Title: **Transformation of Souls: A Tale of Identity and Acceptance**
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**1. It was a crisp morning in March 2020 when seven-year-old Ben and his mother walked into the grocery store.**
**2. Ben, a young boy with sparkling blue eyes and tousled blonde hair, wore a red hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers.**
**3. His mother, named Sarah, was a 32-year-old woman with green eyes and shoulder-length chestnut brown hair that was loosely tied into a ponytail.**
**4. Sarah stood at 5'7" and weighed around 140 pounds, her birthday falling on May 15, 1987.**
**5. Her shoe size was 7, and she moved gracefully through the aisles despite the tiring days that marked the zombie pandemic.**
**6. As they reached for canned goods, Ben looked up at Sarah's feet and curiously asked, "Mommy, will my feets be that tinee when I gro up?"**
**7. Sarah chuckled and replied, "No, sweetie, since you're a boy, your feet will grow very big. Maybe you'll have size 10 feet or even bigger!"**
**8. They continued to wearily grab food and supplies, placing them methodically into their cart.**
**9. The eerie ambiance of the store became more tense as shadows shuffled at the entrance.**
**10. "Mommy?" Ben whispered, gripping her hand tightly.**
**11. Without warning, zombies started pouring into the grocery store, their groans echoing off the shelves.**
**12. “Run, Ben!” Sarah grabbed his hand and sprinted, her heart pounding in her chest.**
**13. They zigzagged through the aisles, narrowly avoiding the outstretched hands of the undead.**
**14. Meanwhile, six Korean women appeared at the end of the aisle, their presence striking amidst the chaos.**
**15. The women, who all wore platform sandals and platform shoes, were elegantly dressed in blouses and skirts.**
**16. Ji-Eun, aged 50, wore a navy blue blouse with puffed sleeves and a knee-length black skirt. Her platform sandals were black with silver buckles.**
**17. Her nails were painted a deep crimson red, and she wore a gold wedding ring.**
**18. Soojin, aged 46, wore a pastel pink blouse with floral patterns and an A-line white skirt. Her beige platform shoes matched the blouse.**
**19. Her nails were a soft lavender, and she wore no rings.**
**20. Miji, aged 44, had on a lavender blouse with balloon sleeves and a pleated grey skirt. Her lilac platform sandals accented her outfit.**
**21. Her nails were mint green, and she wore a delicate silver wedding ring with diamond accents.**
**22. Na-Rae, aged 52, wore a teal blouse with lace details and a black pencil skirt. Her white platform sandals contrasted her dark skirt.**
**23. Her nails were painted a bright coral, and she wore a simple gold band.**
**24. Sook-Ja, aged 60, donned a dark green blouse with a frilled collar and a black A-line skirt with matching black platform shoes.**
**25. Her nails were cherry red, and she wore a pearl ring on her right hand.**
**26. Ha-Eun, aged 35, wore a bright yellow blouse with bell sleeves and a navy blue skirt. Her vibrant red platform sandals stood out.**
**27. Her nails were baby blue, and she wore a modest silver wedding ring.**
**28. Ji-Eun, Soojin, and Miji were sisters who originally hailed from Busan, South Korea.**
**29. Sook-Ja was their aunt from Incheon, and they all worked together at a salon in Los Angeles.**
**30. Ha-Eun, though not related to the other women, had been working with them at the salon for five years, making them a close-knit team.**
**31. As Ben and Sarah ran past, Ji-Eun noticed the young boy and said something softly in Korean, reaching out to grab him.**
**32. Ben tried to avoid her, but Ji-Eun’s grip was firm, and within moments, his vision went black.**
**33. When Ben awakened, he felt different, taller, and disoriented, looking down to see a navy blue blouse with puffed sleeves and a knee-length black skirt.**
**34. His skin tone was now tan, and he wore black platform sandals with silver buckles, matching Ji-Eun's appearance.**
**35. He traced his new almond-shaped eyes with his hands, noticing polished deep crimson red nails.**
**36. Ben, now in Ji-Eun's body, cried out, “M-mommy, I want to g-go home!” though his words came out in broken English.**
**37. [“Mommy, I wont to go home!”/“M-mommy, I want to g-go home!”]**
**38. He stumbled over the platform sandals, tripping and hearing a female voice, which made him gag at how girly it all was.**
**39. He tried to pace himself, running away from the zombies, but consistently tripped over the platform sandals.**
**40. Finally, he got far enough to catch his breath and see his reflection in a store window.**
**41. Ben traced his almond-shaped eyes with his new hands, giving up on trying to change them.