Cypher 1 — Awakening

— BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.......

Repeating sounds of machinery woke ‘her’ up. Shifting her eyeballs from left to right, she began to mumble incoherent words to herself. Then, she had inklings that something was wrong about the room. First, the room is full of white furnitures; second, there is a lot of pain on her right arm; third, there is a certain difference with her eyesight; and fourthly, something that deeply irritates her is the repulsive smell of the place she hated. The smell of the hospital.

(Did I drink a lot of beer that I’m seeing things? I did feel my chest pained so much and that I cannot breath for a while.)

She thought before pushing herself up to a sitting position and let out a groaning sound. Indeed, there is a huge difference with her eyesight. The pain of using her right arm woke her senses more and she opened opened her eyes bigger than before. Something is off with her body. She had a bad feeling yet there is a bigger problem here, she needs to empty her bladder yet the tubes surrounding her is hindering her to move. Removing the medical apparatus that is hindering her movements, she painfully and slowly moved her shaking knees to the bathroom right next to her bed. Turning on the lights, forgetting about closing the door and undressing her underwear, she saw something she should not be seeing.

There was a long thing.

There was a thing that is not supposed to be there.

There should not be something like that to a woman.

There should not be an eggplant there.

Then why—

“WHY DO I HAVE A P%€¥%?!”

The manly voice echoed to the neighbouring rooms that it did not took minutes for medical personnel’s appeared to see the room.

The room with the name of the patient Ku Jaeyeol is staying.

His name is Ku Jaeyeol.

Currently 17 years old, 1st year in Rhyun Private High School. He was hit by a sports cart who moved passed by the red lights. He was in comatose for 3 days and was supposed to be deemed dead tomorrow but he luckily woke up for the personnel moved his body.

(Is what they say but I’m really a girl! Why?! Why?! In the first place, I could not possibly die from drinking beer! I have been drinking beer since middle school and I never believe that sickness and diseases would befall on me as I have a healthy body. My mind is strong too. What also bothers me is my body! I’m a girl damn it!)

“This is not happening! Kuu...” Gripping the sheets, he exhaled long before the doctor in front of him pat him on the shoulders.

“Jaeyeol-ssi, yo7 have been comatose for 3 days. It is normal that find your own reflection scary. According to research...” The doctor started to blabber who knows what discoveries and information he knew.

“...so be rest assured that you are not in the afterlife but is in the hospital. Ah, your mother is here to pick you up.”

There was not a sound of knocking on the door to know that his mother has arrived, it was the loud voice that alerted the doctor. As if foreseeing what would happen, the doctor immediately backed away the bedside and the mother bolted next to her son. She was a lovely woman, even the wrinkles on the face of the woman did not scarred her beauty which’s indicates her youthful days as a lively one.

“Jaeyeol-ah! I knew you would wake up! Good thing I stayed behind. How are you doing? Does your knees still hurt? Can you see me? Do you know me? Do you know Mom?”

“Ma-Madam, please calm down. Aigoo, he went into daze again.”

While the two were conversing, Jaeyeol was stupefied after seeing the woman. His body started to tremble and memories of unknown boy started to fill his mind. It was the boy who owns the body she is in. He was a shut-in boy, Ku Jaeyeol is an otaku who loves 2D girls. In the memories, he saw how Jaeyeol was forced to go out of the house and the consequences was the comatose where the original boy died. However, somehow, he was alive.

(If Ku Jaeyeol is dead, then why did I woke up as Ku Jaeyeol but I have his memories? Is it like those phantom stories wherein the soul left the body and coincidentally the body was entered by a new soul which is me? Why me of all the millions of souls? Will his soul someday come back for his body? Or is it that I am still Ku Jaeyeol and my memories as a girl is just created of my delusions? Which is which?)

“...yeol? Jaeyeol?” He perked up to the smiling woman who he recognises as Ku Jaeyeol’s mother.

“Y-Yes?” He stuttered while answering. The woman did not mind it and from her expression, she’s more of delighted to hear him answering.

“Then, please change into these clothes. I’ll be here to help you so do not get scared of your reflection again, okay?” Although she said it with fond caress, Jaeyeol frowned and took the clothes.

Without him knowing, he has been in trance for half an hour and is thinking heavily about his body. How should he call himself? Is he a he or a she or is it between that, a bi? However, what he meant is his uality and not his preferences. He was not able to find an answer even after he finished changing his clothes. When he had put on his jacket, his mother skipped in front of him and put a long thin scarf.

“I’m so glad you woke up! I don’t know what would I do if I would even loose you. Hmm, Jaeyeol-ah?” The fleeting moment sent him aback for a second. The smile and the deep words from the woman calling herself the mother of the boy Ku Jaeyeol awakened further memories of the boy.

“M-Mom...” His eyes blur and tears streaked to his face.

Was it because he missed his parents before? Or is it that he was pitying Ku Jaeyeol’s mother? He too can not say which is which as things equally weighs heavy to his heart.

They left the hospital in the afternoon. The doctor happily discharge Jaeyeol after 3 days of comatose. Although there’s supposed to be more tests, the results of his recent examinations showed that his body is is much better status that when he was before. Jaeyeol does not even need his glasses anymore so his doctor deemed his situation as a miraculous recovery.

As they left for Seoul, Jaeyeol decided to keep whatever is currently happening to him as a secret that ‘he will take to his casket’ and will continue to be ‘Jaeyeol’ for the sake of the success of his new life. They took a flight to Seoul for Gangbam-gu, of which his mother reasoned out to him that it is so he can have a fresh start.

