The Black Fox's Sudden Transformation
Chayeon ran through the night, slicing through the wind like a black fox on a desperate mission.
His injuries were severe. He needed a new vessel immediately.
The previous one had long since become a mangled corpse.
The fox felt life draining from his body.
Time was running out.
He scanned the ground at breakneck speed.
Was there a human who could serve as the vessel?
There was.
A young man walked past in a dark alley lit by streetlights. He looked toned and fit.
The fox expanded his red eyes and peered deep into the young man’s soul.
Exceptional physical strength.
Sense of movement in the body.
And most importantly, overwhelming talent hidden within.
The perfect vessel.
Good luck.
The fox shot forward and slipped into the young man’s body in an instant.
***
Klang—
Jeon Chayeon, who had just entered university this year, was returning home after a workout, carrying a convenience store bento on the table.
After hitting the heavy weights, his muscles felt tight.
It was a pleasant ache.
Chayeon whistled while placing the bento on the table on the way back.
He had showered at the gym, but the sweat from the walk home made him feel sticky.
He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the bathroom.
The pleasant stream of water hit his back and suddenly sent a stinging pain through his spine.
“What the hell? Did I mess up my form during the workout?”
He turned his neck to check his back in the mirror.
A strange black tattoo was drawn there, shaped like the tail of some animal.
“What the—?”
Confused, the pain suddenly intensified to the point where his vision blurred.
The agony was so intense it felt like the first time he had ever felt it. His knees buckled on their own.
He couldn’t even scream.
His vision went dark.
......
How long had it been?
Jeon Chayeon opened his eyes in the bathroom, lying on the floor.
For a moment he couldn’t process the situation, but then he remembered collapsing from the severe back pain and passing out.
What was wrong with his body?
With a worried heart, he stood up and looked in the mirror.
In the mirror stood a completely unfamiliar naked young woman.
Smooth, flawless skin with not a single blemish.
Glossy black hair fell long down her back, with the sides also long and strangely elegant.
The tips of the hair faded into a noticeable red.
And those big, round eyes were the same bright red as contact lenses.
“What the—?”
Shocked, he tried to speak in the same voice, but the sound that came out was not a low male voice. It was a young woman’s voice—medium to low, but unmistakably feminine.
He slapped his cheek hard.
The only thing he felt was the sting; nothing changed.
“Fuck, what is this...?”
Without warning, a voice spoke directly inside his head.
“I am the black nine-tailed fox, Heokgu. From now on, I will be your companion for life.”
“What nonsense is this?”
Chayeon answered calmly despite the unfamiliar voice.
“You. You’re the one who turned my body into this?”
“If you mean the gender change, yes. I had to change your gender because only women can accept me as a vessel.”
“Stop talking nonsense and get out.”
Chayeon growled in his low voice.
“......It’s amusing. The situation must be embarrassing for you, yet you demand it so boldly. Aren’t you curious what the current situation is?”
“I don’t care. Whether you’re the black fox or white fox or whatever, if you’re the one who created this mess, fix it.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.”
“......”
“The only way for you to return to normal is to leave this body. But since you’ve been chosen as the vessel, I cannot leave until the vessel is destroyed. That means you have to die.”
“......”
Chayeon stared at the young woman in the mirror—himself—and felt disbelief.
This was like a lightning strike out of nowhere.
“But there is a way.”
“What is it?”
Chayeon asked desperately, staring at his reflection.
“Kill the white nine-tailed fox and his vessel. It will absorb his power and sever the connection with the vessel.”
“So I just need to kill a guy like you? Where is he?”
“I don’t know. But you can feel him if you get close. He’s somewhere in this country, I assume.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“......”
The situation was absurd in every way.
The masculine body he had trained for years with exercise was gone, replaced by a delicate girl.
And now he had to kill a fox he didn’t even know where he was.
It was too surreal, beyond the realm of reality.
“Kill someone whose location I don’t know? By the way, what’s your true nature?”
“You asked early. I am the supreme being among all divine spirits and divine beasts—the black nine-tailed fox.”
“Cheeky. Aren’t you ashamed?”
“......”
He accepted the situation with surprising composure.
It was too unreal to believe.
If he was just having a mental breakdown and hallucinating, that was one thing.
But if this was real, he needed to kill the white nine-tailed fox to regain his normal body.
Regardless of whether he could believe the suspicious being living inside a normal healthy male body, there was nothing he could rely on except the words spoken.
“Heokgu, next question. Why did you enter my body?”
“......The name Heokgu is childish, so it doesn’t sound good.”
“What was the purpose of entering my body?”