**
**42. “I want my mommy,” he muttered, though it came out brokenly. “I wont my mommy.”**
**43. Tears streamed down his face as he played with his short female hair and noticed his polished nails.**
**44. He tried to remove the blouse and skirt but was unsuccessful, struggling to unbutton and unzip.**
**45. Ben attempted to pull off the platform sandals in five different ways—tugging, pushing, unbuckling, kicking, and twisting—but they wouldn’t budge.**
**46. He noticed his tiny female feet, even smaller than his mom's, and gasped, “Am I gonna have gurl feet and tawk like dis fur the wrest of my life?”**
**47. [“Am I gonna hav girl feet and talk like dis fo da rest of muh life?”/“Am I gonna have gurl feet and tawk like dis fur the wrest of my life?”]**
**48. Moving his new feet caused him to lose balance, tripping and falling before unwillingly walking in a feminine fast speedwalk, his sandals thumping against the ground.**
**49. Ben tried to remove Ji-Eun’s jewelry—the pearl ring, gold wedding band, silver ring, diamond necklace, hoop earrings, and her bracelet—but all attempts failed.**
**50. “I’m scared,” he whimpered, the words broken. “I skayrd.”**
**51. Soon, Ji-Eun’s friends found her, grabbing her by the hands and guiding her somewhere.**
**52. Sook-Ja criticized, “Ji-Eun, you’re 50, remember your family—your husband, Min-Jung, and your daughters, Ah-Reum and Mi-Na.”**
**53. Ben, unable to understand them, only saw their lips moving and felt their hands’ warmth.**
**54. Struggling to run out in the sandals, Ben made it to the empty parking lot and squeezed his eyes shut again.**
**55. The women believed Ji-Eun was suffering a mental episode and asked her what she was trying to say.**
**56. Ben replied, “I’m not a girl; I'm a boy, my name is Ben. My mom is real pretty with brown ponytail.”**
**57. [“Im noht a gurl; I'm a boi. Muh name iz Ben. Muh mom iz real pritty with brown ponetayle.”/“I’m not a girl; I'm a boy, my name is Ben. My mom is real pretty with brown ponytail.”]**
**58. One of the women noticed a worried woman matching the description, searching for her son.**
**59. Whispering to her friends, “This boy deserves a less stressful life.”**
**60. Another agreed, “He can stay in Ji-Eun’s body—she’s accomplished so much, and he’ll think he’s always been her.”**
**61. The women concluded that the boy must forget about his previous life to enjoy a less stressful existence as Ji-Eun.**
**62. They decided to override Ben’s existence, and he tried to resist the mental changes.**
**63. Gradually, Ben's memories of playing with toy cars transformed into memories of styling clients’ hair.**
**64. His love for pizza turned into a preference for kimchi.**
**65. Favorite TV shows like “Paw Patrol” were replaced with Korean dramas.**
**66. Movies like “Toy Story” were supplanted by traditional Korean films.**
**67. His memories of school friends were replaced with memories of fellow salon stylists.**
**68. Daydreams of becoming a firefighter became plans for expanding the salon business.**
**69. Trips to the playground morphed into memories of family vacations to Jeju Island.**
**70. Favorite colorful T-shirts turned into elegantly picked blouses.**
**71. Birthday parties at amusement parks changed to intimate family dinners.**
**72. His love for action figures turned into a fondness for jewelry.**
**73. Excitement for Christmas morning shifted to waiting for the Lunar New Year.**
**74. His dislike for vegetables became a love for traditional Korean dishes.**
**75. Bedtime stories read by his mom became bedtime chats with her own daughters.**
**76. His memories of a family pet dog were overwritten by memories of a family cat.**
**77. The joy of flying kites was replaced with the joy of painting nails perfectly.**
**78. Eventually, Ben’s existence faded, his consciousness fully integrated into Ji-Eun’s.**
**79. Ji-Eun looked down at her navy blue blouse, black skirt, platform sandals, and jewelry, adjusting them with precision.**
**80. “What happened?” she asked in Korean.**
**81. Her friends explained, “You were convinced you were a little boy.”**
**82. Confused, she replied, “I’m not a little boy; I’m Ji-Eun. I’ve been married to Min-Jung, have daughters Ah-Reum and Mi-Na, and run our salon.”**
**83. Grabbing her head and chuckling, she looked at her jewelry, “Thank you for helping me.”**
**84. The sound of her sandals thumping on the store’s floor was now comforting.**
**85. Months later, Ji-Eun was back at her salon, chatting with other women as she swept up a client’s hair.**
**86. Sarah, still heartbroken over losing her son, walked into the salon and sat down.**
**87. Ji-Eun dumped out the hair and set her broom and dustpan aside, walking towards Sarah with the thump of her sandals.