Three Wishes
In the not-so-distant future, contrary to some wild imaginations that artificial intelligence would conquer humanity or spark a rebellion, AI and mankind coexisted in near-perfect harmony. However, relying on AI for countless decisions triggered a backlash: human intelligence began to regress to the point of hindering societal progress. Yet, the solution to this regression was also proposed by AI and accepted by humanity. One such measure was the extension of compulsory education, decided in consideration of rising life expectancy and the resulting longer human life cycle. Thus, the educational institution where adults attended for three additional years was known in South Korea as Upper School.
It was a Sunday evening in an era when this system had become completely established. In a certain provincial city, a young man was huddled under his blankets, swallowing his bitter resentment. Although he was a second-year student at Upper School, he still exuded a childish air. At a glance, he looked like a beautiful girl; even upon closer inspection, he could only be seen as a delicate boy.
“Ugh... that backstabbing bastard...”
His phone lay just out of his grasp, its screen still glowing with a messenger app.
That was his final message, typed with trembling hands as he tried to suppress his boiling rage. Right above it was the message sent by his friend, Taehyun.
Out of their group of friends, only two virgins had remained. Jeon Taehyun was one of them, but he had just declared his graduation from virginity. Now, the only one left was this man, Seong Haun.
“This bastard... gloating like that...”
Taehyun had worked tirelessly to date Sua. Seeing him go so far as to read the BL novels she liked just to keep up a conversation, Haun had teased him, calling him a "gay-for-love simp." Even after they started dating, Taehyun showered her with gifts and ran her errands, treating her like a queen. Haun had looked down on him, calling him a pushover and a servant. But in the end, the bastard had actually pulled it off.
“Ugh... I want... I want to have sex too... I want to do it so bad...”
There was a time when he was confident he could enjoy adult romance whenever he wanted. After all, plenty of girls approached him. Standing under 160 centimeters tall with a slender build, large eyes, and flawless skin, his doll-like appearance was more than enough to capture girls' attention. It was just that their interest never translated into sexual attraction.
Every single girlfriend who had confessed to him and dated him in the past wanted him to remain a cute, stuffed doll forever. A doll with no sexual organs—something that would look grotesque if it actually had one. Naturally, whenever he showed any hint of sexual desire, they would pull away, inevitably leading to a breakup.
Realizing that dating girls who confessed to him always ended badly, Haun decided to be the one making the confessions after entering Upper School. However, the responses he received were always the same.
"I want to stay good friends."
"I don't see you as a man."
"Oh, come on. How could something like that happen between us?"
Thus, with his confidence completely shattered, he spent his days cursing his short stature and feminine looks, pushing away the meaningless female friends in his life. And now, the last remaining virgin comrade who had walked that lonely path with him had abandoned him last night.
Just as he was wallowing in self-pity, feeling utterly pathetic for having spent the last hour jerking off to hentai—
Kko-tok!
The familiar notification sound of the Kkotok app snapped him out of his thoughts. He snatched his phone irritably to check it.
“What's this?”
The chat window with Taehyun vanished, replaced by a new message. The sender's username was Monkey Hand.
“Is someone playing a prank?”
He muttered the thought aloud without realizing it and tried to press the back button.
Huh?
Instead of returning to the chat list, the screen remained frozen.
“Ugh, I'm already in a shitty mood.”
As he repeatedly tapped the screen to no avail, another message from Monkey Hand popped up.
“Ah, dammit... What is this, a hack?”
Haun tapped the back button a few more times in rapid succession. When the screen still refused to budge, he gave up, sat down in front of his computer, and searched for "Monkey Hand."
Images of monkey wrenches and online stores selling them flooded the search results.
Is that what they call a monkey wrench?
On second thought, the username probably wasn't important. He cleared the search bar and typed in "three wishes" alongside keywords like "message," "hacking," and "back button."
“Nothing's coming up...”
No similar cases appeared. Haun stared at his phone for a moment.
“Fine, I'll play along.”
He typed in "Sex."
The moment he hit the send button, the next message immediately followed.
Having entered his first wish on pure impulse, Haun paused to think this time.
Wait. It said the wishes would affect each other.
Now that he thought about it, rather than just saying "sex," it would be better to specify the target. Writing more carefully than before, Haun typed out his wish.
"A beautiful virgin girl likes me as a man."
“Perfect...”
The most crucial keyword was "as a man." The corners of his mouth began to twist upward.
“Hehehe... Goodbye to the old me. The days of being treated like a doll and forced to crossdress are over.”
