It was a bizarre dream.
Though, inherently, what dream isn’t bizarre? Anyway.
I was somewhere inside a dream, facing a truly colossal being.
[My… child.]
The colossal being before my eyes was enveloped in countless rays of light.
The light was so intense, it was enough to dye even the vast universe white.
But despite the staggering luminosity, I didn’t find myself frowning at the light.
[From the far beyond, destruction approaches.]
What in the world was that being?
The more I tried to understand it, the more distant it felt. One must not try to understand it rashly.
Even though it evoked such a distinctly Lovecraftian feeling, I felt no sense of danger at all.
Perhaps because I understood that it had no intention of harming me.
[I have called you to prepare for it……]
No, no.
I had come to realize.
That what it gave me was nothing but love as vast as the sea.
That the emotion it held for me was nothing but compassion.
Like the feelings a flock of sheep would naturally have upon meeting their shepherd, tears naturally flowed from my eyelids.
Ah, it is You.
It is truly You who…….
[Answer the call.]
I shall gladly answer…….
[Answer it. For the nation’s……]
Wait, something’s strange.
[Answer the nation’s call……]
“You crazy fucking bastard.”
One week before enlistment.
I had the most fucked-up dream.
*
There is an inevitable fate that no able-bodied male citizen of the Republic of Korea can avoid.
The military.
That terrible hellish den of demons, an Avici where time flows slowly the moment you enter.
It was so terrible that even Jacques Offenbach, a French musician, left behind a masterpiece of the century called *Enlistment and Discharge*.
I don’t know how a 19th-century Frenchman represented the position of a 21st-century Korean male.
Anyway, so.
As for the daily routine of a man with one week left until enlistment.
“…Ugh, dammit. My head…… Did I drink too much yesterday?”
What else would I be doing? Drinking myself stupid, of course.
Actually, I can’t even remember that well; I just put a glass to my lips yesterday, that’s all.
“…Uuugh.”
My brain feels like it’s spinning from the hangover.
I can hold my liquor fairly well, so the root of the problem was that I overestimated myself and drank too much.
Should’ve kept it moderate.
But what’s the point of regretting it now?
I must’ve really knocked them back to have such a fucked-up dream yesterday.
‘…I’m sure I met a very warm and colossal being.’
It was a feeling I could never forget.
This feeling was clearly different from dream memories that evaporate as time passes.
Perhaps because I somehow felt nostalgic for that feeling, I traced back the memory of the dream.
And then I realized.
“Ah, fuck.”
The warm and colossal… no, the grotesque and repulsive being that called me was none other than the Ministry of National Defense.
“Huh.”
I suddenly felt terrible.
To think I’d have such a bullshit dream.
At least the small comfort was that I cursed out the Ministry of National Defense right before waking up.
‘…Should wash my face.’
I staggered.
Perhaps because I had just woken up and couldn’t see straight, even my gait was precarious.
I roughly rubbed my eyes and headed for the bathroom.
‘Ah shit, did these clothes stretch out or something? Why do they feel so big?’
My clothes felt bigger than usual.
But perhaps because my mind was hazy, I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Well, clothes stretching out happens from time to time.
‘…Though it’s a bit worse today.’
For some reason, my chest area felt a bit heavy too.
I felt all sorts of dissonance, but I had no room to care.
Ignoring the dissonance, I entered the bathroom.
—Splash.
I roughly splashed tap water on my eyes.
Finally, my vision returned.
And the woman in the mirror looked at me.
‘…Woman?’
I suddenly questioned myself.
In modern society, the word isn’t one you hear every day.
Especially when its meaning isn’t simply “adult female,” but rather “a beautiful person.”
But the woman in the mirror was different.
She seemed born having stolen every element necessary to be loved by people.
So much so that if one were to refer to her, the word would naturally come to mind.
‘…’
If I had been outside, I probably would’ve asked for her number.
She had the kind of appearance that would make me charge at her like a moth to a flame, even knowing she was an unattainable flower.
My gaze remained fixed on her, unable to look away.
The reason I managed to hold onto a shred of rationality was because of a question that arose.
‘…Why is she in my house?’
And why is she inside the mirror?
There’s clearly no one here but me?
‘Have I gone crazy?’
