Life is unpredictable.
There are certain kinds of things that happen in it that make you question how they're even possible.
Like, for example, surviving a fall from a twenty-story building, surviving the explosion of a car accident... or transmigrating into another body.
Yeah, that last one wasn't a very balanced comparison, but whoever you are, you definitely got what I meant.
And why am I talking to myself in my head like someone's reading this? Well, considering what happened to me, that opens the door to a lot of predictable possibilities I don't need to explain.
But above all else, this is my coping mechanism because yes, if it isn't clear yet, I just transmigrated.
I died, and now I'm in a body that isn't mine—well, it wasn't mine, because now it definitely is.
...
In front of a mirror inside a bathroom, he was making weird faces one after another.
"This is really my face."
His brown eyes stared through the square lenses of his glasses at the new face he now had, an Asian face.
"Sigh." Sighing, he pushed back the bangs that covered his forehead, staring at that unfamiliar face that was becoming more and more familiar as his mind processed the memories.
He then left the bathroom and looked around his new home. It was simple and small. The TV was mounted on the wall, in one corner was a counter leading to the sink and fridge, and in the other was the bathroom where he had just been.
Next to him was the door to his bedroom, which had his bed, his wardrobe, a shelf with some comics and action figures.
Walking over to the couch, he threw himself onto it completely sprawled out. "...So I really did die, huh?"
He might've seemed calm, but his mind was still struggling with all this absurdity. After all, he had literally just died.
There was no reincarnation god, no limbo or infinite white room, nothing. He just died and then opened his eyes in a completely different body.
"At least I'm not the only unlucky one." Staring blankly at the ceiling, he thought about this body's last memory before he arrived.
This guy was already dead before he got here, and he died in a really stupid way. "Who the hell dies choking on noodles?"
Yeah, that was the cause of death for this body. But that only turned out bad for him because the moment he arrived, he was the one who had to fight to get the noodles unstuck from his throat.
He had barely arrived and almost died of suffocation. Fortunately, he was more competent than the previous guy and reacted quickly, jamming his fingers down his throat and pulling the noodles out—something the other guy couldn't manage.
"Well, wherever you are, my condolences, and may you find peace. Who knows, maybe you ended up in my body just like I ended up in yours." Stepping away from the couch, he clasped his hands together in a prayer pose. "Rest in peace, Go Ho-sang, and thanks for the opportunity—even though you probably had nothing to do with it."
That was the name of the body, and now his new name: Go Ho-sang. Even without the memories slowly merging with his own, he wouldn't have needed to try hard to figure out that this was a Korean name.
This was his new reality. He was now a 25-year-old Korean man.
"Haaa..." Exhaling through his mouth, he leaned on his knees, pushing the bangs off his forehead again. "I think a cold shower will help me process all this." Without wasting time, he got up and headed straight for the bathroom.
...
Lying on the bed while messing with his phone, he was checking out the contacts list. Besides the expected numbers like police, firefighters, or emergency services, there were only the numbers of his parents and his only friend.
"What a lonely guy. Well, not surprising." In Go Ho-sang's memories, it was clear to him that this guy was a typical socially awkward introverted nerd.
Which, oddly enough, was a lot like what he used to be during his teenage years. But a humiliating rejection he got from a girl had ripped those traits right out of him.
"Maybe this transmigration wasn't that random after all." He could see several similarities between the two. Aside from that difference in personality—Go Ho-sang being who he was during his teen years—they had very similar tastes.
Both were nerds who liked comics, video games, and manga, collected action figures, and were virgins who had never dated.
The most notable difference was that while he trained, Go Ho-sang only had the interest but never actually got into it.
"Oh right, I have work tomorrow." He muttered, realizing it was already late at night and remembering he'd have to wake up early to catch the train to his job.
"But this memory fusion is really useful. With it, I'm not having an identity crisis and can accept my new reality with relative ease, though I'm definitely not a different person."
Even though the memories had emotions attached to them, which made him feel familiar with his new life so quickly, he didn't feel different. He wasn't some new entity born from the fusion of him and Go Ho-sang.
In reality, it felt more like Go Ho-sang was just another life he had lived, like he was just another version of him.
It was confusing, but overall he remained the same—just with new memories. His personality stayed the same.
"I guess I'm Go Ho-sang from now on." Once again, thanks to the memories, embracing his new identity wasn't hard, so he had no issue adopting his new Korean name. After all, his old name wouldn't really fit since he wasn't from Korea, much less Asian.
"...I hope they're doing okay, sigh."
His family was his only concern at that moment. Luckily, they weren't alone in dealing with his death. His siblings would be there for them, along with his uncles and grandparents.
As for himself? Well, he'd get by like any grown man does. Death is a constant in life, and now that he got a second chance, he was obviously going to make the most of it.
...
"Come again~." Waving with a friendly smile, Ho-sang said goodbye to the man he had just sold a phone to.
With the man returning the gesture, he waited for him to turn away before dropping the smile.
"Haaa~ I'm not cut out for this kind of job." Sighing, he put his hands in his pockets while looking around the electronics store he worked at.
This was Go Ho-sang's job—in this case, his job now—a salesman.
The problem was that this kind of job was often stressful because of how clueless some customers could be. He knew that from a friend's experience in the field, as well as from the memories he had.
"Unfortunately, beggars can't be choosers." Since this was his only source of income, there was no way he could quit—at least for now.
Even though he had a degree in his own field, getting a job without documented prior experience would be tough.
But not all hope was lost. He already had other ways to earn more money.
Exhaling through his nose, he looked behind him where a high-quality camera displayed his image on several TVs. In it, he stared at his own reflection.
