Dawn
Dawn
Something touched my foot.
A hard, cold sensation—the front door.
Why?
I tried to push myself up from the floor, but something felt off.
My hands were large and thick.
"What...?"
The moment I managed to stand up.
"Ah!"
My head bumped against the ceiling light.
...?
There's no way I should be tall enough to reach that.
Suppressing my dizziness, I looked around.
The ceiling felt too close, while the floor seemed unnaturally far away.
Staggering, I made my way to the bathroom.
Strangely, I couldn't control my body properly.
And the moment I stood in front of the mirror, my breath caught.
A towering stranger stood there.
Coarse, short blond hair.
My once translucent, porcelain-like skin was gone, replaced by a deep tan.
My large blue eyes had transformed into sharp, beast-like crimson irises.
My jaw was angular, almost blade-like,
and my shoulders were too broad to fit entirely in the bathroom mirror.
The veins and muscles in my forearms bulged like a beast's.
I was a man—but not the man I used to be.
This was a completely different, overwhelmingly masculine physique.
I lowered my gaze.
The dress I'd worn last night was torn to shreds, barely hanging on.
My underwear was stretched beyond recognition,
leaving me practically naked, with only a scrap of black fabric clinging to me.
Just a few days ago, I was struggling to find a bra that fit my G-cup.
"Now I've got to worry about underwear instead."
The absurd words slipped out.
...Just a few hours ago, I'd resolved to live as a woman.
"And now I'm supposed to go back to living as a man?"
No.
I summoned my Status Window in the air.
[Trait: Yin-Yang Person]
Where the full moon had been, a small sun now glowed.
Focusing my mind, I tried to revert to my female form—to Wolha.
—The sun is burning fiercely.
Again.
—The sun is burning fiercely.
The same message that had crushed me when I tried to shift from female to male was mocking me again.
***
Dizzy, I instinctively braced myself against the sink.
Crack.
A sickening sound of splitting porcelain echoed as the sink fractured under my touch.
"Huh...?"
Startled, I pulled my hand away.
Did I just break the sink by barely touching it?
I clenched and unclenched my fist repeatedly.
...The strength coursing through my fingertips now was on an entirely different level from before my trait evolved.
Testing it, I lightly tapped the bathroom wall.
The tiles shattered instantly.
"Shit!"
That was just a light tap!
How much is the repair gonna cost?
But.
No numbers came to mind.
Just yesterday, my brain could calculate anything I needed in an instant.
Now, it felt like rust had settled in, creaking and groaning.
I tried again, forcing myself to estimate the repair costs.
But my thoughts refused to connect.
What do I do?
No answer came—just a blank white noise in my head.
Somehow moving my legs, I headed back to the entrance.
From the torn fabric, I dug out my phone and opened the calculator app.
"...Never thought I'd be this happy to see a calculator."
But the relief was short-lived.
Lifting my head, I looked back at the mirror.
A frightened stranger stared back at me.
***
I pulled myself together.
"My stream... what about my stream?"
My Personal Broadcast Room schedule was approaching.
I tried activating my trait again, but the same message repeated.
With trembling hands, I tapped at the calculator.
My daily income averages around 450,000 won...
No, the Personal Broadcast isn't the main issue.
If I can't return to being Wolha by next week, I won't be able to do the Haneul Company broadcast either.
Viewers will leave, and worst case, I might have to pay Park Haneul a penalty fee.
"Haha... A few days ago, I could do all the math in my head. Now I have to punch it in manually."
Time kept flowing, indifferent to my crisis.
"...Let's cancel today's stream for now."
I logged into the broadcast site and, holding back tears, wrote the announcement.
My fingers were too big—typos kept happening.
[Title: I'm sorry. Due to personal circumstances, today's broadcast is canceled.]
[The pain in my injury has flared up, so I need to get an emergency hospital checkup.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to stream tomorrow either.
I'll update you if I can resume broadcasting.
I apologize.]
The moment I posted it, a DM arrived.
[Keunson Gom: Are you okay? Need me to send a car to the hospital?]
"...Don't cross the line, Gom."
I politely declined and threw my phone aside.
***
I had to find a solution.
"...First, I need clothes."
I couldn't go outside wrapped in these torn rags.
I rummaged through the closet, but none of Wolha's clothes fit—
not even the men's clothes I used to wear before.
I forced myself into the largest winter coat I could find.
The seams on the back tore, but I ignored it.
For the lower half, I tied the torn dress scraps around my waist as a makeshift cover,
then dragged my slippers and stepped outside.
"What am I, a caveman...?"
***
I stopped by a nearby convenience store to at least buy underwear.
The bell jingled, and the part-timer looked up—then froze at the sight of me.
Just ignore me.
Ignoring the piercing stares, I searched the shelves,
but nothing fit this massive body.
I had to go to a proper clothing store down the street.
