* * *
Jeong Seong-yeon, one of only five S-Rank Hunters in South Korea, was leisurely sipping coffee on the top floor of the Hunter Management Bureau.
Summoned by his mother since morning and saddled with a bothersome task, he quickly outsourced the work and was now relaxing comfortably using his authority.
Though the task was annoying, he was secretly pleased.
Because his dimwitted younger brother had become a cute younger sister.
As his mother said, the possibility of a monster stealing memories wasn't entirely nonexistent, but those doppelganger types usually steal the appearance as well, so the fact that the appearance was different significantly reduced the chances of it being a monster.
Plus, the look in his sibling's eyes when looking at him still held jealousy.
He felt sorry for his pathetic younger sibling.
A capable father recognized at a major corporation.
A mother who was famous even before retirement and still receives endless love calls from everywhere.
Up to middle school, it was alright, but entering high school, he completely went astray because of the wall that was himself, one of only five S-Rank Hunters in South Korea.
Starting with his Awakening, he created issues every year, and his sibling was ostracized, fought with classmates, and gained a reputation as a troublemaker just for being his sibling.
It was perhaps inevitable that such a sibling would shut himself in his room after graduating high school.
His parents knew this and didn't interfere much.
He was indeed a dimwitted sibling without talent, but it was true that he suffered damage because of him, so he also felt sorry.
Anyway, the Awakened ability was peculiar, even to him.
While not definitive, there are many stories that an Awakener's ability is a manifestation of their inner desires or latent nature.
His 'Fighting Spirit' was somewhat like that too.
So why did his sibling Awaken such an ability? Did he want to become a woman deep down?
He chuckled. In truth, even he didn't know his own inner self accurately.
He was merely waiting for the results of the paternity test to come out quickly, and he chuckled again upon seeing the test results.
[Probability of Paternity: 99.9%]
There was a minor difference in the sex chromosomes being XX, but he was satisfied that it was his child as he expected, so he left a simple note and headed home with light steps.
* * *
I was getting hungry, but I still couldn't get off the chair.
For now, Mom's guard had loosened a lot, and it seemed she believed me, though not completely.
, "Eung... Mom, can't I even go to the bathroom?"
"I'll go with you."
It felt strange to go to the bathroom with Mom.
Lunchtime had long passed, and now the sun was setting.
I could endure being hungry, but being forced to sit on a chair for hours was torture.
Mom, sitting across from me, was manipulating her smartphone while being wary.
As I was fidgeting and moving my body because I was tired, I heard the sound of the front door lock being pressed.
Along with the beep beep beep sounds, the door opened. Of course, it was my older brother who came in.
"I'm home."
"You worked hard. What are the results?"
My older brother glanced at me, smiled, and took out the document he was holding.
"Of course, paternity match."
Mom pinched her forehead upon seeing the results.
Finally, it was proven!
That I am Mom's son... was proven.
Before Mom could move, my older brother untied me.
"Thanks, hyung."
"It's oppa now, right."
"Just because I became a woman because of Awakening, huh? You think I'll call hyung 'oppa'?"
"You just did! Keep doing that from now on."
Shibal, no way in hell I'm calling him that.
"Mother, I'll take her to register as an Awakener tomorrow."
"Alright. So it is Su-hyun... I'm sorry."
"No, I understand. It's sudden, since she changed like this."
Mom finally hugged me.
"I'm really sorry."
Suddenly, tears seemed to well up, and I couldn't hold it back. Once the tears started, they didn't stop easily, and I could only calm down after crying my heart out in Mom's arms.
What came next was embarrassment.
A 20-year-old man crying like this over something so trivial, and then my older brother lifted me up.
"Alright, alright, Mother, you prepare dinner, and Su-hyun, go to your room and change your clothes."
"Hyung? Waaah."
As he slung me over his shoulder, my view suddenly became higher, and I couldn't balance myself. My older brother started heading to my room on the second floor.
My older brother gently sat me on the bed and said to me.
"We'll do the Awakener test and registration tomorrow."
Ah, that's right. You have to register as an Awakener as soon as possible after Awakening.
If you don't register as an Awakener and that fact becomes known after a long time, you can be branded as an illegal Awakener and treated like a villain.
Well, usually, you'd go straight to the welfare center nearby after Awakening, but I didn't think of that.
...I should have gone to register as an Awakener right away like an idiot.
"Sorry, I should have gone to register as an Awakener instead of coming home."
"No, coming home was the right thing to do. If you had gone alone, the public officials wouldn't have believed you, would they?"
Is that so? Certainly, those of the Otherworld type and Transformation type Awakeners do have slight changes in appearance, but they don't change so much that you can't recognize them at all like me.