In truth, he wanted to laugh out loud, but he held it back, snickering quietly so his family outside wouldn't hear. He was just that timid of a guy.
“Sigh... What the hell am I doing...”
His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a heavy sigh.
I know the truth... It's not like anything is actually going to change.
This was just someone's sick joke. He just wanted his phone to work normally again. Still, he needed to be careful.
For his final wish, he briefly considered asking for a lot of money. But bringing up money in response to a mysterious, sketchy message seemed incredibly risky. He couldn't ignore the possibility of getting caught up in a phishing scam or fraud.
Ah, screw it.
There were plenty of other things he wanted—to grow taller, to become smarter, to get stronger. But choosing just one of those was no easy task.
It's just a joke anyway...
Haun quickly typed in "An awesome superpower" and pressed send, trusting the message that said he could close the window once all three wishes were entered.
He didn't even care if his wishes about sex and beautiful virgins were exposed to someone he knew—whether it was other guys or the girls at school.
"Oh my, our Haun has these kinds of thoughts? How cute~~!"
That was the kind of reaction he would get. To the girls, he was nothing more than a completely harmless, adorable little boy.
After confirming Monkey Hand's final message, Haun tried pressing the back button again.
“Oh, it works.”
The phone screen smoothly transitioned back to his chat list.
“Huh? Wait...”
The chat with Monkey Hand, which he had been messaging just a second ago, was nowhere to be found on the list. As he stared blankly at his phone, feeling as if he had been possessed—
Click—!
“Hey, eat dinner!”
His younger sister flung the bedroom door open.
“Ugh, what the fuck. It smells like cum in here...”
Seong Hayeon, Haun's younger sister, scrunched up her nose in disgust as her eyes locked onto the crumpled pile of tissues sitting in front of his computer monitor.
“You horny bastard. Stop jerking off so much.”
Despite her foul mouth, her pretty face remained undeniable, even beneath her current expression of utter contempt. As if to prove they were siblings, her facial features closely resembled Haun's. However, her prominent chest and the shapely legs extending below emphasized that their genders were very different. To top it off, she wore her hair in twin tails, tied on both sides as if she were fully aware of how cute she was and wanted to flaunt it. Of course, to Haun, she was still just his annoying younger sister.
“Sigh... You're the one who needs to learn how to knock before coming in.”
Haun let her familiar abuse slide, casting a sidelong glance at the pile of tissues in front of the monitor.
Ah, right. Because of that Kkotok message from Taehyun...
He had been so busy seething with jealousy that he hadn't even had a chance to throw away the tissues he used to clean up his semen. It would be too embarrassing to clean them up now with his sister watching, so he decided to just walk out. But as he did, a strange sense of dissonance washed over him.
What is it...? Why is she still at the door...? Ah!
Normally, his sister would just say what she had to say and leave immediately. Her lingering at his doorway was highly unusual.
“Ah, move.”
He nudged her aside as he stepped out of the room.
“Ugh, what the fuck... touching me with the hand you just used to stroke your dick...”
“Hey, then why the hell were you standing in front of my door? You usually just say your piece and leave.”
“T-That's...”
Why was she stuttering? As Haun grumbled to himself and headed downstairs, Hayeon yelled at the back of his head.
“Hey! Wash your filthy hands before you eat! You just touched your dick!”
“I always wash my hands before eating, okay? You're the one who needs to wash out that filthy mouth of yours.”
“Shut up! I can't even speak freely in my own house?”
Was it a blessing that she didn't show her true colors outside the house?
How long is she planning to stand there?
Harboring a small doubt, Haun made his way down the stairs.
Watching his retreating figure, Hayeon took a deep, sharp breath.
Why... why am I acting like this...?
Amidst her brother's body odor lingering in the room, she caught a faint, musky scent.
For some reason... I want to keep smelling it... It feels like I'm getting addicted...
Her eyes grew unfocused, and she felt a subtle fever rising within her. The crumpled tissues scattered in front of the computer monitor kept drawing her gaze. If she were to unfold those...
Ah, shit. Am I going crazy? Seriously.
Snapping back to her senses, Hayeon shook her head violently and walked away.
“Whoa... is that kimchi stew?”
“Are you down? Come, sit.”
Their Mother, who still maintained her beautiful looks despite having two adult children, welcomed her son. It was obvious to anyone where Haun and Hayeon had inherited their striking features.
“I'll wash my hands first.”
While Haun slipped into the bathroom, Hayeon came downstairs. Their mother smiled at her daughter just as she had at her son, but Hayeon didn't even look back. With a blank expression, she pulled out a chair and sat down. An awkward silence settled between the mother and daughter.