34-34

Chapter 34 

The road to the cult was long and arduous. 

Especially when passing through crowded places, she just wanted to give up and go home. 

But she endured, thinking of Ha Jungwoo. 

That was what she was best at. 

After a journey that took her four hours, she finally arrived at the Ja-Ae Cult. 

She told her parents she was going to hang out with a friend. 

When they handed her some spending money and told her to have fun, her heart ached a little. 

“...Ex-excuse me....” 

She carefully opened the door and entered, and what she saw were incredibly beautiful women. 

They were all uniquely pretty, but the one thing they had in common was their dark skin. 

“Oh my, what brings a little lady like you here?” 

One of them spoke to her. 

“Um... I... I heard you can become beautiful if you come here...” 

She stammered, barely able to answer. 

“Oh, you’ve come to the right place... But could you wait a moment? The cult leader is busy with something important right now...” 

  Haaang, so good!♡ 

Strange moans echoed from the next room. 

Kim Minji, having seen plenty of explicit videos and pictures on SNS, knew what those sounds meant. 

‘...Did I come to the wrong place...?’ 

She was seriously considering going back home when  

“Oh, kiddo? You can go in there now~” 

The woman who had spoken to her pointed to a room. 

It was the room where the moans had just come from. 

“....” 

‘...That room? Why? Am I going to get raped?’ 

She was scared. But if someone could get aroused by her body, that would be impressive in its own way. 

With a mix of fear and anticipation, she entered the room the woman had pointed to. 

Her first impression of the room was: 

There was a grotesque orc, and countless women were sprawled around the room. 

All the women had dark skin and tattoos, and the orc looked so filthy it was hard to describe almost like feces. 

“Huh? Who’s this?” 

“Jinwoo, this kid came wanting the cult leader’s salvation... What should we do?” 

The woman who’d spoken to her answered for her, as if she’d followed her in. 

“How old are you?” 

“H-high school student.” 

“...Ji-young nuna, isn’t a high schooler a bit much?” 

“Well, if Jinwoo says so, then that’s that. Kiddo, you heard? You can go now.” 

“...What?” 

Just go? 

“Didn’t you hear? You can leave now.” 

“...No, I can’t.” 

‘I can’t. After coming all this way, what do you think I came for?’ 

She couldn’t just leave with nothing. 

‘And for some reason, I feel like I’ll never get another chance if I don’t do it now.’ 

It was just intuition, but she trusted it. 

She wasn’t very bright, but she had strong animal instincts. 

“I, I have to change.... You’re the... the cult leader, right? Please, hurry and...!” 

“Kiddo.” 

A low voice beside her. 

“If you wanted to change, you should’ve started by working out. And try washing up. We’re not charity workers. I don’t know your circumstances, but you shouldn’t be coming to places like this so soon.” 

“Ji-young nuna.” 

“And calling Jinwoo a cult leader... what kind of education did you get at home? You need to get more education before coming here. Go on, go home.” 

“....” 

Drip  

Tears fell, but she kept her head bowed so no one would see. 

It was her habit. 

‘...Yeah, what am I...’ 

I should die. 

That’s the only way I’ll ever be saved in this world. 

The place she’d thought was her last hope was no different from school. 

Step, step  

Just as she was about to leave the room  

“...Wait.” 

The orc’s voice called from behind. 

He was probably the leader of this group. 

She meant to ignore him and leave, but for some reason, she couldn’t move her feet. 

“I’ve changed my mind.” 

“...Jinwoo?” 

“It’s just a whim, don’t mind it.” 

“...If that’s so.” 

“There are no exceptions.” 

That day, she was reborn. 

She returned home the next day. 

She’d said she was sleeping over at a friend’s house, but that excuse only worked for one night. 

Before going in, she looked in the mirror. 

Her old self was nowhere to be found a beautiful body stared back. 

Her fat body had turned into a healthy, attractive figure, and her face was free of acne and scars. 

All in just one day. 

If you showed before and after pictures and asked if it was the same person, everyone would say no. 

Even her parents. 

That’s how dramatic her transformation was. 

‘...How do I prove I’m me?’ 

Now that she’d changed, she worried. 

‘Should I tell them a family secret? Or...’ 