I'm a special case.
"Is that so?"
"More importantly, are you going to be a Hunter?"
"Yeah, Shi-hyun said he Awakened too? So we decided to become Hunters together."
My older brother looks a little surprised. Well, Shi-hyun Awakened yesterday, so he wouldn't know about it.
"That guy Awakened too?"
"Yeah, he did. I drank with that guy yesterday and blacked out? But then I Awakened too, you know?"
"Okay, but are you strong enough to be a proper Hunter?"
Ugh, he's not wrong. From the lecture I heard from Mom, my stats were also unstable.
Especially in the eyes of that monster called my older brother, someone like me would look like an ant.
"What about it if I do? You got a problem with that?"
"No, I was going to support you."
That's what Shi-hyun also said. If I become a Hunter, I can live a comfortable Hunter life under my older brother's prestige. Who would mess with the sibling of an S-Rank Hunter?
"Really?"
I'm also looking forward to what kind of support he'll give me.
He'll probably support me with equipment that Hunters use, right?
"Then~ how about calling me oppa from now on instead?"
Shibal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Should I bend my pride or not! Actually, the deliberation didn't last long. Should I call him oppa!
"Never mind. You don't have to call me that. I was just kidding."
My older brother had an annoyingly smiling face.
Seeing my older brother smiling as if he had intended to tease me from the start, I got angry and threw a punch.
Of course, my older brother blocked my attack without any trouble.
"Oh? Your punch seems to have gotten stronger than before?"
Shibal. Fucking S-Rank Hunter! I took out my caught fist while getting angry.
"So what are you going to give me?"
My older brother quickly listed them as if he had already thought about it.
"First, I'll buy you new equipment and weapons once your outfit is decided, and I think you should prepare an artifact or so in case of danger, and I'll even attach a useful Hunter if you want."
"Just give me the equipment. Shi-hyun's too."
"Okay, I got it."
My older brother left the room, and I lay down on the bed as is.
There were some upsetting things, but it's okay now.
As I lay on the bed, blankly looking at the ceiling, I thought about my body.
I got up from the bed and looked for a mirror. The sight of me reflected in the mirror was still awkward.
A completely female appearance, my original height of 179cm had completely shrunk. It seemed to have shrunk by at least one head.
I took off the clothes I was wearing and looked at my chest, and there were breasts.
I honestly don't know what size they are, but it seemed like they were at least at a level that could be called big.
But it felt a little different from the breasts I knew.
Looking away from my chest and at my waist, my waist was slender, and my hips seemed bigger than when I was a man.
My height and build had definitely shrunk, but my panties fit my pelvis well.
I was curious, so I touched various parts of my body, and it was soft.
Shi-hyun's assessment was correct. Soft and squishy.
Especially the breasts, which were softer and squishier than I thought.
After enjoying my body for a while, I put on a comfortable hoodie and shorts, left the room, and headed straight to the kitchen.
Mom was cooking, and my older brother was setting the table next to her.
"Where's Dad?"
"He said he'll be late?"
"Why the question?"
I just sat at the table and waited for the food to be served.
Everything was already prepared in the first place, so there was nothing to help with... and so, the dinner of the three of us began quietly. Or rather, was it always quiet during meals?
As I was about to go up to my room after finishing the meal, Mom called out to me.
"Su-hyun, keep in mind that we're going to the department store tomorrow before registering as an Awakener."
Department store?
"Why suddenly?"
"Are you an idiot?"
My older brother suddenly insulted me.
"Since she's become a woman, doesn't she need to buy clothes and underwear again?"
Ah! That's right, I didn't even think about it. But do I have to wear women's clothes?
Do I really have to wear them?? Can't I just wear the clothes I have at home?
It's amazing that I'm only thinking about this now.
"Uh... okay, I got it."
I answered that I understood for now. My head hurt after coming into the room.
Ah, do I have to wear women's clothes now?
No, my body has become a woman, but I pull down my shorts and check my lower body.
Yeah, it's not there. The symbol of a man wasn't there.
I'm a woman now... Ack!!! I, who used to be a man, have to wear women's clothes?
At that moment, the door opened and Mom came in.
"Su-hyun?"
"Mom?"
I don't know why she came into the room, but Mom sat next to me as is.
"Son. Or rather, is it daughter now?"
"Uh... I guess?"
"You must be flustered to suddenly become a woman, right?"
That's obvious.
"Now that Su-hyun has to live as a woman, you need to know about women."
Ah... the part I've been worrying about since earlier... It was a statement that I couldn't help but face reality.
Because men and women are different.
And so, Mom's lecture, which wasn't really a lecture, talked for over an hour about the things women have to do and the things they have to be careful about.