Cheer Up~! (Kpop TF)

It was a dreary Monday afternoon when John Parker stepped into his apartment, pausing for a couple seconds as he pried the keys out of the janky lock before shuffling down the narrow corridor and into the living room, where he slumped onto the grey couch with a resounding sigh. Leaning hard into the tattered fabric as if wanting to sink into it, John gazed lifelessly into the ceiling as he began to contemplate his life: The apartment he lived was so small that he was sure swinging a cat would make it slam into a wall with the mere flick of his wrist - it wasn't any better at work either, where he sat the day away in an office cubicle interrupting peoples' lives; causing them to hang up the second he opened his mouth to try and offer a shitty product or some pointless survey down their throat. To make matters worse, his alarm clock hadn't activated this morning, meaning he was late to work and so received a warning from his tyrant of a boss that he'd be easily replaced were it to happen again.

Closing his eyes, John began to reminisce about life before all of this: He was certainly happier back then; filled with a youthful energy that could have given a power grid a run for it's money, but now... The thirty seven year old slouched over and placed his head into hands as he began to silently pray to anyone - to anything - that could hear him for chance to live like that again; for people to be happy seeing and hearing him...

John was snapped out of his angst by the clattering of the letterbox. Groaning as he forced himself off the couch, John headed out into the hallway; peering down at the worn out "Welcome!" mat to find a small, square shaped package laying there and instantly frowned at it, unable to recall ordering any in the past couple days or even months. He quickly opened the door and stuck his head out.

"Hey, I think you got the wrong..."

There was no sign or sound of anyone walking down the corridor. Closing the door, John then picked the package up and started inspecting it: It was incredibly light, and shaking it produced a hollow rattling - it was clearly some kind of CD. Only disconcerting thing about it was the lack of a stamp or address on either side of the cardboard wrapping. John lumbered into the kitchen and stood next to the black brick of a radio he'd bought decades ago before starting to pick at the sellotape on the sides. Eventually they peeled off and John opened the package, revealing a disc inside a plastic casing. There was a small note taped onto the side which said:

"Life got you down? Listen to this special song and I guarantee you'll cheer up."

Again, there was no signature or address on either side of the note, which only made John more confused: Even if this was meant for him, he didn't have any family or friends who could anonymously send him something - it could have been from one of many neighbours in the apartment building, but the only social contact he had with them was a simply nod of acknowledgement if he ever passed them to or from work.

Shaking his head, John turned around and went over to the bin, ready to throw the CD away, but hesitated at the last moment: If the note was right, the disc had the potential to get him out of his shitty mood; make him forget about stressful life, even if it was for a couple of minutes, so why the hell was he about to get rid of it? John turned away from the bin, took the disc out of the casing and placed it in the radio before pressing Play.

After a couple moments, bubbly pop music started to play; John folded his arms and frowned in response - this was hardly his type of music: He couldn't even understand what the female singers were saying as there speaking in some Asian language, presumably Chinese or Japanese. As he stood there listening, John slowly began to feel embarrassed that a man of his age was listening to such childish, girly music and was about to turn the radio off, but pulled away when as the song entered its chorus:

CHEER UP BABY CHEER UP BABY
좀 더 힘을 내
여자가 쉽게 맘을 주면 안돼
그래야 니가 날 더 좋아하게 될걸
태연하게 연기할래 아무렇지 않게
내가 널 좋아하는 맘 모르게
Just get it together
And then baby CHEER UP!

Tapping a foot to the beat, a tiny smirk grew on John's face as he began to hear the nuances in the language that the girls were singing in - it didn't sound like Japanese, but it wasn't Chinese either... Korean! It must be Korean! John was unsure why he felt so confident about this claim as he'd never even studied the language - suddenly his mind was filled with information on the Korean alphabet (which he know knew was called "Hangul" in its native tongue); and he was beginning to hear the lyrics a bit clearer now; he quickly admitted that it was becoming a favourite of his.

John suddenly started to change as his age reversed at least a decade, his skin regaining some sheen; the frown lines on his face melting away into soft, smooth skin. His stocky build began to slenderise as his limbs slimmed down; his elegant hands being decorated with a red nail polish and his sharp, squarish head turned heart shaped whilst the hair on his body, including the five o'clock shadow, simply crumbled away.

But John wasn't the only thing that was changing - as the music flowed through his apartment, the grey couch in his living room toughened into a dark leather sofa; the musty ceilings and walls brightened into an immaculate white; a stylish chandelier growing out of it. The white paint began to slowly spread out from the living room, into the hallway and towards the kitchen...

Fully immersed in the song, a beaming smile was blooming on John's face as he nodded his head in time with the beat. The note was right, this music was revitalising him; he'd never felt this happy in ages! As the song headed towards the chorus again, John couldn't help but hum along and as he did, his baritone timbre gradually elevated into a honeyed soprano. At the same time, the cluster of teeth in John's mouth began to shift, lining up perfectly before shining into a pearly-white, improving his smile with glimmering rows of teeth. A warm energy started to build in the pits of his stomach, reaching out to his hips and trickling all the way down to his toes - he couldn't bare to stand still anymore, he just had to dance to the chorus his favourite song! 

