My Childhood Friend Turned into a Girl
My Childhood Friend Turned into a Girl
To me, reality is nothing short of a wretched trash bin.
The barrage of foul curses from obnoxious customers I face while working the night shift at a convenience store.
The thorough treatment as an invisible man at school, where not a single person spares me a glance.
In that suffocating daily life, this alone is the only salvation that lets me breathe.
[Delivery Complete]
A whole six months.
The moment I finally face the parcel box placed in the middle of my room is more sacred than any religious ceremony.
"Haa... This is seriously insane."
Kneeling on the floor of my studio apartment, I held the utility knife while holding my breath.
My fingertips trembled violently in case even a hairline scratch was made on the surface of the box.
Even the sound of slicing the tape tickled my ears as sweetly as ASMR.
As I carefully stripped away the bubble wrap, the perfect form trapped within the transparent blister pack was revealed.
An exquisite anime girl figurine that looked as if a scene from an anime had been preserved intact.
Yeah.
Real-life women look at a gloomy otaku bastard like me as if looking at a bug, but.
You, only you, will never betray me.
Admiring the flawless, impeccable proportions, I carefully picked up the interchangeable parts.
The smooth texture of plastic touching my fingertips made the corners of my mouth naturally curl into a grin.
Bbibik- Ddik, ddik, ddik, ddik. Ddirori~
"Ack!"
A doorbell?
What the hell is that?
As if entering his own master bedroom, the shameless sound of someone pressing the front door passcode echoed throughout the studio apartment.
Startled, the interchangeable weapon part slipped through my fingers and plummeted toward the room floor.
Degururu.
And of all places, it vanished right into the gap under the bed where dust was piled thick.
"Ah, fuck...!"
I haven't cleaned under there for over half a year!
Behind my back, as I tore at my hair in despair, the front door swung wide open.
"Hey, Kang Doyoon! What kind of place do you live in without even locking the door? You wouldn't even have an excuse if you got burglarized, seriously lol"
The uninvited guest barged into the room with long strides, kicking off his shoes haphazardly.
My childhood best friend of twenty years.
And the only and absolute worst disaster trampling over my peaceful haven.
It was Jeong Haram.
"Hey! I told you to please at least KakaoTalk in advance if you're coming over! And why the hell are you entering someone else's passcode and barging in as you please!"
"Oho? Kang Doyoon is rebelling? If it pisses you off, change your passcode then."
Haram snorted at my vein-popping shout.
He sprawled out onto my bed, still wearing the exact clothes he wore outside.
Ah... My precious microfiber blanket that I just ran through the dryer today...
Though I shed tears of blood on the inside, I couldn't bring myself to kick him out of bed.
Height: 168 cm.
A petite and skinny physique for an adult male.
However, his skeletal frame itself is so slender that he possesses strangely delicate lines.
Big eyes with deep double eyelids, a sharp bridge of the nose, and even unnecessarily pure white skin.
Objectively speaking, an appearance to which titles like 'pretty boy' or 'bishounen' fit like a glove.
Honestly, it was a fact that even I couldn't deny: his facial features were prettier than most girls passing by on the street.
But the personality hidden behind that pretty face?
It was literally the devil himself.
A typical 'mesugaki', as they often say in subculture.
To be honest, whenever I see those upturned corners of his lips finding ecstasy in trampling and mocking others, I want to punch him in the face.
Yet, the upper hand in this abnormal relationship has always belonged to him.
Because the only human being who ever spoke to an utter outcast like me first and stayed by my side was Jeong Haram.
Of course, it was the same for him.
Though on the surface he acts all high and mighty and gets on people's nerves.
At his core, he is also an intensely introverted otaku suffering from a lack of affection.
"By the way, was our Doyoon indulging in hardcore otaku shit in the corner of his room again?"
Rolling around on the bed, Haram's gaze locked onto my computer monitor.
...Uh-oh.
My mind went blank over unboxing the figurine, so I left the monitor screen on.
On the monitor, a certain community's [NSFW Female Character Illustration Gallery] was radiating a brilliant light.
Filling the screen was an illustration of a female elf character flashing a sultry smile while baring her bursting breasts.
"Pfft...! Gahahahak! Hey! Were you looking at this kind of crap again?"
Haram's eyes curved like half-moons as a demonic burst of laughter erupted.
"N-No, I wasn't! My mouse slipped and I clicked it by mistake!"
"Mistake, my ass lol. The scrollbar is pulled all the way down to the very bottom, neat and clean. You truly live up to being a total virgin loser, Kang Doyoon. A guy who won't even be able to hold a real woman's finger in his entire life—were you drooling and getting horny over scraps of 2D in the corner of your room?"
"Shut up! Turn it off right now, won't you?!"
I threw myself toward the monitor, but Haram's movement was one step faster.
He nimbly claimed my desk chair, clicking the mouse while snickering.
"Oh~ Our Doyoonie's tastes are certainly firm. So a cow-like noona style was your type? But what are you gonna do? Would a woman like this in real life ever even look at a guy like you? lol Sucks to be fated to die after dating a monitor your whole life~"
"I'm seriously going to kill you, Jeong Haram..."
"Oh, I'm so scared~ Is our widdle weeb angry?"
As if my pathetic reaction was the funniest thing in the world, he clutched his stomach and rolled around in the chair.
The harsh, vulgar venom spewing out from that delicate appearance.
If only I could sew that obnoxious mouth shut, I'd be willing to surrender my entire net worth (72,300 won).
"Ah, I fucking laughed so hard, seriously. How is it that making fun of you gives such a satisfying reaction?"
