It's Me, Seo Eun-seong.
Leaving the commotion at Incheon International Airport behind, Seo Eun-seong headed to the parking lot with his younger sister Seo Ha-rin in tow. Kim Tae-ho, Ha-rin's manager, had already pulled up in a black van.
"Hop in, Ha-rin."
"Yeah."
The back door slid open with a rumble. As soon as Seo Eun-seong climbed in, Kim Tae-ho glanced at the rearview mirror without a second thought.
"Gasp! Wh-who are you?"
The moment he spotted Seo Eun-seong, Kim Tae-ho jolted in shock. Even a seasoned manager like him couldn't help but be stunned by this ultra-top-tier handsome guy(?).
"Tae-ho hyung, it's me. Eun-seong."
"E-Eun-seong? The real Seo Eun-seong?"
Kim Tae-ho nearly dropped the steering wheel. And who could blame him? Just two months ago, the 100kg behemoth that filled the passenger seat had vanished. In its place sat some model-like stunner.
"Whoa, what the—? Eun-seong? Did you just eat mugwort and garlic in Nepal or something? How does a person change this much?"
"It was tough, but yeah. Let's get going quick. People are swarming."
Seo Eun-seong chuckled and buckled his seatbelt.
"Right, got it. Heading out."
As the van sped along the airport expressway, Seo Ha-rin kept staring holes into her brother Seo Eun-seong's face. Her gaze was like she was observing a stranger—or some exotic creature.
"Oppa... you're really my oppa, right?"
"How many times do I have to say it? Yeah, it's me."
"No... I just can't get used to it no matter how many times I look. How can someone change this much in two months?"
Seo Ha-rin poked at his now-firm biceps, unable to hide her amazement.
The moment they got home, Seo Eun-seong unpacked. He set his Nepal-dusted backpack out on the balcony and stripped off his worn clothes.
"I'm showering first."
"Uh, y-yeah... okay."
Seo Ha-rin sat on the sofa, still dazed.
"Hoo..."
Seo Eun-seong stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Cold water cascaded over his newly muscled body.
"......"
His reflection in the mirror. The flabby belly from two months ago was gone, replaced by sharp six-pack abs and solid pecs.
Good job, Seo Eun-seong.
He was shampooing his hair and praising himself when—
Beep beep.
The door lock chimed from the living room.
"They're here again."
Seo Eun-seong smirked. He knew exactly who it was at this hour. His lovable(?) freeloaders.
Meanwhile.
"Ha-rin! We're here! Where's Seo Eun-seong?!"
"Unnie Ha-rin! Didn't you say oppa was coming today? Has Eun-seong oppa arrived?"
It was Choi Eun-jin and Lee Ah-hyun. They'd rushed over right after their schedule, sneaking past their manager.
The two scanned the living room the second they entered, hunting for Seo Eun-seong.
"...?"
Then they froze at the unfamiliar shoes by the entrance.
"Huh? Whose shoes are these? Doesn't look like Bear Doll's."
Choi Eun-jin tilted her head. Size 300mm—definitely Seo Eun-seong's foot size. But these weren't his usual clunky old sneakers. They were stylish pro hiking boots, dusted with dirt.
"Did Tae-ho oppa come?"
"Nah, his feet are smaller."
Lee Ah-hyun eyed the shoes curiously too.
That's when—
"Ahh~"
Click.
The bathroom door opened, steam billowing into the living room. A man emerged through the haze.
"Feels so good~"
Seo Eun-seong toweled his damp hair as he stepped out, shirtless with just comfy training pants on. His skin still glistened with water droplets that traced his muscles under the lights—like a photoshoot frame.
And then.
His eyes met those of Choi Eun-jin and Lee Ah-hyun in the living room.
"......"
Three seconds of dead silence.
And then.
"Kyaaah!"
"Mommy!"
Screams erupted in unison. Choi Eun-jin dove behind the sofa in terror. Lee Ah-hyun clutched her face and collapsed to the floor.
"Wh-who are you! Who the hell are you?!"
