Chapter 2. My Changed Body
The living room had returned to normal, as if nothing strange had ever happened.
The blue smoke that had risen to the ceiling was gone.
The Genie, several times taller than a person, was gone.
So was the bizarre light that had filled my vision.
Only an old lamp sat alone on the dining table, while the beer can I'd dropped lay on its side on the floor.
And at least on the outside, I hadn't changed either.
A forty-eight-year-old ordinary man working at a heavy industries company in Ulsan.
177 centimeters tall.
98 kilograms.
Even my protruding belly was exactly the same.
But I was no longer an ordinary person.
I now possessed a body that might be impossible to kill.
I could teleport anywhere simply by thinking about it.
And I had enough strength to lift a large ship.
"Haah..."
I dropped into a dining chair and stared at my palm.
The cut I'd made with the knife had completely disappeared.
No scar.
Not even a trace of blood.
It looked like a hand that had never been injured in the first place.
"Is this really real?"
Of course I was talking to myself.
The question was, who could I possibly tell?
I couldn't tell my wife.
I definitely couldn't tell the kids.
Seungman crossed my mind for a moment, but I immediately shook my head.
We were close, but once that bastard drank, his mouth became way too loose.
If I told him, he'd probably show up at work the next morning yelling, "Hey, my friend's a superhuman!"
Keeping it secret from everyone was the only answer.
I picked up the lamp.
It had a decent weight to it and smelled like old metal.
Strange patterns were engraved across its surface, but no matter how long I stared, I couldn't understand them.
"Bob."
I cautiously called out.
"Hey, Bob. Genie?"
Nothing answered.
Just in case, I rubbed the lamp once.
Then twice.
Three times.
Even four.
Nothing happened.
"So that's it?"
It felt strange.
The Genie had definitely granted all three wishes.
But he had failed to explain the most important part.
There was a condition that would make my abilities disappear.
And I had to figure it out myself.
"You bastard."
The curse escaped before I could stop it.
Even when you bought some cheap machine, it came with a manual.
This bastard had given me three supernatural abilities without even giving me a single page of instructions.
I didn't know when the powers would disappear.
Why they would disappear.
Or what kind of action might make them disappear.
Then a terrifying thought occurred to me.
"Don't tell me they disappear if I drink alcohol."
A chill ran down my spine.
That would be a real disaster.
Half my life was alcohol.
There were three cans of beer left in the refrigerator.
I hesitated.
Then eventually opened one.
After taking a cold sip, I looked at my palm.
Still fine.
I wanted to be sure, so I picked up the kitchen knife.
"No. This is crazy."
Even as I said that, I lightly cut the tip of my finger.
A sharp sting.
A bead of blood.
Then the wound immediately closed.
"Okay. Drinking is safe."
A sigh of relief escaped me.
"This is important."
Then my phone alarm went off.
The screen showed 4:00 a.m.
Reality crashed back into me.
Work.
"Wait. Do I seriously have to go to work now?"
I had a nearly indestructible body.
Teleportation.
Superhuman strength.
And yet I was supposed to ride the dawn bus to the factory, put on a hard hat, and carry steel plates?
It was ridiculous.
"I'm not going."
I said it firmly.
Exactly three seconds later, I changed my mind.
"No. I should probably go."
If I suddenly didn't show up, the foreman and Seungman would call me.
If a guy who had worked normally yesterday suddenly disappeared overnight, people might get suspicious.
And more importantly, if my wife found out, that would be even more troublesome.
In the end, I took a shower, put on my work clothes, and packed my lunch bag.
The man in the mirror looked exactly like yesterday.
Big belly.
Double chin.
Dark circles under my eyes.
My hair was slowly thinning and my skin looked dull.
I slapped my belly.
"This didn't disappear."
Then I remembered my diabetes.
If my body had recovered, maybe that had changed too.
I struggled to draw a drop of blood with the glucose meter.
The result was normal.
I checked again.
Normal.
"My diabetes is gone too."
I should have been thrilled.
Instead, I felt strangely empty.