**
**88. She set up a chair and motioned for Sarah to come over.**
**89. Seeing Sarah as just another customer, Ji-Eun grabbed her scissors and haircut supplies.**
**90. Sarah said, “I’d like a trim with some layers.”**
**91. In broken English, Ji-Eun responded, “Okay, you like trim with some layars?”**
**92. She began cutting Sarah’s hair, delicately and skillfully.**
**93. Sarah glanced at Ji-Eun’s polished nails, wedding ring, and other jewelry, smiling.**
**94. “Your nails are beautiful, the ring is lovely, and I adore your bracelet and necklace,” Sarah complimented.**
**95. Ji-Eun smiled back, “Thank you. I like red nails because pops, been married for twenty-five years, and my jewelry from family.”**
**96. Sarah noticed Ji-Eun’s platform sandals and added, “And those sandals are fabulous!”**
**97. Giggling, Ji-Eun replied, “Thank you. You want to try them?”**
**98. Kicking off her sandals, she offered them to Sarah.**
**99. Sarah tried to slip her feet in but laughed, “My feet are too big!”**
**100. Ji-Eun slipped the sandals back on effortlessly, continuing to tend to Sarah’s hair.**
This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model; prompts used to help generate the story are shown below.
Images were generated with OpenAI's AI system, DALL·E 2, or uploaded by the user.
AI Prompts
Prompt: A very long and very thorough and detailed 220 numbered line sentences story written in the format of numbered lines going from 1 to 220 taking place in the year 2020 starring 7 year old Ben with a description of what he's wearing and his race being white and have him be shopping with his mom in the middle of a zombie pandemic. Include his mom's name, age, height, weight, birthday, birth year, hair color and style and eye color, and her shoe size mentioned. Have Ben make a comment about his mom's feet being small for a grown up and have it be in quoted text asking if his feet were gonna be that tiny when he grew up in an innocent voice and spell words wrong showing what he wanted to say versus what he said in his little kid voice. Have his mom laugh and say no and have it be in quoted text saying since he's a boy and not a girl his feet should grow very big and have her guess what size his feet will be when he's older. Have them be wearily grabbing food and supplies putting it in the cart when zombies started pouring in to the grocery store. Have his mom start running with him following close behind. Have 6 Korean women appear wearing blouses and skirts with detailed descriptions of the colors and types of blouses and skirts and have all be wearing platform sandals and platform shoes with detailed descriptions of the colors of the platform sandals and platform shoes and have all of them have painted nails and include the colors and have some of them be wearing wedding rings with descriptions of the wedding rings. Include all 6 Korean women's names, ages all being older than his mom, heights all being shorter than his mom, weights, birthdays, birth years all being older than his mom with one of the 6 women being much older than the other 5 women and have her have a wedding ring and three of the women being related to each other and how and have all 3 be from the same exact place since they're related and have them all work at the same salon together, hair colors and styles all being short Korean styles and where they were from in the US or if they were from South Korea and their shoe sizes. Have one of the women notice the boy saying something to him in Korean and reaching out to grab him and have him try to avoid her still being grabbed by the woman getting dizzy and have his vision go black. Reveal which woman grabbed him and include her information a second time including her name, age, birthday, birth year, height, weight, hair color and style and eye color and where she was from and her shoe size being much smaller than his moms and mention her blouse type and color being the same as it was earlier and her skirt type and color being the same as it was earlier and her platform sandals color and type being the same as it was earlier and the color of her nail polish being the same as it was earlier.. Have all of the women be salon stylists and include them all being salon stylists in the story and how long each of them had been one for. Have him open his eyes realizing he's taller and feels different looking down and noticing the blouse and knee length skirt he was now wearing being the same consistent color they were earlier in the story and his different skin tone and the platform sandals being the same they were earlier in the story and the polished nails being the same color they were earlier in the story and have him