A light blue polo shirt tucked into beige pants, a brown belt, white slip-on sneakers, and the store name tag hanging around his neck.
That was his usual work outfit and appearance. The only difference was that he wore a different hairstyle. Instead of letting his bangs fall over his forehead in that classic bowl-cut style, he had slicked it all back, leaving a few short strands on his forehead.
He tried to go for the Aizen hairstyle—it didn't turn out exactly the same, but it was close enough. Plus, it toned down his generic nerd look.
"Just need to pack on a few muscles and I'll go from generic nerd to athletic nerd." Smiling at his own joke, he spotted a new customer entering the store. Without wasting time, he approached, taking his hands out of his pockets and smiling professionally.
"How can I help you~?"
...
It was already late afternoon as Ho-sang sat inside a train car. His shift was over, and after spending the day dealing with people, he was finally heading home.
Casually scrolling through his social media on his phone, he was reflecting on the fact that it was 2014—that he had gone eleven years into the past—but there wasn't really anything useful he could do with that.
Unfortunately, he didn't know anything about lottery numbers or any investment he could make. At least he knew a few things about the digital market. His experience as an online seller, combined with youth market knowledge, would come in handy.
If nothing else, he could pick up a side gig as a freelance translator now that he spoke Korean—along with, of course, his actual area of expertise: graphic design.
Not seeing anything interesting on old Ho-sang's Instagram account—mostly the predictable high number of pretty girl accounts he followed—he locked the screen, his reflection appearing on the black display.
Seeing the reflection of his shirt, he couldn't help but exhale in amusement. This guy had a very peculiar taste in clothes. Most of his shirts had superhero prints or cheesy phrases.
It had been hard to find a shirt without a print. While he didn't really have anything against it, it didn't mean he had to wear them. He'd have to buy some clothes later.
At least the shorts were good, although strangely too short. The pair he was wearing now barely reached his knees.
Still, he managed to put together something decent: a plain black shirt with plain black shorts. Yep, all black. Always works, especially now that he was Asian, and as far as he knew, that was a pretty common style in Korea.
Buzz
His phone vibrated along with a notification sound. Unlocking the screen, he saw a message from his now best friend.
[Dong-sik: Ayoooo! Look at this! Picture]
Opening the image, he saw it was the Facebook profile pic of another friend of his. There was a heart emoji and the word "taken," meaning his other friend was now dating someone.
[Dong-sik: Looks like even Young-in is dating now. Damn! Lucky bastard!]
Looking at the message, Ho-sang simply typed:
[Go Ho-sang: Yeah, good for him]
[Dong-sik: What's with that lame reply? Aren't you jealous?]
'The old one definitely would be.' Adopting a half-smile, he replied:
[Go Ho-sang: Oh yes! Totally jealous!]
[Dong-sik: That's what I thought~ So, wanna hit up a strip club or something? You know, to soothe the pain~ haha~]
Ho-sang shook his head, slightly amused by the suggestion.
[Go Ho-sang: No thanks, I'm tired from work]
[Dong-sik: Tch! Your loss. Catch you later]
[Go -ho sang: See you]
Sending the last message, Ho-sang was about to put his phone in the bag on his lap when the train suddenly jolted.
It caused the man sleeping to his right to fall onto his shoulder, making him instinctively pull away.
Pushing the man back into place, he turned to the other side, about to apologize to the woman he had accidentally bumped into. He had felt his knee brush against her thigh in that brief moment.
But he stopped when he saw her face—it was scrunched up in irritation and disgust.
'What kind of look is that?' Frowning, Ho-sang didn't say a word when she spoke.
"Disgusting." She said, followed by moving away from him and focusing on her phone.
'...Disgusting?' His frown deepened. 'Who the hell says that to someone you don't even know?' While he was internally in disbelief, anger started bubbling up, along with a strong urge to slap this bitch across the face.
'...No, better let it go. Maybe she just got cheated on or something.' Regaining his composure, his frown faded before he looked away from her. 'To think I'd run into a Korean Karen.'
Casting a sideways glance at her, he didn't forget to curse her internally. 'Stupid bitch.'
...
"Uwaaaa~" Yawning lazily, Ho-sang climbed the stairs of his building with his hands in his pockets. His feet were practically dragging up the steps until he finally reached his floor.
Turning the corner to his room, he came across the sight of someone—it was a woman in formal work attire, a pencil skirt and a tight blouse.
The thing was, he recognized her. She was Ho-sang's not-so-secret crush. Apparently, this guy was super into her. He used to fantasize about her all the time.
But like any self-respecting nerd, he never had the guts to talk to her. He didn't even know her name.
And now, even though he could feel the remnants of that interest in his mind, it wasn't strong enough to influence him. So, even if she was his type and he did find her attractive, he didn't approach her. He wanted to settle in first before trying to get involved with any woman.
He might try his luck and ask her out in a few days, but for now, he'd at least greet her.
"Hello." Reaching his door, he nodded at her.
"Hm?" She seemed surprised for a moment before returning the gesture with a slight bow. "Hello."
Bowing back, he opened the door and entered without saying anything else, leaving her a bit confused.
Closing the door, Ho-sang stopped, realizing he'd forgotten to introduce himself or even ask for her name.
"Oh well, I'll do that another time." Shrugging, he headed to his room.
Meanwhile, the woman had already gone into her apartment and headed to the fridge.
Taking a sip of water, she winced slightly, pressing her forehead. "Damn headache."
Sighing tiredly, she stared into space, seemingly lost in thought before suddenly blinking. "Wait a second, since when does a guy live next door?" She murmured, realizing she'd never seen him before.
"He seems kind of nerdy." She commented to herself while already undressing as she headed to her room.