A Halo After the Night Shift
After finishing his night shift at the convenience store, Cha Haneul rubbed his sleepy eyes and splashed water on his face in a groggy haze. He was twenty-three years old. Then, without warning, a system window appeared before his eyes.
Awakening Alert
Skill Acquired: Divine Light (EX)
Description: Heals all targets within range.
“……What?”
The faucet kept running, water splashing loudly. Haneul stared blankly at the mirror. Was he still half-asleep? Or maybe it was from overwork. From a part-time convenience store job, of all things? Of course he wanted to just plant his face in the sink and pass out. Half of him entertained that thought, while the other half tried to process what was happening right in front of him.
EX? No way.
It had been ten years since the towers appeared. Stories about Hunters were as common as breathing. S-class this, guilds that, national assets, Hunters being absolute monsters. Turn on the TV and an S-class Hunter was starring in a commercial. Online, cafes full of aspiring Hunters were thriving. Even academies were the same.
But EX-class was different.
The strongest in Korea—no, someone who could aim for the strongest in the world. The rank above even S-class, surrounded by nothing but rumors. A mythical tier whose very existence was uncertain. Haneul had never met a single person who claimed to have seen an EX-class in person. Some said they definitely existed somewhere in the world, others insisted they didn’t. No one knew where the truth lay.
And that legendary, insane rank had appeared for him?
After getting discharged from the military, taking a break from university—practically on the verge of dropping out entirely—this was happening to him?
Haneul couldn’t believe it. He rubbed his dry, stinging eyes and looked again.
Divine Light (EX)
Yeah. Still EX.
“Haha, this is insane!”
A hollow laugh slipped out. The corners of his mouth twitched. This was basically winning the lottery……? He was losing his mind. Actually losing his fucking mind!
“……Huh?”
Then his eyes finally registered his own body. Or rather, the state of it. His attention had been glued to the status window that said EX, so he hadn’t noticed until now.
……Why the hell is my hair blonde?
And long? In a panic, Haneul grabbed at his hair. It was incredibly soft. Like the well-cared-for tresses of a woman…….
……A girl?
His hand shot downward in a hurry. Groping, fumbling. Groping again.
……It’s gone.
It was gone. Fucking gone. That heavy symbol of manhood!
His head throbbed. He stood there for a long time, hand still absently fondling the empty space out of habit.
Wait. Hold on.
Haneul took a deep breath. When he actually thought about it…… wasn’t this a good thing?
I got an EX-grade, ridiculously overpowered healing skill and turned into a woman?
He—no, the person who had now become she—Cha Haneul stared hard into the mirror. The unfamiliar face reflected there had large, sparkling eyes, a small and elegant nose, and skin so fair it looked soft and bouncy. Her features were perfectly balanced without a single flaw. And then there was the golden hair cascading all the way to her waist.
She’s fucking gorgeous, isn’t she?
Even by her own standards, she was breathtakingly pretty and cute. It wasn’t self-delusion—this was the face of someone who looked like a living doll. No, more than that.
She kind of looks like an angel?
The angels that appeared in myths. You know the type—the small, delicate, fragile image of angels in media. Blonde, petite frame, a slightly perky figure. If she had wings, she’d be a perfect angel…….
“……What is this?”
Something else had appeared. It definitely hadn’t been there before. The moment she thought of angels, an unidentified object materialized above her head. A round golden ring floated there, sparkling brightly.
Reflexively, she reached up. Her fingers passed straight through it. It had no physical form.
A halo?
Come to think of it, the image of a little angel girl didn’t just have wings. There was that ring above the head—the halo.
No, no. Why the hell do I have one of these?
Haneul broke into a cold sweat, completely flustered. This was even more absurd than getting EX-class. Turning into a woman was bad enough, but an angel on top of it?
……It’s not like I’m a real angel.
If she were a genuine angel, no matter how EX the rank, they wouldn’t just give her one healing skill. Shouldn’t she have gotten an angel class or something? This was something she simply could not accept.
So I’m not an angel.
Haneul decided to keep it simple. She was not an angel. She just looked like one on the outside.
But once she thought that, a new problem immediately surfaced.
How am I supposed to go outside like this? What about my part-time job?
She slapped her forehead. This was a massive headache.
I guess I have to quit the job…… No way around it.
She had been planning to quit anyway. It was starting to wear her down. Compromising with herself, Haneul absently waved a hand at the floating ring.
It really is fascinating.
The fact that she couldn’t touch it made it even more so. Would it have been better if it had a physical form? Or was this fine? Her mind wandered through completely useless thoughts.
A huge yawn escaped her. She was so sleepy.
Let’s just sleep. I might actually collapse at this rate.
If she dozed off with this delicate little body, she might crack her nose on the sink. That was absolutely not allowed. Since she had become a woman, she would protect this pretty face at all costs.
With that thought, Haneul turned off the still-running faucet. She walked to her room, flopped onto the blanket spread across the floor, and lay down.
