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"Let's fight, yesterday's me."

I challenged my own reflection to a duel to the death.

I just couldn't forgive that rotten version of myself for dumping everything on me like that.

What, does being that cute make it okay?

Just thinking about all the things I now had to deal with was already giving me a headache.

I threw threatening punches at the me who'd done absolutely nothing last night and just sprawled out asleep.

—Whoosh. Whoosh.

—Whoosh. Whoosh.

"That sound is not coming from my mouth─!"

—Twinge.

"Gaaah. You coward……!"

I overextended my arm and ended up losing.

I grabbed my tweaked arm, forfeited due to injury, and shuffled out of the bathroom.

It was still early morning.

Normally I'd be lying on my electric blanket (broken thermostat) scrolling through the Gallery, but today that wasn't an option.

Because right now, I was in a state of serious bewilderment.

Something even more shocking than suddenly turning into a girl yesterday had happened.

—Rustle.

[Lee Ji-woo (李知友)]

[030922 - 4■■■■■■]

"…What on earth is going on…."

The second digit of my ID number had changed from 3 to 4.

The ID photo had also changed — now it was some unfamiliar girl who looked about my age.

What that meant was: even before I'd transformed into this girl, my registered identity had already been 'female.'

In other words, I hadn't changed into a girl — I'd just gotten a bit younger.

My hair color changed too, but that wasn't really the important part, so moving on.

Anyway, I was thoroughly confused.

A lifetime of living as a proper man had been wiped out in a single click.

If you asked me why, I'd normally be happy to explain — but I genuinely had no idea what caused it.

"Hey ChatGPT, I suddenly turned into a girl. What do I do?"

—Ding.

｢Okay, first calm down and listen carefully. The place you need to go right now isn't a clothing store, and it's not some adventure to find a wizard. Start with the ***psychiatric hospital*** nearest to your home. This is a serious matter that warrants——｣

"What do you know, you tin can."

I'd entertained the thought, just in case.

The possibility that I'd actually been a girl all along, and some kind of mental issue had made me believe I was a man my whole life.

"Our pledge. We devote our loyalty to the nation and its people……. …I remember all of it. What the heck."

But no.

The memory of serving as a non-Awakened regular soldier was crystal clear.

Even non-Awakened adult males got dragged into the military under the whole national defense obligation thing.

I briefly considered whether I might have been a female soldier who'd enlisted voluntarily, but no matter how I thought about it, that didn't seem right either.

Anyway, for whatever reason, my current identity was female.

I tried looking up my original ID number on the government website, but nothing came up.

Only female Ji-woo's ID number returned a valid result.

"And all the clothes are women's clothes too……."

I opened the old wooden wardrobe (the door never closed properly) and pulled out the clothes one by one.

A boxy tee with a cute rabbit character printed on it.

Oversized pink sweatpants.

Black dolphin shorts.

—Jingle jangle.

"Wh— eek."

……And underwear that, no matter how you looked at it, could not be called men's wear.

Every single piece was drenched in estrogen — nothing that suited the manly Lee Ji-woo.

I held a fairly large bra up to my chest to check the size, felt a wave of self-loathing, and quietly put it back down.

Why am I even curious about female Ji-woo's measurements.

I must've lost my mind for a second.

"…Though honestly, it's all pretty shabby."

It seemed female Ji-woo hadn't lived a particularly comfortable life either, just like me.

Not a single designer piece among the clothes.

What was there all had that familiar look of stuff picked up at a street market.

Well, the place was a rooftop apartment to begin with, so.

Still, judging by the ID photo, she was decent-looking — maybe her personality was the problem.

"No, wait, that's not what matters right now."

My phone had been dinging nonstop, so I unlocked it.

Messages from the convenience store manager filled the screen.

[Manager] - Ji-woo~~

[Manager] - Did you get home okay?

[Manager] - I was caught off guard yesterday too..😢😢

[Manager] - Can you believe a Gate opened right in front of our store..😱😱

[Manager] - I kept calling because I was worried about you~~

[Manager] - You know I think of you like my own daughter..😭😭😭 So glad you're safe..🥹

[Manager] - Text me when you see this..^^

This unbelievable manager.

