The World Has Changed
Late afternoon.
A woman was walking along a dimly lit street.
Her hurried steps toward home were soon joined by another presence—an unfamiliar one.
The woman, sensing it, quickened her pace.
The pursuer matched her speed, closing the distance even faster.
She turned abruptly and slipped into a dark alleyway.
The man followed her inside.
The woman stopped, turned around, and spoke.
“Why are you following me?”
She wore a dull gray hoodie and loose pants—a somewhat boyish outfit. Yet even the faint glimpse of her face beneath the pulled-up hood revealed she was strikingly beautiful. Moreover, despite the baggy clothes, the curves of her body were unmistakably glamorous.
Her chest swelled prominently, her hips were full and round, and her thighs were thick and firm. She gave off the impression of a healthy, natural beauty.
“I’m bored, that’s all. How about we go somewhere nice and spend some quality time together?”
The balding, overweight man grinned obscenely.
Even a woman with low standards would recoil at the sight of him.
“And if I say no?”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to take you by force.”
He let out a disgusting, nasal laugh—uhihi.
His attitude screamed absolute confidence. After all, his target was just a woman. There was no way a man like him could lose.
“Haa…”
She let out a deep sigh.
She had already lost count of how many this made in the past month. She was tired of even keeping track anymore.
“You do realize that’s a sex crime, right?”
“What? You gonna report me? You might end up getting hu—”
The woman moved before he could finish.
She dashed forward and lashed out with her leg. The kick, delivered in the blink of an eye, sent the man flying straight into the wall beside a trash bin. He crumpled to the ground.
“No. I was going to say it was self-defense.”
Jieun left the unconscious man where he lay and walked away without a second glance.
This world was clearly wrong.
It had become twisted at some point.
Sexual offenders loitering on every street corner. Molesters appearing in broad daylight. Sexual harassment was rampant both online and in real life—even public media broadcast it without shame.
On DangX Market, posts openly advertised buying women’s used stockings, panties, and even menstrual pads. And yet, the punishment for such behavior was strangely lenient.
But that wasn’t the most important part.
While it was certainly serious, it was relatively minor compared to the real problem.
The biggest issue was that she had become a woman.
Just as it sounded—Jieun had originally been a man.
On the surface, he was an ordinary college student. In truth, he was a hero of justice who purged the filth that had seeped into society.
His codename was Justice Red.
The Justice Team he belonged to was a vigilante group formed to fight against alien invaders.
Those invaders—commonly known as the Dark Byurut-byurut Dan—had suddenly appeared one day, spreading chaos and committing crimes across society.
Their powerful and mysterious supernatural abilities left law enforcement completely helpless.
That was when a small number of Awakeners stepped forward to oppose them.
Jieun had been one of them.
Having awakened his powers by chance, he resolved to fight against the forces of evil.
Thanks to the efforts of the Justice Team and several righteous Awakeners, society had gradually begun to regain stability.
…Until that event occurred.
He couldn’t remember the details clearly.
The only thing that came to mind was a bizarre scene.
The sky had split open, crackling with green light.
While staring in shock, his consciousness had slowly faded.
When he came to, he had been transformed into a woman.
What was truly terrifying came afterward.
Even though he had become a woman, no one found the change strange. Not the people around him—not even his own family.
The only person who remembered that he had once been a man was Jieun herself.
Many other things had changed as well.
No one remembered the alien invaders.
Nor did they remember the heroes of justice who had fought against them.
The world had returned to a peaceful state as if the invasion by the Dark Byurut-byurut Dan had never happened.
At first glance, it might seem like a good thing.
But could he really think that?
What if all of this was their doing?
“I’m home.”
Jieun opened the front door and stepped inside.
After taking off her shoes and entering the living room, she saw her younger sister lounging sideways on the sofa, nibbling on snacks while watching TV.
“You’re late again today. Where do you always go that makes you come back so late? Don’t tell me… you got a boyfriend?”
Her younger sister—Jia—asked with a sly grin.
“…Could you close your legs? It’s vulgar.”
Jia was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and panties. She lay sprawled on the sofa with her legs spread wide open. From where Jieun stood, she could clearly see the soft flesh of her sister’s inner thighs and the crease of her ass.