CHEER UP BABY, CHEER UP BABY!

jom deo himeul lae

yeojaga swipge mameul jumyeon andwae   

geuraeya niga nal deo johahage doelgeol   

taeyeonhage yeongihallae amureochi anke   

naega neol johahaneun mam moreuge   

Just get it together   

And then baby CHEER UP!

Swaying enthusiastically to the music, John was seemingly unaware that the business suit he was wearing was starting to turn translucent as a colourful floral pattern started to etch itself into the now silky fabric, the tailcoat growing out as it became frillier and less form fitting. The buttons on his plain blue office shirt started to melt away as it darkened into a black top; his vest shrinking into a matching black bra. Simultaneously, his trousers crawled up his legs as they turned into tight, hip hugging shorts; his boxers had now been replaced with a small pink thong that caused some slight discomfort around his crotch. Lastly, his dusty black work shoes bleached into white converses that swiftly contracted into the same dainty size his feet had become in order to let him dance undisturbed.

The song was now nearing its end and had entered a calm nadir before inevitably rising back up to the chorus - it was time for John to undergo the last couple of changes: His fading brown hair rejuvenated into a healthy, chocolatey brunette before sprouting down to his neck; his height decreased as he grew younger yet again, leaving him at around 5'5 and precisely twenty years old. The colour of his skin started to change, the reddish-pink hues lightening into a paler, creamier complexion; the emerald green of his irises diluting into a dark brown whilst the folds of his eyelids shifted, giving them an almond shape - there was no denying his Asian ethnicity now. Now in the final verse before the chorus, the last (and perhaps biggest) change was about to occur, the lyrics providing some irony considering what was going to happen during them:

Be a man, a real man
Gotta see you love me
Like a real man…

John's hips began to grow with every roll and swerve as his pelvis widened, the womanly curves heavily accentuated by the shorts he had gained earlier. His flat ass began to grow generously, causing his thighs to thicken in response and resulting in a heart-shaped rear. Not wanting to be outdone, John's chest developed rapidly into perky C sized breasts, giving him a rather voluptuous body - he couldn't wait to show it off whilst dancing in front of hundreds of adoring fans~

Be a man, a real man
Gotta see you love me Like a real man…

In the few seconds between the end of the last line and the final return of the chorus, John's member and testicles withdrew into his body and filled the spare room left by his hips - the birth of John's femininity would have felt orgasmic were he not already in such an emotional, adrenaline filled high, although the sensation was enough for him to reach a different kind of climax: Just as the singers were about to sing for one last time, Jeong Park eagerly joined them, belting out in an amazing voice:

“CHEER UP BABY, CHEER UP BABY!
Cheer up a little moreA girl can’t give her heart too easily That’s how you’ll get to like me even more  I’ll act calm, as if it’s nothing   So you won’t know that I like you   just get it together    and then baby CHEER UP!”

With the song finally over, Jeong pressed Stop on her sleek high-tech radio, a large grin on her face. Ever since she was a child, she had wanted to do nothing but sing and dance; last year the Youtube video of her covering TWICE's "Cheer up" made her a national sensation overnight. Not long after that, she accepted an offer from a record label and was now one of South Korea's fastest rising solo artists, but her fans and media had recently been asking one question;

"Would Jeong Park ever be in a girl group?"

Placing the CD back in it's case, Jeong turned away from the marble counter and walked over to a white varnished drawer, passing the black leather sofa on the way. From the large windows, the night-time skyline of Seoul could be seen from her spacious contemporary apartment. Opening the drawer, she was about to place the CD amongst the hundreds of other Kpop albums she'd collected since her early teens, but paused as an idea suddenly formed in her a head; causing her to smile yet again. She was going to need a pen, some paper and a delivery service...

----

It had been four weeks since John Parker had suddenly and mysterious disappeared without a trace - the last sighting of him was CCTV footage of him walking towards his apartment after work hours. Things only got weirder when, the police found a completely empty apartment during their investigation - it was as if John had never even lived there.

Although he would never openly admit it, a small part of George Naysmith's mind was happy that at least this meant John wasn't working for him anymore - as far as he was concerned, the useless git had done everyone a huge favour by doing a Houdini. Upon entering his office, the arrogant manager noticed a small square shaped package resting on his desk. Curious, he picked it up and noticed that it had been sent from Seoul, South Korea; opening it revealed a transparent casing with a CD and a small piece of paper with a message written in what looked like pink gel pen:

To Gyeong Nam,
I know the atmosphere of an office can make you feel stressed and unhappy. But if you play this song, I guarantee that you'll cheer up~!
^_~! - Jeong Park
 

George was completely dumbfounded - there was nobody in the office called "Gyeong Nam" and neither did he know a "Jeong Park" from South Korea. Was this some sort of shitty joke by his employees? Scoffing, he marched over to a nearby window and opened it, ready to fling the CD out into the street below... But found himself hesitating: Even though he had no idea who had sent this to him, they were right that working in an office, especially with these useless workers, caused him a lot of stress. Perhaps the music would help relieve some of that tension and motivate him. Closing the window, George turned around and approached his desk yet again. Sitting down, he opened the casing and slipped the disc inside his computer before putting some headphones on. A prompt suddenly appeared on the monitor:

"What would you like to do with this disc?"

Slowly but surely, he moved his mouse over to the button and clicked Play...