Chapter 1: The Strongest Beautiful Girl Who Even Seduces Her Normie Friend.

“Hey. Hey~”

Trying to maintain my composure, I wave my hand at the pretty girl across the mirror.

Then, the pretty girl looks at me and waves back in the same manner.

“…Huh.”

Yeah.

I’m going crazy, f*ck.

I pinch my cheeks, thinking it’s a dream, and stare at the mirror for a long time, but nothing changes. The reflection in the mirror isn’t me.

It’s not illustrator Kang Soohyun, but no matter how I look at it, it’s the beautiful girl I drew, surpassing even my ideals, after receiving a commission from the God of Virtuals.

After I fainted and woke up, the appearance I confirmed held no trace of my past self.

Still, with these kinds of developments these days, don’t they usually give you an ID? I should at least check my female ID. I wonder what my name is. Soohyun is a unisex name, so it might not have changed.

I took my resident registration card out of my wallet.

The picture… eh. The picture hasn’t changed?

[Kang Soohyun
It hasn’t changed. “This also…”]

“…It shouldn’t start with a 3, right?”

My ID hasn’t changed.

Nothing at all.

“…Huh?”

My pupils dilated, and a slight sweat trickled down my neck.

Right. The expression of bewilderment and sweating, I put that in as the sixth option.

It’s exactly the same expression I drew.

No matter how or where I look, it’s just a 3D version of my drawing.

A beautiful girl so unreal it’s hard to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

A high school-aged girl, without an ID.

A child who wasn’t even registered at birth.

…Can I even live?

Without an ID, in South Korea?

“Ha. Haha. Wow. This is interesting. Uh. Interesting.”

Every time I laugh, long silver hair I’ve never seen before sways.

I was hoping it was some kind of prank where someone dyed my hair while I was unconscious.

And…

Boing boing.

“Whoa. Woahaha! This, even this!”

I tried to accept it, but the appearance of my chest, shattering my masculinity, made me lose my mind.

Right! A virtual avatar wouldn’t be complete without this!

Breasts that jiggle with every movement of my face!

“It’s too much for a prank.”

Yeah. I feel like my line of sight has lowered too. It’s TS. TS.

Perfectly, with no room for excuses…

“F*cking…”

Thump. Thump.

I banged my small forehead against the table and stomped my feet.

My smaller body didn’t even make enough noise to bother the sensitive downstairs neighbor.

Tears welled up, but I had to hold them back.

I can’t think negatively.

Negative thoughts are bad for the body.

Right. Positive, positive.

Thinking positively, I now have a flawless body, so any scars must be gone.

And the people who hated me won’t recognize this body.

How could they think this beautiful girl is me?

Besides, I’m all alone, without parents, cousins, or anyone.

The only person I contact isn’t even my last remaining family, my older brother.

Ah. He’s not my brother, is he?

We have different fathers. What do you call it when you have different fathers?

If you have different mothers, you’re half-siblings, so if you have different fathers, are you d*ck-siblings?

Anyway, since I don’t have a family, there’s no one to contact.

No friends either… Ah.

“…Friends.”

My half-crying eyes widened.

Ah. Right.

There’s this bastard.

My mood brightened instantly.

Because I remembered a way to relieve my boredom and stress at once.

“Hiya… There’s one advantage to becoming a girl.”

Trying to suppress the corners of my lips that kept trying to curl up, I tapped the keyboard with my smaller fingers.

Putting curses and malice into each letter.

(Me): Kim Kyuseok

(Kim Kyuseok): ?

(Me): What are you doing?

(Kim Kyuseok): Instagram

(Me): Stop DMing girls and come over. I’ll show you something fun.

(Kim Kyuseok): Aren’t you friendless because everything you think is fun is a failure?

(Me): ? You wanna die?

(Kim Kyuseok): LOL, on my way.

I can clearly picture Kim Kyuseok’s surprised reaction when he sees me.

When he’s heart-thumping with love at first sight, ta-da! It’s actually your friend!

“Hehehe.”

Just thinking about it makes me happy.

Okay.

I’ll just prank this guy and focus on my main job.

Just prank this guy, and really live diligently.

I’ll work hard on my drawings and restart my SNS.

