Chapter 2 : Is this for real?

Hwa-Bing-Hwan. A term created by combining the first characters of hwae-gwi (regression), bing-ui (possession), and hwan-saeng (reincarnation), it’s a staple, like a bowl of gukbap (a Korean soup dish), in web novels. And I seemed to have experienced the first one, hwae-gwi (regression).

No, it’s not a joke.

It’s real.

Moreover, an unexpected additional option was attached to it.

Tingly!

This, this sensation, could it be?!

It felt almost like touching a soft marshmallow.

I quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw the mirror directly in front of me.

Normally, as a member of the East, a country of proper manners, I avoided gestures like pointing, but now, I couldn’t help it.

“Mi, mi-chan, is this for real?”

The image reflected in the mirror was so unfamiliar.

Not only had my eye level dropped noticeably, but my hair, like ebony, flowed down past my neck and to my shoulders.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

There was my translucent, glowing pale skin, large eyes, and irresistibly captivating lips.

These were things that could only be imagined.

No, where did this beautiful woman come from all of a sudden?

“Ugh!”

But it wasn’t just my imagination.

Without thinking, I pointed at the mirror, and the beauty in it mirrored my actions.

Is, is this really me?

I immediately raised my right hand and pinched my cheek.

Ouch! It hurts.

But still, I couldn’t believe it.

I turned on the water and roughly washed my face.

“Phew!”

The cold water helped me feel a bit more grounded.

I lifted my head slightly and looked at the mirror again.

The beautiful woman, whom I had never seen before, blinked her long, cool-looking eyes and stared at me.

What the heck is going on?

First, I thought about reporting this… but wait, there was nowhere to report it.

The only numbers floating around in my head were 112, 119, and 111.

What could I even say if I called them?

I woke up to find that I had not only gone back three years but had also turned into a woman?

If I told someone that, they might send me straight to a psychiatric hospital.

Calm down.

I wiped my face with a towel and returned to my room, sitting on the bed.

It was hard to believe, but the electronic clock and the calendar both pointed to a date three years ago.

And my body, now a woman’s.

I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

What on earth happened to me overnight?

I tried to stay as calm as possible and reviewed my memories.

Right, what had I done yesterday?

I had spent the whole day searching for news about ‘Lucy’ on the computer.

But there was no progress, so from lunchtime, I started drinking during the day.

“Huh? What? Where did the app go… Ah, haha! Right, I deleted it. I was so mad, I just deleted it. Heh!”

Without any decent snacks, the alcohol was enough to get me pretty drunk.

I fumbled with my phone, trying to find the missing app, but failed.

Barely managing to keep my balance, I sat down in front of the computer.

Even without the app, I could just search the website directly.

• Elin is confirmed to be selling BanCell?
• Decided on the free eye decision, can’t resist, wallet open!
• The wallet note.
• (Not human, Kon)
• Elie-pyung!
• Today, the wallets of men are being emptied again.
• LOL fans gather!
• Today’s T1 vs Gen.G is an epic matchup.
• Can’t resist LOL, even in Virtual Gal.
• Make a camp for the thread guys, or we’ll flood a few pages!
• Worship them!
• Currently doing an ideal type World Cup in Virtual.
• Our PUBG champion ‘WangKo’ song World Cup.
• (Go die, Kon)
• WangKo, memo.
• To the side gallery…

After a few days of not participating in the forum, I felt strangely happy to see these familiar posts.

I smirked while skimming through the posts and then frowned.

The only one who really does their job is Bulhwang.

Mihoho keeps causing trouble, and Mayo just sits there adding nothing but a spoon—seriously, is Blue V doing everything?

And one of the crew members not only caused trouble before but is now even doing stream-sniping, sigh kkk.

(Shocked emoji!)

Damn it;;

Hey hey hey, don’t stack karma—it’ll come back to bite you later.

Hey Jutak, over here!

