Overnight, Lee Jin-woo had gone from a hideous monster to a man for whom the term “handsome” felt like a pathetic understatement. His new face now stared back at him from the main screen of the AI Changjoja app on his phone. A character version of Lee Jin-woo. The app itself looked completely different from yesterday, which only served to further scramble Jin-woo’s already reeling mind. His phone displayed a modest one-room apartment as a backdrop, his character standing in the center, surrounded by a ring of buttons. As for the character itself… “It looks exactly the same.” It had the same face that now belonged to him. The customized appearance had been applied to both reality and the app. Eumju a moment of staring at his digital self, Jin-woo’s gaze shifted. He began to inspect the buttons framing his character, each one neatly labeled. “What is this? A life simulation? Some kind of game?” he mused aloud. He ran a hand through his hair, a thick, healthy mane he wasn’t yet used to. “Having hair… feels fucking amazing.” If he still had his old face, the words would have sounded eerie. Now, they just sounded right. An involuntary chuckle escaped him, and he stepped back into the bathroom to look at his reflection one more time. It was a face that seemed sculpted by gods, not born of mortals. Lee Jin-woo murmured softly, “I’m fucking handsome.” The chuckle deepened into a laugh. The whole situation was absurd, impossible. But so what? Who cared? He wasn’t that monster anymore. A surge of exhilaration and joy flooded through him, reigniting a hope and passion that had been extinguished for years. I feel like I can do anything. Absolutely anything. Jin-woo snatched up his phone and walked out of the bathroom, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “First, let’s figure out what this thing is.” He needed to understand the AI Changjoja app. A moment later, he was studying the screen. While he was sitting, his character remained standing. Above the character’s head, a line of text appeared: -[User: Lee Jin-woo / Age: 24 / Height: 182.8 cm / Desired Occupation: Idol / Coins: 0] Jin-woo narrowed his eyes. “This is what I saw yesterday… But what’s with the coins?” Coins? Where did they come from? There was no way to know just yet. His eyes moved again, landing on two buttons to the left of his character. -[Status] / [Enhance] Jin-woo tapped the Status button first. The screen immediately changed. -[User Lee Jin-woo’s Status] [Appearance (100/100) │ Singing Ability (2.3/100) │ Rap (1.5/100)] [Dance (0/100) │ Eloquence (5.7/100) │ Acting (0/100) │ Lyrics Writing (0/100)] [Composition (0/100) │ Arrangement (0/100)] There were a lot of stats. What did it all mean? “So… this is basically my current skill level?” It looked just like a status screen from a game. Since his desired occupation was ‘Idol,’ the app had generated a list of relevant abilities. From appearance to musical talent, everything was laid out. The most striking detail was his maxed-out Appearance stat. The rest, of course, were pathetic. Some were flat-out zero. It made sense. Of course. When the hell have I ever tried to sing or dance in my life? He returned to the main screen and tapped the Enhance button. A series of messages flashed in the center. -[Not enough coins to enhance.] -[Welcome to AI Changjoja! As a gift, you have been awarded 50 coins.] -[Enjoy your AI Changjoja experience.] The messages vanished, and the display updated. -[Coins: 50] His balance had jumped from zero to fifty. “Oh.” Before he knew it, Lee Jin-woo was completely engrossed in the app. He pressed the Enhance button again. Now that he had coins, the screen changed properly, showing the same list of stats as before, but with one difference. -[……Singing Ability (2.3/100)↑ │ Rap (1.5/100)↑] An upward-facing arrow had appeared next to each stat. As a gamer, Lee Jin-woo knew exactly what that meant. He tapped on Singing Ability without hesitation. A prompt appeared: ‘Would you like to use 1 coin to enhance Singing Ability?’ He pressed Confirm, and the change was instant. -[Singing Ability (2.4/100)↑] From 2.3 to 2.4. One coin raised a stat by 0.1. That meant ten coins for a single point, a hundred for ten points. It seemed like a paltry increase. Muttering to himself, Jin-woo looked past the numbers and considered the real question. “But… if I enhance my stats here, do they actually apply to me?” His face had changed, so why not his skills? Lee Jin-woo cleared his throat and tried singing a random tune, a famous rock ballad from over a decade ago that his late parents had loved. It was complete garbage. He was hopelessly tone-deaf. Jin-woo tilted his head. It was a familiar, depressing reality. “Seems the same. Well, yeah. It’d be weird if a 0.1 increase changed anything.” He shrugged it off and returned to the main screen to check the two buttons on the right. -[Missions (Only 5 per day)] / [Shop (Deactivated)] The Shop button was grayed out. Deactivated? It would probably open later. That left Missions. As soon as he pressed it, a long list filled the screen. -[Immu attempts available: 0/5] -[Get 3 people to ask for your number (1 coin) │ Ask 3 people for their number (1 coin) │ Get told you’re handsome at least 3 times (1 coin) │ Do 30 push-ups (1 coin) │ Do 30 sit-ups (1 coin)……] He scrolled, but the list seemed endless. Most missions offered one coin, but some gave five or even ten. “So I just have to complete these to earn coins?” Curious, he immediately dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups, having selected the ‘Do 30 push-ups’ mission. He exercised regularly, and his body was hardened from manual labor, so it was effortless. He finished in no time. A message popped up on his phone. -[Immu ‘Do 30 push-ups’ completed! 1 coin awarded!] Just like that, his balance of 49 coins was back to 50. What’s more: -[Immu attempts available: 1/5] -[Do 31 push-ups (1 coin)] The attempt counter had ticked up, and the push-up mission had evolved. Now understanding the system, Lee Jin-woo muttered, “So, I can only do five missions a day?” He went back to the main screen. Only one button remained, the largest one at the very bottom. -[AI Jadonghwa] The text was bold and prominent, suggesting it was the most important feature. He pressed it, and a new message appeared. -[Through ‘Persona Jadonghwa’ analysis, the desired outcome can be achieved. What would you like to achieve? (Only options related to the desired occupation: Idol)] -[Example: I want to learn a song perfectly.] AI Jadonghwa analysis? Desired outcome? Studying the example, Lee Jin-woo stroked his chin. “I have no idea what this means, but… let’s try that song from before.” He quickly typed the title of the ballad he had just butchered into the input field. -[AI Jadonghwa: I want to learn the song ‘Majimak Insa’ perfectly.] He hit Confirm. A loading circle spun for a moment, then a response appeared. -[AI Analysis in progress…… Analysis complete!] -[To achieve the desired result, 30 coins are required.] -[※ The number of coins required varies depending on the difficulty of the desired outcome.] Of course it wasn’t free. It cost thirty coins. “Hmm. So the price changes depending on the difficulty of the request?” Understanding the logic, Jin-woo pressed Confirm to spend the coins. The message changed. -[Using 30 coins.] -[Applying…… Application complete!] At that exact moment. “Ugh!” Jin-woo flinched. A sharp, tingling sensation had just pulsed from the smartwatch on his wrist. It was a familiar feeling. He waited, but after that initial jolt, nothing else happened. Is that it? Puzzled, he tried not to dwell on it and cleared his throat again. He was about to sing Majimak Insa, the song he had chosen to learn. He felt a flicker of nervousness. How could a brief prick on his wrist change anything? The moment the tone-deaf Lee Jin-woo opened his mouth, he felt the difference. Huh? The lyrics, which had been a faint, muddled memory, were now perfectly imprinted in his mind. A note emerged from his lips, clear and resonant. The garbage-tier singing was gone, replaced by a voice so polished no one would question if he were a professional. He barely got through the first line before his eyes widened in shock. This actually works. Composing himself, he resumed the song. His naturally deep voice was rich and distinct, with a slight, captivating rasp at the end of each phrase. What had once made his voice sound unsettling was now his greatest strength. His pitch was flawless, his emotional delivery and control of the tempo perfect. He sang through the first chorus. Then, an idea struck him. Instead of continuing with Majimak Insa, he switched to a different song. It was trash. Jin-woo stopped abruptly and let out a short, sharp laugh. “Yeah, that’s more like it.” Compared to the seasoned professional who had just sung Majimak Insa, he was back to being hopelessly tone-deaf. He tested Majimak Insa again, and the performance was just as masterful. The conclusion was obvious. I really only learned Majimak Insa. The AI Jadonghwa button was a pay-to-win feature. He could grind out stat points over time, or he could save up coins and master things instantly. Either way, slowly or quickly, the result was the same: he would become overwhelmingly powerful. A grin of pure fascination spread across Lee Jin-woo’s face. “This is fucking amazing.” He had a solid grasp of the app’s main features