episode_0000

There was nothing special about life.

A mundane household.

Not particularly good at anything, nor notably bad—a mediocre talent.

A conservative human archetype seeking a thoroughly stable life.

If likened to a character in a novel, without hesitation, one could say I was simply an extra, number one.

Perhaps the only remarkable aspect was that all my friends were eccentric, but apart from their personalities and tastes, they were just as ordinary as me.

Thanks to these friends, except for the fact that my daily life wasn’t boring, everything around me consisted solely of ordinary things.

“That will be 15,800 won in total.”

“Here’s my card.”

“Yes, I’ve processed your card! Have a good day!”

It was just another ordinary day.

After being discharged from the military, I briefly took up a convenience store part-time job due to missing the school enrollment season.

Having already experienced this during my freshman year, I smoothly went about my work today, utilizing that experience.

As usual, I passed the time reading novels or chatting online until it was almost time for my shift change.

“…I should go straight to bed when I get home. I feel unusually tired today.”

Was it because I stayed up late reading novels, my eyes were undeniably heavy.

After showering, lying on my bed, would I fall asleep right away?

Thinking about the softness of the bed, I idly pondered until the night shift worker arrived. After a quick handover, I dashed out of the convenience store.

“Another day coming to an end like this.”

The always enjoyable walk back home.

Gazing up at the dim night sky, I murmured softly.

Is it almost time to return to school?

Oh, I don’t want to go to school. Looking at my schedule, all classes are in the first period every day. I really feel like taking a leave of absence.

Can’t they just do online classes like during the pandemic? Why am I the only one not getting online classes that everyone else is having?

Reflecting again, the discharge timing was truly awkward.

Would I have regretted returning from the military a little earlier, lamenting under the brightly shining moon?

Muttering to myself, I suddenly noticed a shooting star near the moon.

“It’s so clear, isn’t it? Did they always look this bright?”

Although momentarily surprised by the sight, recalling the superstition that wishes made on shooting stars come true, I quickly made a wish.

“Please switch all classes to online, please.”

Due to the haste of my wish, I accidentally omitted the phrase “[recorded lectures],” but that didn’t matter much.

It was a frivolous wish, and frankly, there was no way our passionate department professors would switch to online classes, right?

Smiling wistfully at the thought of futile hope, I soon arrived at my studio apartment.

Opening the door and stepping inside, the fatigue I had been suppressing led me straight to bed.

“…I should shower and sleep.”

Though I said that, once lying down, the laziness instinct of not wanting to get up took over.

Before I knew it, my body was enveloped in thick blankets, succumbing to the drowsiness and warmth they provided, and I fell asleep.

“Goodnight…”

Well, the dust level was normal, and I barely sweated, so it shouldn’t be a problem to skip a shower until tomorrow morning.

—–

“Wake up!!! You son of a b****!!!”

“Ugh.”

A lively alarm announcing the morning.

Startled awake by the rough expletive meant to clear my mind, I groggily opened my eyes.

“Ugh…”

An hour before my shift change.

I needed to prepare quickly to make it on time, but today, my body felt unusually heavy.

…Did I not sleep properly? Even so, I’ve never found mornings this tough before.

Since starting to exercise, I experienced an unprecedented condition of being out of sorts, which made me even more bewildered.

It’s strange that my body won’t move just because I stayed up one night. It’s also unbelievable that my throat is completely parched.

“…Come to think of it, my skin is so pale. Or is it because my eyes are bleary?”

It was a peculiar morning in many ways.

Could this be a rare case of feeling under the weather?

However, despite it being an unusual day, the fact remained unchanged that I had to go to work at the convenience store, so I forced myself to get up with my heavy body.

“I should have showered last night. Ugh, even the smell is nauseating. First things first, I need to ventilate. Fresh air in the morning is always the best—”

As I spoke and pulled back the blackout curtain.

Zzziiiiing!

“Huh?”

When the sunlight touched my body, the areas it touched began to burn.

Momentarily experiencing cognitive dissonance, I slapped the burning arm, but what I soon felt was a terrible scorching pain.

I screamed and quickly covered the sunlight with the blackout curtain.

“Ah-ah-ah-ahhh!!! Ugh… Ugh…”

As the sunlight disappeared from the room, the burning arm miraculously returned to normal.

Despite its burning momentum, it seemed too unscathed compared to before, making me wonder if what just happened was a dream.

But judging by the vivid pain I felt earlier and the acrid smell permeating the room, this was definitely not a dream.

“…What’s going on? What the hell just happened?”

A sense of dread that something was terribly wrong.

I rushed to the bathroom to check the mirror, but there…

“Why am I only wearing underwear?”

There was only one transparent figure wearing boxer briefs.

“What the…”

With trembling hands, I picked up my smartphone.

Unable to unlock it with fingerprint recognition, I unlocked the screen pattern, revealing a pile of unread KakaoTalk messages and texts.

Thinking that the world might have turned into an apocalypse overnight, I anxiously turned on the internet, where a massive emergency news headline greeted me.

[Mixed-species emergence after meteor collision, how are scientists analyzing and responding?]

“…Damn.”

It seemed like the world had gone to shit while I was asleep.

Judging by the emptiness below my waist, it seemed like I had lost my genitals in the process.

“I did wish for online classes.”

But…

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this.”

An excessively fulfilled wish.

Hoping that all of this was just a dream, I lay back down on the bed.

When I wake up again.

Everything will be back to normal as it was before.