What was her name again?

I’ll draw that Japanese friend’s commission too.

I’ll draw Yui’s picture really hard too.

Who knows.

Maybe she’ll become the legend of individual Vtubers.

As if to compensate for my TS, Yui also offered a large sum of money.

They say the person who draws a virtual avatar is called Mama, right? Yeah. I’ll be your Mama.

“Ooh.”

Looking at the smile, the girl is smiling.

Very naturally, without any spasms or paralyzed muscles.

It’s been a while since I’ve had such a refreshing smile.

A truly genuine smile, unadulterated.

Okay. Shall I get ready?

“Oof.”

I stood up from the chair, grabbed my widened hips with both hands, and stretched.

Crack!

“Ahh…”

Bliss…

A refreshing sound came from my spine, which had been bent because I fainted while sitting.

Even with my old body, this kind of sound wasn’t common, so is my joint health the same?

“Now then…”

I need to prepare.

Thorough preparations are needed to prank the normie Kim Kyuseok. He’s a very perceptive guy.

What should I prepare first?

A fake ID? A love letter claiming we dated? Fake couple rings…?

Full of anticipation, I looked around my room.

This room has infinite possibilities…!

“Hmm.”

No possibilities at all.

Leftover takeout containers.

Piles of printed materials I haven’t thrown away.

Potato chip crumbs. Coffee cans. Instant coffee mixes. Coffee bottles, unwashed coffee cups… Why is there so much coffee?

“What kind of prank can I pull off in this state…”

I should clean up.

If I don’t clean, I’ll definitely get scolded after I reveal my identity.

(Kang Soohyun): Stop DMing girls and come over. I’ll show you something fun.

(Me): Aren’t you friendless because everything you think is fun is a failure?

(Kang Soohyun): ? You wanna die?

(Me): LOL, on my way.

“…What is this?”

Kim Kyuseok couldn’t hide his perplexed feelings as he finished his shower.

Kim Kyuseok. Kang Soohyun calls him, Kim Corner.

It was a rather misplaced nickname, considering it was Kang Soohyun himself who was stuck in the corner. A meaningless nickname based solely on similar pronunciation.

Kyuseok hangs out with friends every weekend and, unlike someone, even has a girlfriend, so Kim Outside suits him better than Kim Corner.

Kim Kyuseok. People around him call him, popular. A Chad. A normie.

Soohyun, who considered himself somewhat creative, used the nickname Kim Corner exclusively, thanks to it being completely unfitting for him.

On the other hand, Kim Kyuseok was quite satisfied with the nickname Kang Rainfall.

He thought it suited Kang Soohyun, who cried at the drop of a hat.

However, the nickname Kang Rainfall was also one that only Kim Kyuseok used.

In this case, it was a very fitting nickname, but unfortunately, Kyuseok was the only friend who could use it.

“Still, the fact that he’s the one suggesting we hang out…I’m satisfied. Whatever.”

He was the type who always found it difficult to make it to plans even after they became friends.

The fact that he was suggesting plans was a significant improvement.

Kyuseok stopped himself from heading to the dressing room out of habit and instead put on the t-shirt and shorts lying on the sofa.

Despite the cheap clothes, they looked somewhat stylish on him. However, as comfortable clothes different from the expensive ones in the dressing room, their limitations were clear.

Kyuseok looked at himself in the full-length mirror and chuckled.

“I don’t have to dress up in front of that guy. This should be enough.”

A friend in front of whom he could show his thoughts and actions as they were.

Among Kyuseok’s many friends, Soohyun was the only one like that.

His sociability might have been lacking, but not his intelligence.

His personality was sensitive, not bad.

He carefully applied sunscreen to his exposed skin, put on a baseball cap, and left the house. Despite the sunscreen, the summer sun felt slightly prickly.

Around him, couples walked arm in arm or hand in hand, as if they weren’t hot at all. He occasionally saw people with ice cream.

“It’s summer, huh…”

That guy really struggled before he got an air conditioner installed.

Kyuseok entered Soohyun’s address into his phone’s map. A six-minute bus ride, a one-minute walk.

He was always reminded that Soohyun’s house wasn’t that far from his.

“Welcome~.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Beep-.

