Freshman Welcome Party
Seoral University Business Department's freshman group chat lit up with a notice for the freshman welcome party. It was set for three days later, on Thursday. As soon as the welcome party bait dropped, the chat exploded.
Instead of jumping in, I just observed. More than half my classmates were lurking as usual, but that meant the other half—the so-called popular crowd—were chatting up a storm.
I skimmed the chat for a bit, then messaged Eunseo.
I figured I can get to know classmates starting at the opening assembly, so I didn't even ask for permission.
Next, I opened my profile. I'd kept my KakaoTalk profile pic as the default all this time. But today, for the first time ever, I planned to set a selfie.
A profile pic with my face. A privilege reserved for the handsome. Nothing major, but it was my own little ritual. My life was about to change big time now that I was in university—a way to mentally gear up.
Hold up. If I set a selfie, Mom and Dad will see it too.
I still hadn't shown my parents the new me. Might as well head home while I'm at it.
After setting the profile pic, I called Mom on a whim.
"Hello, Mom?"
I booked a high-speed bus to my hometown and headed straight to the terminal. On the way, I got bored and checked the freshman chat.
Time to start chiming in a bit.
Obviously, I had zero plans to live as a loner in college. Birthdays flooded with dozens of gift icons, daily drinking invites—the popular life. The kind everyone secretly envies, even if they don't say it outright.
Ding. Desire to Flaunt peeks its head out.
To make that happen, it was time to prep.
Even after the total body overhaul, I'd kept subtly tweaking my looks whenever I had spare GP—nothing too obvious. Now my appearance score sat at 80 points. Top 1% handsome.
The kids were hooked. The chat flooded with "Business Kim Woo-bin."
A bit awkward, but compliments on looks always hit nice. I'd get used to it soon. It was my right to enjoy, after all.
Park Gwanghyeok led the charge, with more classmates piling on fast.
All the chatty ones showed up. They live on their phones or what?
Fair enough—freshman season was all about hype for school life. Peeking at KakaoTalk nonstop wasn't weird.
By the time I wrapped up chatting, I'd arrived home. I got off the bus and texted Mom.
One more bus switch, and I reached the rural village where our family home sat. There it was, the house I'd lived in for 19 years.
I creaked open the front gate and the door.
"Mom. I'm home."
Mom came out from the kitchen into the living room.
"Yunho, you're here alrea— who are you?"
"...Hahaha..."
We sat around the table laden with Mom's masterful cooking—me and my parents.
"Okay, Dad's here too. Explain."
"Well... I got plastic surgery."
"Surgery? Where'd the money come from?"
"Earned it from part-time gigs."
I calmly recited my prepared excuse.
"You know how much I wandered, Mom, Dad. Failed third try at the exam, ran to the military, but even two years there flew by. Didn't wanna give up and farm, so I fought my way to Seoul, crashed in a goshiwon."
"Yeah. Our boy suffered a ton."
"Then it hit me—I'm pathetic. I wanted to change. But people don't just flip a switch. Needed a trigger."
My throat tightened suddenly; I took a sip of water.
"You know how I've always been super sensitive to others' gazes since I was little? Motivated by external stuff, always wanting to outdo everyone."
Yeah. Now I knew it was that curse binding me, but the drive to be better than others? That was my core identity since childhood.
"So I figured surgery would give me that solid 'I changed' win. A real motivator. Saved up hard and did full-body work."
Not a lie for cover. Back when I first got the Desire Fulfillment App, even knowing the fallout, I overhauled my looks because I needed a new starting point—a trigger for the new Song Yunho.
"And the result? Big success, as you see. Your son's a hottie now, Mom."
Mom laughed in disbelief.
"So you got so much work Mom who birthed you can't even recognize you?"
"Hey, it motivated me hard, and I got into Seoral. Judge by results only."
Mom came over and hugged me.
"Our boy. You went through hell mentally. Your dad and I should've supported better. Sorry, son. And thank you. You made it big on your own."
Mom's eyes were red now. Dad kept clearing his throat, holding back emotion.
"Mom..."
Seeing them, my eyes tingled; I furrowed my brows.
"Thanks for having me, Mom. Sorry for messing with the body you made."
"Silly. This ain't Joseon era. Mom wants double-eyelid surgery but too old now? Hohoho."
Dad got up, grabbed soju and two glasses from the fridge.
"Ahem. Heard the story, so let's eat? Day like this calls for a drink. Yunho, join your old man. Catch up on the rest."
"Sounds good. First time drinking with Dad."
"Yunho's dad, my glass? Leaving me out?"
"Thought you hated soju."
Dad quickly fetched one more glass.
Our family shared delicious food, drinks, and long-overdue stories.
The day of the freshman welcome party arrived. For a killer college debut, I'd prepped to the max.
First, hair.
I'd stuck to side-part perms from WeLike – Beauty Skin, but wanted something fresh. Saw a band vocal's hair in a YouTube audition clip and decided.
"Long wolf cut it is."
The devilish style called "Kim Byung-ji cut" on non-hotties. Only for the handsome. Top 1% me? Easy.
Hair too short for the style, so I used reality tweak to grow it long.
If anyone asks, say extensions.
Hit a high-end salon for the perm. Long bangs curving softly to peek the forehead—perfect long wolf cut.
Side profile's the killer here.
Selfie from the side. Even I was wowed.
Okay. Save to Beauty Skin.
Next, department store for clothes. Picked a black coat and color-matching knit after ages.
Long hair, coat. Winter guy vibe.
"Total 700,000 won."
"Card, please."
Not long ago, my account was overdrawn. Now? Fat stacks. Kim Youngae gave cash for house call massages; I hit Kangwon Land. Can't go big on blacklist risk, but steady hundreds when I want—a reliable ATM.
Fully geared, I headed to the party bar.
Today, college student Song Yunho's life begins.
