[TS] Starting the Broadcast

It seems the treatment of hair loss was still a daunting achievement for humanity.
As soon as the market opened the next day, I liquidated that stock with tears.
The loss was bitter, but instead there was a stock that rose greatly, and I achieved 700 viewers and gained points, so I decided to endure it.
Moreover, today is a day off from broadcasting.
It wasn’t a sudden break, but something I had announced a week in advance.
“Since I’m supposed to meet Yunjin, Byeonghan, and Myeonghun all at once, well… I can’t not go out.”

Kim Yunjin, Son Byeonghan, and Park Myeonghun are all high school friends.
Yunjin and Byeonghan were in the same class in first year, and I got to know Myeonghun when we were in the same class in second year, and since all three lived in the same neighborhood, we shared a close friendship during our three years of high school.
Well, high school friendship mostly meant going to the PC room together on the way home every day to play games or read manga… but those were really enjoyable memories.
‘Ah, I want to go back to those times.’
Those days when we enjoyed ‘today’ without any worries about the future.
They say that these days, students’ suicide rates are soaring because competition is so fierce and the world has become harsh, but anyway, that’s how it was in my time.

[Are you an old fogey too, Administrator? Seeing you say ‘back in my day’.]

“Shut up!”
What an evil group interrupting the reminiscence of beautiful memories.
Anyway, I had such a tenacious connection with those guys that we even visited each other during military service.
We distanced ourselves a bit while focusing on job hunting, but that was something they understood as adults, and after getting jobs, we resumed monthly gatherings.
‘Last month I suddenly became a woman and was in a flurry… I skipped once with the excuse of being sick, but it would be awkward to do that again this time. Sigh, this is giving me a headache.’

The helper said that all my past relationships had undergone memory manipulation.
So those guys would all consider me as a friendly, easygoing ‘female friend’.
‘But what about me? Can I really treat my friends the same as before?’

The friendly gesture of hitting the back of my head, saying it’s been a long time and they’re glad to see me.
Voices exaggeratedly praising each other’s looks, saying we look even uglier after not seeing each other for a month.
The image of us roaming the streets with our arms around each other’s shoulders, drunk.
None of it seemed easy when I put myself in my current state.

[It will be fine, no need to worry too much.]

“…I know.”

The meeting time is 6 PM.
The place is our regular meat restaurant that we go to every other time when we make plans to meet.
“Whew……”
I’ve made up my mind.
Today, I’m meeting dear people I haven’t seen in a long time.

It’s ironic that the first time I’m showing off the basic makeup I’ve diligently learned over the past month is to same-sex friends.
Of course, we’re different genders right now… Anyway, after putting on a little makeup, everything became bothersome.
Honestly, it seems silly to dress up carefully for a casual meeting with my closest friends.
For that reason, I wore casual short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
And soon regretted it.
The countless gazes from men pouring down as I moved to the meeting place.
I thought it would be fine since I hadn’t touched my face yet, but the model-like transformed body line and mid’s carry power attracted attention.
‘Damn. I should have covered up more before coming out.’

[It’s too late to regret. Let’s hurry and go.]

The helper was unusually talkative today.
Anyway, as the helper said, I’ve already come this far.
I went to the bus stop, took the bus, and got off after 5 stops.

“……”

What was I so afraid of?
I recall not being able to go outside for over three days after first turning into a woman.
In a situation where my identity was bound to be confused, I was afraid that others would see me as a ‘woman’ when I encountered them.
But more than a month has already passed… and I pride myself on my heart having found considerable stability during that time.
And now that I’ve come out this far today, a sneer escapes.
Nothing had changed.
The graffiti in the corner of the bus stop that I wrote with my high school friends.
The place where the rental shop used to be, where we waited for new issues of manga we enjoyed reading every day, though it’s now gone out of business.
The old gas station, traffic lights, and street trees were all still the same.
Ah, the street trees seem to have grown a bit bigger.

“It’s still the same.”

My heart eases at the familiar sight of the street.
Humming along to the song playing from a nearby phone shop, I arrived at the meeting place before I knew it.
Checking the messenger, Byeonghan had already arrived, while Yunjin and Myeonghun hadn’t yet.

“He’s fast.”

Well, it was expected.
He was always the one who kept time promises more thoroughly than anyone else.
Knowing he was already inside, I entered the restaurant without waiting any longer.

“Welcome… Oh! It’s been a while. Why did you miss last month? Everyone else came.”

The restaurant owner greeted me warmly as soon as I entered our regular meat place.
There was no awkwardness at all, even though I, who was originally a man, had become a woman.
I knew this would happen, but it still feels a bit bitter.
But I didn’t show it and greeted him back.

“I was a bit sick the day before. And if I miss once in a while, these fools will realize how precious I am and be more careful.”

“Hahaha! You’re still the same.”

The owner laughed loudly at my joke, then gestured for me to go in quickly.
Our designated seats.
At some point, the well-prepared Byeonghan started calling the restaurant to make reservations on meeting days, and the owner gladly kept our seats empty on those days.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Entering the room, there were two tables that could seat up to 4 people, and Byeonghan, sitting in the center of the wall side, raised his hand.

“Nothing much happened?”

“Nah. Same as always.”

Byeonghan smiled, adjusting his glasses.
That overly kind guy.
Not very tall, average build, and full of smiles, this friend was surprisingly a police officer.
In fact, not just me, but among our friends, Byeonghan becoming a police officer was a mystery.

Rattle-!

“As expected, you’re fast. First place today too?”

