Only Paid for PC Bang Time, Got Free Drinks and a Confession—Now a Teen Girl

After only treating them to PC bang time, scoring free drinks, and even receiving a confession, I had somehow become a teenager. Because my mouth had turned into that of a total spice-wimp, I couldn't even manage a proper meal. I left the PC bang clutching my starving stomach. By then the sun had already set—it was eight in the evening. Having trusted the promise of “I’ll buy you ramen” and skipped dinner entirely, every restaurant along the street now looked tempting.

“Maybe I should grab something before heading back…”

Yeah. I had money. Nothing was stopping me from buying food. After grumbling to myself and scanning the storefronts, Seokjun—who had been walking right beside me—spoke up.

“Oh, right. Mom kept asking me why you haven’t come over lately.”

“Your mom?”

His words caught my interest. If I had to name the best home cook among all the normal people I knew, it would hands-down be Seokjun’s mom. Apparently she’d been wondering why I hadn’t visited. Did she want to see what I looked like now that I was a girl? Or did she even know about my situation in the first place?

“Did you tell her what happened to me?”

“Yeah, but she didn’t believe it.”

“…Of course she didn’t.”

When I asked just in case, the answer was exactly what I expected. I gave a bitter little nod. A friend who used to hang out and game with her son suddenly turning into a girl? No sane person would buy that story.

Remembering how I used to drop by their place for free meals, I asked about his sister. “Is Hajun doing okay?”

“More or less.”

Kim Hajun—Seokjun’s little sister, now in her first year of middle school. Unlike certain other younger sisters, she had always been nice to me. Maybe it was because she was still young. Hyunseo had been cute right up until sixth grade too. The bickering only started after they entered middle school and had to share a room. Weren’t we actually close at the beginning?

I was still lost in those old memories when Seokjun asked again, phone in hand, “So, you coming or not?”

I had no reason to turn down free food, but the hour was getting late. “Isn’t it kind of late for dinner?”

“There should be plenty left for two. Mom always cooks way too much at once…”

I’d shown a little hesitation, but he kept persuading me that there would easily be enough for both of us. If he was going to insist that hard, maybe it was worth going after so long. Still, I decided to call home first.

When I pulled out my phone, the screen showed three missed calls. Mom, Mom, and Mom. Oops—they must have come in while I was at the PC bang. The second I dialed back I was going to get an earful. Knowing exactly how it would go, I called her anyway.

After the call ended, Seokjun—who had been tapping away on his own phone—asked, “Why’d you put it on speaker?”

“How else am I supposed to hold it with these?”

I moved the phone back and forth between the ear on top of my head and my mouth to demonstrate. Seokjun finally opened his mouth in belated understanding and let out a long “Ohhh.”

“Wow, I didn’t even think of that.”

He tilted his head, genuinely impressed he hadn’t considered it. This guy had been sitting right next to me the whole time… Feeling a wave of disbelief, I pressed him.

“You seriously didn’t notice me using speaker mode at the PC bang?”

“Wasn’t paying attention.”

He brushed it off like it was nothing. Well, once a guy starts gaming, the whole world disappears. I swallowed a sigh and grumbled at him.

“You should call your mom ahead of time too. Otherwise she’s going to think you’re bringing some random girl home in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, good point.”

He focused on his phone and dialed. After holding it to his ear for a few seconds, we could both hear the conversation start.

Seokjun tried to explain again, but his mom cut him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off, telling him to quit joking, and hung up. On his screen the words CALL ENDED blinked once and faded.

Seokjun turned to me like he’d proved his point. “See?”

“I guess I’ll have to take a picture and send it…”

Even I ended up scratching my head at his mom’s reaction. Like I’d said before, proving I was really me was harder than expected. Dad still felt awkward looking at me; of course his friend’s family would be the same. Still, the only thing I could do was go over there and explain as best I could. It wasn’t like they’d throw a guest out on the street.

We walked to the apartment complex a short distance from ours, followed Seokjun inside, and reached his front door without incident. The moment he tapped his access card, the door lock clicked open.

“We’re home—”

His greeting was short and to the point. Next came the sound of socks sliding across the floor—his mom hurrying out after hearing there was a guest. The second she saw me her eyes widened.

“Who is this?”

“I told you, it’s Hyunwoo.”

Seokjun answered indifferently while his mom stared in shock, blinking repeatedly even after hearing the name.

