Choon-sik Became a Woman

"Red-Eyed Mad Dog?!"

When I asked what the hell a Red-Eyed Mad Dog was supposed to be, Eris suddenly screamed in shock.

"Big sis, do you know what that is?"

"Of course I know! It's an extremely rare Duel King card!"

"Why the hell are we talking about Duel King cards right now?"

I thumped Eris on the head with my knuckle.

She's calling me the Red-Eyed Mad Dog, but what's this nonsense about Duel King?

"Hmph, but dueling is a serious matter..."

"So because dueling is such a big deal, that guy decided to call me by the name of a Duel King card as a nickname?"

"M-maybe! If he's truly a duelist down to his very bones!"

Was that really it? The student's face said otherwise. He was staring at Eris like she was a complete lunatic.

"You see that look in his eyes?"

"Yeah! I can feel the endlessly serious soul of a true duelist!"

"Let's just drop it."

Eris brushed it off lightly.

"Anyway, I asked what the Red-Eyed Mad Dog is."

"Hiiik!"

The student who had uttered the name quickly hid behind the bully. Seeing him so terrified, the bully himself started breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Hey, hey, fuck. You gotta tell me. What the hell is the Red-Eyed Mad Dog?"

"W-well..."

The student carefully whispered into the bully's ear. The bully listened in silence, then began to shake violently.

"S-so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're saying that guy is the Red-Eyed Mad Dog...?"

"Yes! That's what I said!"

"Then I was strutting around in front of someone like that, asking if he knew who I was...?"

"Exactly, you dumbass!"

"Fuck! Everyone, run for it!"

At the bully's single shout, his entire gang bolted away in a panic.

"So what the fuck is the Red-Eyed Mad Dog, you bastards?"

Part of me wanted to chase them down and beat the living shit out of them, but that would definitely get me killed. Besides, no matter how much of a delinquent the guy was, beating up a student in broad daylight would ruin the organization's image. This was so damn frustrating. If things kept up like this, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"U-um, I overheard something..."

"Hmm?"

I looked down at the voice coming from below. It was the victim student who had been stuck in a headlock by the bully.

"What did you hear?"

"I'm not sure about the details, but... they say you completely destroyed the organization that was selling porn. It got streamed everywhere, so the nickname Red-Eyed Mad Dog stuck to you."

"The organization selling porn, huh."

So Banana Man had been a user of that video site. Still, if he's a son of a bitch, he's a son of a bitch. Why call it Red-Eyed son of a bitch? I'd much rather have Blue-Eyes White Dragon than Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"I get the general idea. Thanks for telling me. Since we're acquaintances, tell those punks not to mess with you anymore. Understand? Just say I'm planning to hunt down every bastard who used the Banana Man site. They'll get the message."

I gave the victim student my phone number. He bowed deeply in gratitude and left.

"But why is it really the Red-Eyed Mad Dog?"

"Mr. Hyun-woo, may I offer my theory?"

"Go ahead."

"I've only seen you fight that one time when I was kidnapped, but back then your pupils had turned red."

"My eyes?"

Eris nodded in agreement.

"That's right! When Hyun-woo fights, his pupils turn red. They match mine exactly. Isn't that super interesting?"

They were my own eyes, so I hadn't noticed. But it wouldn't be strange for them to change. They say that for possessors, the traits of the soul show up in the hair and eye color. So my soul must be red. After all, I am a possessor. Still, the fact that it only happened during fights was odd. Why only then? It was a situation I couldn't understand at all.

"Sir Hyun-woo. Are you, by any chance, a possessor?"

Siz, who had been speaking as little as possible to conserve her strength, finally spoke up.

This was definitely a situation that would invite suspicion. The problem was that I couldn't tell the truth. If I said I'd possessed someone from another world, they'd treat me like a madman. In times like these, the best move was to play dumb.

"Well... I'm not sure myself. I lost all my childhood memories."

It wasn't exactly a lie. If they wanted proof, I could go to the hospital right now and show them my amnesia diagnosis.

"Losing all your memories... hmm..."

Siz looked at me with a strange expression. Why was she staring like that? Had she figured out that I'd come from another world?

