episode_0003

Halo, illuminating the darkness with a brilliant light.

Despite being neatly folded, displaying my presence distinctly, with pure white wings.

And finally, even an eccentric priestly robe that seemed to belong in a subculture.

As the door opened, I fell into great confusion at the appearance of an angel.

I clearly invited a friend, so why did a stranger angel show up instead?

I don’t recall ever giving my home address to anyone other than friends or parents.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine as cold sweat trickled, prompted by a desperate survival instinct, I glanced around to see if there was a cross left in the house.

Still, if I were to demonstrate my belief in Jesus, could I possibly avoid exorcism?

Avoiding the angel approaching with a compassionate smile, I pointed to the cross hanging on the wall.

“I-I believe in God! I’m not a bad vampire!”

Tears welled up as I pleaded.

“Hahaha…!”

The angel, seeming unable to contain it any longer, burst into laughter and began rolling on the floor.

Why.

What the hell.

Why laugh like that.

Why did I stare for so long at the angel, with a chubby face, rolling on the floor?

Finally closing the door to the studio apartment, the unfamiliar angel sent a text message on their phone.

Then.

Ring!

An alert sounded from the phone placed on the table, indicating a message from someone had arrived.

“Now do you understand who I am?”

“…You damn brat.”

Upon finally realizing the identity of the other person, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite the desire to play a prank on that mocking face, I couldn’t bring myself to do so since the other person was an angel.

Whether it was due to the radiant light emitted by Halo or something else, I had completely melted away.

“They said it’s detachable, how come you couldn’t do it?”

Asking wearily, my friend finally shrunk Halo and put it in their pocket.

At that moment, I forcefully fed them a dose of honey, aiming at their head.

“You…!”

With a pained voice full of anger, the crazy person took out Halo again.

But it was fine. Seeing their face contorted in frustration, it seemed like even if they were to be exorcised now, it wouldn’t matter.

Ah, refreshing.

This is satisfying.

Watching my friend flail around, I smiled contentedly, but unfortunately, that smile didn’t last long.

Crack!

Suddenly, they dismantled Halo into two parts.

Those two parts turned into menacing knuckles.

…So, detachable meant this, damn it?

The dilemma didn’t last long.

It’s just plain stupid to show off in front of such a menacing tool.

I immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, I have committed a sin worthy of death.”

Do they not have any less lethal weapons, seriously?

—–

Perhaps it was due to the initial crazy joke, but the atmosphere had become much more relaxed.

Honestly, I felt relieved. It was daunting to figure out where to start talking.

Misery loves company.

Likewise, he didn’t need a complicated explanation for becoming a vampire, given his involvement in the large-scale interspecies mutation incident.

Without the need for digging up embarrassing pasts, simply saying, “I went to sleep and woke up as a high school girl named Hawawa” made him chuckle and nod in understanding.

Curious about what happened to the other two, I asked, but he didn’t know.

He hadn’t thought about contacting them in the three days of chaos?

Upon hearing that there had been no contact, I sarcastically remarked,

“Could it be that all four of us underwent a species change?”

“If all of us got caught up in the species conversion incident, that would be quite funny. Haha…”

I burst into laughter along with my friend at his playful remark.

It would be funny, but it probably didn’t happen.

Even applying a one-in-a-thousand chance to two people was already astronomical odds.

To think it could happen to three people as well? Unlikely.

However, provocative imaginations always bring about fun.

The probability was extremely low, but I speculated on the race that I would have become with the fellow who had turned into an angel along with other friends.

As the fun waned and my imagination dulled to some extent, I posed a question to the angel before me.

“Are there any uncomfortable aspects to being an angel?”

Curiosity arose.

Are excessive penalties only for vampires? If only vampires experience this, it seems truly sad.

With half anticipation and half worry, I awaited a response. After a moment of contemplation, the fellow finally spoke.

“Well, there are quite a few awkward issues. Since my wings are white, any foreign substances like dust show up quickly. And when I go outside, I get surrounded by religious folks, which becomes incredibly annoying.”

“What other discomforts are there?”

“I’m vulnerable to desires, I suppose? But I actually like that. Becoming an angel in flesh, I can spend happier times indulging in special fantasies.”

“…”

Though I averted my gaze without a word, the angel, who seemed to have already fallen into reverie, began spouting embarrassing words with wide eyes.

“Think about it! An angel captured by a villain and subjected to humiliation! Struggling not to succumb to pleasure, but ultimately becoming completely subjugated and humiliated by the person who owns you. Honestly, doesn’t that sound appealing?”

