Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: I Can't Stop Laughing
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I keep laughing.
I look in the mirror.
I blink. The girl reflected in the mirror blinks too.
I raise my hand, tilt my head, and she does the same.
"...?"
I glance down a little.
Pale, slender limbs. Silver hair cascading over my shoulders. Breasts gently rising.
Exactly the same as the girl in the mirror.
"Ah."
Realization hits my dazed mind late.
That's me.
I knew my body had changed. My limbs couldn't possibly be this thin and short before.
It's a bit of a shock.
I figured it'd be different, but I didn't expect the gender switch too.
I don't even know why I'm like this. It's not a form I remember seeing.
"Hm."
And then I'm shocked that I'm shocked by it.
Unlike the old days when I'd jump at every new thing, lately nothing fazes me much.
I've seen too many horrors "over there."
So feeling surprise at something? It's been ages.
"Mm-hmm."
Whatever. Doesn't matter.
The shock fades fast as thoughts swirl. Gone in a blink.
What matters is I'm back.
From that godforsaken place.
Thanks to everyone finding that damned door.
Come to think of it, the door...
"It's still here."
I turn around. There it is, unchanged. Actually, it seems part of the building itself.
Still connected to that world?
Curiosity flickers, but no urge to check.
One mistake's enough.
Swoosh-.
For now, let's head outside.
Mountains of things I want to do.
While wandering "over there," I'd daydream about this during breaks—what I'd do back home.
Check if family's okay. Head home first? No clue how much time passed. Felt like forever.
Ah, chicken sounds good. Ice cream. Patbingsu. Beer too.
Anything.
Lost in thoughts, I reach the first floor of the abandoned building.
Outside's dark.
Makes sense. No way a dump like this is in a busy spot.
Obviously remote.
"Which way..."
My voice sounds so foreign spilling out. Matches the look perfectly, but not the me I remember.
Couldn't hold back the mutter, though.
Silence drags on, and that world creeps back in.
"Gotta find a main road. No money, though. Walk home?"
Muttering helps my brain kick into gear.
Actually, since escaping, my head feels clearer.
Didn't notice at first, but lately stringing thoughts was hell. Now it's natural as breathing.
Shed a ton of what I'd absorbed? Still not fully normal, though.
But better.
Still no name recall. But fuzzy memories surface—my home, dear ones.
Probably from shedding so much.
"Ah."
Thoughts drift again.
Focus.
Okay. This body's got nothing.
Just the black dress on me.
Where'd this come from? Wasn't wearing it before.
No way I'd wander in a women's dress that didn't fit, even out of my mind.
Fits scary-perfect now, though.
Anyway, walk?
"Mm. No."
Easier, faster way. Gotta be.
So I close my eyes.
To check closely.
What's left of the anomalies I swallowed.
"Hmm."
Otogi. Gone. Cyclops. Gone. Yamabiko. Gone. Ghost Dragon. Gone. Tengu. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
Less than I thought?
Should've kept useful ones.
Nah.
Back to normal life. What's the point?
Just checking for emergencies.
Keep looking.
What's left...
"Found it."
This one.
No sore legs needed.
Shoooo-.
Something flows from inside me.
Wraps my body. Soon I'm shrouded in deep darkness.
Time to go.
My form melts slowly into nearby shadows.
Then it's easy.
Swim through shadows, shooting forward.
Starting spot recedes fast. Faster than a car, probably.
Feels free.
Used it plenty "over there," but here? Thrilling liberation.
Go. Go. Home.
The place I longed for.
Single-minded, I blaze through paths.
Got lost midway, but buildings helped orient—back on track quick.
Thus.
Under 30 minutes, I'm home.
"Home..."
It should be here.
"Why...?"
My home should be here.
But no—a storefront stands instead. Impossible.
Did the apartment get demolished while I was gone?
"Excuse me."
I grab a passerby, questions tumbling out.
"Where'd the apartment go? Saehan Apartments. It was here."
"What?"
The lady I grabbed eyes me, flustered, then speaks.
"Never heard of it."
"No way... It was here..."
"I've lived here over 20 years. First time hearing that name."
"Wh-what year is it now?"
Pity flickers in her eyes. Lingers on my bare feet.
"2025. Kid, you okay? No shoes..."
2025.
She says more, but it doesn't register.
I crossed that door 25 years ago. Barely any time passed.
But no home.
And that's not all.
I'd denied it coming here.
Streets familiar yet strange? Just time's changes.
Landmark buildings gone? Some incident, probably.
But if not...
"No way..."
If this isn't.
My world?
Body throbs.
Something wants out. No—in.
"Kid! You okay? You're pale!"
Body shakes.
Ah, lady's shaking me. Worried face.
Wonder if she'd keep that seeing my real form?
Curious.
Loosen control a tad...
Just a bit...
"Mom, whatcha doing?"
Then. Footsteps approach.
"Huh? This..."
They talk.
Mom. Son. Family.
Worried faces.
...Don't wanna stay. Slip back into shadows.
Bolt from there blindly.
*****
Days hunkered in alleys.
Some creep approaches, gropes.
Dealt with.
Got his phone.
On a whim, dial remembered numbers. Randomly.
-The number you have dialed is no longer in service.
-The number you have dialed is...
-Who is this? Huh? Who? No. Wrong number.
But.
None connected. No more denying.
"Ha."
This place.
"Ahaha."
Isn't my world.
"Ahahahaha."
Laughter bubbles up.
All that hell, barely found the door out.
To another world?
Surface similar. No family. No friends. Nothing?
Laugh. Laugh more.
My plight's hilarious.
All that suffering meaningless? Hilarious, so laugh.
Thus.
Time passes. Sun sets. Night falls. I realize one thing.
Gurgle-.
This body's hungry.
Obvious for humans, but alien to me.
"Over there," no food—so tore anomaly flesh, drank their blood.
Eventually, hunger vanished.
Just constant queasy unease.
Now? Starving.
So much.
"Hehe."
Laughter leaks again.
Hungry even now?
Starve to death? Hang myself? Jump in traffic? Leap from heights?
This body—easy death?
Pat-pat-.
Cheerful imaginings snap at intruding footsteps.
Slowly look up.
Something charges through dark alley.
Weird shapes.
Skinny arms, legs. Bloated bellies. Mouths half their faces.
Hordes of them.
"Eek, eeek!"
Someone fleeing them.
Middle-aged man in all-white traditional hanbok-like garb.
Front unknown. Chasers? Ogres.
Gluttonous anomalies. So ravenous, eat own limbs if starved. Nasty.
"What a weird place."
These roam outside doors here too?
Or was my world like this? Me oblivious?
Dunno.
Won't know without going back.
"Eeek, heek!"
Man draws nearer amid chaos. Heading my way.
Bothersome. Can't eat those Ogres.
Just hungrier. Tried it.
So.
What to do.
Crash-!
"Ack!"
Then, man screams, sprawls loudly.
"Hehe."
Seeing it, I laugh unwittingly.
Yeah. Mood strikes.
Slapstick show earned it.
Extend hand forward.
"Boom."
Air rips—. Giant foot emerges.
KABOOM-!
Ogre horde flattens instantly. Foot vanishes with a squelch.
"Eek, eeek!"
Fallen man half-rises, startles more, tumbles again.
"Hahaha."
Laughter again. Man looks up at sound.
Bald, greedy-faced middle-ager.
Lock eyes, give casual wave.
"Hi?"
Baldy's face twists grotesquely.