34-33

Chapter 33 

‘The world hates only me...’ 

Kim Minji had thought this way since she was a child. 

Whether it was genetics or just her nature, she had always been chubbier than other kids. 

Both her parents were of normal weight, so why was she the only one who was fat? 

  “Piggy, piggy~” 

In elementary school, she was teased and called a pig. 

It didn’t stop there her things would go missing, or her bag would be thrown into the hallway. 

Every time, she cried. 

Because it was just too sad. 

‘...Sniff, I didn’t do anything wrong.’ 

But even crying wasn’t allowed for Kim Minji. 

  “Minji, if a girl like you cries, the other kids will dislike you even more. So stop crying, okay?” 

  “....” 

What the teacher said to her while she was crying was a huge shock. 

Those words cut deep, and from then on, she got used to quietly stifling her sobs, even when she wanted to cry. 

But even so, her tears were just a toy for the other kids. 

  “Hey! The pig is crying! I win, right?” 

  “Hey pig! Why are you crying because she’s bullying you? Do you want to get hit for real?” 

The kids would bet on who could make her cry last. 

Her parents both worked, so they only found out about the bullying in the evenings, long after school was over. 

When they found out, her parents confronted her teacher and tried everything from giving out hamburgers to her friends, but nothing worked. 

In the end, the only way to stop the bullying was for her to disappear from the school. 

So, as she waited for the day she’d transfer, she gave up on everything. 

Then, a light appeared in her life. 

  “Here comes the hero!” 

  “Eek! Who are you!?” 

  “No questions!!” 

  “Aaaah!” 

A boy she’d never seen before came and beat up her bullies. 

He was the first person to treat her kindly. 

Later, she learned the boy’s name was Ha Jungwoo, and that he’d helped her just for fun... 

‘It doesn’t matter.’ 

After that, she transferred schools, but the name “Ha Jungwoo” was engraved deep in her heart. 

She was bullied again at her new school. 

The more she was bullied, the stronger the memory of Ha Jungwoo, who’d helped her, became. 

It didn’t take long for him to go from “the first to help” to “the only one who helped.” 

Then, she met him again when she entered high school. 

Getting into the same high school as him was pure coincidence. 

No, it was possible because of effort disguised as coincidence. 

She stalked Ha Jungwoo’s social media, checked out his close friends, and deduced which high school he’d likely attend. 

So she applied to the same school, just to see him again. 

And it worked. 

“Ah, hi? How have you been? It’s been a while... D-do you remember me...?” 

“Ah, of course I remember you... haha.” 

Their conversation went well. 

To him, she was just a random pebble on the street he might not remember her name, but that didn’t matter to her. 

‘Jungwoo remembered me....’ 

If he remembered her, it meant she had a place in his heart. 

And to her, that meant he was interested in her. 

“Um, d-do you want to eat lunch with me today...?” 

Maybe that’s why, unlike usual, she decided to take a step forward. 

But the answer was a rejection. 

She wasn’t discouraged. She didn’t expect it to work right away. 

Just being remembered was enough for her. 

Just as she was starting to enjoy school for the first time... 

She ran into the delinquents. 

  “Hey! Look at her! Hehe” 

‘Jungwoo... why aren’t you saving me like before?’ 

She endured a week of bullying. 

Compared to middle school, she was used to it, and now she had her hero, Ha Jungwoo. 

But he was too busy pretending not to know her. 

‘...Have you decided to abandon me too? Is that it?’ 

A month passed. 

She decided to give up. 

The “Ha Jungwoo” she remembered from the past was gone. 

‘...I’ll die.’ 

Without him, she had no reason to live. 

She’d survived hellish middle school just because he existed. In high school, just knowing she might see him gave her strength. 

But now, he was gone from her world. 

So what reason did she have to live? 

She planned to go home and end her life after school today. 

As the bullying grew worse... 

Bang! 

Her hero from the past returned. 

“Ugh, you bastard...” 

Ha Jungwoo appeared, kicking away the villain who’d bullied her. 

But even heroes can’t win against a mob. 

Ha Jungwoo was beaten unconscious by the delinquents. 

And she couldn’t do anything but watch. 

Did she feel despair seeing her hero fall? 

No, 

What she felt was closer to ecstasy. 

‘You’re becoming like me, Jungwoo.’ 

Ha Jungwoo was now marked by the delinquents. 

Now, her former hero would roll in the mud with her, and their love would blossom in the dirt. 

It was the only way she could have him. 

She knew, from the way girls talked, that Ha Jungwoo was popular. 

And she knew he’d never choose her over the other girls. 

So she was happy to see him get beaten. 

She thought that suffering together would create a bond, and maybe even love. 

But she was wrong. 

“...Hey, don’t you have any conscience?” 

“H-huh?” 

“I mean, shouldn’t you at least have gone with him to the nurse’s office?” 

“....” 

Even a weakened hero was still a hero. 

No matter how much you roll in the mud, or get trampled, a person’s essence doesn’t change. 

She didn’t understand that. 

  “Seriously... you got bullied as a kid because you were like this, right?” 

  “Did you think we wouldn’t know?” 

  “If you came back after transferring, you could have at least changed your look.” 

And that was true for her, too. 

But the last thing those girls said stuck with her. 

  “At least change your appearance if you’re coming back.” 

“....” 

Even if your essence doesn’t change, people treat you differently if your appearance does. 

That’s just a fact. 

She’d seen plenty of self-pitying posts about looks on Twitter. 

She was one of them. 

Her hobby was posting pictures of her big chest on social media. 

She was what people call a “sect” (sexy content creator). 

Because she was a fat pig, she had a lot of fat in her chest, too. 

Of course, if she lost weight, her chest would shrink, but... 

With the power of photos and editing, she could look slim with a big chest. 

And as soon as she posted, horny men would flood her with comments. 

She’d laugh at the men who messaged her and start masturbating. 

In real life, men ignored and looked down on her, but online, she was a queen. 

The gap between reality and online made her more and more addicted to social media. 

One day, while wasting time on SNS... 

Mi-chan♡ 

Is the Ja-Ae Cult that’s hot on the dark web these days real? 

I heard you can reshape your body with superpowers  

Anyone know about this? 

Joined 01.02 

395 following 1.2K followers 

‘Reshape your body with superpowers?’ 

At first, she thought it was obviously a lie. 

  “At least change your appearance if you’re coming back.” 

But after hearing that, she knew she had to at least try. 

The “Ha Jungwoo” she wanted was someone who shined even while stuck in the mud, 

So if she wanted to have him, she had to do something too. 

‘Ja-Ae Cult...’ 

She’d basically lived online for the last four years. 

Even though she was still a student, she used her parents’ ID to sign up for adult sites. 

After spending more than ten hours searching for information... 

She decided the Ja-Ae Cult was a cult, but worth the gamble. 

She couldn’t afford real plastic surgery, and had no other options left. 

Since it was free, she thought there was nothing to lose by trying. 

So she went to the Ja-Ae Cult.