He ignored the childish grumbling and asked again.
“......I’m a creature that lives by parasitizing a vessel. Until recently, the vessel I was in died, so I was looking for a new one and found you.”
“Why me?”
“Because your excellent physical strength and bodily sense made you the perfect vessel.”
“That excellent physical strength isn’t here anymore.”
Chayeon stared at the mirror with disbelief.
There was only one slender naked girl.
A body that had never exercised in his life.
“It doesn’t matter. Your excellent sense of movement remains.”
“......”
The unknown being said it didn’t matter, but to him it was a huge problem.
He had become a woman overnight.
He had to go to school tomorrow, but what now?
How would he explain it to people around him?
Moreover, he had lost significant muscle mass.
“It would be better not to go to school. Apply for a leave of absence. You can apply online now, right?”
“...Can you read my thoughts?”
“Of course.”
“You fucking bastard.”
He voiced his honest impression.
Chayeon had no idea how he knew fantasy terms like “leave of absence” and “internet” when he was apparently from a fantasy world called Heokgu.
The suspicion kept growing.
“Creatures like me have always lived with humans. So I can’t help but know about human life.”
“......Your voice carries an odd pride that bothers me.”
Haa, he unconsciously sighed.
“Fine. Let’s assume I take a leave. How do I find and kill that white nine-tailed fox I don’t know where he is?”
“You really want to sever ties with me completely.”
“Of course.”
The voice inside his head was unpleasant, but the biggest issue was that he had become a woman.
Of course.
Chayeon had lived as a man for twenty years.
And he was also more macho than most men.
It was unthinkable that he had become a woman.
“First, I recommend going to Jindal Academy.”
“Jindal Academy?”
“An academy that gathers and trains people with supernatural abilities. My previous vessel also attended there. There are many people there who are like you—vessels that hold divine spirits or divine beasts like me.”
“That’s troublesome.”
There were other people in this situation besides him.
He might be able to get hints there.
It was better than blindly following this unreliable guy’s words.
“It’s true that killing the white nine-tailed fox will return you to normal.”
“Reading thoughts is really fucking annoying.”
In any case, he should head to Jindal Academy.
When he left the bathroom to get dressed, Chayeon realized he had no clothes that fit him.
He had originally been a tall, muscular man at 183 cm.
There was no way clothes would fit a girl who looked under 160 cm.
“This is fucked up.”
It had only been a few hours since he became a girl, and he was already cursing for the third time.
***
The next day, Chayeon woke up early with messy hair, the girl who had been sleeping naked.
Even though it was early summer morning, bright sunlight streamed through the window.
He had only woken up a short time ago, still confused, when he finally looked down at his body and remembered yesterday’s events.
“Fuck.”
At that realization, an involuntary curse slipped out.
It wasn’t a dream.
Waking up still left him as a woman.
Muscle loss was severe.
“Since yesterday, you’ve been quite the gym guy.”
“What kind of words is that?”
Yesterday he had taken it so naturally he hadn’t thought much of it, but this fox spoke Korean fluently.
“I basically know how to speak every language in the world.”
“You’re fucking useful.”
Chayeon’s usual routine was to run after waking up.
But that was impossible today.
“Where am I supposed to get clothes from?”
He had been naked since yesterday.
Last night, before going to sleep, he had tried on the clothes he had in case, but they were way too big and hung off him.
To get clothes, he had to go out.
But to go out, he had to wear clothes.
Stuck.
“Hmm......”
“How about asking your friend Jo Namyeon for help?”
“That’s disgusting.”
It was already bad enough to have the guy on his mind; now the fox was reading his thoughts and speaking to him.
Jo Namyeon.
A high school friend and one of his close buddies.
Unlike Chayeon’s short two-block masculine image, he was a gentleman type.
His relationships with women were extremely complicated, but aside from that, he was the most trustworthy person Chayeon knew.
Other people might not handle this absurd situation well, but this guy would probably accept it without a fuss.
He made his decision and picked up his phone.
Searching for the name in contacts, he called.
The line rang once and a soft feminine voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, bring some girl clothes to my house. Something for a 160 cm girl.”
“......?”
An odd tone came through the phone.
Of course, since he was calling the name Jeon Chayeon, the other person would naturally think it was a girl.
“This is Chayeon. I became a woman yesterday. That’s why I don’t have any clothes. So I’m asking for a favor.”
He finished his part and hung up.
“A guy pretending to be a girl, huh.”
“I’m a guy, you fucking fox bastard.”
Several minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
When he opened it, a handsome blond man with piercings stood there.
Jo Namyeon.