episode_0001

The man ended his life at an early age. He opened his eyes in an unfamiliar space.

Someone was looking down at him. It was a deity.

The deity asked him.

“How do you wish to be born in your next life?”

…The next life?

Of course, he had thought about it. When standing on the subway on his way home from work, when lighting the lights alone after returning home, even just before falling asleep in bed.

The man had endlessly indulged in such imaginings, as anyone might.

The deity handed him a tablet PC and told him to go ahead and plan his next life.

When he turned on the tablet screen, it was packed with items, like a survey form.

“What is this?”

“The destiny of your next life. You’re to decide that destiny right here. Everything – the world you’ll be born into, the country, the race, your gender, everything.”

“I decide my own destiny? How is that possible?”

“I can do anything. I can instantly read what you’re thinking right now. …But I don’t particularly like peering into human minds.”

“Why not?”

“Because humans possess an element of unpredictability. Now, you have plenty of time, so go ahead and fill out the items.”

The man slowly looked at the screen. Before making a choice, he read a few注意事项.

The precautions were quite simple.

All items are assigned ‘Destiny Points’ and ‘Penalty Points’.

A participant’s Destiny Points are summed based on evaluations from their previous life. Penalty Points start at 0, but must not remain at the end of all selections.

Participants can purchase Destiny Points. However, a certain percentage of Penalty Points will be incurred with each purchase.

The point determination for each item is set according to societal standards of the previous life.

For example: Being born in a wealthy country consumes more Destiny Points than being born in a poor country. It also accumulates more Penalty Points.

To expend Penalty Points, you must select clear disadvantageous elements.

The precautions ended there. The man checked his Destiny Points.

The first item was world settings.

“I suppose Earth would be the most familiar…”

As he mumbled, Earth was set as the world item. But that wasn’t the end of it.

A new item, ‘World Detail Settings’, was generated, and he soon realized how much he could change the world.

He could adjust the location of continents, climate, and weather, as well as introduce new races or alter the course of history itself by varying the level of civilization development.

“Hahaha, how is it? Do you feel a little like a deity? But your Destiny Points are limited. I expect a wise choice from you.”

The man vaguely thought he would finish everything in about a day. But once he actually started, it was nothing like that.

Every topic had items, and those items led to sub-items. The man became increasingly engrossed in the dizzying number of options.

He meticulously distributed points, imagining, and imagining again. He agonized countless times over what kind of life he would live.

Naturally, he began talking to himself more often.

“Ah… I hope I don’t have to go to the military again…”

“I guess it’s okay to have this kind of ability…?”

“Should I give them more opportunities to choose… Hmm.”

Countless hours passed. The man was setting the last item, ‘Destiny’. He used up all his Penalty Points by setting the destinies and events for his newly born self and those around him.

The deity had been watching the man from the same spot since the beginning. The deity already knew.

No matter what path they take, humans are bound to pursue their greatest desires. While the form of that desire differs from person to person, it was the same for the man.

He ended up creating a scenario that led him down a path of ruin.

“You weren’t a normal human either. You have quite a lot of Destiny Points left; are you sure you don’t need to use them all?”

“I’m fine.”

“Alright. You’ll live a rather difficult life, but hang in there. You won’t remember anything in your next life anyway.”

The moment a new life begins, all memories up to that point disappear. Even the fact that his previous self met a deity and designed his destiny would be forgotten.

“Just one thing before you go.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“It’s nothing much. Just don’t blame me, no matter what fate finds you~.”

Because everything is your own choice.

With those words, the man’s vision turned white.

―――――――――――――――

20XX. Seoul, Republic of Korea.

I was looking at a photograph.

It was a group photo taken just before middle school graduation, so there were many people, but my eyes were drawn to just one person.

Myself, looking somewhat shy. And a girl looking at me as if amused by my shyness.

Seeing that, memories of my childhood suddenly came back.

Her name is Baek Jiyeon.

I, Hong Doyun, first met her in middle school.

Even now, Jiyeon has brighter energy than anyone else in the class. It’s like just being around her gives you strength…

In middle school, I was introverted and very shy.

I was reasonably tall, and above all, I received compliments on my appearance every day, but because of this personality, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything by leveraging my looks.

At the time, there was a friend named Ju Chaerin who subtly showed her affection for me and went around keeping other girls in check.

But I disliked Chaerin. The reason was simple: she was a typical bully, a delinquent, and she had many intimidating friends around her.

Every break time, she would come near my desk and set up an invisible barrier. It was to prevent me from getting close to other girls.

Even though Ju Chaerin herself couldn’t express anything to me directly.

But there was someone who crossed that boundary without a care and spoke to me.

“Doyun-ah, what’s your phone number? All we know is KakaoTalk.”

It was Baek Jiyeon. She always approached me first and greeted me warmly. She was the one who suggested we eat lunch together, and she was the one who suggested we walk home together.

Naturally, we started spending a lot of time together.

That day too, Jiyeon and I sat on the playground swing, talking endlessly.