look for his mommy worriedly realizing she's now gone. Have him yell for mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote the way he wanted to say it versus how he said it. Have him try to run stumbling over the platform sandals he was now wearing and have the woman's outfit be very uncomfortable and have him trip over something hearing his female voice and have him gag at how girly it all was and have him squeeze his eyes shut. Have him do everything to pace himself trying to run away from the zombies and and have the platform sandals be hard to run in and have him consistently trip over the platform sandals eventually getting far enough away from the zombies. Have him innocently study his new reflection tracing his almond shaped eyes with his new hands and have him try to change his eyes back to the normal wide eyes noticing they look nothing like his mother's but give up on trying being specific as to what he did. Have him say i want to go home i want mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English and saying some words wrong and show the quoted text how he wanted to say it versus how he said it. Have him start crying at the sound of his voice. Have him play with his short female hair and what he did with it noticing his polished nails on his female hands as he played with it but being unable to change it back to his boyish hair. Have him try to remove the blouse and skirt in different ways being unsuccessful and including each of the ways in the story with a detailed description. Have him try to remove the platform sandals being unable to trying in 5 different ways and including each of the 5 ways in the story but the platform sandals aren't glued to her feet they just won't come off and have him notice his tiny female feet getting grossed out at them. Have him notice his female feet actually look smaller than his mom's feet and have him say something and have it be in quoted text in very broken English about how he's gonna have girl feet and talk like the funny lady he now is for the rest of his life and show the quote he wanted to say it versus how he said it in very broken English. Have him move one of his female feet losing balance and tripping causing himself to fly up to his two feet stumbling unwillingly walking in a feminine fast speedwalk with a description of how the Korean woman's body moved as he unintentionally walked in the platform sandals with them thumping against the ground. Have him try to remove the first piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why he couldn't. Have him try to remove the second piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the third piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fourth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fifth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the sixth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to say I'm scared and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote how he wanted to say it versus how he said it and have him squeeze his eyes shut in fear. Have the woman's 5 other friends find her and grab her by the hands guiding her somewhere. Have another one of the other women criticize her reminding her her age and of her family she had and have it be in quoted text in Korean mentioning how old she is and her family members by name and who they were to her specifically saying all of her family calling the boy by their friend's name who had grabbed him earlier and who he was in the body of. Have the boy in the woman's body hear the Korean women speaking to him thinking he's their friend unable to understand it at all. Have him struggle to run out in the platform sandals as the women drag him and have him make it out to the parking lot and have the parking lot be empty. Have him be terrified squeezing his eyes shut again. Have the other women feel that they're friend is suffering a mental episode. Have them ask their friend about what she is trying to tell them and have it be in quoted text in Korean. Have the boy confusingly just say i'm not a girl i'm a boy and have it be in quoted text in very broken English showing what he wanted to say vs. what he said and have him say his name and who his mom is just calling her mom describing her. Have one of them notice a woman matching that description nearby looking worriedly around for her son. Have her start whispering to her friends in Korean and have it be in quoted text saying this boy deserves a less stressful life. Have another agree saying he can stay in the body of their friend and have it be in quoted text in Korean saying his life as her will be less stressful cause she's already built her family and accomplished so much and he will think he's