The Transformation
On a day with no lectures, Jieun met Kang-hyuk.
It was for the date they had promised earlier.
They had chosen a station in the nearby bustling district as their meeting spot.
Kang-hyuk had offered to pick her up himself, but Jieun refused.
She suspected he might be trying to put her in his debt, and even if that wasn't the case, she had no desire to ride in that ostentatious car of his.
It would be like publicly declaring, "I'm dating this kind of man."
They agreed to meet at the station instead.
Jieun deliberately left thirty minutes early.
She feared what he might do if she gave him an excuse by being late.
Perhaps her worry had been unnecessary.
He appeared exactly on time.
"What, were you waiting here on purpose? You must have been looking forward to this."
He wore a sly smile as he spoke.
Maybe that had been his intention all along.
What a despicable man.
"Your outfit is rather plain. I was hoping you'd dress up a bit more."
Just as he said, Jieun wore a white shirt and jeans.
Most of the clothes she owned were like this, and besides, she had no reason to dress up for him.
She only needed to endure this one day.
That single thought filled her mind.
"Well, I figured as much. Clothes are easy enough to replace."
"I should make one thing clear, senior. I have no intention of accepting anything from you. An Ideal Lover must be equals."
Jieun deliberately laced her words with sarcasm.
"Of course. Don't worry. Everything I spend today is simply the natural expense of being your lover. An Ideal Lover getting hung up on money would ruin the mood, wouldn't it? So you don't need to concern yourself with that."
He countered with ease, as if he had anticipated this level of resistance.
So it really didn't work on him.
"But Jieun, I want you to understand something. I'm not satisfied with some lukewarm date. If you act passive, I'll call off our deal. As I said, the condition is a perfect date."
"I... understand."
That was right.
The condition was a perfect date.
Though the word "perfect" sounded nice, its meaning was obvious.
It meant she had to provide the kind of date he considered perfect—the kind that would satisfy him.
"It's still early, so you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Where should we eat first?"
He spoke while draping an arm over her shoulder.
She wanted to shake it off, but her body wouldn't allow it.
Even if she could, she mustn't do so today.
"...Yes."
He led her to a restaurant.
Whether he had reserved ahead or not, the moment he spoke to the staff, they were shown to a table.
"You didn't put anything in the food, did you, senior?"
Jieun asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why would I? It would only waste our precious date time."
He was right.
Jieun ate without worry.
The dishes were just as delicious as before.
At least when it came to fine dining, she couldn't doubt his taste.
Her mouth felt euphoric after so long.
"Now that we've filled our stomachs, how about we head to a beauty salon next?"
"A beauty salon?"
"Yeah. Every time I see you, your face is pretty, but it bothers me that you don't put any effort into it."
"I... don't really want to go."
"Are you going to kill the mood like that?"
His mouth smiled, but his tone was ice-cold.
It sounded like a threat. She wasn't imagining it.
What kind of date was this supposed to be?
He just wanted to play with her however he pleased.
Fine. Let him do what he wanted. It was only for one day.
"...Understood."
He guided her to an old commercial building in a remote area.
It didn't look like the kind of place that would house a beauty salon.
He went up to the second floor.
Without knocking, he opened the closed door and stepped inside.
Even though it was daytime, the interior was as dark as midnight.
"Hello."
"Oh my, Kang-hyuk."
A woman with tanned skin greeted him warmly from behind the counter.
Her hair was dyed pink, and she had piercings not only in her ears but also beneath her eyes and on her lips—a decadent-looking woman.
Her makeup was heavy, and her outfit was especially provocative.
The clothes were ridiculously small and thin compared to her large breasts, to the point where her bra was clearly visible through them.
She gave off the impression of someone who had long since turned her back on any respectable life.
"It's been a while. I was disappointed you hadn't dropped by."
"I've been busy."
"Of course. You're the type of stud who would be busy. So, what brings you here today?"
"I want you to take care of my new girlfriend's makeover."
Kang-hyuk turned toward Jieun as he spoke.