"P-pervert! Unnie Ha-rin! There's a strange guy in the house!"
Panic mode activated. Totally understandable. A Greek statue of a half-naked man wandering the home where Bear Doll lived?
But even amid the screams, their fingers parted slightly. Peeking through the gaps, their eyes locked onto Seo Eun-seong's body.
Broad Pacific Ocean shoulders. Washboard abs. Water droplets sliding down to his V-line.
"Huh...?"
Choi Eun-jin's shriek faded. Her gaze traveled up his body to his face and froze.
Wet hair revealing a smooth forehead. Sharp jawline, straight nose. Deep, clear hazel eyes like a deer's.
"Whoa..."
Choi Eun-jin's mouth fell open unwittingly.
"Uh... uh..."
Lee Ah-hyun peered through her fingers in a daze. Suspicion melted into curious intrigue.
What the hell is this situation?
Seo Eun-seong draped the towel around his neck and spoke flatly.
"Eun-jin noona. Ah-hyun. What's up? It's me, Seo Eun-seong."
"......"
His voice echoed through the living room, freezing them again. That low, soft timbre—definitely Bear Doll Seo Eun-seong's voice.
But it didn't match the specimen before them. Cognitive dissonance hit hard.
"L-lies!"
Choi Eun-jin brandished a sofa cushion like a shield.
"Our Bear Doll couldn't look like this! Who are you? Voice changer? Ha-rin's secret boyfriend?!"
"Y-yeah! Our Eun-seong oppa is... like... this big..."
Lee Ah-hyun trailed off, unable to say "fat," and drew a huge circle with her arms.
"Why all the suspicion?"
Seo Eun-seong kept chuckling. He startled himself in the mirror sometimes—who knew how they felt.
"Ha-rin, calm your unnie and Ah-hyun down."
He called to Seo Ha-rin, who had changed and emerged from her room. Having pieced it together, she crossed her arms and giggled.
"Unnie. Ah-hyun. Chill. It's really oppa."
"No way! Ha-rin, this a hidden camera prank?"
"Unnie... for real? That's really... Eun-seong oppa?"
Even with Ha-rin's vouching, suspicion lingered. They didn't want to believe that perfect physique belonged to their cute Bear Doll.
"Sigh... no convincing you guys. Ha-rin? I'm starving. Let's eat something."
Seo Eun-seong headed to the kitchen with a sigh. Better to cook than keep arguing.
"What do you want? Ha-rin?"
He opened the fridge like old times, pulling out ingredients, then grabbed the pink lace apron Ha-rin had bought from the wall.
"Missed this apron."
Whoosh.
The dainty pink apron draped over his bulging pecs and arms. The destructive visual—sexy and cute clashing—made Choi Eun-jin and Lee Ah-hyun gasp.
Whatever. Chop chop chop. His skilled knife work rang out cheerfully on the cutting board.
"You said tteokbokki earlier, right?"
He sliced green onions, prepped fish cakes with pro finesse, then fired up the wok for spicy rice cakes. The sweet-spicy aroma filled the room.
"Eun-jin noona."
He called without turning.
"Y-yeah?"
Choi Eun-jin answered reflexively.
"Tsk tsk. One look at your face and I know. You went hard last night, huh? Got some frozen dried pollack soup—want me to heat it?"
"How'd you...?"
Her eyes widened. She hadn't told a soul about overdrinking at last night's dinner.
But this guy knew her habit of craving pollack soup after booze. Only Bear Doll.
"And you, Ah-hyun."
"Y-yes?"
Lee Ah-hyun tensed, using formal speech.
"Saw your English workbook open on the table before I showered. English giving you trouble this time? Want oppa to help?"
"...!"
Her face turned beet red. She'd aced math last time thanks to him, but English had her stumped.
That uncanny perceptiveness, doting care. Only the real Seo Eun-seong.
"I-is it... really Eun-seong oppa?"
Lee Ah-hyun's voice trembled.
Seo Eun-seong turned down the flame and glanced back with a grin.
"What, you think it's fake? Let's eat, freeloaders."