always been a woman. Have them come to the conclusion that this really is a boy in the body of their friend and that his mom will have to forget about her son and have them decide to erase the boy's memories so he doesn't have to know about his mom anymore and so he can enjoy his new life as a Korean woman whose already lived a long life and have them decide to completely override the boy's existence with their friend's and erase the boy from existence completely and have the boy try to resist the mental changes only to succumb to them in the end having no memory of being a little boy and have it be a slow and gradual change being very detailed as every part of her memory changed listing 15 details of the boy's life that slowly turned into details of the woman's life being specific including favorite foods and tv shows and movies and classes in school and things she was alive to see. Have her look down at her blouse and skirt and platform sandals and her nails and her jewelry adjusting all of it being very detailed as to what she did. Have her ask her friends what happened and have it be in quoted text in Korean. Have them tell her she was convinced she was a little boy and have it be in quoted text in Korean. Have her get confused as she looked at her body and said i'm not a little boy and have it be in quoted text in Korean talking about every thing she's accomplished in her life as a woman and how she would never know life as a boy cause she has never been a boy before thanking her friends for correcting her mind. Have her grab her head chuckling looking at her jewelry again thumping in her sandals making a comment about her tiny feet and have it be in quoted text in Korean. Have it flash to her working at her salon gabbing with some other women and have it be in quoted text in Korean as she swept up a client's hair. Have Ben's mom walk in still sad about the loss of her son as she sat down waiting to be seen. Have the Korean woman who was formerly Ben dump out the swept up hair and set the broom and dust pan aside before calmly walking towards where Ben's mom was sitting with the thump of her platform sandals calmly hitting the ground as she walked. Have her set up a chair calmly and have her motion for Ben's mom to come over to it. Have the Korean woman not see her former mom at all and just see another customer as far as she was concerned as she grabbed her scissors and some haircut supplies. Have Ben's mom say what haircut she wanted and have it be in quoted text. Have the Korean woman say okay and have it be in quoted text in very broken English showing what she wanted to say versus what she said as she described what Ben's mom wanted in broken English. Have her start cutting Ben's mom's hair. Have Ben's mom glance at the woman's nails and her wedding ring and her other jewelry and have it be in quoted text complimenting it all mentioning what she liked about all of it. Have the Korean woman smile and thank her and have it be in quoted text in very broken English mentioning why she liked her nails that color and how long she had been married to her husband and where she got the other jewelry from. Have Ben's mom look down noticing the Korean woman's platform sandals complimenting them too and have it be in quoted text. Have the Korean woman smile and thank her and have it be in quoted text in very broken English kicking them off and asking her if she wanted to try wearing them. Have Ben's mom take off her shoes trying to slip the platform sandals on being unable to cause her feet were too big before laughing. Have the Korean woman slip the sandals back on effortlessly as she continued tending to her client's hair.
Response: **1. It was a crisp morning in March 2020 when seven-year-old Ben and his mother walked into the grocery store.** **2. Ben, a young boy with sparkling blue eyes and tousled blonde hair, wore a red hoodie, blue jeans, and white sneakers.** **3. His mother, named Sarah, was a 32-year-old woman with green eyes and shoulder-length chestnut brown hair that was loosely tied into a ponytail.** **4. Sarah stood at 5'7" and weighed around 140 pounds, her birthday falling on May 15, 1987.** **5. Her shoe size was 7, and she moved gracefully through the aisles despite the tiring days that marked the zombie pandemic.** **6. As they reached for canned goods, Ben looked up at Sarah's feet and curiously asked, "Mommy, will my feets be that tinee when I gro up?"** **7. Sarah chuckled and replied, "No, sweetie, since you're a boy, your feet will grow very big. Maybe you'll have size 10 feet or even bigger!"** **8. They continued to wearily grab food and supplies, placing them methodically into their cart.** **9. The eerie ambiance of the store became more tense as shadows shuffled at the entrance.