now. It wasn’t as complicated as he’d feared. “For now, I have to complete five missions a day. I don’t know if there are other ways to earn coins, but missions are my only option for now.” AI Jadonghwa was clearly the most expensive feature. If he wanted to use it freely, he would need to stockpile coins. “The five and ten-coin missions seem a bit tough right now, so I’ll stick to the one-coin ones. Five missions a day means five coins.” That was roughly 150 coins a month. Who knew what other events or gifts the app might have in store? Soon, Jin-woo got back to it. Time to clear the rest of his missions. -[Do 30 sit-ups (1 coin)] He knocked it out quickly. A familiar message popped up, and one coin was added to his balance. “Next, let’s see… something easy. Sing three songs, dance for five minutes.” He had already sung three songs. Did the one he learned through AI Jadonghwa not count? Tilting his head, he simply sang the national anthem three times. Thankfully, the mission completed. Next was the five-minute dance. Jin-woo began to flail around, a spastic, impromptu dance that was more enthusiasm than skill. The mission accepted it, and another coin was his. His balance was now 23. Only one mission slot remained. And it was the one that had intrigued him the most. -[Get 3 people to ask for your number (1 coin)] Getting someone to ask for his number. With this face, how hard could it be? Besides, he wanted to go outside. He wanted to experience the world with this face. He was the same person on the inside, but the unsettling monster was gone. How would people see him now? How would they react? More importantly, how would Lee Jin-woo’s life, once set to hell mode, begin to change? His mind made up, Jin-woo washed his face, applying a simple lotion. He ran a towel through his thick hair until it was half-dry. Clothes? Anything will do. Not like I have much anyway. He settled on a plain white t-shirt, jeans, and his usual sneakers. His eyes fell on the black cap and mask he always wore when he left the house. …I don’t need these anymore. How many years had it been since he’d gone out without covering his face? Eumju putting on his shoes, Lee Jin-woo took a short breath, a mix of nerves and anticipation churning in his gut. Then, without another moment’s hesitation, he opened the door and stepped outside. With a powerful and confident stride, he started walking. But his steps felt tangled and awkward. He just wasn’t used to it. He had no destination in mind. He just walked. Every time the warm sunlight touched his bare face, a shiver ran down his spine. That’s when he saw them: two young women in their early twenties, laughing as they walked out of a nearby convenience store. Jin-woo’s expression was a complicated mess of emotions. And then. “No way, but when I told him that, he just—huh?” one of the women said, her voice trailing off as she stopped dead in her tracks. Her friend froze beside her. Both of their eyes went wide as Lee Jin-woo walked past them. Naturally, their heads turned to follow him. “Did you see that? His face is insane.” “Su-super handsome. No, like, super, super, super handsome.” “Wow. Hey, you have to go talk to him for me.” One of the women suddenly broke into a sprint, running after Lee Jin-woo. Her friend called out behind her. “Jungmi!” The woman, Jungmi, skidded to a halt and whipped her head around. “What?” She quickly glanced back at Lee Jin-woo, who had stopped and was now looking at her. Their eyes met. While Jin-woo maintained a calm expression, his mind was in absolute turmoil. He had zero experience with this. What was he supposed to say if she asked for his number? Okay, she’s going to ask for my number, what do I say? ‘Thank you’? Too casual. ‘Here you go’? Too polite. Should I just play it cool and say ‘Give me your phone’…? But the woman just stood there, frozen. She couldn’t do anything but stare, completely mesmerized. Eumju a beat, Jin-woo gave her one last look before turning and continuing on his way. Her friend rushed over and shook her by the arm. “Hey! What is wrong with you? You saw him, right?” “...Yeah. No—wow. He was so insanely handsome I just… froze.” “I get it. When someone is on that celestial level, you can’t even approach them. It’s like seeing a god or something.” “Exactly. The second he looked at me, I forgot how to breathe.” …This mission might be harder than he thought. Completely unaware of their conversation, Lee Jin-woo was already moving on, a new plan forming in his mind. “Hmm, where should I go? I need a place with a lot of people. Gangnam? Seongsu? Hongdae? Maybe I’ll head to Gangnam first.” With that, he set his destination: Gangnam Station.

Chapter 2: Gods Sculpted a Face