"...Never mind. It must be a foolish thought. After all, no one in this world possesses a man's body."

She was right about that. In this world, the only reason to possess another person's body was basically the equivalent of getting a tattoo. There was no point in choosing a man's body.

"If you had been a woman, Sir Hyun-woo, I would have suspected your original essence had been devoured after possession."

Don't worry. My essence is alive and well.

"Well, what does it matter if Mr. Hyun-woo is a possessor? Either way, you're doing your absolute best for the Boss, right?"

Yu Jin-ri shrugged.

Huh? So Yu Jin-ri already knew about possessors? She must have heard about it while I was gone.

"Whatever, let's move on~ So what are we eating for dinner?"

Eris asked, clutching her starving stomach.

What do you mean, what are we eating?

"Let's get some hot soup and rice. That'll fill us up nicely."

"What kind of outdated joke is that? You're younger than me but talking like an old man..."

Sorry. In reality, I really am an old man.

"Sebas, prepare some soup and rice. Today is both a funeral and a celebration!"

A voice that sounded both pure and insane filled the warehouse.

"Today we will hold the funeral for the Lansia Saikorman Family and the promotion ceremony for the Choon-sik Saikor Family."

In a warehouse piled high like a mountain with corpses wearing snake badges, Carpediem's idol, Irina, sat primly atop the bodies and waved both hands as if greeting an audience. The smile on her lips was disturbingly gentle.

"First, let's give a round of applause to Choon-sik, who annihilated the Lansia Saikorman Family~"

The female corpse closest to Irina was Lansia Saikorman. The Lansia Family had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a second-tier direct affiliate recognized as a Saikorman Family within Carpediem.

That meant Lansia had held quite a high position even within Carpediem.

"Oh dear, there's no applause at all?"

Irina pouted and grabbed the already dead Lansia's hands. She forced the lifeless arms to clap.

"How can the applause be so weak? That's why everyone died~ Or is it because they're all dead that they can't clap?"

Looking bored, Irina tossed Lansia's hand aside, unfolded her fan, and began waving it elegantly.

"Therefore, since the Choon-sik Saikor Family successfully annihilated the Lansia Saikorman Family, from this moment forward they are promoted to the Choon-sik Saikorman Family."

A unique promotion system found only in Carpediem. Although a Saikor Family was third-tier, it wasn't actually subordinate to a Saikorman Family. The only difference was whether they were official or associate Carpediem. Therefore, a Saikor Family could wage war against a Saikorman Family at any time, and if they succeeded in destroying them, they could be promoted to official status. Of course, promoting recklessly would make them targets for other Saikor Families, so thorough preparation was necessary. Since anyone with the will could join the organization, this promotion system was only possible for Carpediem, which had the largest number of members.

"Everyone, a toast for Choon-sik! Toast! Toast! Why aren't you toasting? I even bought seolleongtang for the occasion..."

Irina tearfully patted the corpses as if grieving. Looking up at her, Choon-sik grinned so widely his mouth looked ready to tear.

"Heh─ I can see Lady Irina's panties. That pure white one's so damn innocent it's gettin' me fuckin' horny, ya know?"

"You crazy bastard."

Sebas pointed a pistol at Choon-sik's head. Irina covered her mouth with her fan and smiled with her eyes.

"Oh my, Sebas, don't be like that. I quite like Choon-sik."

"But Lady Irina..."

"Shh! Sebas, are there many organization members as impressive as Choon-sik?"

Sebas couldn't say a word. Because it was true.

"This is the first time someone has become an executive of a Saikorman Family in such a short period."

It was also the first time an outsider had set foot in the southern district.

"And thanks to that, they became independent as a Saikor Family, then annihilated a Saikorman Family to promote."

By any calculation of time taken, this is the fastest in history, isn't it?

"Moreover, he has so many connections to the Red-Eyed Mad Dog. How could I not love him?"

"Ugh..."

Sebas didn't like the madman Choon-sik, but he had no choice but to lower his gun.

"By the way, Choon-sik? You created your own family, so why haven't you possessed a woman's body?"