“Remember when I told you that I bought an studio? Your sister says she wants to live in Gangnam-gu so I bought that for her but since she heard what happened to you, she encouraged me to move there as well.”

(This family is pretty well off to be able to buy a studio and to buy a first class seats. Now that I think of it, my room in the hospital is private room.)

“Have you told her that I woke up?” When he asked her, her eyes went big but she remained her innocent smile, a sign that she forgot but it does not bother her.

Ku Haneul, Jaeyeol’s sister is a cosmetic expert and is being sought by popular agencies. When talking about agencies, it means those agencies like BIGHIT, JYP, SM, etc. Jaeyeol knew all these because a few times she would bother him to try new hairstyles and make ups and show videos of people dancing. However, she is not limited to that, she is also a an ex-trainee of a certain agency before but she left after a year and half. That is as much as Jaeyeol knew from his mother who deviated the topic of their conversation. The flight took an hour to get to Seoul. As soon as they descended on the airport, the sun was going down and the place is starting to darken. Without contacting his sister, the two went to the studio. It’s visible now that his mother is planning to surprise his sister and Jayeol is not the type to spread ashes on rices* so he silently followed her although he felt bad about it.

The result?

“Ja-Jae-JAEYEOL YOU F%#^*+!!”

His sister lost consciousness afterwards. The two panicked but she woke up minutes after she heard the pizza man. Jaeyeol who received the pizza in her stead was frowned upon but she hugged him tightly despite looking like a kid next to him.

“Jaeyeol is alive! He’s real, I tell you!” Drunked Haneul phoned someone while shoving pizza to . “Who? It’s that cute brother of mine in my picture!”

“Noona... She looked ugly in this angle.”

“Shut up!” She threw the phone to him, “I’m celebrating your revival now, so stop being a !”

Jaeyeol creeped up a smile before taking a bite on his pizza. The next day, Jaeyeol woke up only to find his room surrounded by countless shopping bags. Opening one of it, he found the clothes as perfectly fitting clothes and luxurious in price too. The culprit to these was no wonder her, the lady entering his room with more bags of clothes in her hands.

“Noona, what are all these?”

“Use your eyes, okay? These are clothes I personally picked after measuring your size.” She answered while putting a new set on the floor.

“Noona... these all would not fit my closet. Anyways, since when have you taken my measurements?” When Jaeyeol asked, Haneul smirked.

“With just a glance, I can perfectly measure a persons size and anything that fits his style and people calls me the Walking Fairy Godmother! Worship me, my brother!” Haneul boasted, while showing her non-existential chest.

(It’s like boys who can measure the size of woman’s bust with just a look.)

“I’m not gonna worship such a loudmouth woman.”

Ignoring his sister, he went down and found his mother nowhere in the vicinity of the house. His sister appeared behind him and told him that their mother is out to deal with some legal documents. When he asked what documents, she did not answer as she fills with cereals.

“You’re going to work?” Jaeyeol asked when he saw her changing her clothes.

“Yup, how about you? Want to come with me?” Haneul knew his brother is a shut-in so she said this to , however, this Jaeyeol is pretty much different from before so his answer left her dumbfounded.

“Okay, drop me by a cafe.”

“Wha-What did you just say?”

“I said I drop me by a cafe.”

“Ja-Jaeyeol... Di-Did you just say okay to go out?! That Jaeyeol?!” Haneul dropped her gucci at the floor after hearing his brothers words.

“Noona...”

“Oh, my goodness! Dad in heaven, your son is finally living as a decent human being!”

It continued until Haneul received a call and she hurriedly fixed Jaeyeol’s looks. From his hair to his clothes to his shoes with the exception of makeup, Jayeol was groomed by his sister for his first ‘outdoor adventure,’ something he wished would never happen again.

When he was dropped on a coffee shop, his sister threw him a phone telling in the process to call her if something came up. He batted an eyebrow to the direction his sister’s car left before entering the coffee shop. The phone in his hand somehow lost it’s purpose as unlike before, he’s not into games anymore and the mere presence of this phone gives him a lot of headache. After all, the soul inside this body is of a 33 years old woman who only used phone with buttons and had no experience using such delicate and small phone like the one in his palm. However, as if the body remembers what the mind has forgotten, his fingers touched through the screen of his phone like a pro (which he later finds out a normal thing for teenagers in these days).

When he ordered two cappuccino, the woman in the cashier was trembling when handing our his change. It did not mind her but is that normal? Does he look scary for her to such expression? He did not know for sure. However, it did not took a while before someone came to him and handed a piece of paper. Had it been his work place, he would have politely answered him but the man before him asked if he’s interested in what?

“If you’re interested in becoming an idol, please contact me in this number. The address of the building our agency is written in my calling can card.”

(Wait, what did he say?!)

“Young man, do you want to be popular?”

“I’m not interested...” He trailed before leaving the shop.

Carrying two cups of coffee, gulped the coffees instantly while looking for any place he can look, thinking he lost the nuisance man.

Did he?

Meanwhile, a news stormed the headlines in South Korea as the popular Kpop group BTS announces that they are planning on adding one more member to the group. The reason they gave was this.

“We are proud for BTS to reach this height of popularity which they owe through their intense passion for music and their fans unfailing support. Since 2013, we have been keenly observing BTS and realised it only now that despite their high results on charts, sales and popularity in the whole while world, there still something that lacks BTS. To fill this, we have talked about these to the members of BTS and they all thought about it too. We then ended on equal grounds.” The director’s comment made the fans rage.
 

Notes.
*Don’t spread ashes to cooked rice — Korean idiom which means don’t destroy the moment