This Body Is the Heavenly Demon!

Clack—

"Hah… Done!"

I finished the workout I'd started on pure mental victory. As always, once you got your body moving there was no room for stray thoughts to sneak in. The more tangled your head got, the more starting with the body solved most of it.

"…Yeah! Other people pay money to do this."

Even if nobody had asked my opinion, I'd gotten a free upgrade and a far stronger body out of it. If wallowing in gloom changed nothing, the only option left was to shake it off and think positive.

I put the weights away and checked the clock.

7:40.

Work time was already creeping up on me.

"It's that late already?"

I headed straight back to the bathroom for a quick wash.

Under a cold shower I looked at the new body reflected in the mirror and spoke to it.

"Hmm. Looking at it like this… yeah, the figure is killer."

For someone whose taste ran toward solid, sturdy frames, that was an extremely generous review. But this was my body now. From here on I could just train it closer to my own preferences.

After I finished washing, though, I ran straight into a problem.

"I have nothing to wear…!"

My original body had been an extra-large size. Of course nothing fit now that I was a woman. Wrapped in a towel like a makeshift robe, I watched the clock tick toward work and thought it over.

"It's eight now…"

First I called my supervisor.

Rrrring— Love—

An ancient ballad ringtone that somehow managed to sound even older than the man himself finally cut off, and his voice came through the speaker.

"What do you want at this hour, Hyundo? If you're about to lie and take sick leave, you're actually dead."

Every time I called around now it was for sick leave, so of course that was the first thing out of his mouth. Still, hearing a familiar voice—threats and all—lifted my mood. Mischief started rising on its own.

"Supervisor!"

"Yeah? Wait, who is this? This is Hyundo's number."

My brand-new, silk-smooth voice clearly threw him.

"It's me! Kang Hyundo… overnight I became the manliest man among men."

"What… hold on, what did you just say?"

He sounded like he genuinely hadn't processed it, so he asked again. But repeating yourself more than three times was just brain rot. I cut it short and gave him the condensed version.

"Supervisor, it's me—Hyundo. I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning as a woman."

"Are you insane—wait… what the hell?"

A long silence stretched on the other end. Then, after apparently finishing his internal debate, his voice returned.

"So what you're saying is that you, Hyundo, turned into a woman."

"Yep—"

"Aigoo, the attitude sure sounds like that bastard Hyundo… What, some special disease? Or did you awaken?"

His words hit me like a lightning bolt.

Right—awakening exists!

I had never once heard of anyone changing sex through an awakening, so the possibility had never even crossed my mind.

I immediately shouted the word every awakened person could use.

"Status Window!"

"Whoa—"

Those stats were absurd. And I was the Heavenly Demon?

For someone who had grown up devouring wuxia novels, it was pure shock.

Keh keh… so this one is the Heavenly Demon, is it!

A middle-school-delusion monologue even flickered through my head on its own. Looking at the numbers alone, I could slap Juhyeok across the face with them.

The moment I confirmed Heavenly Demon and SSS-rank, whatever faint sense of loss I'd still been carrying vanished into the distance. Overwhelming self-confidence surged up in its place.

I was still staring at the status window in pure admiration when my supervisor's voice snapped through the phone.

"Hey, Kang Hyundo! Why are you just making weird noises and not answering!"

I flinched and answered immediately.

"Aigoo, Supervisor, looks like I awakened and became a Climber."

"That so? Well, that's about the only possibility left. Whatever it is, get a grip, Hyundo—."

Ehh—.

The lukewarm reaction completely killed the hype I'd been building. I cut straight to the real issue.

"Supervisor, the thing is, I did turn into a woman, but I don't have any clothes right now. What do I do?"

"Haa… yeah, like you'd have women's clothes in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your room. I'll put you down for sick leave today. Today's Friday, so with the weekend that's three days. You can make it in Monday, right?"

"For real? Got it—! See you next week!"

Something about his earlier tone still bothered me, but free days off over a clothing shortage? I answered in a voice dripping with glee.

Apparently that tone made suspicion bloom, because he spoke again.

"Hey. But you really did turn into a woman, right? Video call me once."

"Ehh, Supervisor, I'm naked in a woman's body right now—you're seriously going to call? What if someone sees?"

A long sigh came back with my answer.

"Haa, fine… You're way more high-tension than usual. I'll just assume the new body has you scrambled. Rest up and see you Monday."

"Yes, sir—!"

I hung up and luxuriated in the free time. No clothes, and the center was closed on weekends anyway.

"Ah, well, I have no choice but to rest!"

I sprang up from my seat and bolted for the computer chair.

The sudden movement made the pair of masses on my chest bounce hard.