Freeloaders. That affectionate(?) nickname snapped their brains back online.
"No freaking way..."
Choi Eun-jin slid down the sofa. Flashbacks of her antics with this guy(?) played: piggyback rides, arm-linking, pinching his belly fat. Back then, he was just a comfy teddy bear. Imagining doing that to this body made her heart explode.
He's too damn hot!
She stole glances at the veins on his forearms, swallowing hard.
Lee Ah-hyun too.
It really is Eun-seong oppa...?
She'd always crushed on him for his comfort and kindness. But this was different. Primal attraction. His male allure hit hard; she couldn't meet his eyes.
"Done! Come eat."
He set the tteokbokki plates down. The three girls shuffled over meekly. Normally they'd pounce like puppies, but today they were shy kittens.
"......"
A weird silence hung over the table. Only chopstick clinks broke it.
"What's with you all? Not tasty?"
I asked, and Eun-jin noona jumped, shaking her head.
"N-no! It's delicious! Super delicious!"
"Y-yeah. Oppa’s cooking is the best."
Ah-hyun chimed in. They chewed absently, eyes flicking to my face and arms, darting away when caught.
"Oppa."
Ha-rin spoke up seriously.
"Yeah?"
"What the hell happened in Nepal? Spill. How does a person transform like this in two months? Special forces training?"
Eun-jin noona and Ah-hyun's ears perked. They were dying to know too. Their Bear Doll vanished for two radio-silent months and returned a stranger.
"Training? Nah."
I sipped water and recounted the past two months flatly.
"Mornings, I taught kids at the school. English and math. They were sweet."
"We get that. But the weight?"
"Afternoons... I just walked."
"Walked?"
"Yeah. Stuffed my backpack with rocks for about 30kg. Climbed the Himalayan foothills daily till sunset."
"30kg...?"
The three gaped. Heavier than army gear, scaling those brutal mountains every day?
"Diet?"
"Not much food there. Just veggies from the villagers. No fried stuff or flour."
I said it casually, but it was hell. Skull-splitting altitude sickness. Starvation insomnia. Muscle agony screaming. I didn't stop—for Ha-rin's heartbroken face from hate comments.
"......"
Their eyes welled up listening. They knew me best: my food obsession, my exercise laziness. Why I'd pushed so brutally.
"Idiot..."
Ha-rin sniffled.
"It's 'cause of me... the hate comments..."
"Bear Doll... you're hardcore. How'd you endure?"
Eun-jin noona gazed with respect and pity.
"......"
Ah-hyun stared silently at my roughened hands, pitying the hardship.
"Psh, why the mood? I did it to get healthy. Feel lighter now, right?"
I grinned bright, striking a flex pose.
"Check these guns. Now I can porter for real."
They finally chuckled at my goofiness.
As dinner wrapped—
"Oh yeah. I'm going to school tomorrow."
"School?"
Ah-hyun blinked in surprise.
"Yeah. Re-enroll. Cancel the leave and get back."
Spoons halted in unison.
"Oppa... with that face?"
Ha-rin blurted first.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You haven't seen a mirror? Who knows what'll happen at school with that face."
Eun-jin noona asked, half-worried, half-excited.
I shrugged.
"What'll happen? I'm just the guy who buys food for the dept. Thinner now, but same old. Quietly graduate, done."
I meant it. Sure, slimmer and muscled. But essence unchanged: Korean Lit's Polar Bear Seo Eun-seong. Not a total loner, not a social king—just easygoing. If people teased less, great.
But.
The three exchanged incredulous looks.
"Bear Doll, new level of denial?"
"Eun-seong oppa... zero self-awareness about your face..."
"Seo Eun-seong... still clueless as ever."
Even Ha-rin shook her head, foreseeing a nuke on Yeonhui University campus tomorrow.
"Oppa, at least wear a mask to school tomorrow. Got it?"
"Why? Bad smog?"
"No... just wear it. Please."
Ha-rin sighed deeply at my obliviousness.
But I still couldn't grasp her worry. The world was full of hotties. If something happened every time you saw one, news would never stop.