……Hmm.
I had planned to luxuriate in a late sleep, but it seemed waking early had become such a habit that my mind was perfectly clear even before the sun had risen.
Normally, I’d only open my eyes after hearing the alarm.
Even then, exhaustion would have me stumbling toward the bathroom.
Perhaps it was because, unlike those days, I was now free of worries and anxieties.
My profession? Unemployed.
And my assets? Five hundred billion won.
What’s more, it was a perfect situation where no one knew who I was.
If there was one problem, it was simply that this body wasn’t truly mine.
“Still a woman, I see….”
Kicking off the blankets, I rose and looked down at my body.
Things that shouldn’t be there had appeared, and things that should have been there had vanished.
There was no point in dwelling on it further.
Rubbing my still-sleepy eyes, I decided to stop thinking.
“Yaaawn…….”
Now even my yawns sounded elegant.
It was truly maddening.
“Let’s get myself together.”
Muttering to myself, I walked into the bathroom.
The mirror immediately caught my eye as I entered.
Seeing the smooth, clear skin and blemish-free face even after just waking up, I let out a short sigh.
“……I suppose I’m getting used to it.”
Not much time had passed, yet it already felt like my own face.
Was I simply quick to adapt, or was it so surreal that I perceived it all as a dream?
I didn’t know.
Squeezing toothpaste onto my brush, I began to clean my teeth.
After finishing brushing and a quick wash of my face, a single dilemma arose.
A shower.
Should I take one?
I met the gaze of Yeon-bi in the mirror.
My eyes wavered slightly.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to wash.
I was, after all, someone who showered morning and night.
It was just… a little embarrassing.
After a brief staring contest with Yeon-bi in the mirror, I made up my mind.
“Let’s wash….”
I had to go out today anyway.
And I would have to continue living like this from now on.
This female body wasn’t the body of a complete stranger, Choi Yeon-bi, but rather, it was my body.
Since it was my body, it was fine.
It would be fine.
Probably.
“Hoo….”
Letting out a long sigh, I took off my T-shirt.
Then, with a swift movement, I removed the underwear that, being the wrong size, I had been forced to wear, tied with a rubber band.
Closing my eyes slightly, I stepped into the shower and turned on the warm water.
With a pounding heart, I tilted my head back and let the warm water cascade over my entire body.
The water traced curves as it flowed down my face.
“……It still feels good.”
The sensation was different from what I was used to, which made me a little self-conscious. Yet, the comforting embrace of the warm water soon made the foreign feeling vanish.
The process of lathering up with a shower puff was a bit… challenging, but I managed to finish my shower without incident.
After stepping out of the bathroom, I spent a long time drying my long hair with a hairdryer.
“So there’s a reason it takes all day.”
I could now somewhat understand why women took so long to get ready.
****
I had a lot to do today.
First, I was going to buy a car.
Since the cars I truly desired would take a long time to arrive even after ordering, I decided to pick up a simpler car to drive in the meantime.
I would also visit a real estate agency to look for a new place to live.
This was how I would start anew.
Not as Choi Min-hoo, but as Choi Yeon-bi, a five-hundred-billion-won asset holder.
‘…Is that too grand?’
I let out a chuckle, gazing at my room.
This current home.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a house, but a studio apartment, yet still.
Having moved here for a job, there was no longer any need to stay.
It had no advantages whatsoever.
It was cramped and unappealing. Furthermore, it was quite a distance from the company.
“Still, there was nowhere else quite like it.”
The memory of diligently searching through real estate listings came vividly back to me.
The real estate agents had grumbled endlessly, claiming there were no homes that met my criteria.
How happy I had been when, after enduring such humiliation, I finally secured this room.
The feeling of moving to the capital for a job and then managing to find a decent room to live in was indescribable.
“……Though I had no idea the company I joined would turn out to be like a ‘family’ company (TL Note: A Korean euphemism for a company with a toxic work culture where employees are expected to dedicate their lives to the company, often without proper compensation or boundaries).”
They say memories become beautified with time.
I felt a faint sense of nostalgia beginning to creep in.
“I should get out of here quickly before it gets any more beautified.”
Even so, it felt strange to grow fond of a place like this.
I wanted to leave as soon as possible and bury all the bad memories deep.
‘Since things have come to this, perhaps I should move to a secluded place where I can’t think of anything?’
After a moment’s thought, I decided it would be better to stay near the capital area and look for a decent apartment nearby.
By the way, the contract here must be under Choi Min-hoo’s name; would that be an issue?
Perhaps it had changed automatically, like my ID and phone registration? If so, there would be no problem at all.
“Well, the landlord was someone who had absolutely no interest in who lived here, so it probably wouldn’t matter even if it hadn’t changed.”
Even if the boiler broke or the entire villa’s internet suddenly went out, the landlord would only show up after a long delay.
I wasn’t even sure if they were truly the landlord in the first place.
Someone so uninterested in this place.
Yet, if the rent wasn’t sent by morning, they’d even send a text message.
“Thinking about it, it’s quite outrageous.”
I briefly considered what I could do with the money I had but decided against it.
While I might consider it for the Team Leader Bastard, spending such money on a landlord I barely ever met felt like a waste.
Anyway, today was going to be busy.
I had already showered and roughly planned out where I needed to go.
Now, I just had to wait for the delivery.