"Augh, they jiggle like crazy!"

What used to swing around down below was now up top, and it made moving around a genuine nuisance.

"So my legendary item migrated to the upper body, is that it?"

I felt a brief pang of regret that my unshowable legendary item had been downgraded to a mere unique, and voiced my complaint.

"That's why a full B is the absolute best, tsk!"

I casually spat a line that would have earned me a slap from any woman who overheard, then fired up the computer and opened the Climber community I only occasionally visited—my usual haunt was the gym-rat gallery.

"Normally I only go to the GymBro board… been a while since I farmed aggro here."

A moment later, comments started stacking up one after another.

"Haha!"

The second the post went up, every flavor of reaction exploded. All that chaos only pumped more life into my body.

"Keh keh. That's enough aggro for today."

I closed the community tab and opened Rocket Delivery to buy clothes.

"Hmm. Who knew there were this many kinds of women's clothes."

My original plan had been to just grab the same sporty casual stuff I always wore. But right now my body—taste aside—was loaded with strategic nuclear warheads aimed at the average male.

"This is a dilemma… a real dilemma…!"

My masculinity might be half-dead, but cross-dressing was the manliest act of all…

In that case, didn't putting on feminine clothes make me a true alpha male?

"Screw it. Should I just go all in?"

Yeah. Buy everything.

I had no idea what was what, so I just piled up anything that looked like it might fit my size and hit checkout.

And right then—

"Ah, right…!"

This month's living expenses were already short.

No money. In a capitalist society, that was a catastrophic problem.

"No choice, then…"

I had to play my trump card.

Rrrring—

A plain default ringtone rang out.

"Hello?"

"Mom!"

"…You have the wrong number."

The call died instantly.

My mother, Go Youngsook, had made the call so fast I could only smack my own forehead.

"I know she's my mom, but she didn't even give me time to explain. Cold as ice."

No other option. I opened PistachioTalk and sent her the story myself.

"…"

Apparently the last time my mother, Go Youngsook, got hit by voice phishing, the trauma had run deep. I never expected her to react this emotionally…

I scrambled to spill personal stories only I would know, desperately trying to keep my highly efficient mother from marching into the police station right that second.

One minute after the read receipts vanished from the chain of family secrets I'd just sold out—

Apparently Mom had gone and checked the toilet tank.

A reply with a mysterious bone buried in it. But it seemed Mom finally believed me.

The second I sent the reply I dialed Go Youngsook.

"Yes, Mom…!"

"What on earth happened? How did you suddenly become a woman?"

Her voice was packed with worry.

"Well, I think I awakened and turned into a woman. I just woke up and my solid frame had turned into a nice body like yours, Mom."

I kept it playful so she wouldn't worry too much, and her voice immediately lightened.

"Aigoo, the way that mouth runs—that's definitely my son… Switch to video so I can see how my boy turned out."

"Yes, here."

I flipped to video mode and showed her my face.

"What is this child doing dyeing her hair pink?"

"Mom, I didn't do it—!"

She ignored me completely and inspected my face in detail. Then her expression gradually brightened like she was starting to approve.

"Hmm, my, look at that face. Did our family genes finally kick in properly?"

For the record, my current face had zero connection to our family genes.

"Tilt the camera down a little."

"Mom, I'm not wearing anything but a towel right now…"

"You little witch, if you've become a woman you need to watch your conduct! What am I going to do with looking at your body anyway! Tilt it down!"

I couldn't really argue with that, so I lowered the camera.

"Oh my, oh my, look at you. What kind of figure is this?"

"So about that, Mom—could I get some money to buy clothes…"

"You. Mom's coming over tomorrow, so don't you move a muscle. This mother of yours will go to the department store and buy you clothes!"

I was doomed.

I never thought she'd decide that…! When Mom went to a department store it was two hours minimum, three if things got bad.

And I was supposed to stand there as a living clothes hanger?

"I'll just order clothes myself and wear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠those. Please just give me a little allowance…"

"Oh my, look at this child? If you're going to take someone else's money, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't you need to put in the effort? Am I doing this because I enjoy it?"

An unrebuttable answer.

And apparently my shameless allowance-begging had made her angry, because the nagging started raining down like an artillery barrage.

"And I've always wanted a pretty little daughter instead of these tomboy sons! Looks like this awakening or whatever granted this mother's wish. Tomorrow until I get there you put on one of those house sweatshirts and stay put, you hear me!"

"Yes…"

The second I trailed off, her voice snapped back.

"What kind of answer is that! Speak properly!"

"Yes, ma'am—"

"Good. See you tomorrow~"

And just like that the call ended. The worst possible situation had landed squarely on my doorstep.