Beep beep beep beep  

She unlocked the door. 

“Our daughter’s ho... huh? Who are you...” 

Just as expected. 

But she couldn’t afford to be flustered here. 

“Mom, it’s me, Kim Minji. Your daughter.” 

“How could my daughter... Are you a friend?” 

“No, I’m Kim Minji.” 

“...Same name?” 

“Excuse me for a moment.” 

“...Who ” 

A tall, handsome man entered with Kim Minji. 

‘...Orc.’ 

At first, she couldn’t believe this was the same person as the orc. 

But then she realized she was in a similar situation herself. 

She decided he must have some kind of power. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m this kind of person.” 

Lee Jinwoo handed over his business card. 

“...Superpowered plastic surgery clinic director?” 

“We were running an opening event, and your daughter won. It was a simple procedure, and since it was our first time, we didn’t check thoroughly and didn’t realize she was underage.” 

“...What is this.” 

“It’s true! Mom, I really am Kim Minji!” 

“This... is my daughter?” 

“Yes!” 

‘Now that I look, she does resemble her...’ 

But if it was plastic surgery, why did her skin color change, and why the tattoos? 

“Could you give us a moment alone?” 

“Of course.” 

Slurp  

Lee Jinwoo sipped the tea he’d brought. 

‘Normally I wouldn’t care this much...’ 

“Jinwoo, you’re being silly.” 

“I know.” 

He saw his old self in her. 

Someone desperate for salvation. 

As a child, he’d struggled to shake off his cursed trait, 

But those days had passed, and his only school years were marred by violence and bullying. 

‘...One person like that is enough.’ 

He almost felt disappointed in himself. 

He’d vowed to save those suffering because of their looks... 

But he’d almost forgotten the cult’s principles, fooled by her age. 

‘Society’s rules are no obstacle to salvation.’ 

  ...Is that you, Minji? 

  Yes! What more do you want me to say?! 

  What did you ever do right! 

  .... 

  We’ll talk later... 

Clunk! 

“I know you’re the one who did this to my daughter. But why did you perform a procedure without parental consent? Will you take responsibility if there are side effects?” 

Slurp  

“Ma’am, there are no side effects to our procedures. In fact, your daughter will live healthier than before. My superpower makes that possible.” 

“How can I believe that?” 

“You don’t have to. But what’s certain is that your daughter will live a happier life than before.” 

“....” 

“As a parent, you’re not going to stand in the way of your child’s happiness, are you?” 

Kim Minji’s mother had a rough idea of what her school life had been like. 

She’d transferred schools because of bullying in elementary school. 

And things hadn’t changed at her new school. 

So her mother tried everything cutting snacks, making her exercise to help her lose weight... 

But for some reason, she just couldn’t slim down. 

She definitely ate less than her mother did. 

And when she asked about school, Minji would insist she was fine, but it almost brought her mother to tears. 

But there was nothing she could do for Minji. 

Plastic surgery? They couldn’t afford it. And Minji was underage who knew what side effects surgery during adolescence might have? 

Transfer? Wherever she went, it was the same. It seemed better for her to stay in a familiar place than to be thrown into a new one. 

And when Minji asked to go to a specific high school, her mother was proud. 

She’d always been so passive. 

She thought Minji was strong for enduring such hardship. 

But she’d been wrong. 

On the outside, Minji seemed fine, but inside, she was rotting away. 

As a parent, her mother had let it happen. 

The new Minji seemed happy. 

She was full of confidence. 

Her voice was strong, her gestures broad and open, as if to say, “Look at me.” 

Compared to her old, timid self, it was a huge improvement. 

“....” 

It was a situation where she should be grateful, where she should thank the doctor in front of her, but she couldn’t say a word. 

It was all too strange. 

  Heehee. 

‘...Has Minji ever smiled like that?’ 

She didn’t know what was right. Was it better to live as she was, or to live changed? 

“If, by any chance, Kim Minji suffers any harm from the procedure, we’ll take responsibility. And there’s no charge for the surgery, so don’t worry. Just think of it as good luck.” 

With that, the plastic surgeon left. 

It took Kim Minji’s parents a whole week to finally accept what had happened.