Haram, wiping away even the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, flopped back onto the bed and pulled out his smartphone.
"Let's see... Isn't there any novel item to tease our Doyoon with? Lately, all sorts of crazy things have been popping up on Karrot Market. Let's see if there's anything fun~"
"Hey, cut it out and get off my bed right now. Don't lie down without washing up."
"Shut up. Huh? Hey, Kang Doyoon, look at this. I found something fucking hilarious lol"
Haram abruptly shoved his smartphone screen in front of my eyes.
[Selling Gender Transformation Switch. Only for those who want to use it for fun. 30,000 won.]
The attached photo showed an incomparably crude, cheap plastic switch fitted with a red button.
A toy that 500 won would be more than enough to buy at a stationery store.
To anyone, it was an obvious attention-seeking post by an insane scammer.
"What kind of bullshit is that? 30,000 won? Selling a piece of plastic crap like that for that much money? There are seriously too many crazy bastards in this world."
"No, but if this actually works, wouldn't that be fucking epic? It says gender transformation lol"
"Did your brain go on strike? Who would believe such nonsensical fraud? It's a hundred percent bait or some YouTuber prank."
Despite my completely common-sense and scolding reaction, Haram's pupils were already gleaming with intrigue.
"Ah, whatever, whatever! It looks fun! I'm going to buy this right now."
"You crazy bastard, why are you buying that!"
"I gotta buy this and press it hard on you lol. If you turned into a girl, you'd probably look ugly as shit. Just imagining it is pure entertainment."
Haram's fingers were already sending a chat message to the seller.
[Available to trade right now?]
"Are you seriously out of your mind? Do you think thirty thousand won grows on trees? Pay me studio apartment usage fees instead."
"I bought it with my own money, so what business is it of yours? The in-person meetup spot just happens to be the convenience store in front of the building. Just you wait, Kang Doyoon. Oppa will turn you into a perfect female lol"
Without paying the slightest heed to my protests, Haram threw on his outerwear.
He rushed out like a storm, as if ready to rip the front door off its hinges.
"Agh! Jeong Haram!"
Along with the slamming sound of the front door closing, only a heavy silence lingered in the room.
...An insane execution ability that didn't even give me time to stop him.
"Haa... He's truly beyond saving."
Letting out a deep sigh, I laid flat against the floor.
I'd better look for that figurine part that rolled under the bed.
It's not like Jeong Haram pulling this kind of bullshit is anything new.
Let's just ignore him, ignore him.
He'll probably come back whining after blowing another 30,000 won anyway.
◆
About 20 minutes later.
"Kang Doyoon! Hyung-nim has arrived!"
The front door swung open as if breaking apart, and Haram barged in with a triumphant expression.
In his hand, he proudly held that very shoddy red switch we had seen in the Karrot Market photo earlier.
He really went and bought something that crappy.
An exclamation escaped from deep within me without even realizing it.
"Wow... Your IQ is truly tragic. Shouldn't you get your intelligence tested again?"
"Hey, the look in the seller's eyes was no joke, I tell you! They were running their mouth dead seriously, claiming it was real. Come on, quit the bullshit and come over here. Time for the test~"
Haram excitedly shoved the switch toward me.
Those obnoxious corners of his mouth.
That wicked determination to subdue me no matter what and play with me like a toy.
Normally, I would have let out a haa... sigh, played along reasonably, and let it slide, but today my patience was running dry.
For some reason, the switch gave off an unpleasant vibe.
"Are you crazy? Since you bought it, use it on yourself."
"Ah, scared? Is our Doyoonie scared? lol Just let me press it once! If Doyoonie becomes a girl, oppa will buy you a hamburger!"
"I said no, you crazy bastard!"
He forcibly grabbed my arm and tried to press the switch against my chest.
Freaking out, I slapped his thin wrist away.
"Ah damn it, let go! Stop taking your jokes too far!"
"Ah, just stay still for a second!"
Inside the cramped studio apartment, two adult men tangled together in a tumbling, messy brawl.
Haram forcibly climbed on top of my body to push the switch, and I used all my strength to twist his thin wrist outward and shove him away.
"You crazy bastard! If you're that curious, press it on yourself!"
In that instant, my annoyance broke past its limit.
My arm, loaded with my body weight, forcefully pushed Haram's hand away.
The switch spun through the air from Haram's unbalanced hand.
And then, as if by some miraculous twist, it changed direction and struck right into his solar plexus with a deep poke.
Ddalkak-
A crude friction sound echoed through the room.
"Uh...?"
"......Huh?"
Our entangled movements halted at the same time, as if someone had hit a pause button.
The red button of the switch, crushed against Haram's chest, was completely depressed.
Look at that.
Nothing's happening.
"Wasted your money, didn't you?"
Just as I let out a dry laugh and tried to get up.
Wiiiing-!
A high-frequency vibration sound, completely unlike something that should come from a crude plastic toy, burst out.
At the same time, a faint, bluish light flashed like a flare, enveloping Haram's entire body.
"Uwaaagh! What the fuck is this!"
Haram's scream lasted only a moment.
The light that had occupied my vision in white swallowed the room for a split second, then vanished in a flash like a lie.
Only the strangely fishy scent of ozone lingered in the air.
"Ugh..."
Collapsed on the floor, he let out a low groan and squirmed.
"Hey... Jeong Haram. Are you okay...?"
Just as I carefully called his name and tried to approach.
The sight of him staggering to his feet came into view.
And my breath caught of its own accord.
"Ah damn it... That hurts like hell. Hey, Kang Doyoon. My waist almost snapped because of you..."
Jeong Haram, muttering like that while clutching her waist...
Had turned into a woman.
