Chapter 7

I remembered.

Chae-yeon was a friend named Seo Jeong-hwa.

As the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together."

Despite having no money, she had a strong sense of vanity and couldn't resist buying luxury items. Moreover, she was extremely picky about men's appearances, refusing to treat unattractive men as human beings. Both of these traits were exactly the same.

I only met Seo Jeong-hwa once.

She was a pretty woman, but a difficult one.

"Chae-yeon! Your husband is a total hit!"

At my daughter's first birthday party, Seo Jeong-hwa attended.

When Chae-yeon introduced me to her, Seo Jeong-hwa openly laughed and exclaimed "hit" right in front of me, and Chae-yeon laughed, holding her stomach.

I already knew that "hit" meant "really cheap."

'She doesn't recognize me.'

Seo Jeong-hwa didn't recognize me at all.

Indeed, my current appearance is so different that even I would have trouble adapting to it.

If I had met Seo Jeong-hwa with my old appearance, she would have insulted me for breaking up with Chae-yeon, saying that my ugly face and lack of self-awareness were to blame.

"Is your name Seo Jeong-hwa?"

"Yes! Customer! Hehe!"

I looked at her name tag and spoke.

Seo Jeong-hwa's face lit up, perhaps thinking that my transformed appearance matched her taste. She must have misunderstood my mentioning her name as a sign of interest.

But she was a woman associated with Chae-yeon.

There was no way I could have good feelings toward her.

"Seo Jeong-hwa, have you been working here for a long time?"

"Yes, customer! I've been here for a long time, so I know the store's atmosphere better than anyone! Hehe!"

In the past, Seo Jeong-hwa boasted at the birthday party that she worked at a famous department store in Seoul, but it turned out to be a complete lie.

"I'll guide you to make your shopping experience comfortable."

Seo Jeong-hwa offered to help guide me through the store with shining eyes, but there was no way I would accept. There was no reason to shop with an unpleasant feeling.

"No! I'm fine, so could you step aside?"

"Really?"

Seo Jeong-hwa looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

In the past, I had to humor her for Chae-yeon's sake, but now there was no need.

"Step aside. I want to be guided by that person."

I pointed to another employee nearby.

Unlike Seo Jeong-hwa, who smelled strongly of perfume, this employee had a moderate amount of makeup and greeted me with a bright smile when I entered the store.

"Ah, I understand."

Seo Jeong-hwa's face turned red.

Her pride was hurt by a customer refusing her guidance, but what could she do?

'Damn! She's really my type.'

Seo Jeong-hwa handed me over to the other employee and stepped back, but her eyes still darted in my direction, as she was known for being very picky about men's appearances.

"Hello, customer! I'll guide you."

I followed the employee around the store.

As a large clothing store with a good cost-performance ratio, it was quite convenient for shopping. The quick-witted employee guided me appropriately, allowing me to have a satisfying shopping experience.

"Please take off the tags after trying these on."

"Understood, customer!"

I changed into blue jeans and a white T-shirt.

I put on black sneakers.

'They suit me well.'

I looked at myself in the mirror after coming out of the fitting room.

Now, no matter what I wore, I could pull it off.

With my impressive appearance, even a simple outfit looked sophisticated.

"Wow! You really look great, customer!"

"Thank you."

The employee who guided me looked impressed.

Other employees also stared with their mouths open.

But Seo Jeong-hwa, still harboring resentment over being refused, looked at me with a sour expression.

"Customer! Did you have a comfortable shopping experience?"

At that moment, the store manager approached.

Not only had I bought a lot, but the employees also showed interest in me, so she seemed intrigued.

"At first, the perfume smell was so strong that it gave me a headache. But this person guided me kindly, so I could shop comfortably."

"I'm glad you had a satisfying shopping experience. Seo Jeong-hwa, see me later."

The store manager alternated her gaze between the employee who guided me and Seo Jeong-hwa. The employee who guided me looked very happy, but Seo Jeong-hwa looked like she had eaten something bitter.

After finishing my shopping and leaving the clothing store,

Seo Jeong-hwa followed me out.

She seemed unable to tolerate my behavior in the store.

"I know you're interested in me. Why do you make me feel so embarrassed? I'll give you my phone number, so how about having a drink later?"

Still deluded, I couldn't help but laugh.

"What a funny woman. Despite being unattractive, she's trying to flirt."

"Ha! What a guy!"

I left without looking back.

Chae-yeon's friend, Seo Jeong-hwa.

In the past, she treated me with such disdain, but now that my appearance has changed, she's the one trying to flirt.

"Wow! Look at that guy!"

"The proportions are perfect!"

"He's really hot! He's amazing!"

Holding shopping bags in both hands, I stepped out onto the street, and my transformed appearance drew people's attention.

I wasn't used to it yet.

But I felt quite good.

"Since I'm already in town, should I get some ID photos taken?"