But then—
The halo gently illuminated the entire room. It didn’t turn off.
……It even works as a night light.
Too bright. Haneul pulled the blanket over her head, but the light still leaked through. She groaned. Let me sleep, halo. Don’t you have an on-off switch?
The next morning, she opened her eyes.
……So it wasn’t a dream.
The ceiling was dimly lit by the halo’s glow. It must have stayed on all night. Haneul stared blankly at it for a moment before slowly sitting up. She pushed the blanket aside and looked in the mirror. Golden hair. The halo was still there.
Definitely not a dream.
Confirmation received. Haneul crouched in front of the mirror and thought for a while about what she had to do today.
First, call the convenience store and say she was quitting.
Second……
Do I have to go outside first?
That was where the problem lay. It was painfully obvious what would happen if she went out looking like this. Blonde hair. A halo. A woman. Never mind the other details—the halo was the biggest issue. That damn natural lamp.
Maybe I should wear a hat.
Since the halo had no physical form, it would probably just pass through the fabric, but…… it was worth a try. She placed the beanie she was holding on her head.
Plop.
It passed through the halo and settled on her head.
“……”
And the halo was sticking out prominently from the top of the beanie. It actually drew even more attention.
As expected.
It was pointless. Haneul yanked the beanie off and threw it aside. She already had enough headaches. Now she had this decorative item to deal with on top of everything…….
This needs to be changed too.
She rummaged through her wallet and pulled out her resident registration card. The photo showed a perfectly normal man. She wasn’t even sure if it could be changed.
I’ll probably have to report as an Awakener too.
She knew the Korea Hunter Association existed, but she had no idea where it was. She’d have to look it up. Haneul picked up her phone.
At that exact moment, it began to ring. As if on cue. The number was unknown, but the text below it read:
Korea Hunter Association Awakener Management Team
“……Y-yes?”
Her hand froze in midair. How did they know?! Did the Association detect awakenings the moment they happened?
Come to think of it, she had heard that high-ranking Awakeners could be monitored through the Association’s tracking network.
The phone rang again. And again.
Should she answer? Or not?
What happens if I pick up? Will they tell me to come in right now? Looking like this??
It rang a fourth time.
Will it be bad if I ignore it? If I just pretend I didn’t see…… But there’s no way they’d let an EX-class slide.
Fifth ring.
Click.
Her thumb moved on its own, sliding across the screen.
“……Hello.”
Her voice came out. But—
Oh no.
It was thin and delicate. Of course it would be—she had become a woman—but she had completely forgotten!
……A brief silence followed.
Soon, a voice came through the smartphone.
“Hello. This is Kim Jaewon, assistant manager of the Korea Hunter Association’s Awakener Management Team. Am I speaking with Cha Haneul?”
“……Yes, that’s me.”
“An EX-class awakening alert was received last night. May I ask how your current physical condition is?”
Physical condition.
Haneul briefly looked herself over. She had become a blonde woman with a halo attached, but…… she didn’t feel sick or anything.
“……I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. High-grade awakenings are often accompanied by physical changes, you see.”
Physical changes. There had been. Quite a lot of them. Should she mention it……?
“……By any chance, is it possible for someone’s gender to change?”
A short silence.
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking if there are cases where a person’s gender changes upon awakening.”
“……There have been no officially reported cases of that within our Association.”
A faint trace of bewilderment colored Kim Jaewon’s polite tone.
So I’m the first?
Then again, maybe not. There could be unofficial cases the Association wasn’t aware of.
“I see.”
Anyway, Haneul gave a short reply. For now, she decided not to mention that she had become a woman. She didn’t have the confidence to explain it over the phone.
“Ah, yes. If it’s possible, could you visit the Association sometime today? Attendance is mandatory for awakenings.”
“Today……”
Haneul’s gaze drifted back to the mirror. She had to go to the Association looking like this.
“I suppose I’ll have to. Haha.”
“Yes. I’ll send the address via text message. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
A question. Hmm. She thought for a moment.
“What should I wear?”
“……Pardon? Ah, well……”
“Can I just come in comfortable clothes?”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Please come comfortably.”
“Understood.”
Click. The call ended.
Haneul set her phone down and looked at the mirror again.
Comfortably.
The problem was that she didn’t have any comfortable clothes. No—she didn’t have any clothes that fit this body at all. She had suddenly become a tiny woman; of course nothing would fit!
Creak. She opened the closet anyway. As expected, it was full of men’s clothes. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the options. In the end, she pulled out a T-shirt she used to wear often. It was XL size.
If she wore it with her current body?
……It’ll basically be a dress.
She put it on. Yep. It was a dress. The glowing halo was a bonus. She looked like a fantasy reincarnator who had crossed over alone.
“Ha, hah.”
This was completely fucked. A hollow laugh escaped her.
She wondered what the person in charge would think if she showed up at the Association looking like this.
……Thinking about it was actually a little funny. Just a little.