Chapter 1: A Train Has Appeared.
"Ah... I'm gonna die..."
Excruciating fatigue weighed down on my shoulders. It was because of all the endless overtime from staff cuts and whatnot over the past few days. While waiting for the train, I plopped down on a bench in the corner of the platform.
For some reason, an announcement came over the speakers saying the train was delayed.
'Fine, might as well catch a quick ten-minute nap since it's late anyway.' That was my downfall.
My drooping eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, and even the noisy chatter of people around me sounded like a lullaby. In the end, I slept way too long.
Without even realizing how the world had changed.
"...Ugh, so cold..."
A chilling cold wrapped around my entire body. I instinctively pulled my collar tight and sat up. My neck was stiff. How long had I been out? Did I miss the last train?
When I opened my eyes again, something felt off.
"...How long did I sleep?"
It was dark and deathly quiet. The station was silent as a grave, and all I could see was pitch-black darkness. Only a few emergency lights emitted a faint green glow; the ceiling lights and screen doors were all dead.
"Did I really sleep that long?"
I must've been exhausted. I fumbled in my pockets for my smartphone.
"Ugh."
[02:14 AM]
The screen's piercing brightness cut through the darkness when I turned it on. But before I could even check the time, the red alert notifications filling my lock screen grabbed my attention.
[Ministry of the Interior and Safety]
Unidentified lifeforms appearing nationwide. Refrain from going outside. Lock all doors and stay indoors. Military forces are en route.
[Ministry of National Defense]
Communications network is unstable. Survivors, stay hidden in a safe place without making noise. Await rescue.
"What the hell..."
Sleep vanished in an instant. Unidentified lifeforms? Military? Was this some hidden camera prank? But the alerts kept piling up in real time.
With shaking hands, I opened the internet community I usually just lurked on. The top posts were already a madhouse.
People here for the KTX are all trapped. Soldiers were blocking but it got breached, moving now. Fuck, should've bought a faster ticket.
My fingertips grew ice-cold as I scrolled. The world had already gone to hell. Monsters, beasts, zombies, apocalypse. Unreal words flooded the screen.
"Did they all take drugs or something...?"
I couldn't believe it, but it wasn't just one or two posts, and with the official alerts, denying it felt impossible. I looked up. Shining my phone's flashlight around, the familiar platform floor came into view. In the dark, I hadn't noticed, but there was a bag someone must've dropped while fleeing in a hurry, and a long trail of dark red stains that looked like blood.
"..."
Just like everywhere else, things around me weren't normal either.
That's when it happened. From the darkness beyond, near the turnstiles, came a beastly growl.
"Hup."
I turned off my phone, held my breath, and slowly stood. First, I needed to get away from that ominous snarling.
Clink.
"Shit—"
The loud crunch of an empty can underfoot echoed through the darkness. Who the hell leaves an empty can here— Goosebumps raced up my spine. Instinctively, I whipped my head toward the turnstiles.
"Grrr!"
Two red eyes gleamed in the dark. It lunged once toward me, then charged at insane speed.
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
"Damn it!"
No time to think. I bolted in the opposite direction. But outrunning that thing on human legs was impossible. The sounds grew closer. A gust of rotten stench hit my back.
'I'm dead.'
As death closed in, that post flashed in my mind. The one saying to shout "Status Window" just in case. Grasping at straws.
"St-Status Window!!"
"Tr-Train Summon?"
The moment I read the skill, its usage intuitively slammed into my brain. I veered toward the tracks, arm outstretched. The monster's claws grazed my back.
"Come out! Train!"
Rumble-rumble-roar—!
Boom!!
Space tore open with a deafening roar as something crashed onto the tracks. It wasn't a shiny KTX or a heavy freight train. It was a single-car relic, rusted to hell, like it should be scrapped any second.
"Damn it!"
No time for complaints. I leaped onto the tracks and dove through the open door. Rolling inside, I scrambled up and yanked desperately at the door.
Screeech!
"Close! Close damn you! Please!"
No use. The rusted door wouldn't budge, and outside, the monster drooled as it clambered up.
Our eyes met.
Then, the train's internal speakers crackled with an announcement.
To operate the train, fuel is required.
The higher the value of the item paid by the passenger, the greater the train's upgrade.
What will you pay?
The monster was hauling its upper body over the platform edge into the train. Drool dripped from its razor teeth. Dodging its maw, I backed away from the door and screamed in fury.
"Take it! Anything, just take whatever!"
Collecting passenger's high-potential value item: Masculinity.
In compensation, reconstructing body and upgrading train.
"What?"
Masculinity? What did it just say?
Before I could question it, agony like my body was being twisted and crushed hit me. It felt like I'd been bitten by the monster.
"Gaaahhh!!"
Pain like bones grinding and muscles melting dyed my vision red. Scorching heat enveloped me. My viewpoint lowered, my uniform suddenly hung loose and slipped off. At the same time—
Bang—!
The open door slammed shut with a boom. The monster's claws glanced off it.
"Hah, hah."
I propped myself up on trembling hands. The pain was short but intense. My hand on the floor felt strangely unfamiliar. It wasn't my rough, callused one.
I slowly stood and peered at the monster beyond the closed door. And at the same time, I saw it.
My reflection in the window was no longer male Kang Hyunwoo. White collarbone peeking through the baggy shirt, smaller face, black bob hair.
"What... the..."
The voice from my mouth was a clear, feminine one.
Clack, clack.
With a smooth vibration, the train glided forward. The station I'd been standing in—and the grotesque monster clawing at the window—quickly receded into the distance.
Only after the station vanished into the dark did I exhale the breath I'd been holding.
The train raced through the night streets.
"Haa... I survived."
Tension released, my legs gave out. I slumped to the floor, staring blankly into space.
The relief was fleeting. Cool air slipping through my loose collar brought reality crashing back.
'Gotta check.'
I picked up my smartphone from the floor with shaky hands. Luckily, the screen was intact. I opened the camera app and switched to selfie mode.
The face on screen wasn't mine.
"This... is me?"
Gleaming black hair, flawlessly pale skin without a blemish. And the slight swell at my chest.
"It said to offer something precious as fuel..."
To power the train, I'd sacrificed my masculinity. I lived, but— A mix of bitterness and absurdity washed over me.
Anyway, this body was mine from now on. I shoved the phone in my pocket and stood.
Time to check out the train.
It had looked like scrap metal at first, but after I paid up, the interior was transformed.
"Whoa... what the."
Plush high-end carpet underfoot, walls finished in warm wood lit by mood lighting. Comfy leather sofa and table, even a mini bar and bed in the corner. All packed into one car.
Then, an announcement echoed from thin air.
Interior set to Luxury Residence Mode for passenger convenience.
Current basic settings. Passenger may freely customize interior structure and facilities to taste.
"Customize?"
Drawn like a moth, I walked to the front. There was a sleek control desk like a cockpit, with a holographic screen floating above.
It showed the train's status and various menu icons.
[Operation Mode]
[Defense System]
[Interior Customization]
I cautiously tapped Interior Customization. The screen shifted, showing options from furniture layout to carpet, lighting, and even adding cars (with conditions).
"Oh..."
In the apocalypse, I'd gotten my own mobile train.