I am Smart

---

My mind feels exceptionally clear. Performing multiplication in your seat has never been easier, and no matter how many times I tried again, it remained the same.

Dolls were stuck all over my body. For some reason, my face felt hot. I pushed the dolls away.

I took out the air machine next to my bed, along with an electronic pen that I hadn’t used in a while.

I opened a document full of science and math problems and chose one to read.

“……”

I felt my brain spinning faster and faster.

Before long, I grasped the structure of the problem. I understood the intention of the person who set the question.

It felt as if everything was in my hands. A sense of omnipotence.

I was familiar with this. This feeling, yes. I had often sensed it while playing Fiore these days.

Back then, I wondered what I could do to win; now, I pondered what I could do to solve this. I didn’t even need to put that thought into words.

Like before, my pen moved with a will closer to instinct than reason.

After just a few seconds of solving, I simply wrote down the correct answer. It was right.

With that, I felt assured.

My cognitive abilities, which had slightly declined, had returned.

Should I prank the viewers? Or should I play a game?

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head. Suddenly, I felt no desire for it at all. Just yesterday, it seemed I wouldn’t be able to sleep due to frustration, yet here I am, feeling strange.

I put down the air machine and took a sip from the cup.

“Ha……”

I felt a little drowsy.

Suddenly, I glanced down at my chest.

“……”

A narrow ribcage, two fat deposits resting on top, thin arms, a wide pelvis, small kneecaps.

My chest rose and fell with my breath.

From that day, everything had changed completely.

I was almost in awe of how strongly I felt this dissonance, something I hadn’t sensed until now.

I stood up for a moment and took off my shirt.

I lowered my head and blankly stared at my body.

The lower abdomen, the particularly protruding area. I placed my hands there.

There must be a uterus. A place where female hormones are secreted. The area that directly influences my mind.

The mind follows the body. The hormones secreted from the ovaries change my mood in ways that are completely different from before.

It’s certainly not a pleasant feeling. I am myself, but I am not the exact same me as before.

Am I currently inhabiting someone else’s body?

But I’m not a perfect stranger. The displayed certificates, educational background, home; they’re all just like the old me.

Yet, there are changes too. The most significant one.

I took out my phone and went to my contacts.

– Moon Si-hyun

– Lee Da-ram

Moon Si-hyun. I fixated on that name. My eyebrows knitted together.

Who is this?

I had never had a single stored contact in my phone before.

The last name and first name are similar. But unlike my name, I can’t tell the gender.

I hesitated, pondering whether or not to call him.

Until now, there hadn’t been a single contact from the other side. The other person is likely to know me well, but I have no idea who they are.

I dislike variables. If I call or text first, the decision would fall into their hands.

I didn’t want to worry about any potential problems that might arise from that. I closed my phone.

Today is a day for my part-time job. Also, the manager requested that I arrive a little earlier on my own.

Honestly, I wanted to quit right away. Now that my slightly dulled cognitive ability had fully recovered, if the aim is to earn money, tutoring would be several times better.

But giving same-day notice is impolite. I’ll work today and contact them later.

Since I have time until then, I decided to stick to my routine and jog. I must adhere to the morning routine.

After changing clothes, I stepped out into the hallway.

Immediately, sensory information rushed into my mind.

“……”

– Thud

At that moment, I felt a headache. I briefly leaned against the wall.

“……”

A pain that felt as if someone was gripping my brain tightly.

How had I forgotten? It was a familiar headache. A headache that had tormented me for the past year before my body changed.

I wondered why it had only come back now.

I took a moment to lean against the wall to collect myself.

Finally, I managed to pull myself together and entered the elevator.

My reflection appeared in the elevator mirror. It was a woman with a now familiar appearance.

However, something felt different this time.

She wore a somewhat distorted expression.

It was a face I had never seen on her before.

But familiar to my old self.

At lunchtime, Moon Si-hyun arrived at the restaurant.

As usual, people’s gazes were briefly drawn to her.

A woman sporting a name tag that read ‘Moon Si-hyun’ on her left chest. Now, anyone who had been to this restaurant a few times would know her.

With her stunning looks, proportions, oddly close distance, and impeccable manners.

With her height and charm, the men often felt intimidated and rarely asked for her number.

Even so, her oddly close distance and the strangely vacant vibe that showed through her impassive face gave men the courage to joke around or ask for her number.

…… But.

“Hey. Hurry and ask her.”

“No, damn it… You ask her first.”

“Hey. She looks a bit off today, let’s not.”

“Idiot, this time for sure I’m asking for her number.”

“…… Now that I think about it, that’s a bit much. Let’s just go.”

Today felt slightly different. The men’s instinctive radar picked it up.

The distance felt just as close. Her attitude towards guests wasn’t off-putting.

Her speech was still as formal yet gentle as usual, and her manners were quite proper. Her body posture was unusually perfect.

However, her expression seemed a bit altered.

“Haah……”

The headache continued to torment me throughout my shift.