** **10. "Mommy?" Ben whispered, gripping her hand tightly.** **11. Without warning, zombies started pouring into the grocery store, their groans echoing off the shelves.** **12. “Run, Ben!” Sarah grabbed his hand and sprinted, her heart pounding in her chest.** **13. They zigzagged through the aisles, narrowly avoiding the outstretched hands of the undead.** **14. Meanwhile, six Korean women appeared at the end of the aisle, their presence striking amidst the chaos.** **15. The women, who all wore platform sandals and platform shoes, were elegantly dressed in blouses and skirts.** **16. Ji-Eun, aged 50, wore a navy blue blouse with puffed sleeves and a knee-length black skirt. Her platform sandals were black with silver buckles.** **17. Her nails were painted a deep crimson red, and she wore a gold wedding ring.** **18. Soojin, aged 46, wore a pastel pink blouse with floral patterns and an A-line white skirt. Her beige platform shoes matched the blouse.** **19. Her nails were a soft lavender, and she wore no rings.** **20. Miji, aged 44, had on a lavender blouse with balloon sleeves and a pleated grey skirt. Her lilac platform sandals accented her outfit.** **21. Her nails were mint green, and she wore a delicate silver wedding ring with diamond accents.** **22. Na-Rae, aged 52, wore a teal blouse with lace details and a black pencil skirt. Her white platform sandals contrasted her dark skirt.** **23. Her nails were painted a bright coral, and she wore a simple gold band.** **24. Sook-Ja, aged 60, donned a dark green blouse with a frilled collar and a black A-line skirt with matching black platform shoes.** **25. Her nails were cherry red, and she wore a pearl ring on her right hand.** **26. Ha-Eun, aged 35, wore a bright yellow blouse with bell sleeves and a navy blue skirt. Her vibrant red platform sandals stood out.** **27. Her nails were baby blue, and she wore a modest silver wedding ring.** **28. Ji-Eun, Soojin, and Miji were sisters who originally hailed from Busan, South Korea.** **29. Sook-Ja was their aunt from Incheon, and they all worked together at a salon in Los Angeles.** **30. Ha-Eun, though not related to the other women, had been working with them at the salon for five years, making them a close-knit team.** **31. As Ben and Sarah ran past, Ji-Eun noticed the young boy and said something softly in Korean, reaching out to grab him.** **32. Ben tried to avoid her, but Ji-Eun’s grip was firm, and within moments, his vision went black.** **33. When Ben awakened, he felt different, taller, and disoriented, looking down to see a navy blue blouse with puffed sleeves and a knee-length black skirt.** **34. His skin tone was now tan, and he wore black platform sandals with silver buckles, matching Ji-Eun's appearance.** **35. He traced his new almond-shaped eyes with his hands, noticing polished deep crimson red nails.** **36. Ben, now in Ji-Eun's body, cried out, “M-mommy, I want to g-go home!” though his words came out in broken English.** **37. [“Mommy, I wont to go home!”/“M-mommy, I want to g-go home!”]** **38. He stumbled over the platform sandals, tripping and hearing a female voice, which made him gag at how girly it all was.** **39. He tried to pace himself, running away from the zombies, but consistently tripped over the platform sandals.** **40. Finally, he got far enough to catch his breath and see his reflection in a store window.** **41. Ben traced his almond-shaped eyes with his new hands, giving up on trying to change them.** **42. “I want my mommy,” he muttered, though it came out brokenly. “I wont my mommy.”** **43. Tears streamed down his face as he played with his short female hair and noticed his polished nails.** **44. He tried to remove the blouse and skirt but was unsuccessful, struggling to unbutton and unzip.** **45. Ben attempted to pull off the platform sandals in five different ways—tugging, pushing, unbuckling, kicking, and twisting—but they wouldn’t budge.** **46. He noticed his tiny female feet, even smaller than his mom's, and gasped, “Am I gonna have gurl feet and tawk like dis fur the wrest of my life?”** **47. [“Am I gonna hav girl feet and talk like dis fo da rest of muh life?”/“Am I gonna have gurl feet and tawk like dis fur the wrest of my life?”]** **48. Moving his new feet caused him to lose balance, tripping and falling before unwillingly walking in a feminine fast speedwalk, his sandals thumping against the ground.** **49. Ben tried to remove Ji-Eun’s jewelry—the pearl ring, gold wedding band, silver ring, diamond necklace, hoop earrings, and her bracelet—but all attempts failed.** **50. “I’m scared,” he whimpered, the words broken. “I skayrd.”