A Dream Too Young
Shwaaaah...
It was a rainy day.
A quiet countryside. Under an overpass, in a culvert bridge. A space overgrown with weeds, untouched by human feet.
The roar of car engines racing along the road, the pounding of heavy rain—it all echoed through the dark culvert like a haunting refrain.
Eunha collapsed in front of the sealed-off bridge, leaning back against the cold wall as she gazed up at the sky pouring down sheets of rain.
Cold. Dark, damp, and her stomach growled with hunger.
Her body and her heart.
(You're... always the same.)
Someone said. Who was it?
...No idea.
A trivial memory from when she was young, now impossible to recall clearly. No, more like a faded reminiscence than a memory.
If anything stuck with her... it was the bruises etched across her body and the throbbing pain in her broken shin.
The wounds all over her body opened their mouths to speak. Look at me. See how pitiful I am. Spouting ugly, repulsive excuses.
(Always the same. Because of you...)
Someone's resentment echoed on repeat. The despair of those who lost their dreams, replaying in Eunha's slumber. Like a purposeless hamster wheel.
The shatter of a liquor bottle, adult shouts, flesh slamming against flesh, sticky droplets of blood splattering down. The patter of a child's footsteps fleeing through the kicked-open front door...
A cacophony of noises swept away by the downpour.
But though the heavy rain could wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks, it couldn't wash clean the blood-soaked tears pooled in her heart. So Eunha simply stared up at the leaden sky, letting the rain drench her.
What had gone wrong? Even now, as an adult, she had no idea.
Was surviving itself the sin?
(When Eunha grows up healthy... become a splendid hunter everyone looks up to.)
Someone's words. Pushing her—a girl with no talent or will—to become a hunter.
They called chasing empty dreams stubbornness. Thanks to that, she became the perennial F-rank hunter, fodder for people's ridicule.
(Become a hunter who readily lends a hand to those in need... Live receiving the love from many that this worthless mother couldn't give.)
Still... even if it was a hollow dream arbitrarily thrust upon her by others, it was the sole warmth left by those who had been family.
She vowed to soothe her torn heart and live that way.
"You've been through hardship. Grief torments you."
"But smile. Smile brightly."
"No one can be saved by a sorrowful face."
Drenched in the cold downpour, someone spoke to her.
A damp voice. The cries of those things.
Lurking in the culvert's darkness, writhing eerily.
And so, it gently covered Eunha's eyes with cold hands.
And the darkness, as always,
revealed nothing.
….
May 4th. 28 days until next month's Hunter Promotion Exam. Day 2 of paid leave.
"...What a dogshit dream."
Waking up, Eunha blinked blankly and muttered. She'd had a weird dream. Probably from too much stress. The details were hazy, shrouded in thick fog, but it left a thoroughly unpleasant aftertaste.
She lay there staring at the ceiling for a good while. Then, wriggling like a maggot on the fluffy bed, she suddenly noticed the comforter draped up to her shoulders. Weird—she hadn't covered herself last night, just crashed as is...
Must've pulled it over in my sleep 'cause I got cold.
Pushing the blanket aside, Eunha grabbed her phone from beside the bed. It was 10 a.m. She'd conked out around 3 p.m. yesterday, so nearly 20 hours of sleep. Her whole body felt sticky from sweating in her sleep.
"Yawwwn... Hungry... Looks like Bangul sent a ton of worried texts while I was out."
Her email inbox was bombarded with Eunbangul's concern-filled messages. Smiling warmly, Eunha shot back that she'd slept well, then sat up and looked down at her body.
'Really turned into a girl... No illusion.'
Too sore and exhausted yesterday to check. Gazing at her modestly swollen chest, Eunha flashed a complicated smile and stood before the full-length mirror on the bedroom wall.
She'd stripped naked before bed, so the mirror reflected a woman's bare form, utterly unadorned.
Thanks to Self-Regeneration, her body stayed plump and soft—no fat gain, no muscle buildup. Not much different from before. Just a slimmer face and subtle curves?
Eunha stared at her reflection, lips curling into a stiff smile.
'Why the change...? No, more like, when did it happen?'
Poking her squishy arms, she pondered. When did I become a woman? Yesterday I was still...
Well, Self-Regeneration prevented bodily fluids, so she rarely used the bathroom except to wash her face... And yesterday, too wiped to shower or change, she'd just collapsed...
...Huh.
When did it happen?
'Probably right after that hit-and-run yesterday...'
Timing-wise, yeah. Her chest had started budding subtly then. Now the changes were tangible in her figure.
Why? Reviving from death? After the hit-and-run. After being butchered by the Red Woman.
Bit by bit, unmistakably, her body was transforming.
'Come to think of it, tons of minor scrapes but never a major incident till now... Is Self-Regeneration busted?'
No clue. Eunha decided to drop it.
Fine, whatever. Body changes? She was always the type people mistook for either gender anyway. If she's prettier now, that's a win, right? And she had Self-Regeneration. The skill reverting her to her "original state." Give it time; she'd snap back.
"Body's total slime now. Bangul's gonna love it."
Mind made up, curiosity filled the void. Accepting her new reality, Eunha inspected herself.
Already soft from lacking muscle, now even more yielding. Boneless, practically. She finally got how boneless chicken lived.
Eunbangul, always snuggling into her warm, squishy embrace... How would the girl react?
Imagining a startled Eunbangul, Eunha grinned broadly at the mirror. A bit embarrassing.
Anyway, a full day's sleep had erased the Red Woman's wounds. Chest and abdomen gashed by the kitchen knife? Healed flawless, no scars.
Rubbing her smooth, un-callused pale skin, Eunha smiled complicatedly. Self-Regeneration was too effective. Scars blanketing her body, gone in a day? Impressive, sure, but quit reverting her muscles already.
Can't even do one push-up? Overkill. Now as boneless chicken, even worse.
At least make it toggleable.
'Promotion exam's a hassle, monsters too, body's a mess... So much to do. Alright! No more moping! Think constructive now. Look, something new popped up.'
Shaking off her brief gloom, Eunha flipped open the Black Book on the bed. Yesterday's check: Guide to Harmonious Apartment Living. Now, a new "rule" added.
A few more entries. And noise complaints? This place tops out at the 9th floor?
'Oh right, gained a floor yesterday.'
Eunha smacked her forehead and closed the Black Book.
Complicated. Simple if taken one by one, but piling up? Already hard to memorize. Gazing at the tome thicker than a textbook, she broke a cold sweat.
Just two guides now, but imagining it crammed with rules... Chills.
She could see it: herself, wrongly ruled, pleading "one more chance" to it with a冤死 face.
Can't flip through every time. Better study rules in downtime. Or learn the hard way.
Won't die, right?
'Headache... Item 4's missing too... Whatever~! Rare vacation—time for fresh air.'
Abandoning thought, Eunha gathered scattered clothes from the bedroom and headed to the living room.
….
May's weather was mild. Opening the balcony window let in lukewarm air, laced with the melancholic chirp of grasshoppers below.
'Already May... Promotion exam hits June.'
Summer soon. Time flies, she thought, tossing laundry in the washer and taking a quick shower to rinse off the sweat.
Vacation plans set: Cafe chit-chat with our Bangul. Probe the Black Book while at it. Perfect.
"Alright. Let's go."
Post-shower, baggy jeans and hoodie felt snug around chest and hips—complicated. Tucking the spare Black Book underarm, Eunha plastered on her usual drowsy smile and stepped out.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
Heading out, she spotted two or three moving vans in the parking lot. Yesterday a neighbor dragged a suitcase—someone else moving?
Eunha passed without suspicion.