“Hitomi, calm down a bit, and that’s NTR, you crazy bastard.”

“It’s not NTR, it’s consensual submission! And it does sound appealing!!! How could it not? Are you even a man? Or are you impotent?”

“I’m not a man anymore. Can’t you see I’ve cut it off? I’m impotent, damn it. Shut up because it’s true.”

That’s why I said I didn’t want to meet him.

Whenever our conversation progressed, he always brought vulgar fantasies.

He was nicknamed “Holy Maiden” due to having nothing but adult fantasies in his head.

This fellow who came dressed up like a Holy Maiden in my studio apartment was one of my unique friends, to put it nicely. It would be more accurate to say he had lost his mind.

It’s amazing how this bundle of desires became an angel, really.

“Hey, Hye-eun. Stop daydreaming and show me the clothes you brought. You should try them on before nightfall.”

“…Oh, right! Sorry! I forgot the purpose of coming here!”

If left alone, the daydreaming would continue until morning.

Having experienced such situations with other friends before, I immediately reminded him of the original purpose of his visit.

I felt sorry for the excited fellow, but urgent matters were urgent.

“But Hye-eun.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Why are there no pants?”

Before getting dressed in earnest, I checked the clothing out of an unknown unease.

And lo and behold, this damned woman had only brought skirts and dresses.

“Skirt, dress, skirt, skirt… Are you serious…”

“Why, why?! You told me to bring them!”

“No, you crazy bastard! Use your brain! If a boy who has been a girl for just over a week is comfortable wearing skirts as if it’s second nature, would you think that’s normal?”

Setting aside a man who wears a skirt even after serving in the military, turning into a female in just over a week…

Even if I were his parent, I would probably intervene right away.

Not knowing what mischief he might get up to, I couldn’t just leave him be out of fear.

My goal was simply to present a decent appearance to avoid unnecessary interference.

In that sense, skirts were absolutely out of the question. Even if worn modestly, it wouldn’t be enough; if it attracted attention, what would I do?

I was grateful for his help at this late hour.

How many friends would come to help when asked in the early hours?

While it was beyond appreciative, I couldn’t let things go astray due to his trivial desires.

“I don’t dislike wearing feminine clothes like skirts or dresses.”

I earnestly requested from the guy.

“Hand over the pants.”

Quickly.

—–

“…It feels like it’s messing with my identity, damn.”

“Sigh… But doesn’t it suit me well? Honestly, I think this looks prettier than pants.”

“We don’t need pretty! As long as it’s decent, that’s all that matters!”

To cut to the chase.

In the end, I did succeed in getting the pants.

He said he would hand over the jeans if I wore only five of the clothes he brought.

Although I wanted to refuse, I was too grateful for his help late at night without hesitation.

Closing my eyes, I put on five of the clothes Hyeeun brought me.

…Perhaps because it was unfamiliar, it felt like cross-dressing.

Feeling a strange shift in my gender identity, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

After getting the pants, time had flown by, and it was already four in the morning.

Looking tired, Hyeeun was about to return to her own place, and just before leaving, she asked me a question.

“Um… By the way, what are you going to do about school?”

“What about it?”

“School starts next week. Didn’t they say last time that all classes will be face-to-face?”

It was a question about whether attending face-to-face classes would be okay in that situation.

Instead of answering, I showed him the revised class schedule.

“ What about you?”

“Me? I’m in my fourth year. I’ve fulfilled all my major credits, and I’m close to completing my graduation credits, so I signed up for all online classes.”

“Damn, I’m jealous.”

“Jealous, meaning I’ve worked really hard. Still, I’m fortunate. They said there were five classes in the first period, right? Doesn’t that give you a bit more flexibility?”

“That’s true.”

Nodding in agreement, he then asked a different question.

“But how are you going to explain this to others?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve undergone an interspecies transformation. It’s not something easy to believe.”

“Well, considering how messed up the world is, maybe if we reveal some dark past, they might believe us? Well, let’s worry about that later. We still have some time until the regular meeting, right?”

“Yeah, taking it slow should be fine.”

With a faint smile, he bid me farewell.

“See you next time, I hope things go well with your parents.”

“Why are you cracking jokes out of nowhere?”

“No, I hope you get lots of meddling interference. Well then, I’ll be off! Goodbye!”

“That darn woman.”

Before I could curse, Hyeeun closed the door and disappeared.

As I stared at the clothes he left behind, I began to worry about tomorrow.

“It’s not about explaining to my friend right now, it’s about how to convince my parents of this surreal situation tomorrow.”