Chapter 9: Cosplay Chronicles: Dawn of the Battle

Finally, the day of the decisive battle has dawned…

“It’s dark…”

!!!

But it was still far from daybreak.

It was the middle of December.

The sun wouldn’t rise for another five hours, but Min Hayoon, who had returned from school last night and gone to bed early, started her day in the pre-dawn darkness.

“Yawn…”

Min Hayoon came out to the unlit living room and checked the master bedroom on the other side.

Judging from the slightly open door, her parents were soundly asleep.

Min Hayoon went to the kitchen and prepared to cook, making clattering noises.

“Bread…”

She put some bread she found in the fridge into the toaster and, in the meantime, cracked two eggs into a pan with oil.

She went back to the fridge and got some peanut butter and bacon.

When the fried eggs were somewhat set, she placed the bacon next to them and cooked them together.

In the meantime, she flipped the bread that popped up and put it back in.

She flipped the bacon and fried eggs a bit more…

-Ding!

When the bread popped up again, she took it out and spread a generous amount of peanut butter on it.

After spreading the peanut butter, she turned off the heat and placed the fried eggs and bacon between the bread slices.

“Hmm, a reliable taste.”

Min Hayoon nodded in satisfaction at the taste of the toast she had created.

For someone like Min Hayoon, whose income was unstable, finding cheap yet delicious meals was not a choice but a necessity.

“When I lived alone, I didn’t put in bacon, so this is more like a special treat.”

Crunch.

Crunch, crunch.

Min Hayoon shoved the last few bites of the toast into her mouth, dusted off her hands, and got up.

She rinsed the plate she had used as a toast holder and placed it in the sink.

This was enough to satisfy her hunger for now…

“It’s two o’clock now…”

A skilled cosplayer fills their stomach right before going to an event.

Min Hayoon headed to the bathroom, waited for the water to warm up, and then started to take a shower.

After showering and coming out, she checked the time again…

“Two-thirty.”

She meticulously applied lotion to prevent her skin from getting dry in the dry and cold winter dawn air, and put in green-colored contact lenses to create HK-M4’s signature green eyes.

Now, back in her room, she dried her hair…

“It’s almost three o’clock.”

It’s time to put on makeup.

She had watched videos on cosplay guide channels, so she thought she could probably do it…?

Of course, Min Hayoon wasn’t sure…

-Now!

Hello everyone.

Many of you are probably wondering how to do your makeup for cosplay…

She played a video next to her and carefully applied her makeup as instructed in the video.

Considering how pretty Min Hayoon had become after turning into a woman, one might wonder if she even needed makeup…

“But since I’m doing it, I might as well do it properly.”

She’s going to cosplay at Surf anyway, so she might as well do her makeup properly for AGC as well, since she’s cosplaying anyway.

“Now, for the finishing touch…”

She attached a red teardrop-shaped tattoo sticker, HK-M4’s trademark, under her eye, and put her thoroughly dried hair into a net…

She puts on a light sky-blue wig.

If you add two dark blue cross pins as a point, this is the end of the hair setting.

“It’s done. I think I can put on the hat and clothes at the venue…”

Grin.

Min Hayoon’s lips curled up as she checked herself in the mirror.

Honestly, the biggest regret of male otakus is that they can’t become their favorite character themselves.

Taking pictures with female cosplayers is a way to gain vicarious satisfaction…

But Min Hayoon could now become her favorite character herself.

Not that HK-M4 was her favorite character, but rather, this wouldn’t be her last cosplay.

When there was no pressure from the status window, she wanted to attend an event and cosplay as her favorite character at least once.

The experience of becoming exactly like your favorite character.

It’s a special experience that Min Hayoon can have because she’s a woman.

If I make a man into a woman, I can do whatever I want, I can now spend my money on being a degenerate and have fun.

Min Hayoon, giving the status window a playful jab, headed to the kitchen again and made another toast to fill her stomach.

“I don’t know if I can eat anymore…”

When she was a man, she used to eat two bowls of rice with blood sausage soup before leaving, but now that she was a woman, even eating three toasts was a struggle.

Her stomach was already signaling that it was full.

“Well, nothing I can do.”

Min Hayoon sighed, turned off the kitchen light, and went back to her room.

“Hot packs, wallet, portable charger, thermos, Choco Pie, and a mat, iPad…”

She had packed all the essentials.

Min Hayoon, who had also packed a shopping bag specifically for her cosplay props, went to the front door and put on her shoes.