Jieun, who had been lingering awkwardly by the entrance, flinched when the attention turned to her.
The woman stepped out from behind the counter and approached, scrutinizing Jieun from head to toe.
Then she turned back to Kang-hyuk with a sinister smile.
"You really are something else. Where did you manage to snatch up such an innocent angel this time? Keep this up and you'll really end up in hell, you know?"
"I'll worry about that when the time comes. Can you handle it?"
"Of course. I'm actually excited. Top-tier goods like this don't come around often. Out of all the women you've brought here, this girl might be the best yet."
Listening to their exchange, Jieun grew uneasy.
"Um... this is a beauty salon, right...?"
"Of course it is."
The woman replied with a meaningful laugh.
"Don't worry. We won't eat you or anything. This place simply makes women more lovely. Come on, I'll show you around. Follow me."
The woman grabbed Jieun's hand and led her deeper inside.
The room they arrived at was a changing room.
"You can take off your clothes and hang them over there. There are security cameras, so you don't need to worry about your belongings disappearing."
"Take them off... how much?"
"Everything, obviously."
"Everything...? What exactly are you going to do?"
"Well, first we'll do full-body hair removal, then we'll check your measurements. Don't worry—the technicians here are all women."
"That's not the issue here..."
Full-body hair removal.
Did beauty salons normally do that sort of thing?
She didn't know.
She had never been to a place like this before.
But if she refused now and tried to run, that man would surely take her family hostage and threaten her.
She couldn't let everything fall apart at this point.
Suppressing her anxiety, Jieun began removing her clothes.
Even though they were all women, that fact brought her no comfort.
If anything, the fact that they were all women made it more burdensome.
Deep inside, Jieun's sense of identity still leaned more toward being male.
After stripping completely, she stood there covering her vital areas with her arms out of embarrassment.
The woman smiled in satisfaction.
"Alright, come this way."
When they entered the room behind the curtain, a spacious area appeared.
In the center was a wide, flat bed like the ones used for scrubbing in saunas.
Two masked women stood to one side.
Their outfits were bizarre to say the least.
All they wore were tiny pieces of leopard-print underwear that covered far less than they revealed.
Even with half their faces hidden by masks, it was clear their makeup was heavy.
Their skin was a deep chocolate tone and glistened as if coated in oil.
From a man's perspective, they might have seemed alluring.
But from another woman's viewpoint, they only looked vulgar.
"Just lie down over there."
The woman who had guided her pointed to one of the mats.
Jieun walked over and lay down.
"I'll leave her in your hands."
The woman said before leaving.
Soon the two masked women approached, put on gloves, and began smearing something thick onto their hands.
They rubbed it onto Jieun's body.
"Um... what is this?"
There was no answer.
The two women silently continued rubbing the substance over every part of her body.
It felt like she had become human clay.
Perhaps because they were women, the revulsion was less intense.
It was strange.
When a man touched her, it had been unbearably repulsive, yet simply because these were women, the feeling was so different.
She realized once again how powerful biological instincts truly were.
After being touched for a while, she gradually began to feel relaxed.
It was as if her mind was melting.
Come to think of it, the air in this room was strangely sensual.
Had they lit some kind of incense?
While thinking such thoughts, Jieun eventually drifted off to sleep.
Some time later.
She woke to the sound of a clap.
"Mmm...?"
Jieun wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"Did you sleep well, little angel? It's time to get up. The procedure is all finished."
Had they completed the full-body hair removal while she slept?
Curious about how it felt, Jieun looked down at herself.
And then she froze in shock.
Huh?
What...?
Her skin color was wrong.
The skin that had been close to pink was now nearly brown.
It was a light brown with a glossy sheen, as if drenched in melted chocolate.
But that was minor compared to everything else.
Metal rings adorned parts of her body too embarrassing to mention.
Piercings, they were called.
And there was a vulgar-looking tattoo etched onto her lower abdomen.
Jieun's face turned deathly pale.
Without realizing it, she screamed.
"No... Nooooooo—!"