The Morning I Woke Up as a Woman

It was an ordinary morning, the kind where I’d make kimchi fried rice. I silenced the alarm blaring from my phone and rolled over in bed.

“Ugh…” My throat felt tight. My voice sounded strange. I sat up and opened my eyes. My body felt oddly light. Rubbing my eyes, I forced my heavy eyelids open. The same room I saw every day. Textbooks for my assignments, piled carelessly on the desk. The hoodie I’d worn yesterday, tossed onto the chair. I got out of bed, wanting to drink some water from the fridge.

Swish. As I leaned forward, pure white strands fell across my vision.

“…What the?”

The moment the words left my mouth, I froze. That wasn’t my voice. It was a clear, soft, feminine voice. My half-asleep mind snapped wide awake. I lifted my hand in front of my face. Pale, slender fingers.

“Huh…?”

Again, a woman’s voice came out. I tried to stand up from the bed and immediately collapsed onto the floor. My balance was completely off. My body felt light overall, but there was an unfamiliar weight on my chest. I slowly lowered my head.

“………”

The pajama shirt was bulging outward. I couldn’t speak for a long time. The situation was so absurd that it left me numb.

“…Is this a dream…?”

I pinched my cheek.

“Ow.”

It hurt. But the soft, bouncy texture of the skin felt even more alarming.

“W-what is happening to me…”

I stared blankly at the status window. Awakening. I had become an Awakener. In South Korea, and across the world, Awakeners were no longer rare. They were special, but not uncommon. Four years ago, towers and dungeons had appeared everywhere, and some humans gained powers. Some could spit fire, others could slice monsters apart with a single sword. Some used healing magic, while others vanished into shadows. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The arrival of towers, dungeons, and Awakeners brought chaos at first, but things were slowly stabilizing now.

Yet the most important thing was that Awakeners made a lot of money. Of course, a lot of them died, too. But I had been an ordinary college student who hadn’t awakened. I went to class, did assignments, worked part-time jobs, and played games in my free time. And now… I had awakened as a Chef.

It wasn’t that cooking was bad. Actually, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠liked cooking. Making my own food after calculating cost-effectiveness was cheaper and tasted better. The problem wasn’t that.

“Why did I turn into a girl…”

I picked myself up off the floor and stood on two feet. My field of vision was lower. My feet were smaller, too. Stumbling, I made my way to the bathroom mirror. Inside the mirror stood a woman I didn’t recognize. Waist-length silver-white hair. Platinum strands that shimmered softly like moonlight. Pale skin. Light grey eyes. And her face.

“…This is insane.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. She was beautiful. So ethereally beautiful, especially with that white hair, that she hardly looked human. A small face, straight nose, lips tinged with red, and slightly drooping eyes that gave her a languid look.

“This is supposed to be me…”

I touched every part of my face, trying to accept the impossible.

Jiiing— My phone rang from the bed. I rushed over and grabbed it. A group chat notification filled the screen.

Hayan…? My name was Kim Haneul. But the group chat listed me as Kim Hayan. I quickly checked my profile. Kim Hayan, plain profile with no picture. Yet every group chat—department, part-time job, all of them—called me “Hayan.” It wasn’t a nickname. I immediately dialed my college friend. After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.

“Why? Kim Hayan.”

I lost my words for a second.

“…Hey, Minjae.”

“What’s up? Your voice sounds hoarse. Hayan, you catch a cold or something?”

It really was Kim Hayan. As if that had always been my name. I moved my lips, unsure what to say. Don’t you know me? I’m Kim Haneul. I was a guy, remember? I couldn’t bring myself to say any of it. Instead, I barely managed normal words.

“No… it’s nothing. I think I’ll be late. Can you do proxy attendance for me?”

“You think that’ll work? Professor can’t tell a guy’s voice from a girl’s? …I’ll try anyway.”

“…Thanks.”

“Just get here soon.”

“Yeah.”

I hung up. Only then did my head start to clear. I thought carefully about the current situation. The world now recognized me as “Kim Hayan.” And the reason that was possible was this status window. I took a slow breath and called it out.

