The Guild Demon Realm
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, what greeted me wasn't a flood of handshake requests. No, ha... I shouldn't have come up here. If I could go back in time, I'd bash my past self's head in to stop me. This place was a demon realm.
"Why is she so cute!"
"I saw photos, but..."
Watching the swarm of people crowding around me and chattering away, my mind started to go blank. I already struggle with even making eye contact with people, let alone talking to them, and now they'd all gathered around me in an instant—staying sane was a challenge.
They were definitely saying stuff about me, but with all these women pressing in close and chatting among themselves, their voices tangled up from every direction, and I couldn't make out a word. At this rate, I was really going to lose it. Save me.
"Don't crowd her too much, girls."
Ah. Thankfully, unnie pushed through the women surrounding me and stepped in to hold them back. Even when they whined about wanting to chat just a little longer, she shut it down cold and protected me.
At unnie's words, they backed off reluctantly, but their eyes were still locked on me like predators. The second I showed any gap, it felt like they'd pounce and devour me whole, lips smacking and tongues flicking out. Eek!
How could people be that scary? Sure, their faces just showed disappointment, but from the prey's perspective, the predator's grin was crystal clear.
What the hell had I done to deserve looks like that?
"Seol-i, unnie's just gonna chat with some friends real quick, okay? Sit tight on that sofa over there. I'll be right back—got it?"
I nodded at unnie's words and plopped down on the sofa. Hearing the women murmur regretfully about wanting to talk to me more sent pointless chills crawling up my spine.
Any normal person would be over the moon if hot women like that came swarming, but for me, it was pure burden. I'd already turned into a body that couldn't love anyone anymore.
"Haaa..."
Finally, I could breathe. It wasn't like I was on the verge of collapsing or dying, but I'd never exchanged so much as a word with women like that in my entire life—and after a full year without talking to anyone, feeling dizzy was par for the course.
I'd thought hanging out with unnie for a day had helped a bit, but nope, wishful thinking. Well, you don't turn into a social butterfly from a few chats with unnie, duh.
Kinda depressing. I had no idea when I'd be able to talk to other people without trembling and stuttering.
And here I was, actually trying my best to hold conversations somehow, but this was the result.
"Hmm... Maybe I should just hit up the internet..."
Hanging out in communities might help build it up a little? There were way too many different kinds of people there, so I'd steered clear before. At most, I'd pop in for funny posts and snicker to myself.
Come to think of it, I had my phone. I pulled out the one unnie gave me and hopped online.
I usually scraped by on whatever nearby WiFi I could snag. Back then, novels were all I read anyway, so it was plenty. Data was too pricey for novels—no choice. With the house computer's internet barely covered, how was I supposed to swing WiFi setup?
"Might as well check it out now..."
Communities, huh. Nothing jumped out. I'd peeked at Naver a few times, but it felt like a world too far to butt into, so I'd bailed.
Plenty of other sites, but none really hooked me. Mostly reposts from elsewhere—stale. Sure, some site-exclusive memes were hilarious, but they didn't grab me hard. Just casual laughs now and then.
"Guess it's gotta be this one..."
It was the site I'd frequented even back in my old body. Split into sections by topic, packed with weird stories or desires too raw to voice—but that's what gave it some primal fun spots, plus trendsetting memes galore. Pretty entertaining overall. Even I would read the big, front-page-famous posts that got massive cheers and crack up.
Of course, plenty of cringey stuff to wrinkle your nose at, but you could just skip those.
"Where to dive in..."
Maybe somewhere full of animation fans who'd get the references...? Nah, no rush to jump in right now. I was just browsing for fun stuff when I heard someone sit down right in front of me.
Startled, I whipped my phone away and looked up. A guy who looked to be in his twenties was sitting there, pulling out his own phone.
He glanced up, catching my stare, and asked with an awkward expression, "Your unnie asked me to keep you company. If it's weird, I can bounce?"
Ah, someone unnie called over. The way he phrased it felt considerate—not a bad guy, probably. Being a guild member and all, a jerk wouldn't have lasted this long.
He looked annoyed on the surface, but I could tell he was fidgeting, clueless on how to handle a kid like me.
Still, he seemed like a peer from my old body days. Should I say something...? Hmm. Ajusshi would work, right? Calling him oppa felt off with this body—even after a year, saying "oppa" to a guy creeped me out.
Kids usually call grown men ajusshi anyway, so no big deal. How do I know? Gut feeling. Wouldn't faze me much either way.
I wanted to fix this can't-talk personality even a little, so you'd be my experiment subject number one. Here goes!
"Um... Ajusshi...?"
"Pfft...!"
What? Someone else around? I whipped around, startled, and spotted a woman—probably handling work behind us—struggling not to burst out laughing.
Wondering what was up, I looked back front. The guy who'd just gotten "ajusshi'd" was trembling, half in shock.
"Hey, she called you ajusshi, huh? Your face has weathered a ton."
"Unnie, just shut it for once, please... Ha..."
I-Is this my fault...?
"No... Live long enough, and you hear everything... even ajusshi."
"Um, s-sorry..."
"What? You are an ajusshi."
What the—? I'd just gone with what felt natural, but that woman drove the nail right in. Now that I looked, his face did seem kinda worn—maybe he heard it all the time.
So, not really my fault? I'd picked the most natural-sounding term, no way to know it'd be a trigger button.
People-talking really is tricky.
I was nodding to myself in realization when the still-trembling guy shot up from his seat and yelled,
"Why the hell am I an ajusshi, you ajumma?!"
Whoa, counterattack.
"What, you little shit?"
She bolted up too, pissed at "ajumma" the second it hit her ears.
"Ha, hold up? You're actually mad now? After poking fun first?"
"When did I poke fun? Just laying out facts, point by point."
I'd figured it'd stay light teasing, but why were they suddenly at each other's throats? Should I... even be here?
They'd started a full-on stare-down before I knew it, and leaving them be felt like it'd erupt into a massive brawl. If I hadn't opened my mouth with that "ajusshi," none of this would've happened—definitely my bad, right?
No, can't let this slide. Gotta call unnie or something. I grabbed my phone to dial, but for some reason, she was tied up in another call—couldn't connect.
She said she was just going to chat, so why the hell was she busy now?
"Okay, let's throw down right here then, huh?"
"Come at me, you bitch!"
No. There's a kid here!!! Save me!!