I plan to replace all my identification. Although my appearance has changed, my fingerprints are the same, so there should be no problem with new IDs.

*

I arrived home.

It was a very satisfying outing.

I got a nice haircut, bought necessary clothes and shoes, and even took ID photos.

"Is this me?"

The ID photos taken in town.

The photos turned out really well.

The photographer said they didn't do me justice, but I still couldn't believe such a handsome man was me.

Rumble-

I hadn't realized how hungry I was after shopping, but now the hunger hit me.

Thinking I would organize the items after eating, I put the shopping bags in the living room and headed to the kitchen. I saw ferns soaking in cold water.

"I should stir-fry these."

I drained the water from the ferns, put them in a pan, and added the necessary ingredients to stir-fry them.

I also fried a couple of eggs.

I brought fresh green peppers from the garden to the table with some dipping sauce and set the table.

"Home-cooked meals are the best!"

The grilled pork belly I had for breakfast was delicious, but this was also great. Perhaps because I was hungry, even simple side dishes tasted like honey.

One of the benefits of living here is the access to fresh vegetables from the garden and free mountain greens. It saves on food expenses and is good for health, a win-win situation.

"Now that I've eaten and done the dishes, I should organize the items I bought."

I took out all the clothes and underwear from the closet and drawers and piled them in one corner of the floor.

Although I didn't have many clothes, they still made a decent pile on the floor.

In an apartment, there would be a clothing collection bin, but here, I had to put them in garbage bags.

"How many bags will I need?"

I laid out a bundle of garbage bags and started putting the clothes in. Since these clothes no longer fit me, I didn't feel any regret. Instead, it felt like I was clearing out some bad past, which gave me a sense of relief.

Thud! Thud!

Next, I organized the new clothes.

These were the clothes I would wear in the future.

Thinking about how these clothes would enhance my transformed appearance, I felt excited. After neatly organizing the clothes and underwear in the closet and drawers, I went to the entrance.

"Now, let's organize the shoes."

The same went for the shoes.

I put all the shoes that didn't fit into garbage bags and organized the new hiking boots and sneakers. The house felt cleaner, perhaps due to my mood.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about those!"

The items I left in the laundry room in the morning.

I put the smelly bed sheets, blankets, and underwear into garbage bags. I initially thought about washing them but decided to throw them away. Fortunately, I had spare blankets, so it wasn't a problem.

*

Morning came.

This was my second morning here. Thanks to my transformation, not only did my appearance change significantly, but my physical strength also improved dramatically.

Whirr!

I made tomato juice by blending fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden and had toast with bread I bought in town yesterday.

Living alone is convenient because I can eat whatever I want. Doing the dishes was also easy.

Since I didn't make much of a mess, I quickly finished cleaning the kitchen. Although I was unemployed, I enjoyed maintaining a regular lifestyle. I planned to check the garden and go up the mountain, so I went outside.

"Very comfortable."

I put on the hiking boots I bought yesterday.

I bought them to wear when climbing the mountain, and they felt very comfortable and good on my feet.

I checked the crops in the garden.

The fresh morning air made the crops grow very well.

"I'll dig up the potatoes first."

The potatoes were currently in bloom and could be harvested in June, but sweet potatoes would be better to dig up in the fall. The corn was about knee-high but would grow quickly, making it good to harvest in the summer.

Next, I checked the fruit trees.

The fruits on the trees were growing well, just like the vegetables. The peaches and plums seemed to be growing better than the apples and pears, which would be harvested in the fall.

"Should I go to the mountain now?"

I entered the mountain trail.

The air was so fresh that I couldn't help but hum a tune. After passing the entrance, I ran up the mountain.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

If I had my old body, running up the mountain like this would have been impossible. I would have quickly run out of breath and collapsed.

But my body had become incredibly strong.

"Great!"

Climbing the mountain was very exciting.

Today, I decided to explore the opposite side of the mountain from yesterday.

When I was grilling pork belly yesterday, the village chief mentioned that there was a pond with water in the mountains.

He often went fishing there with the old man who used to live here and said the fish were incredibly delicious. The village chief seemed to want to go fishing with me, just as he did with the old man. Of course, I planned to check if such a place really existed.

"Ah! Is this it?"

It seemed I had found the place the village chief mentioned.

I was surprised to find a pond in the mountains. I didn't know where the water came from, but it was large enough to be called a pond.

Plop!

I threw a stone into the water.

The water depth seemed appropriate.

The pond was quite picturesque, surrounded by white and yellow wildflowers.

"I need to get a fishing rod."

To catch fish, I needed a fishing rod.

I didn't know how many fish lived in the pond, but fishing here in the future seemed like it would be fun.

"Surely this place won't suddenly disappear like the Turtle Rock."

However, since the village chief often went fishing here with the old man, it seemed unlikely that this place would disappear like the Turtle Rock.

At that moment,

In the dense undergrowth,

Something black was wriggling.

"That's..."