When I was a guy, he'd give me the side-eye over a single expired item — but with female Ji-woo, he was all sweetness and light.

At least thanks to that, I wasn't on the receiving end of every curse word in a furious Chihuahua's vocabulary.

And I hadn't been fired from the convenience store job either.

Apparently female Ji-woo had it a bit easier at work than male Ji-woo did.

But I couldn't work in this body anymore.

If he put a kid this young behind the register, the manager would get hauled away.

"…Wait. Should I actually try it?"

I was tempted for a second, but I still hadn't received this month's pay, so I couldn't go through with it.

Whether the manager got arrested or not, if I didn't get paid, I was the only one losing out.

I at least needed to get paid for the hours worked this month before quitting.

Technically it was female Ji-woo who worked them, but right now I was female Ji-woo, so.

"First things first — get my paycheck."

Quitting the convenience store job was already decided.

Getting those sweet messages from the manager was already a bit much, so I figured I'd just call him directly.

Better to handle what I could handle right now so things would be less exhausting later.

—Tring……

—Tring……

—Click.

"H-hello? Manager?"

[ Not your honey~. ]

Oh god, this isn't easy.

Even though it was a voice I'd heard for years and knew well, something in my gut recoiled instinctively.

So female Ji-woo had been putting up with this every single day just to work that shift.

Sorry for misjudging you earlier.

You didn't have it easy either……

"I'm, not feeling well. So um…."

[ Not feeling well? Have you seen a doctor? ]

"I-I'll go later! Anyway, I don't think I can come in starting today. I'm sorry, but if you could transfer my pay for the hours I worked——"

[ Oh dear, you must really be under the weather. Alright, I hear you, we can talk about it later~. ]

"No, I'm quitting, Manager. For real."

[ Okay, okay, rest up until tomorrow~. Oh, I sent something to your address, so don't skip meals, at least eat that── ]

"……I'll report you if you don't pay me!"

Click. I told him clearly I wanted my paycheck, cutting through all his roundabout talk, and hung up immediately.

I genuinely felt bad for skipping the shift yesterday without a word, but I couldn't take any more of this.

That voice was like butter slathered thick over vocal cords……

"Still, good on me for not backing down and saying what needed to be said…."

I gave myself a little pat on the back, turned on the computer, and retreated to my sanctuary.

I'd braced myself when the sweet messages started, but hearing the sweet voice in person hit harder than expected.

There were still things I needed to deal with, but restoring my mental state came first.

And I could look up what happened yesterday while I was at it.

[Yesterday's Gangseo-gu Gate situation.JPG]

[Gangseo Gate final measured rank is S-class apparently? Rudus <<< how do you even clear these guys?]

[If it was a real S-class Dungeon the government would've called in S-class Hunters, the government did what governments do so take it with a grain of salt]

[Emergency text <<< any Hunter Wannabe who still believes those give this an upvote lmaooo]

[They told residents within 1 kilometer to evacuate so I wiped my computer hard drive and bolted lmao]

"Hmm."

Sure enough, the Hunter Wannabe Gallery was in an uproar too.

The Gate that had opened yesterday seemed to have caused all sorts of commotion.

Still, no Hunters had actually died, so it wasn't quite a massive trending topic.

Most people on the Hunter Wannabe Gallery were non-Awakened anyway, so they had no way of knowing what had actually gone down yesterday.

There hadn't been any official announcement yet either, apparently.

Anyway, with this I had once again protected my spiritual homeland.

If I hadn't stopped the Gate shock yesterday, some of the Gallery regulars might have died.

It would be too cruel not to even give them the chance to thank me.

I went straight to the Hunter Wannabe Gallery and started typing whatever my brain told me to.

—Clatter clatter.

[Title: Me <<< saved the world yesterday]

────────

Author: WannaBeDriedRadish

────────

: was walking down the street yesterday and suddenly a Gate just APPEARED

the Hunters who went in were getting hurt and everything was chaos;;

had no choice but to Awaken as an S-class super-gorgeous Hunter and saved everyone, took out the boss mob too

I also stopped the Gate shock

Hunter Wannabes living in Seoul should bow in my direction once a day from now on

ㄴ novel rec pls

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: it's real tho;;

ㄴ no proof = ?