** **51. Soon, Ji-Eun’s friends found her, grabbing her by the hands and guiding her somewhere.** **52. Sook-Ja criticized, “Ji-Eun, you’re 50, remember your family—your husband, Min-Jung, and your daughters, Ah-Reum and Mi-Na.”** **53. Ben, unable to understand them, only saw their lips moving and felt their hands’ warmth.** **54. Struggling to run out in the sandals, Ben made it to the empty parking lot and squeezed his eyes shut again.** **55. The women believed Ji-Eun was suffering a mental episode and asked her what she was trying to say.** **56. Ben replied, “I’m not a girl; I'm a boy, my name is Ben. My mom is real pretty with brown ponytail.”** **57. [“Im noht a gurl; I'm a boi. Muh name iz Ben. Muh mom iz real pritty with brown ponetayle.”/“I’m not a girl; I'm a boy, my name is Ben. My mom is real pretty with brown ponytail.”]** **58. One of the women noticed a worried woman matching the description, searching for her son.** **59. Whispering to her friends, “This boy deserves a less stressful life.”** **60. Another agreed, “He can stay in Ji-Eun’s body—she’s accomplished so much, and he’ll think he’s always been her.”** **61. The women concluded that the boy must forget about his previous life to enjoy a less stressful existence as Ji-Eun.** **62. They decided to override Ben’s existence, and he tried to resist the mental changes.** **63. Gradually, Ben's memories of playing with toy cars transformed into memories of styling clients’ hair.** **64. His love for pizza turned into a preference for kimchi.** **65. Favorite TV shows like “Paw Patrol” were replaced with Korean dramas.** **66. Movies like “Toy Story” were supplanted by traditional Korean films.** **67. His memories of school friends were replaced with memories of fellow salon stylists.** **68. Daydreams of becoming a firefighter became plans for expanding the salon business.** **69. Trips to the playground morphed into memories of family vacations to Jeju Island.** **70. Favorite colorful T-shirts turned into elegantly picked blouses.** **71. Birthday parties at amusement parks changed to intimate family dinners.** **72. His love for action figures turned into a fondness for jewelry.** **73. Excitement for Christmas morning shifted to waiting for the Lunar New Year.** **74. His dislike for vegetables became a love for traditional Korean dishes.** **75. Bedtime stories read by his mom became bedtime chats with her own daughters.** **76. His memories of a family pet dog were overwritten by memories of a family cat.** **77. The joy of flying kites was replaced with the joy of painting nails perfectly.** **78. Eventually, Ben’s existence faded, his consciousness fully integrated into Ji-Eun’s.** **79. Ji-Eun looked down at her navy blue blouse, black skirt, platform sandals, and jewelry, adjusting them with precision.** **80. “What happened?” she asked in Korean.** **81. Her friends explained, “You were convinced you were a little boy.”** **82. Confused, she replied, “I’m not a little boy; I’m Ji-Eun. I’ve been married to Min-Jung, have daughters Ah-Reum and Mi-Na, and run our salon.”** **83. Grabbing her head and chuckling, she looked at her jewelry, “Thank you for helping me.”** **84. The sound of her sandals thumping on the store’s floor was now comforting.** **85. Months later, Ji-Eun was back at her salon, chatting with other women as she swept up a client’s hair.** **86. Sarah, still heartbroken over losing her son, walked into the salon and sat down.** **87. Ji-Eun dumped out the hair and set her broom and dustpan aside, walking towards Sarah with the thump of her sandals.** **88. She set up a chair and motioned for Sarah to come over.** **89. Seeing Sarah as just another customer, Ji-Eun grabbed her scissors and haircut supplies.** **90. Sarah said, “I’d like a trim with some layers.”** **91. In broken English, Ji-Eun responded, “Okay, you like trim with some layars?”** **92. She began cutting Sarah’s hair, delicately and skillfully.** **93. Sarah glanced at Ji-Eun’s polished nails, wedding ring, and other jewelry, smiling.** **94. “Your nails are beautiful, the ring is lovely, and I adore your bracelet and necklace,” Sarah complimented.** **95. Ji-Eun smiled back, “Thank you. I like red nails because pops, been married for twenty-five years, and my jewelry from family.”** **96. Sarah noticed Ji-Eun’s platform sandals and added, “And those sandals are fabulous!”** **97. Giggling, Ji-Eun replied, “Thank you. You want to try them?”** **98. Kicking off her sandals, she offered them to Sarah.** **99. Sarah tried to slip her feet in but laughed, “My feet are too big!”** **100. Ji-Eun slipped the sandals back on effortlessly, continuing to tend to Sarah’s hair.**
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