I tore open the last remaining coffee mix packet and poured it into a paper cup.
Filling the kettle with water, I absently waited for it to boil.
‘It would be nice to buy a coffee machine too.’
There was truly so much to buy.
If I kept thinking of things to buy and then bought them, would I quickly spend all five hundred billion won?
“Even so, that would be impossible.”
While I was lost in such idle thoughts, the water in the kettle quickly began to boil.
****
Ding-dong— Ding-dong—
The delivery had arrived.
“Ah, I told them not to ring the doorbell.”
Startled, I nearly spilled the morning coffee I had just made.
I didn’t understand why they never read the delivery instructions.
Were they doing this on purpose?
Frowning slightly, I opened the front door.
A pile of packages stacked high.
‘…Or perhaps they were just annoyed.’
Seeing the height of the boxes, I decided to be a little understanding.
I had gone on a bit of a joyful clothes shopping spree late last night.
While I couldn’t buy the clothes I had originally coveted, I had instead purchased expensive, gender-neutral clothing that anyone could comfortably wear.
Online shopping without worrying about money.
There could be nothing more enjoyable than this.
First, I opened the smallest box.
“Ah, these are shoes.”
Dress shoes I had always wanted to wear.
They weren’t particularly expensive, just simple, unisex shoes.
“The size should be right, shouldn’t it….”
Just in case, I measured my foot with a tape measure I had at home.
My foot size was 235mm. I had bought the shoes in 240mm.
If they didn’t fit, I could just exchange them or buy new ones.
The problem was the hassle.
So, hoping they would fit perfectly, I slipped my foot inside.
“Ah, they fit.”
They felt a little loose, but this much was fine.
Since I had bought other sneakers in 240mm as well, they should all fit.
“I’ll unbox the shoes later then.”
Now, I turned my attention to the larger boxes.
These were the main focus for today.
First, I opened the box containing the training clothes.
A three-stripe jersey and plain training pants.
These were clothes I’d wear for comfortable outings, like going to the grocery store or running a quick errand.
I removed the plastic and tried them on immediately.
“This feels so awkward….”
The size seemed to fit reasonably well, but various parts felt incredibly strange.
First, the most noticeable part: my chest.
Perhaps because there was no underwear, it felt a bit unruly.
It was only natural for something that hadn’t been there before to feel awkward.
And then, my… groin.
“……This is also a problem.”
Perhaps because something that *was* there had disappeared, it felt awkward in a different way than my chest.
It was truly driving me crazy.
“Underwear… I’ll have to get it out.”
I had bought underwear just in case, and it was a good thing I did.
I found the box containing the underwear and tore it open.
‘…This feels strange.’
The fact that *I* had bought women’s underwear to wear felt utterly bizarre.
I stared blankly at the underwear for a moment before snapping back to reality.
I had a lot to do today.
I didn’t have time to dwell on every little detail like this.
I tore open the packaging and turned the underwear over and over in my hands.
I had chosen the plainest design possible, simple white with no embellishments.
‘It feels a bit big, but I didn’t measure it incorrectly, did I?’
There were instructions on how to measure the size, so I had tried my best on my own, but I wasn’t sure if it would fit.
The size I measured was D-cup.
No, but even if it looked a bit big or whatever, this…
“Uh… how do I put this on….”
After struggling on my own for a long time, I finally managed to figure it out by watching a video online.
“There.”
It certainly held things in place well.
It felt a little tight, but I supposed that was how it was supposed to feel?
“As for the bottom….”
The bottom part was simple enough to just put on.
I closed my eyes tightly and slipped it on.
Standing in front of the mirror in just underwear felt strange, so I quickly backed away.
Then I put the training clothes back on over it.
It still felt awkward, but it was definitely an improvement from before.
“I’ll have to go around like this for a while.”
After observing my outfit, I took out the sneakers from the remaining box and put them on.
Now, I was truly ready to go out.
“……Phew.”
This was my first time going outside since becoming Choi Yeon-bi.
I had so many things to do, but the nervousness made it hard to recall them clearly.
I didn’t know.
Let’s just go out and think then.
****
The car dealer, Min-song.
Today, she met a rather unusual customer.
A beautiful woman, somewhat hesitant, entered the showroom.
‘She’s truly beautiful.’
Taller than herself, with fair skin.
What’s more, her long, straight black hair shimmered with a lustrous sheen.
She hadn’t bothered to dress up, yet an aura emanated from her appearance.
Slightly intimidated by that aura, Min-song awkwardly greeted her.
To be able to exude such an impression while looking so casually dressed.
Min-song had worked as a dealer for a considerable time, but she had never encountered a customer like this.
“Welcome. Do you have an appointment?”
Startled by Min-song’s question, the woman shook her head.
“Do I… need an appointment…?”
Her voice was small, filled with worry as she wondered if she had done something wrong.
Seeing her reaction, Min-song tilted her head slightly. Then, quickly realizing that the woman’s impressive exterior was all there was, she subtly scoffed inwardly.
“No, not at all. I just asked if you had an appointment. Are you here for a consultation?”
“Uh… yes. I’d like to buy a car….”
“Please come this way.”
Thus, Min-song led the woman, who seemed to lack significant social skills, to a consultation area.
And then.
“Just give me one that can be delivered today… one car.”
“Pardon?”
Min-song was utterly astonished by her words.