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: can't post proof or I'll get blocked as an S-class Hunter sry

ㄴ confirmed non-Awakened

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: (mint-haired girl emoji going "nuh-uh?")

ㄴ super-gorgeous (hairy legs)

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: my legs are smooth tyvm ㅡㅡ

[Title: What do S-class Hunters eat for breakfast?]

────────

Author: WannaBeDriedRadish

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: I just Awakened as an S-class Hunter and I can't decide what to eat for breakfast help

ㄴ live up to your username

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: ate dried radish yesterday

ㄴ they eat eggs and Spam in the morning too

ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: Spam is so expensive;;

ㄴ (mint-haired girl emoji making an X face)

ㄴ what kind of S-class Hunter can't afford Spam

"……Now that you mention it, that's a fair point. First thing I'll buy when I make money is Spam."

After chatting with the familiar regulars for a few minutes, I actually felt a little better.

That's why I loved the Hunter Wannabe Gallery.

Everyone there was cut from the same cloth — nothing complicated, nothing awkward.

A person really does belong in their hometown.

There's a reason they say going out into the world is rough.

I'd pretty much come right out and said I'd Awakened S-class skills and was an S-class Hunter (in the making).

But as always, the Gallery people didn't take anything I said all that seriously.

Thanks to that, I could enjoy the Gallery even more than most people.

They still thought of me as a non-Awakened.

I was already looking forward to seeing their reactions when they found out I'd actually Awakened as S-class.

"Heheh."

The photos I'd taken in the Dungeon were too good to post right now, so I saved them for later.

I was only on day two of being Awakened, after all.

I decided I'd post the photos when I actually wanted to make it onto the featured board someday.

Right now wasn't a time when I could focus purely on the Gallery anyway.

"…Should be arriving about now."

Either way, what had happened yesterday was an unprecedented major event in my life.

Not only had I suddenly Awakened S-class skills, I'd encountered a Hidden Boss inside a Dungeon, and on top of that, actually found and retrieved the Dungeon core.

There was no point in brooding over events like these alone.

But going to the Hunter Association for a consultation felt like revealing my identity way too early.

A new S-class Hunter was supposed to make a surprise entrance when the world was in danger — that was the whole point.

I wasn't sure it was the right move to get tangled up with the Hunter Association or the government this soon.

—Ding dong.

"You're here."

And so I'd called someone over to my place.

The only Hunter among my very few acquaintances.

Someone who'd Awakened early and lived as a Hunter seemed like they'd know more about this kind of thing than someone who'd spent their whole life as a non-Awakened.

I was genuinely relieved that female Ji-woo had known her too.

If female Ji-woo hadn't known her, I really would have been devastated.

Even if I was now Ji-woo's younger sister instead of her older brother…… there was nothing I could do about that.

—Creak….

"C-come in."

"……!"

I rose up slightly on my tiptoes to open the front door, and my guest — Kim A-rin — immediately looked down.

Then, meeting my eyes as I looked up at her, she asked in a slightly startled voice.

"Unnie……. …You're really Ji-woo unnie?"

"Y-yeah…."

"………Wow."

That was all.

After that, Kim A-rin was too busy studying me to say anything for a while.

I couldn't find words either, still not used to being called 'unnie.'

But then.

—Grumble….

"Oh."

My stomach clock spoke up.

Kim A-rin's eyes went wide, then slowly narrowed into a long, thin line.

"……Unnie."

"Yeah?"

"You skipped breakfast."

I didn't skip it, I just haven't eaten yet.

Before I could argue, Kim A-rin had already pulled out her phone and shoved a food delivery app in my face.

"Pick something. I'll order it now. It'll come fast."

"I, it's fine……. …I don't have money."

"I'm not asking you to pay me back. Not you."

Faced with Kim A-rin's firm tone, I had no choice but to search for a Spam lunchbox and add it to the cart.

Kim A-rin glanced at the cart and tilted her head slightly, but whatever.

I wanted Spam.

I was going to be an S-class Hunter soon anyway.

"Spam……?"

"S-class Hunters eat Spam for breakfast, right? Don't they?"

"……Who told you that?"