She had booked a taxi for 4 AM, so if she left now, she would be right on time…

-Creak.

She heard the sound of the master bedroom door opening, and a startled Min Hayoon slowly turned her head back.

“Where are you going, Hayoon…?”

It was Yoon Suhee, stumbling out of the room, barely able to keep her eyes open from sleepiness.

“Yes, I’m going out to play.”

“So early?”

“E-early… I don’t think so? It’s just that the sun rises late in the winter. Yes, the sun is late…”

“Is that so…”

Min Hayoon instinctively lied to reassure Yoon Suhee.

She hadn’t told her she was going to AGC.

There was no way she would be allowed to go out at this hour, so she tried to evade the question as much as possible.

“But…”

Yoon Suhee, who was rubbing her eyes, squinted at Min Hayoon’s hair and eyes.

“Did Hayoon dye her hair? And why are your eyes green? It’s strange…”

“Th-that can’t be. Aren’t you just sleepy? Because you woke up too early…”

“Didn’t you say it wasn’t early…?”

Is she fully awake now…?

The look of trouble on Min Hayoon’s face grew deeper when…

“Sleepy… Mom’s going back to sleep…”

“Yes! Sleep well.”

“Alright, don’t get hurt while you’re out…”

Unable to overcome her drowsiness, Yoon Suhee turned around to go back to the master bedroom and walked away.

Min Hayoon immediately opened the front door and left.

She felt like she couldn’t breathe from the tension.

“Phew…”

Min Hayoon was able to exhale only after the elevator reached the first floor.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to go.”

Although she was a bit anxious, she had made it out, so she had achieved her goal.

Let’s go to AGC.

After speeding through the pre-dawn roads in a taxi, Min Hayoon, who left around 4 AM, arrived at Ilsan KINTEX around 4:40 AM.

It took no time at all to get from Seoul to Ilsan.

“Ah, thank you. Driver.”

“Have a safe trip, student.”

“Yes.”

Min Hayoon got out of the taxi, grabbed her things, and headed towards the KINTEX building, where some lights were on.

“It’s the same here as it was back then.”

As KINTEX gradually came closer, hundreds of fellow enthusiasts could be seen lined up and crouching near the entrance of the exhibition hall.

Some in sleeping bags.

Some on mats.

Some on fishing chairs.

They were all people who had come to Ilsan with the warrior spirit of not missing out on limited edition goods and front-row seats for the AGC stage, which would begin in a few hours.

And the gazes of those warriors…

“Huh?”

“There’s someone cosplaying as HK416. She’s really pretty.”

“Huh? That person?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s just wearing a wig.”

“But she’s pretty.”

“That’s true…”

They were gradually drawn to Min Hayoon.

It was only natural.

In the early morning.

No, in the case of the ‘overnight group’ who come to KINTEX the day before, sometimes in the afternoon.

Since they have nothing but time, they’re bored and tired.

When Min Hayoon, who had become a beautiful girl thanks to the power of the status window, looked around to find the end of the line, people’s gazes were naturally drawn to her.

And Min Hayoon…

‘Y-yes, worship me more…!’

Feeling their gazes one by one, she was experiencing a sense of omnipotence she had never felt before.

Usually, when you’re waiting in line at an event and a guy passes by on the other side, what do you think?

“Ex-excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“C-can I take a picture with you?”

“Y-you’re cosplaying as HK416, right? The quality is so good…”

“I’m just wearing a wig, though?”

“Ah, that’s…”

There are even people who come up to her with fire in their eyes, asking to take a picture.

Since it’s a fan event, they have a good excuse.

But.

“I haven’t even joined the line yet. If you see me at the event later, I’ll take a picture with you then.”

“Ah, yes…”

If you accept these requests one by one, there’s no end, and the already boring and tiring overnight wait becomes even more difficult.

After firmly expressing her refusal, Min Hayoon found the end of the line, spread out a thickly folded mat, and sat down.

It was just the right size to cover her butt.

‘Ah, people don’t cosplay for nothing…’

She chuckled, recalling how people had been drawn to her and even asked to take a picture with her a while ago.

‘It wasn’t for nothing that cosplayers said they did it to boost their self-esteem.’

Min Hayoon was just wearing a wig, but people were already saying, ‘The quality is so good.’

What would happen if she wore the full cosplay set in this shopping bag?

Wouldn’t she receive countless requests for photos?

‘I’m looking forward to it…’

It seemed like there would be more to enjoy at this year’s AGC than usual, and Min Hayoon couldn’t hide her smile.