would’ve done it if I could, but it wasn’t a big deal if I couldn’t. The disappearance of my “juniors” wasn’t the problem…

“…Oh…”

Wait. I could still earn money like this, couldn’t I? I had my updated ID.

“…Oh!”

No problem!

“…Heheh, money talks!”

I realized that I had this relatively harmless illness, and with my newly delicate and pretty body, I headed to work.

“Hey, boss!”
“Who are you?”

It took a little while to explain, but my boss caught on quickly.

“Oh, is that so? So I just deposit your paycheck into the same account?”
“Yep!”

I skipped school and, with my newfound energy, finished all my tasks. By 11 p.m., I was heading home.

Thump, thump

“…”

My footsteps sounded louder tonight. Was I just more sensitive? Hey, this meant I didn’t have to join the army! Score!

“…Hehe…”

My life had done a 180. The TS didn’t even cause periods, apparently. You could still get pregnant, but it was through something called “necessary ovulation” or some weird crap. A new kind of woman, different from regular women. What a load of…

“…….”

It was still unsettling, of course. I mean, my male body, which I’d lived with for 19 years, had suddenly transformed. Overnight. In less than six hours of sleep.

“…Hmm…”

Early symptoms, huh? My “junior” area had been itchy sometimes, but it hadn’t shrunk. Or had it? No, no, stop thinking about it.

Just go home.

Thump, thump

“…Oh, Hye—”

As I walked, I saw Hyeji, the one who lived closest to me out of the three girls, heading home from cram school.

“…”

I instinctively went to say hi, but then I stopped.

“…….”

Hyeji had no idea. We weren’t that close, only hanging out during school hours, so she probably didn’t know about the change. If a stranger asked for directions at this hour, anyone would be suspicious.

I hoped she wouldn’t look my way.

“…Hmm?”
“Gasp!”

But, oblivious as ever, Hyeji spotted me. I quickly turned away, pulling my hood down, but…

“…You…”

She started walking towards me.

“…Semin?”
“…Um…?”

She knew.

“It’s you! I heard from our teacher you were sick! Is it true?! OMG, let me see your face! People say you get cuter when you get it!”
“Wh-what are you… uh…”

With her usual bubbly energy, she started tugging at my hood.

“Oh, aren’t you surprised?”

I slowly took off my hood, my long hair swaying. Hyeji burst out laughing.

“Whoa! You’re so cute! What? You’re not even wearing makeup! Wow, talk about feeling inadequate…”
“…I-is it… okay…?”

She started complimenting my face.

“Totally! Girl, you’re like, top tier now!”
“…He, hehehe…”

Being a former nerd, I couldn’t help but giggle at the praise.

“You know, I always thought you were pretty…”
“Really? Me? Dude, did your gender swap flip your vision too?”

Thanks to Hyeji, I calmed down and we walked home together.

“…Hmm…?”
“What?”

But something felt off.

“…I felt… a chill earlier…”
“Side effect of the illness, maybe? Let’s go. I’m sleepy… It’s already 11:30?!”

A slight… A slight feeling like someone was watching me. A creepy feeling.

“…Oh yeah, you were going to get a motorcycle, weren’t you? Are you sure you can still ride? You’re shorter now, right?”
“Oh, uh… I’m still around 170cm…”

Hyeji worried about my height, which had shrunk due to the illness, but I used to be over 180cm when I was a guy. So that wasn’t a problem. In fact, with my more delicate frame, I figured I’d look even better on a bike.

“Okay, if you’re not feeling well, I’ll come take care of you… I’m your only friend in the neighborhood!”
“…That’s a little sad… But, yeah… Thanks…”

Chatting away, we reached my place first.

“Be careful going home, Hyeji!”
“You too! And stop stuttering~”

Smiling, I went inside, greeted my mom…

“Take it easy tomorrow. You have the day off. Do some studying.”
“Ugh, no way!”

…and reflected on a pretty decent first day as a girl. After a refreshing shower…

“…Heehee… Goodnight…”

…I felt wonderfully clean and snuggled into bed.

Slide

“…Hmm… Hmm…”

The soft blanket felt even fluffier than usual tonight. It smelled nice, too.

Life as a girl… not bad.

Actually… pretty good…

But I had no idea. That day I got the illness, the day I felt that strange chill…

Slide

“Hehehe…”
“…Ugh…”

…the day I snored particularly loudly…

“Nice… smell…”
“…Ugh…”

…that a ghost would attach itself to me.

Thump

“Gah!”
“Thanks for the meal…”

A succubus…? Who was after my… what was the equivalent for girls….chastity…?

TL note

TS syndrome- a fictional disease causing gender transformation

A succubus- an imaginary demon assuming female form and formerly held to have sexual intercourse with men in their sleep