As soon as I entered, a female employee hurried over.
"What style are you looking for...?"
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.
"Hahaha."
I laughed awkwardly, dodged her, and bolted to the underwear section.
Grabbing the largest pair of men's boxers, I headed for the fitting room.
But they wouldn't go past my thigh muscles.
"Um...!"
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"Do you have anything bigger?"
"Huh?! Bigger than this?
Just a moment, please."
After digging around, she finally brought me a new pair that barely covered my lower half.
Even then, it was a tight squeeze.
A few days ago, I was struggling to find a G-cup bra.
Now I'm agonizing over 2XL underwear.
Life's full of surprises...
Damn it.
I put the coat back on over the underwear and forced myself into the largest clothes I could find.
My muscles threatened to burst through, but I had no choice.
At the checkout, the clerk hesitated when our eyes met, then blushed.
"...Are you a model?
Seriously..."
This girl knows how to upsell.
I smiled bitterly and handed over my card.
***
Now that I was properly dressed, hunger hit me.
"Come to think of it, I didn't even eat breakfast."
I went into a burger joint to get something in my stomach.
"Welcome...?"
"One morning set, please."
"..."
"Hello?"
"Ah, yes! Morning set! Coming right up!"
What's her deal?
New hire?
Puzzled, I headed to an empty seat.
Click.
"Huh?"
A shutter sound came from a distant table.
Two girls were whispering while staring at me.
"Hey, he's looking at us. Duck down."
"Relax, there's no way he'd know we took a pic from this far.
Must be your imagination."
"Still, his physique is insane."
"And he's handsome too. What does he do?"
I can hear them from all the way over there?
"Customer~ Your order's ready!"
"Huh? Oh... thank you?"
Why is she bringing it to me?
Reflexively, I took the tray.
But the employee just stood there, lingering.
"...Do you have a girlfriend?"
"What?"
"No, it's just... you're totally my type..."
Her face turned beet red as she bowed her head.
"Here, my number! Call me later, okay?"
She shoved a crumpled note into my hand and sprinted back to the counter.
Did I just get hit on for the first time in my life?
My heart raced.
Before this, no woman had ever even talked to me, let alone hit on me.
Being a good-looking guy really is the best.
But that excitement vanished the moment I saw the calculator still open on my phone.
Underwear, T-shirt, pants, and sneakers—total: 250,000 won.
Add the 450,000 won I lost from canceling the stream...
"I blew through 700,000 won in a single day."
Each tap on the calculator choked me with the suffocating reality.
***
Back home, the room felt even more stifling than usual.
I sat on the bed and checked my phone.
The hiatus notice was flooded with comments mixing concern and disappointment.
[Did she go to a hotel with Keunson after the After broadcast?]
[Stop spreading rumors]
What kind of fanfic is this?!
[Haneul Company Broadcast Schedule for Next Week]
And then there was next week's notice from Park Haneul.
I summoned my Status Window, but the sun remained unchanged, just radiating light.
Tomorrow, the day after—I still have streams.
Next week, there's Haneul Company too.
I can't appear on camera like this.
If I can't return to being Wolha... it's all over.
My debts, my streams, the Wolha persona I've painstakingly built—all gone.
I clenched my fists.
Physical strength overflowed through my entire body.
But with this unwanted power, I couldn't earn a single won.
***
---
[Streamer Gallery]
Title: Wolha on hiatus lol
No fucking way, is it what I think?
Who was it? Keunson Gom? Bamui Jewang?
OP: Our Wolha would never do that
OP: Uh-huh~ Money talks
OP: For real, emergency hiatus the day after an After? Obvious.
OP: She's been sketchy since her Personal Broadcast Room streams started ending abruptly.
OP: Rumor is both Keunson Gom and Bamui Jewang went at her last night.
OP: Doubt it's Bamui Jewang—he's still simping in another girl's stream.
OP: Come on, she said she's in pain. Believe her.
OP: There's footage on Pazijik of Wolha showing her injuries.
Keunson Gom: It wasn't me, so stop stirring shit.
OP: I knew it, hyung-nim! I believed in you!
OP: LMAOOOO
OP: Get well soon, Wolhaㅠㅠ
---
OP: But she's a Hunter, right? Did she quit entirely?
OP: She's on break because of her injury.
OP: Judging by her earnings, she's basically a full-time streamer now.
OP: She used to go dungeon diving a lot before she got hurt.
OP: Three years of dungeon runs and she's still D-grade? LMAO
OP: The heavens don't give two talents to one person...
OP: If they ranked Hunters by looks, she'd be S-class, no contest.
---
***
Outside the window, the sky had turned crimson with sunset.
"...I have to find a way."
Even in the darkened room, the sun in my Status Window blazed with infuriating brightness.
"I need to figure out this goddamn trait."
I glared at the sun in the Status Window.
Give me the answer.