“It’s our house, who cares? Why are you talking like some old pervert, sis? These days, no one bats an eye if a girl shows a little skin~?”
Jia giggled playfully.
Jieun let out a heavy sigh and turned away, heading to her room.
Jia hadn’t always been like this.
She used to be more shy and easily embarrassed.
The World Alteration had affected her sister too.
As a result, she had become cheerful and somewhat airheaded.
If it had been a natural change, Jieun might have considered it a good thing. After all, one of Jia’s biggest flaws had always been her lack of confidence.
But if this change had been forced upon her by an external force, that was an entirely different story.
“No results again today…”
Jieun muttered in disappointment as she pulled off her hoodie.
The reason she came home so late every night was because she was investigating.
She was gathering information, hoping to find any clues about the World Alteration.
But so far, she hadn’t found any solid evidence.
Deep down, Jieun was almost certain that this entire situation had been caused by the Dark Byurut-byurut Dan.
Yet one question remained.
Even if she confirmed that all of this was their doing… how was she supposed to fight them?
Jieun was still an Awakener.
She was a little weaker than when she had been a man, but not so much that she couldn’t fight.
The real problem was that the Justice Team no longer existed.
After the World Alteration, she had no way of knowing what had happened to her comrades.
Their numbers had been completely erased from her phone.
When she called the numbers she remembered, no one answered.
The place they used to gather was now a shop doing brisk business.
The owner was a complete stranger.
It felt as if she had accidentally slipped into another world and become lost.
Sometimes, the anxiety that she might never return overwhelmed her.
At those times, her heart felt like it would collapse.
“…Still, there’s still hope.”
Yes. Hope.
Her greatest weapon.
The resolve to never lose courage, no matter what.
Tomorrow, I’ll search the streets again. Jieun made up her mind.
“Hey, Lee Jieun.”
The next day.
While walking across campus, someone called out to her.
She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
The moment she heard the voice, irritation surged through her.
Cha Kang-hyuk
“Senior.”
When she turned, she saw a man with bleached blonde hair and sunglasses. He had the look of a delinquent.
The moment their eyes met, he flashed a grin.
The sight filled her with disgust.
“I told you not to talk to me.”
Cha Kang-hyuk.
A third-year senior.
Until just recently, she hadn’t even known someone like him existed on campus.
It wasn’t as if he was completely invisible, either.
Maybe he had returned from a leave of absence.
His behavior was just as rotten as his appearance.
From what she’d heard, he slept with any woman he could get his hands on.
He didn’t even hesitate to go after girls who already had boyfriends.
The number of male students who had suffered because of him was countless.
She didn’t understand why women were attracted to someone like him.
Supposedly his family was rich. If women were really falling for him just because of money, then they truly were birds of a feather.
“But I did anyway. I just can’t walk past you. Want to grab a meal? I know a great restaurant nearby. It’s reservation-only, and it’s about 100,000 won per person for two, but don’t worry—I’ll pay for everything.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Really? Then how about a dessert café? There’s a nice handmade cake shop nearby. It’s reservation-only and costs about 30,000 won per slice—”
“Mister.”
Jieun glared at him, clearly annoyed.
“I said I’m not interested.”
She turned and walked away.
She could feel his burning gaze on the back of her head.
Well, let him stare all he wanted.
As if that would let him do anything to her.
“You’ve been wandering the streets every night.”
His voice came from behind her.
Jieun froze for a moment.
“You’re looking for something, aren’t you? I could help you.”
Jieun bit her lip.
She had meant to ignore him and keep walking, but her feet wouldn’t move.
In the end, she turned around and asked.
“How?”
“You probably already know I have a lot of money. But that’s only half the rumor. I’m not just rich. I’m insanely rich. And I have connections too. You know the saying, right? Looking for a needle in a haystack. I can find not just the needle, but every single grain of sand. If I put my mind to it.”
His words were a sweet temptation.
She knew it was a trap, but it was tempting enough that she couldn’t simply ignore it.
“All you have to do is spend a little time with me. What could go wrong?”
He grinned and held out his hand.