Did I go insane from never having dated for 21 years and decide to create an imaginary—no, a mirror girlfriend?
‘…Huh.’
Even I thought it was an absurd idea, so I pressed my palm to my forehead.
One of my habits when I have absurd thoughts.
And then.
—Swish.
The woman in the mirror copied my habit as well.
‘What? Does my imaginary girlfriend have a copycat fetish?’
For a moment, such a chilling thought crossed my mind, but fortunately, that misunderstanding was quickly resolved.
Though belatedly, I had realized.
That my own reflection wasn’t showing in the mirror.
‘…Huh?’
Suddenly, a hypothesis came to mind.
I couldn’t put it into words. My thoughts weren’t organized enough for that.
Instead, I decided to conduct an experiment to prove my hypothesis.
Swish, swish.
I waved my hand toward the mirror.
In response, the woman inside the mirror waved her hand at me too.
“Ah, h-hello…?”
And decisively.
The unmistakably feminine voice that burst from my own mouth.
Only then did I grasp the reality I had been delaying.
I, dammit. It seemed I had become the woman in the mirror.
“Ha.”
A surprisingly high-pitched, beautiful voice.
“Huh, hahaha.”
A hollow sigh escaped through that beautiful voice.
A sudden situation that was difficult to accept easily.
After some time passed, I decided to accept the situation for now.
To be exact, I had at least understood what had happened.
“I’ve… become some kind of woman, huh…… Fuck.”
But since that was the extent of it, my brain naturally tried to find some silver lining.
“Well, at least I didn’t turn into some kind of insect…… Being human is already a decent outcome……”
I didn’t even understand what I was saying, but I truly thought that.
Then.
Fwaaap—!
Behind my back, wings of pure white unfurled.
And.
I raised my gaze upward.
A halo glowing softly with warm light floated above my head.
“…Son of a bitch.”
It seemed the dream I had earlier wasn’t entirely a bullshit dream after all.
Or maybe I’m having a bullshit dream right now.
*
I know what kind of being I’ve become.
Wings of pure white, and even a halo.
If I couldn’t guess what species I was with such obvious visual hints, I’d just be blind.
I had become an angel.
‘Why me?’
I could proudly say I lived an ordinary life.
Born to middle-class parents, a fine young man of the Republic of Korea with a younger sister below me.
And like a fine young man of the Republic of Korea, I had no religion.
Meaning I was irreligious. I don’t know if a being called God truly exists, but I don’t have a very good impression of Him.
‘Even if I tried to have a good impression, hearing stuff like “Jesus heaven, disbelief hell” completely puts me off.’
Thus I was irreligious.
I didn’t have many points of contact with religion to begin with.
So why had I ended up in this shape and form?
“Ugh. These damned wings.”
These wings, the kind only those bird-brains would use, had so many inconveniences.
First, they took up an enormous amount of space.
In my already cramped studio apartment, bumping into things here and there had become routine.
It didn’t hurt much, but since they got caught everywhere, it was inevitably inconvenient.
‘…At least it’s my own place. If I were at my parents’ house……’
A chill naturally ran down my spine.
I didn’t know how my parents would react, but I was more worried about that crazy younger sister of mine.
That insane girl might punch me in the face calling me a thief, true to her nature as a complete psycho.
‘…Hoo, okay. Calm down.’
…Calm down my ass—no, no. I need to calm down. I need to figure out what’s going on first.
I immediately turned on my phone.
The familiar fingerprint lock screen. As I reached for it with my thumb, a sudden question arose.
‘…If my body has become this shape, would my fingerprints still be fine?’
Of course, even if the fingerprint didn’t work, it didn’t mean I couldn’t turn on my phone. I could just use the pattern.
But if the fingerprint recognition didn’t work… I would have to face a fundamental question.
Am I really me? If even my fingerprints are different, how do I prove that I’m me?
‘…Fuck.’
A strange tension flowed through me.
I gulped and pressed my thumb against it……
[Unlock complete]
As if my worries had been unfounded, it unlocked all too easily.
“Huuu……”
I let out a deep sigh.
‘…For now, I’m me.’
Even in this form, this sorry state, it seemed I was still me.
Feeling a strange sense of relief at that fact, I mindlessly sat down……
“Aack!”
My wings! They got caught in the doorframe!