“Doyun-ah. Do you know? When I asked for your number before, you were the only one I asked.”

“Huh…?”

“I didn’t even ask for anyone else’s number to begin with. Geez… Do I really have to spell it out for you to understand?”

She was also the one who confessed first. That’s how Jiyeon and I started dating.

After that, Ju Chaerin tried to get on my nerves, as if jealous, but I decided to ignore her.

No matter how much Chaerin threatened me by bringing along her ‘worker bees’, I wasn’t scared. I had an older sister who was a former taekwondo demonstration team member backing me up.

And so, my middle school years ended without much trouble.

Our connection with Jiyeon continued even after entering high school.

Although we were assigned to different schools, we had enough time to meet. Every day I spent with her was enjoyable.

However, the problem lay with me. Even after growing a little older since middle school, my body hadn’t shown any significant growth.

While I remained with a middle schooler’s physique, Jiyeon grew noticeably, even surpassing my height.

At some point, Jiyeon started wearing loose, oversized t-shirts often.

She said her chest had grown larger than she expected. She couldn’t help but wear baggy clothes because the attention felt burdensome.

Jiyeon comforted me, telling me not to rush when I felt deflated. Every time she hugged me, I felt like I was being comforted by my mother, and it lifted my spirits.

For reference, this was my high school friends’ reaction:

“Hey, you bastard. Your face is like the handsomest of pretty boys, so what’s the problem with your height?”

“Ugh… Hong Doyun, just go around cross-dressing!”

“Doyun cross-dressing? Ooh… not bad, actually?”

“What do you mean ‘not bad’! Stop teasing him!”

My friends were right. Being small in stature didn’t significantly impact daily life.

“…”

I checked my body in front of the mirror every day. Being small in stature was one thing, but my male organ was not.

My male organ was so small it was embarrassing to call it a penis. I hadn’t measured it.

But I naturally realized.

I hadn’t experienced the same growth as others. Would I ever be able to satisfy Jiyeon? What if she was disappointed?

At some point, I started worrying more and more about a future that hadn’t even arrived. Whenever that happened, I studied even harder, and fortunately, my academic performance remained top-tier.

Jiyeon also studied well enough not to fall behind me, so we could both aim for the same university.

My reminiscence ends here. After entering university, I suppressed all negative feelings.

Studying and going out with Jiyeon at the same university and in the same department. I decided to focus solely on that.

………….

“Hey, Hong Doyun!! Get my underwear out for me!”

“Ugh, seriously… I’m sleeping, and again…”

My older sister, Hong Doha, two years my senior, always looked for clean underwear every morning after going in to wash.

Every time, I’d find a sports bra and underwear in her room and just toss them in front of the bathroom door.

“Doyun, are you up? Shall Mom make you coffee?”

As I rubbed my sleepy eyes and was about to go back to sleep, Mom, who had finished getting ready for going out, came out of the dressing room in a suit.

“Mom, aren’t you doing yoga today?”

“Why? Do you want to see? Do you want to do yoga with Doyun?”

“No… I just asked because you always do it, but you’re not today.”

“I have an early morning meeting today. …Doyun. But Mom’s leaving, what about a goodbye kiss?”

“It’s been ages since we stopped doing that! …Fine, I’ll do it, now go.”

“Hohoho, you’re cute so it’s fine. Mom’s off!”

“Okay, have a good day.”

As Mom left the house, my sister came striding out of the bathroom with a towel around her neck.

Even if she’s careless, I wish she’d stop walking around naked in front of her younger brother.

“Where’s my underwear… Hey! This isn’t a set!”

“Just wear whatever. You’re just going to work out anyway.”

“No way. Ah, wait. Hey.”

“What?”

“How’s my body? My figure’s amazing, right?”

Doha Nuna raised her arms, emphasizing her muscles. Her physique, toned by various exercises, boasted a beautiful form, honestly breathtaking to behold.

If you thought about it, my sister was, in fact, more masculine than I was, despite me being a man. Her hair was always a short bob down to her neck, and she periodically tanned her skin.

“If you have time for that, please just leave quickly so I can get more sleep.”

“You don’t appreciate your sister’s charm. You’re way behind. Ah, I miss the old Hong Doyun, I really do. Those were the good old days…”

“You treated your brother like a toy, and now you miss it… I’m going back to sleep.”

Before falling asleep again, I imagined the daily life I had with my father.

My life with Father had become a distant memory. Still, some scenes remained as vivid as if they happened yesterday.

Father passed away when I was in elementary school. Although he’s no longer by my side, I am always grateful to him.

It’s thanks to Father that our family can still live comfortably.

While I didn’t know exactly what he did during his lifetime, I eventually developed a dream of becoming as capable as my father someday.

After sleeping a little more, I woke up feeling refreshed and finished getting ready for school.

Just then, a message came from Jiyeon. She had already arrived at school and was taking a selfie with the cherry blossom path as a backdrop.

She wore a smile as bright as the fully bloomed cherry blossoms.

Eager to see Jiyeon as soon as possible, I hastily finished getting ready and left the house.