As soon as he heard the sound of his card being scanned, Kyuseok put on his wireless earphones.

Recently, he’d been listening to what people called otaku music.

A song titled “Lime.”

The challenge was difficult, but he gradually became accustomed to the unique Japanese and came to love the melody of the song itself.

Kyuseok nodded, thinking he had evolved into someone who could understand even those called otakus.

How long had he waited to tell Soohyun about this?

He was sure Soohyun would like it too.

Pushed by the crowd, Kyuseok grabbed a blue handrail.

Grabbing blue handrails was one of Soohyun’s jinxes.

A strange jinx of only grabbing the blue ones on the bus.

Thinking of Soohyun, Kyuseok put his phone in his shorts pocket and looked out the window.

Countless jinxes, countless habits, countless traumas. Even if everyone in the world wore a mask, he was confident he could distinguish Soohyun.

‘He’s a really strange guy.’

Since the deadly amount of sunlight wasn’t visible, it looked like a bright and beautiful day.

As he got closer to Soohyun’s house, the height of the buildings gradually decreased… Wait, what is this?

On the screen of a strange man reflected in the window.

A blonde-haired character in a bunny girl outfit was dancing while bound in handcuffs.

‘What are…those squiggly characters…’

The man chuckled as he watched meaningless words fly across the screen.

“Hanalive affiliated. Mizuki Aya. With this new outfit and a cover song release…”

The man watched the screen with a serious expression, muttering strange words.

He wasn’t as fat as the stereotypical image of an otaku…but he wasn’t handsome either.

Moreover, the volume of his earphones was so loud that everyone could hear the music.

Kyuseok frowned and thought.

‘That’s a real otaku.’

If he had told them he was also an otaku because he listened to Mayonnaise Kenshi’s Lime, he probably would have been ostracized.

Feeling the world of the ‘real’ ones, Kyuseok quickly got off the bus.

And he walked towards Soohyun’s one-room apartment as if running away.

After what felt like a long minute, Kyuseok stood in front of Soohyun’s door.

He calmed his panting breath and wiped the sweat from his neck.

“Here it is. Room 302.”

It’s different from usual.

How should I put it? It feels like there’s an aura of intimidation coming from the door.

Kyuseok wasn’t superstitious, so without hesitation, he pressed the doorbell.

Click. Ding-dong-.

A crashing sound followed the doorbell.

It took a bit longer than usual, but who cared? Kyuseok could be infinitely patient with his hikikomori friend whom he was seeing for the first time in a month.

Creak.

The old door opened more forcefully than usual, and something completely unexpected happened.

It wasn’t a matter of being patient or not. The voice from inside wasn’t Soohyun’s. Soohyun’s family? No way.

“Come…in.”

A clear and bright voice. No matter how he thought about it, it was a cute and noble voice that didn’t suit this one-room apartment.

And it was impossible for Soohyun, who always yelled while drinking alcohol and coffee, to make such a voice.

Deep, dark blue eyes appeared between the door and the wall.

The shining silver hair slightly peeking out from the gap also clearly wasn’t Korean.

“Um…?”

Unless Soohyun moved and was trying to prank him, this situation made no sense.

Although Soohyun was a mischievous guy who loved pranks, he wouldn’t put him in such a predicament.

This situation felt like Soohyun’s friend was waiting in his house while he was out…

“Who are you? Where’s Soohyun?”

It was hard to believe, but it seemed more plausible that Soohyun, with his poor social skills, was intentionally trying to scam him with this beautiful girl.

Creak…

Finally, the door opened completely, and Kyuseok could see her fully.

The long, waist-length gray silver hair was like a brilliant Milky Way, so radiant that he couldn’t believe it wasn’t styled.

Her eyes were a beautiful, sparkling blue, like a sea filled with stars.

Her skin was smooth, white, and flawless, comparable to an ancient Greek statue, and her small, oval face couldn’t have been any more elegant.

Looking down slightly, her slender waist and moderately voluminous chest formed a beautiful balance.

Her hips, holding her long legs, were perfect enough to attract the attention of passersby.

And she…with that perfect model figure, was wearing a stretched-out white t-shirt and huge shorts that were about to fall off.