All those years taking medicine, going to the hospital, and listening to doctors tell me to drink less...
And one rub of a lamp had ended the entire problem.
"Life really is..."
At that moment, my daughter's door opened.
"Dad?"
Startled, I quickly hid the glucose meter behind my back.
"Why are you awake?"
"Bathroom."
She rubbed her eyes as she walked out, then glanced at me.
"Dad, are you going to work today?"
"Of course."
"You look tired."
"I'm always tired."
She chuckled and entered the bathroom.
I watched her from behind for a moment.
She was the daughter who had nearly drowned yesterday.
Thinking about what could have happened if I'd been only a little slower made my heart sink.
Superpowers didn't matter in that moment.
I placed the lamp deep inside my bag.
Leaving it at home meant the kids might touch it.
My wife might find it.
But I couldn't throw it away either.
It was now both the most dangerous and valuable object in my life.
The early morning bus stop looked exactly the same as always.
Middle-aged men in work clothes.
Sleepy faces.
Cigarette smoke.
The smell of convenience-store coffee.
But today, everything around me somehow felt clearer.
Passing cars.
A dog barking in the distance.
A banner fluttering in the wind.
I could hear it all.
"Hey."
I turned.
Seungman was standing there.
He was a year younger than me, though his face looked older.
"You didn't drink yesterday?"
"I did."
"Then why does your face look fine? Usually you look half-dead."
For a moment, I felt nervous.
Then I answered casually.
"I've always been handsome."
"Bullshit."
Seungman offered me a cigarette.
I took one and lit it.
I inhaled deeply.
Strangely, I didn't cough.
My chest didn't feel tight either.
It felt less like my body was accepting the smoke and more like it simply ignored it.
"This is fine too."
"What?"
"Nothing. I said the cigarette tastes good."
Seungman narrowed his eyes.
"You're weird today."
"I've always been weird."
The bus arrived.
We sat in our usual seats.
The dawn industrial roads of Ulsan looked no different from yesterday.
But everything inside me had changed.
If I wanted, I could go to Hawaii right now.
Japan.
The Philippines.
Even the Arctic.
And if my abilities truly worked like a tardigrade's, then maybe even the deep sea.
Space was still terrifying.
Yet a man with those abilities was sitting on the commuter bus at dawn, heading for work.
"This is ridiculous."
"What is?"
"Nothing."
We arrived at the company.
I put on my hard hat and gloves and entered the work site.
The smell of iron and oil.
Welding flashes.
The endless roar of machinery.
I'd seen and heard it all for most of my life.
"Kim! Move those materials over there today."
"Yes!"
Normally, I would have cursed inside my head immediately.
The steel structure was heavy enough to wreck a man's back and wrists.
But today was different.
I placed my hand against the piece that normally took two workers to move.
Then I gave it a small lift.
Whoosh.
"Huh?"
It rose far too easily.
Like a balloon.
The coworker next to me stared with wide eyes.
"Huh? Hyung, you're lifting that alone?"
That snapped me back to reality.
Shit.
I immediately pretended it was heavy and carefully lowered it again.
"Ugh... Ah, my back. Guess I'm feeling pretty good today."
"Have you been working out lately?"
"Working out? The only thing I exercise is my drinking arm."
Fortunately, he laughed and let it go.
But cold sweat ran down my back.
I had to be careful.
Becoming a superhuman was one problem.
Making sure no one found out was an even bigger one.
Even during lunch, my body felt unbelievably light.
I didn't get sleepy after eating.
My back didn't hurt.
My knees didn't hurt.
My head felt clear.
It was wonderful.
But being this healthy almost made me feel like I wasn't myself anymore.
Then Seungman sat beside me.
"Hey, drinks tonight?"
I had planned to do more ability tests.
I wanted to go into the sea.
And I needed to research the Sinan treasure ship.
"My treat."
"I'm in."
It didn't take long to decide.
After work, we sat inside a small restaurant.
Pork belly.
Soju.
Garlic.
Ssamjang.