“Wait… it was actually true?”

“Aish, I told you it was.”

“Oh… hello…”

Seokjun answered his mom in an irritated tone, then headed straight to his room to drop off his bag. Soon Hajun, drawn by the noise, came out of her own room.

“What? Who is it?”

Hajun’s room was almost directly across from her brother’s. Having separate rooms was probably why the two of them fought less.

“Is that… really Hyunwoo oppa?”

“Yes…”

I was hovering awkwardly, so his mom asked again, watching me carefully. I answered hesitantly, but the atmosphere stayed uncomfortable. Naturally she still looked like she couldn’t believe it.

“Huh? What do you mean? Hyunwoo oppa?”

“Hi, Hajun…”

Hajun’s eyes were huge. I waved at her, but she was so stunned by my appearance that she didn’t react. I took off my cap and let the tail I’d been hiding under my clothes show.

“Oh my, oh my my my my.”

“Whoa.”

Both mother and daughter were openly shocked by my unbelievable looks. Listening to the auntie’s characteristic exclamations, I sat down at the dinner table. An awkward, bewildered silence settled over everyone. Finally the auntie spoke first.

“When Hyunwoo first came to our house, what did you eat?”

“Um…”

The sudden question made me falter. The first thing I’d eaten here… right, it was the braised ribs that were so good you wanted to tear them apart with your hands.

“The galbijjim that was left over from the holidays…”

“That’s right, that’s right. Does that bring back memories?”

The moment I answered correctly she fired off the next question. Did it bring back memories? I didn’t remember much else, but one thing stuck out—I’d chewed on ginger thinking it was potato and caused a huge fuss.

“I chewed on ginger thinking it was potato and made a big scene.”

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness… It really is Hyunwoo.”

Only then did she clap her hands together, looking like she had witnessed a miracle.

“I told you so,” Seokjun said as he came out of his room and gave his mom a light scolding. The earlier questions had apparently proven my identity. Honestly, no one would memorize every single meal and embarrassing mistake just to trick one person.

After somehow getting them to accept that I was really me, Seokjun sat at the table and asked his mom, “What’s for dinner?”

“Budae jjigae and beef bulgogi.”

The moment I heard the answer I understood tonight’s menu. Army ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stew and marinated beef—either one was a legendary rice thief that could empty a bowl in seconds.

“Neither you nor Hajun will eat rice if there’s no meat.”

“That’s true.”

The siblings in this house really wouldn’t touch rice without meat. Seokjun seemed to agree; he let out a strange little sound and moved on.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Yes, eat as much as you want.”

We picked up our spoons and started eating. The auntie’s warm words somehow made me hungry. While we were all focused on the soup and side dishes on our plates, she suddenly stared at me and said,

“You’ve become really pretty, you know.”

“Uh… thank you?”

Another “pretty” comment. Even though the praise felt awkward, I forced a smile.

“This kid really hates hearing that,” Seokjun cut in from the side. I couldn’t complain since I was the one mooching dinner, but thanks anyway, dude.

“But if she’s pretty, I have to say she’s pretty.”

“That’s true.”

The auntie stubbornly kept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠praising me. Seokjun eventually gave up arguing and agreed. You idiot, why are you folding so fast?

Anyway, the meal was delicious from start to finish. Unfortunately it had gotten late, so there wasn’t much time to talk. I ended up just eating and leaving.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“Aigoo, yes. It must be so hard suddenly becoming like this.”

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood at the front door, bag in hand, and bowed. The auntie patted my back firmly, repeating that it must be difficult. I wasn’t sure which part she thought was hardest, but the simple empathy in her words gave me unexpected strength.

“Oh, wait a second.”

“Yes?”

Just as I was about to step outside, she called me back as if she’d forgotten something.

“Hold on a moment? I think I have something put away.”

She left me standing there and hurried into a room. The room she went into was… Hajun’s? What was she fetching from a middle-school girl’s room?

While I stood there puzzled, the auntie came back out.

“Here, take this. The more you have the better.”

She handed me a square box wrapped in waterproof packaging that looked like it might contain a giant pack of wet wipes.

“What is this…”

I took it without understanding. The front had words like Soft Pure Cotton and 100% Natural Material.

It took me a second to realize what I was holding. The item she had rushed out of Hajun’s room with was a box of sanitary pads.

Um… ma’am. I think this might be a bit much.