Kyuseok, who had been admiring her, snapped out of it thanks to the incongruous, hopeless fashion.

“Wh…who…”

“Please come in first. We have a lot to talk about.”

She looked at Kyuseok with a slightly bitter expression, as if something had come to mind, and led him inside.

Even though he was entering his close friend’s house, he felt strangely suspicious.

The interior was the same, with only the position and arrangement of the furniture changed. But…it was tidy.

The record player and the jazz, opera…various albums were also organized, but still the same.

‘It doesn’t seem like Kang Soohyun cleaned up.’

There’s no way that guy would have cleaned.

At her suggestion, Kyuseok sat on the sofa right next to the bed.

The citrus scent of the Aberfeldy whiskey, which Soohyun had spilled while drunk last time, still lingered. As he suspected, all the furniture was not just the same type, but the exact same products.

After seating him, the girl started making coffee.

The 300,000 won hand grinder that Soohyun, who valued romance and dreams above all else, had bought, the water being poured to brew the ground beans was Evian.

All the habits and processes involved in grinding and brewing the coffee were exactly the same.

Even…

Flick.

“Flicking the Evian cap with your finger as soon as you open it.”

“Huh.”

Every single little habit was the same.

Kyuseok went behind her…no, Soohyun, and caught the flicked Evian cap.

Kyuseok was so overwhelmed with confusion that he became strangely calm.

Or maybe he was slightly angry.

At Soohyun’s attitude of pretending everything was fine as a joke, even though something fantastical and strange had happened.

“What are you doing?”

“…Hiccup.”

Shrouded in Kyuseok’s shadow, Soohyun felt a sense of fear for the first time from his friend.

Soohyun flinched and backed away from the approaching Kyuseok until he was finally cornered against the wall.

He couldn’t back down like this. Weren’t he and Kyuseok supposed to be equal friends!

There was no need to be treated like this just because he pulled a prank.

Soohyun had been forced by his brother to learn martial arts.

Now was his chance, while he was off guard.

Soohyun raised his hands.

And…!

“It’s a prank… Don’t look at me like that. I’m scared…”

He raised his hands in surrender.

“Sniff…”

Soohyun lowered his head and covered his eyes with his sleeve.

The sight wasn’t unfamiliar to Kyuseok, so he soothed her with a wry smile.

“…It’s Kang Rainfall after all. It’s you. Stop crying.”

Normally, he would have teased him for at least ten minutes, but the thought of making a girl cry made Kyuseok feel guilty, so he scratched his head.

Slowly, Soohyun gently grabbed that large hand that was about to land on her shoulder.

“Finally, you fell for it.”

Soohyun, who had finished her fake crying, grinned.

It was a talent to make such a trivial expression with that innocent face.

Kyuseok, who had fallen for her scheme from beginning to end, stared at her in shock…

“Seriously. What are you doing?”

He lightly chopped the top of her head with the side of his hand.

It was still his trivial, playful friend.

“So, you tried to trick me?”

“Well. It failed spectacularly, but yeah.”

Crack. Opening the only two beers left in the refrigerator, she explained everything that had happened.

That her appearance had changed exactly as described in the commission she received from a strange person.

That since she didn’t go out much, she had no use for this face and thought to prank him with it.

“Truly. Hopelessly you…”

“What, what.”

She swished chopsticks around, pretending to stab him.

Kyuseok laughed and grabbed the chopsticks.

Before, he wouldn’t have been able to resist and would have been poked.

Becoming a girl had slowed her down considerably.

“Put the chopsticks down. Let’s order chicken.”

…Chicken.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten anything since waking up.

Suddenly, her stomach started rumbling at the mention of food.

…I want to eat. Chicken!

She looked at Kyuseok with the most sparkling eyes she could muster.

His gaze was focused on his phone screen.

“Okay. What kind of chicken do you want?”

Kyuseok scrolled for a while, chuckled, and showed her the screen.

A picture of golden brown chicken, baked in the oven, not fried.

“Let’s order your favorite. Gochoo Basasak.”

Ooh, looks delicious!

Gochoo Basasak…!

…Huh? Gochoo Basasak?

“…Hey.”

You did that on purpose, you b*tch.