“Hani hani, it’s been a while.”

The door opens and Yunjin and Myeonghun enter together.
Tall with a handsome face, plus a touch of slyness, that was Yunjin, and Myeonghun, befitting a fitness trainer, was of average height but quite muscular.

“Hey, I told you not to call me that.”

Where did my original name Lee Kangjun go, and how did even my real name change like this?
It’s a bitter reality, but also something that can’t be undone.
If I’m upset, all I can do is quickly gather points…

“Come on, I ordered in advance, so hurry and sit down.”

Byeonghan skillfully mediates the situation.
Myeonghun went to the opposite side and sat next to Byeonghan, and naturally, Yunjin sat next to me.
Don’t misunderstand.
‘Yunjin’ might sound like a girl’s name, but he’s a man.
And not just any man, but the closest to a playboy among my friends.

“Hani hani, seeing you after a long time, you seem to have gotten prettier.”

“You’re going to get hit if you keep that up.”

As I chat with my friends, memories manipulated by the Goddess’s power naturally flow into my mind bit by bit.
Conveniently, since the school we attended was co-ed, most of the memories were similar.
But among them, there was a very big problem.

‘This crazy Goddess. This guy confessed to me?’

For a moment, I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in shock.
Of course, there’s no way to confirm if it was ‘sincere’ because it was such a playful presentation and tone, but there was something like a confession situation in our third year of high school.
No, such a memory had emerged and was being recognized as natural in my mind.
The Goddess’s power is scary.
To implant such a horrible and grotesque memory as something natural in a person’s mind.

“Hm? Are you sick? Why is your expression like that?”

“Puhah, you still don’t know? It’s obvious. It’s because Yunjin keeps acting greasy, she’s showing extreme disgust.”

Byeonghan worrying about my shocked expression, and Myeonghun slightly missing the point but strangely hitting the mark on the ‘extreme disgust’ part… Lastly, Yunjin spoke with a hurt expression.

“How long will you ignore my sincerity… Ack!”

“Delete the photos with girls you posted in the messenger chat before you talk.”

I punished him with a powerful punch to the abdomen and started having proper conversations with my friends.
Yunjin pretended to be hurt for a while, but when it didn’t work, he quickly recovered and joined the conversation.
He just likes women too much, but fundamentally he’s a good guy.
Loyal, sociable, and takes good care of adults too.

“By the way, have you been working out lately? Your chest seems to have gotten bigger?”

“Shut up!”

Thwack-!

He seems… like a good guy.
Anyway, that’s how it is.

“Alright, the meat’s coming. Move aside a bit.”

Side dishes and meat were set up, and Byeonghan volunteered to take the tongs and scissors.
Oh my, that foolishly kind guy.
Meanwhile, Myeonghun set up things like chopsticks, and Yunjin kept throwing dirty jokes whenever he got bored.
No, are you really a good guy? Could my memory have been manipulated?

Anyway, soon the meat was grilled, and we lightly ordered 2 bottles each of soju and beer.
I’m originally a soju person, but I chose beer because I realized how weak this body is to alcohol on the first day I turned into a woman.

“Alright then, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Judging that the meat was starting to grill, everyone made a toast and clinked their first glasses refreshingly.
I asked for understanding in advance and only drank one-third.
It’s not a secret that Yunjin said ‘Putting on airs in front of friends?’ next to me and got hit in the side.

“Ah. This is the taste. About once a month, we indulge like this.”

“Take it easy. I don’t want to see you posting long messages in the messenger chat room regretting it the next day anymore.”

“Alright, you. You’re so stingy.”

For Myeonghun, who steadily manages even his eating as a fitness trainer, this gathering with friends about once a month is a chance to loosen his belt and enjoy himself for once.
That’s why he might have been more disappointed when I said I couldn’t come last month.

“Come on, eat some side dishes while you’re at it.”

Byeonghan moves grilled meat pieces one by one to the friends’ plates.
Oh my, that overly kind guy.
I seem to have become a bit sentimental seeing my friends for the first time since becoming a woman.
Is that why?
I did something I’ve never done to my friends before.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

“…Shut up, my hand’s going to fall off. Just open your mouth quickly.”

“Oh? O-okay.”

Before I knew it, I had wrapped some ssam and was feeding it to Byeonghan.
The dumbfounded looks of Myeonghun and Yunjin.
And the image of Byeonghan, surprised but opening his mouth to eat the ssam, flashes by.
Thinking they’d caught something, I slightly raise my middle finger to Myeonghun and Yunjin who were about to open their mouths with mischievous smiles.

“Isn’t the treatment too different?”

“The behavior is different, so the treatment is different too. Just shut up and eat.”

I fill Yunjin’s glass to overflowing with soju as he pouts his lips.
The atmosphere of bickering with Yunjin.
Myeonghun laughing loudly at that, and Byeonghan looking at his friends with a gentle smile on his face.
This was our daily life.
Things that happened at the gym, a drunk’s rampage at the police substation, gossip about Yunjin’s boss at the game company he works for.
Chatting happily and drinking one glass, two glasses, my vision becomes slightly blurry compared to the beginning.
Hmm… but what was it? There was something I was slightly surprised about when my friends first came in.

“Huh? Are you drunk already?”

The sight of Yunjin waving his palm in front of my eyes.
Right, that’s it.
Unlike the black hair in my memory when I was a man, Yunjin’s hair color is dyed yellow.
Don’t tell me you’ve become a golden sun after chasing women so much?
My consciousness drifts away drowsily.