You, Become My Friend!
After spending about ten days living as a high school girl, I realized something. My body was that of 17-year-old Choi Sujin, but most of my mind was still 36-year-old Choi Suho. The reason I said "most" was because teenage girl speech patterns and behaviors slipped out unconsciously. It was almost instinctual—something I couldn't control.
Since the outside is a high school girl, it's not really a flaw, right? Acting like a middle-aged guy or talking that way with this face would be the real problem. So, drawing on my salesman days, I decided to act as politely and smoothly as possible—nothing edgy, just safe and steady.
As soon as the teacher left the classroom, every girl except Eun-seo swarmed me, surrounding me completely. The boys hung back, ears perked, watching intently. Suddenly, I was Simba encircled by a pack of hyenas.
"You're the black-haired elf from the street, right?"
"Black-haired elf?"
One girl shoved her phone screen in my face. Photos and videos of me plastered it: getting hit on in the street, entering a convenience store, dashing into the subway. It was like the whole nation had turned stalker. Was everyone obsessed?
"Yeah, that's me, but... elf is a bit much."
"With a face like that, of course it'd spark those kinds of comments."
"Totally. It's like I'm talking to the girl on my screen right now."
"How can someone be this gorgeous?"
High school girl energy was invincible, alright. Their chatter from all sides was driving me insane. I barely escaped by saying I had to use the bathroom, only to get cornered in the hallway by kids from another acting class. They were from the same acting academy.
"You were in the hospital for over a month? Oh no, what happened? Were you hurt bad?"
"Not hurt—just collapsed suddenly and couldn't get up."
They stared at me in shock. Their expressions screamed, Who are you? That's when I was certain: from the moment I possessed her, Choi Sujin's appearance had changed dramatically. For the better, of course.
"Thank goodness. I was worried we couldn't hang out anymore."
I figured they'd notice my face had changed when they approached in surprise. But they just kept asking where it hurt, completely ignoring my looks. In that short time, they'd accepted this as normal.
People adapt fast.
I'd thought my parents didn't freak out because I was their kid, because I was alive, because they didn't care what I looked like. But now I saw it: everyone who'd known my past self was overwriting it with this new version in real time.
No need to meet other old classmates, then.
Another mystery solved. Piece by piece, the foggy memories would sharpen eventually.
Next was a rotating class, so we had to head to another room, but the kids in my class wouldn't budge. Even the teacher froze at the door with a gasp. The reason? Yeo Eun-seo had grabbed me with her signature puppy-dog smile. She just sat in front of me, saying nothing, just grinning. Thanks to her, none of us could leave or enter.
"Um... do you have something to say to me?"
I cracked first.
"Do you know who I am?"
Every syllable dripped with this weird stickiness. No need to act around me, though.
"Yeah. Yeo Eun-seo."
That was it—just her name, three syllables. Her puppy smile crumbled, her body trembling. Watching her expressions shift in real time went beyond entertaining; it was downright chilling. What on earth was she thinking to make faces like that?
"Wanna talk with me?"
"Sure, let's talk."
"Not here."
She stood up. Follow me, it said. Her aura screamed no refusals allowed.
"Can I borrow Sujin for a sec?"
She flashed a bright smile at the frozen teacher. It seemed like asking permission, but it was really just a heads-up.
"Y-yeah, go ahead."
Poor teacher nodded, sweating bullets. Eun-seo must've been untouchable among the staff too.
*
Eun-seo led me to the music room, cluttered with instruments in one corner.
"They're remodeling, so no one's using it now."
"Why here?"
Honestly, I was uneasy. A secluded spot like this in school?
"Wanted to talk alone. Hardly anyone comes here."
"Alone...?"
"Yeah, just us two."
Something felt off. Any second now, tough girls with scowls would burst in. You the bitch who dared mess with our Eun-seo's face? Fuck. You should've been born average—how dare you strut around prettier than Eun-seo? We'll fix that today, kuahaha! Was this the school violence I'd only heard about?
"Sujin, your face looks hilarious right now."
"Huh?"
Eun-seo was laughing beside me. Why weren't the bully vibes materializing?
"Ahem, so what's up?"
No tough girls in sight, so I spoke first again.
"Oh, right..."