“Status Window.”

The blue window appeared before me.

“My information.”

“Chef… Master of the Feast… Sense… forty-one?”

I’d browsed Awakener communities before, so I had a rough idea. Normal people averaged around ten in each stat. Awakeners had higher numbers in areas related to their class. Even so, Sense at 41 was impressive for someone who had just awakened.

The moment I saw the numbers, smells slammed into me. The fabric softener drifting from the drying rack, the faint kimchi scent leaking from the fridge, the outside air slipping through the window cracks. Every smell was vivid and overwhelming. My head spun. I pinched my nose shut.

“Ugh…”

If I couldn’t get used to this, daily life was going to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hell. I dropped onto the bed and tried to steady my breathing.

“What the hell happened overnight…”

I woke up an Awakener, and on top of that I’d turned into a woman. I held my hand out again, flexing the fingers. Sure enough, they were small and pretty.

“Sigh… Let’s just eat something.”

Even amid the chaos, my stomach was growling. I opened the fridge. Three eggs, pork belly I’d splurged on with yesterday’s part-time wages, kimchi, and half a green onion remained.

The instant I looked at the ingredients, small information windows floated up.

“Whoa.”

So this was Ingredient Appraisal. I took out all the ingredients. The menu was obvious: kimchi fried rice. I’d made it plenty of times, and using actual pork belly would make it insanely delicious.

I set the green onion on the cutting board and picked up the knife. Something felt off. The knife felt incredibly familiar, like an old friend I’d used for years. Tap, tap, tap, tap. The green onion fell into neat, even pieces under the blade.

“…Who am I right now?”

The slices were perfectly uniform. Astonishing. I moved the knife again, faster this time. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. My hands seemed to move on their own. I pulled out a frying pan, turned on the heat, and waited for the oil to heat up. In the past I would have thrown everything in by guesswork, but now it was different. I could feel the exact temperature of the pan through my senses.

Not yet.

I waited a little longer.

Now!

I added the green onion. Sizzle. The fragrant oil filled the room. The sweet aroma of the onion soaked in oil, laced with a faint sharp bite. I’d smelled it before, but with this body it felt entirely new. I sliced the pork belly into small pieces and added it.

Sizzle—

“Mmm… that pork belly smell…”

The scent of melting fat. It already promised to be delicious. I added a splash of soy sauce and salt, stir-fried a bit more, then tossed in the kimchi after squeezing out some of the liquid. I added sugar to balance the sourness. After stir-frying, I warmed two packs of instant rice, added them, and pressed everything together with a spatula so the grains could soak up the oil and seasoning evenly.

Maybe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because I’d awakened, I seemed stronger than before. My arms didn’t get tired while mixing the rice. At the end I raised the heat slightly to crisp the bottom just a little. That part was the real treat. I turned off the flame and sprinkled sesame seeds on top. I divided the rice into three portions with the spatula, put two in the fridge, and plated the last one with a soft-fried egg on top.

It was a dish I made often, yet it looked strangely more appetizing than ever. I picked up a spoon.

“Thanks for the meal.”

I scooped a spoonful of kimchi fried rice and put it in my mouth.

“…”

Chew, chew. At that moment, I quietly set the spoon down. I couldn’t help but be impressed. It was delicious. Incredibly delicious. The rich savoriness of the pork fat, the deep umami of the kimchi, and the fragrant green-onion oil were in perfect harmony.

“Wait, why does it taste this good? I made it the same way as always, didn’t I?”

I took another bite, this time breaking the runny egg yolk and mixing it in.

“…This is crazy…”

At this level, I could probably sell it. After that I devoured the rest without thinking. Only after swallowing the final bite did a notification appear before my eyes.

“Consumer… that’s me, right?”

I quietly checked my condition. The headache that had plagued me since the chaos this morning felt clearer. I stared at the empty plate. The cooking ability that made me feel like a completely different person. The fatigue recovery and mental stability contained in the food. The dishes I made now… they were the food of an Awakener.