The dissatisfied class even nails the coffin of the dead, damn;;

Sports Dog Memo.

Though no direct usernames were mentioned, it was blatantly obvious who the stream was targeting.

“F*ck.”

Probably drunk, I couldn’t hold back my anger and jumped in.

• Bulhwang’s really doing trolling.

All they know how to do is run their mouth, and every time there’s a crew collab or joint content, they just turn on their own stream to leech views—one-trick pony.

Eh? And can’t you feel how off-putting they are? Clearly two-faced.

• “5252, I heard you quit the gallery, but you’re back? Knew it, kkk.”

• “Came back just to get a 30-day ban;; damn.”

• “Blue V does the most work and is the most popular—facts.”

• “Lucy’s stream-sniped and now they’re seeing red.”

• “Still, Blue V’s getting too much hate, and even false accusations??”

(Side-eye emoji)

But public opinion wasn’t on my side.

Blue V was the biggest in the crew and a fan favorite on PanV Gallery, so there were many defending comments.

Meanwhile, Lucy—my main—was the crew’s vocalist but had the smallest presence and was an unpopular pick on PanV.

Furious.

Three whole years.

I raised Lucy with so much care.

Not romantic feelings—think of it like raising a character in Princess Maker.

I wanted more people to recognize Lucy’s charm.

And yeah, there was some ego mixed in too.

See? My eye for talent.

I believed in Lucy even when they had just 10 viewers.

Promoted hard, donated tons, even got them a “chairman” badge.

• “Oh~ so it’s your streamer getting sniped?” [Deleted]

Whether it was Jutak or Patak, they acted fast, but I was already spamming refresh for a keyboard war.

The title of the post hit a nerve.

“F*ck.”

Like a volcano erupting, I couldn’t hold back and wrote a rage-filled post.

As if waiting for it, the post got deleted, and I was banned from PanV Gallery for 30 days.

Normally, I wouldn’t go this far.

Showing raw emotions on an anonymous forum is just stupid.

But so what?

Drunk out of my mind, I had zero self-control left.

Blind rage.

Started bombarding Jutak with messages.

• You’re wasted, go wash up and sleep.
• Unban me. Unban me. Unban me. Unban me.
• You said you’d quit the gallery—what’s this pathetic mess?

I’d been active on PanV for 2.5 years—almost an OG member, considering the gallery wasn’t even 3 years old.

I had some history with Jutak.

“Told you before, right? They’re not cut out for success. Take this chance to move on or touch grass.”

“Oooooh free Lucy! Lucy’s alive!”

“Know your limits—did you drink your brain out?”

Jutak treated me like a drunk nuisance, fueling my frustration.

My judgment wasn’t wrong.

Lucy was meant for success.

“Jutak, honestly, are you in any position to judge? Every pick of yours ends up sniped or flops—you’re the ‘reverse sicko’.

I snapped and accidentally brought up that old nickname.

Jutak once had a phase of picking streamers who’d later get into scandals or quit—earning the title “reverse sicko”.

• “Tried to go easy since you’re drunk, but you really wanna go?”
• “Y-you… psycho! You started it!”
• “Humans just don’t know when to stop.”

After that, blackout drunk—memories fuzzy.

But one thing was clear:

I argued with Jutak for hours.

And the last message stuck in my head:

“So confident? Prove it. Show me whose eye for talent’s right. Take Lucy or whatever pet project you’ve got and challenge the virtual top. Not that I wanna see another Vermillion Six trainwreck, but fine. Consider this a favor. Let’s see you succeed.”

Jutak’s sharp final message.

Wait… for real?

My hand drifted to my chest.

A firm, unfamiliar sensation.

Dizzy, my hand trailed lower—

“Eh? Gone. Seriously?!“

The emptiness between my legs.

Why did this have to make it feel real?

But it was too late.

Three years regressed, and my gender flipped.

A brutal new reality crashed over me.