The leader of a Saikor Family was clearly a Mother. Even as a third-tier organization, the head could possess a woman's body without issue. In fact, Carpediem encouraged it. Nevertheless, Choon-sik was still male. He hadn't entered a woman's body.

"Kyahaha! That's 'cause my soul's so blurry from bein' such a crazy fucker. The shaman lady warned me that if I went into a woman's body, I might get eaten up!"

"Ah...? I see. I see."

Irina nodded as if she understood perfectly.

"But Choon-sik? I heard some interesting news. Want to know what it is?"

"What is it?"

"It's about that loan shark company called Money Monster. The one run by Geumnara's Saiko Family. They were supplying you with funds, right?"

"That's right."

"But I heard that family has fallen into trouble? Phone Cash and... what was his name? That loan shark who made good money off one track athlete. When those two earned money, they kicked a portion up to Money Monster, right?"

"Correct."

"Why did you set it up that way?"

"I was plannin' to promote Geumnara to Saikor once I became a Saikorman. Then Phone Cash and that loan shark would join Geumnara's family too."

Becoming a Saiko Family was ridiculously easy. Just stick a snake badge on your chest and shout that you're Carpediem, and you could use the Saiko surname immediately. But starting from Saikor, it was different. To become a Saikor Family, you needed recognition from at least someone with credibility within Carpediem.

"Then will you promote Geumnara to Saikor now that you've become a Saikorman?"

"I was planning to, but..."

"Why? Phone Cash and the loan shark got torn apart by the Mad Dog, didn't they? They're useless now, right?"

"Money Monster isn't only supported by Phone Cash and that loan shark. With just those two..."

"Ha! Haha! Hahahaha!"

Irina laughed in a perfectly rhythmic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pattern after hearing Choon-sik.

"Just two, you say... Choon-sik? Has Carpediem ever lost a Saikorman Family because of outside forces?"

"Never."

"Yet Money Monster lost two of its own forces? And you're not going to abandon them? Someone who can't even prove their worth?"

She snapped her wrist, closing the fan with a sharp click. Then she reached into her panties beneath her school uniform skirt and pulled out a jackknife.

"Do you know what they call this? The squid ruins the fish market for everyone."

Irina's once lovely eyes gradually widened, the whites expanding. Madness began to creep into her previously pure smile.

"Too scared of having your soul devoured to even possess a body... yet you're trying to bring someone who can't prove their worth into your own family..."

─That's fake madness, isn't it?

Slice!

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

It happened in an instant. Irina shoved the jackknife into Choon-sik's mouth and slashed to the right.

"I hate imbalance."

Then to the left.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh!"

"Oh my! Now you look like the Joker. Don't you think?"

"Ugh! Urgh..."

Choon-sik clutched his face with both hands in agony. But blood kept pouring from his torn mouth, and the pain made it impossible to speak properly.

"Choon-sik, without your madness you're just a corpse. I liked your madness."

But what if that madness is fake? How can you become our Carpediem's Joker then?

"How will you devour the southern district and the Mad Dog like this?"

Choon-sik couldn't answer.

"Why? Does it hurt? Does it suck?"

Yeah, it fucking sucks. It hurts so much I feel like I'm going to die. Choon-sik wanted to say that, but he couldn't. He was too terrified of Irina, who could smile and say she liked him one moment and carve him up without hesitation the next.

"Get into a girl's body before I get any angrier."

I'll carve the pleasures of being female into your very bones.

"After that, expand your business, devour the southern district, and steal the Mad Dog too!"

Oh? But to do that, it looks like you'll need quite a lot of capital, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won't you?

"So... you know what you need to do, right? Money. Monster. Geum. Nara."

That night, Geumnara Saiko, who had been suffering from a headache, received a call from an unfamiliar woman. The woman was Choon-sik.

"Aang♥ Aang♥ Do you understand...? If you can't prove your worth... Ahut♥ You're gonna die..."

The order came down to make money somehow and prove his value.

"Fuck!"

Geumnara Saiko cursed as he looked at the records. He saw exactly how much money his subordinate loan companies had lent to Fantasia.

"I have to kill those Fantasia bastards first before I can do anything."