It was hard to maintain a distorted expression.

“…… Are you okay, Unni?”

I heard Lee Da-ram’s voice from beside me.

Unlike me, Da-ram had come in for her shift in the afternoon as usual.

She had been observing me with a worried expression for a while.

“…… I’m fine.”

I nodded with effort and went to attend to a customer calling for me.

Finally, the end of my shift was near. The headache still tormented me.

Da-ram insisted on treating me to dessert and dragged me to a dessert shop. She must have been worried about me.

But what I needed was stability at home.

However, unable to refuse her strong suggestion, I was pulled into the shop.

A slice of chocolate cake was presented to me.

I hadn’t taken a bite yet. Da-ram babbled on. It felt like background noise.

My nerves began to grow increasingly sensitive. I wanted to leave and go home as soon as possible.

I found a brief pause in Da-ram’s speech and interjected.

“….. Da-ram, I’m sorry. But I’m not in the mood to eat.”

“Really?”

“…… Yeah.”

“……”

Da-ram looked at me with a displeased expression.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Unni. Did you know that I’m a guy?”

“……?”

I lifted my bowed head at that absurd question.

“What? No way—Ugh.”

At that moment, Da-ram shoved something into my mouth.

I felt a soft texture on my tongue.

What she had put in my mouth was her red velvet cake.

– Mumble, mumble.

I moved my jaw to swallow quickly.

– Gulp.

Bang, bang. Something exploded in my head.

“Of course, I was joking. Open your mouth.”

“No, Da-ra—Ugh.”

– Mumble, mumble.

– Gulp.

“Da-ram. I’m not joking right now. I—Ugh.”

“Yes, yes. Just finish this and then talk.”

Something was shoved back into my mouth.

I have to say I’m leaving…… but.

– Mumble.

“Alright~ Unni. A~”

“No, wait—”

…… What was I trying to say?

The cake seemed more important.

– Gulp.

For a moment, I tried to recall what I was going to say.

There was certainly some intense feeling. I felt a need to tell her something.

“……”

I can’t remember. I ended up finishing every last bit on the plate. I licked the cream off the fork.

Da-ram was resting her chin in her hand, watching me.

“Unni, do you know?”

I stammered, waiting for her to finish. She spoke.

“Unni, you just smiled for the first time today.”

It was a bright smile. For some reason, I felt shy and turned my head away.

I swallowed the cake that was in my mouth.

Da-ram offered me a spoonful of her cake.

I took it and ate.

Again, something exploded in my head.

After bidding farewell to Da-ram, I returned home.

The first thing that caught my eye was the dolls sprawled in the corner.

I usually keep them in their respective places, but this time they were all jumbled around.

It was because I had carelessly tossed them aside in the morning.

It felt a little embarrassing, to be honest.

But was it really necessary to do that? They all looked like they were suffocating.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over me.

“…… I’m sorry.”

I looked around and whispered softly to myself, petting the dolls. That wasn’t enough, so I hugged each one tightly.

I turned on the broadcast. Just this morning, I had no desire to do so, but since I returned home, I felt a strong urge to play Fiore. I wanted to see the viewers too.

What kind of wind suddenly blew in?

―――

Multiverse hello.

Hello, lololol.

Crazy beasts’ chaotic joke, hello, lol.

Lolololololololol.

Just hearing your breaths is funny.

―――

As I anticipated, the viewers began to tease me about yesterday’s events.

“…… I apologize for lying, but since the viewers keep insisting, I got anxious and that feeling came out.”

―――

Wow.

?????

Your thought process is different from regular people.

Si-hyun, don’t ever participate in debates later.

Crazy beast team.

―――

Soon enough, the teasing comments flooded in again.

But today, I’m different.

“Hehe.”

―――

?

Hehe.

Hehe.

It’s a bit cockier than usual, huh?

?

Something’s making me feel irritated.

This person is shameless for pulling that kind of stunt.

―――

I decided to take out what I had prepared in advance.

Before long, I found a site and opened it up on the screen.

―――

??

Oh.

High-Ability Person’s IQ test, whoa.

Wow.

―――

What I showed on the screen was a site for an IQ test.

I don’t know if it’s credible. But judging from the accuracy rate, I should be able to tell how I stack up.

“Everyone, do it with me. I’ll prove it with the IQ test.”

“It’s over.”

Time passed very quickly. I might be in first place, right?

Maybe due to fatigue, the headache began to creep back.

The result was loading. I closed my eyes for a moment and stretched. At the same time, I spoke.

“It wasn’t that difficult. It may have been a bit tough for the viewers.”

―――

?

Wow.

Lolololol.

Lolololololololol.

Wow;

Legend.

―――

Suddenly, the chat exploded in laughter. What’s up with that? Did they get some results that didn’t sit well with them?

I diverted my gaze from the chat. Then, I caught sight of my IQ score displayed in small text.

[84]

“……”

“……”

“……?”