She stepped closer. No haughty cat or cute puppy now—her expression was strange. No way!
I've never seen a girl prettier than me. The moment I looked into your lake-deep eyes, I wanted to drown in them. Never thought girls were my type, but seeing you... my tastes mean nothing. Was this the legendary lesbian thing? Yuri?
"Sujin, your face is even funnier now."
"Huh?"
Not stripping me down? It was just Choi Sujin's delusion—Choi Suho wouldn't think like that. As I reined in my mind, Eun-seo grabbed my hand. Caught off guard by the mix of Sujin and Suho.
"Sujin! Be my friend!"
"Ah, no way! I don't like lezz... huh?"
"What? Lez?"
Silence stretched between us. Eun-seo just blinked at me.
"Lez? What're you talking about?"
"Well, you came at me so suddenly... your eyes all sticky and intense... secluded spot... it felt like you were into girls or... "
She looked so baffled that I spilled it all out incoherently. I'd totally misread the situation.
Once she got it, Eun-seo burst out laughing. Stuck wearing an awkward face until her giggles subsided from my wrong guess.
*
"You're fun. Our Sujin has quite the imagination."
She'd laughed so hard tears welled up. Wiping them with her sleeve, she grabbed my hand again. Her face much more relaxed. Our Sujin?
"Eun-seo, uh, you can let go now, right?"
"Nope. You'll just imagine something hilarious again and make me laugh. Holding till we're done."
She emphasized "hilarious." Probably thought my fantasies were ridiculous.
"Truth is, I fell for you."
"See? You are a lez!"
"Hear me out. Not like that."
Her eyes turned serious, so I shut up. Actress through and through—the mood shifted in seconds.
"What I fell for is your beauty."
"How's that different from falling for me?"
It was like her bulldog wrinkles smoothing out. How do you separate me from my beauty?
"When you took off your mask at the podium, I knew for sure. You're God's masterpiece—no flaws to trim, nothing to add. The pinnacle."
"......"
Flattery, sweet talk, lip service, BS—I lived off it as a salesman. People know it's fake but fall anyway because it's sweet, something they crave. Even knowing it's insincere.
But this feels real.
A life dulled by flattery lets you spot the genuine article just by hearing it. Flatterers' faces give them away. Eun-seo's earnest look, pleading tone, emotional inflection... this was the real deal. She truly saw me as a masterpiece.
"Your face has narrative logic. Wherever you go, you'll shine, draw every eye. Talent? Unnecessary. Your face covers it all."
"What does that even... "
Eun-seo ignored my jab.
"Can't act? Doesn't matter—as long as you're on screen, ratings are guaranteed. Singing? Dancing? Who needs 'em. Stand on stage, boom—legendary girl group. Pick up an item, it's an ad; your walkway is a runway. With that face, anything's possible!"
"Whoa, you'd crush in sales."
I clapped without thinking.
"Sales?"
"Uh, nothing. Keep going..."
Sales pitch to a chaebol heir? Like offering to chop kimchi for King Arthur after Excalibur. Untapped trillions in lottery, thousand-carat diamond rough, walking blank check—I cringed inwardly but held it together. She was dead serious.
"The moment I saw you, it was like a revelation. Witness your shining star rise from the closest seat. So, what do I need to be for that? I thought: friend."
Madness, but wholesome direction. Small mercy.
"Don't worry about lez stuff. I'm not dumb enough to mar a masterpiece."
Her eyes shifted suddenly.
"Some idiot dares scratch around my masterpiece? Time to show 'em hell, heh heh."
That gaze—too dangerous. Scarier than lez vibes?
"But Eun-seo... isn't this too fast? We've known each other half a day."
"Time doesn't matter. Falling takes ten seconds."
Ugh, what do you say to someone who decides in ten seconds?
"Of course, I won't just watch. Your face guarantees success alone, but with my pull, you'll skyrocket faster. I'm a bit impatient."
Understatement—she was very impatient.
"Got a question."
"Shoot."
"Say I succeed thanks to you... what's in it for you? Just helping and watching? I can't give you anything back—it's all one-way from you."
Life's give and take—no free goodwill, repay to maintain bonds. That's the world's rule I learned over a decade in sales. One-sided ties don't last. Like the one we were about to form.
But Eun-seo didn't see it that way at all.