Most of my vlog videos start with me snoozing, but that doesn’t mean I’m that lazy of a person.
I wake up early and my work hours are later than most, so it’s just a natural scene.
In the morning, I quickly get ready and head to the gym in my neighborhood, which is usually my first routine.
Our apartment complex is quite decent.
The name, “Lakeview Felicia Urban,” or something like that, is the peak of absurdity, but when you look at the facilities, it gives off that solid new-build feeling, typical of a new city apartment.
From the indoor gym to the sauna and study room.
I’m not sure about the earthquake-proof design or safety features, but that’s how new apartments are. If an earthquake happens, we’re done for.
Anyway, the current time is 7:30 AM.
As I walk to the gym, I notice everyone is busy heading to work, but this is the perk of being a café owner in the neighborhood.
Plus, our café is closed on Mondays.
If you want to, you can jump into the café business and risk going bankrupt.
When I got to the gym, I changed into workout clothes and headed to the stretching zone.
The most important part of exercise is stretching.
The clothes I recently bought are pretty good.
They fit snugly without being too loose, and they show off my muscles pretty well.
The shorts also give a nice view of my legs.
Admiring my shopping skills while loosening up my body, I felt a gaze on me.
Since coming to this reversed world,
I don’t know about anything else, but my ability to sense other people’s stares has definitely improved.
Is this some kind of special perk from the new world?
It doesn’t seem very useful, though.
Still feeling that itchy sensation,
I turned around and made eye contact with a female member.
She flinched, then looked around awkwardly before suddenly pulling out her phone, and I couldn’t help but stare at her a little longer.
She seemed familiar.
“4|?”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Sure, I might have stared a bit too intensely, but looking at it, shouldn’t I be the one apologizing?
Suddenly being apologized to left me embarrassed, but she started making some odd excuses.
“Ah, I didn’t mean to stare. It just, uh, happened that our eyes met, yes.”
“No, I was just thinking I might have seen you somewhere…”
“Ot.”
The atmosphere instantly became awkward, but the café owner’s skills kicked in.
Oh, now I remember.
She was here yesterday.
Our café isn’t that busy, so I tend to remember regulars.
“Ah! You came to our café yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Huh? A café?”
“The one in the commercial area, Vanillin Café!”
“Of…?”
She had the expression of someone thinking,
“What’s that nerd talking about?”
I wondered for a second if I had made a mistake, but luckily, it seemed like she understood what I meant right away.
As a café owner, my ability to start conversations with awkward people kicks in.
After finishing up the last of my stretching, I had a brief chat with her, and eventually,
I got her to agree to help me with some workout assistance.
It may be that it’s become easier for me to talk to women after coming to this reversed world, but I also think that everyone I meet is unusually friendly.
Maybe it’s a reversed world perk?
Either way, it’s a good thing.
Now that I have an assistant, I guess I’ll try setting a new bench press record.
“Wow… thanks to that, my muscles are definitely feeling it today!”
“How can a guy lift that much weight?”
“I’ve been at it for quite a while.”
I’ve been working out for quite a long time.
I started when I was in my early twenties, working myself to death until I literally thought I might die.
I think it’s been about ten years now, but I’ve only been doing it as a form of self-management, not to become one of those gym monsters.
So, my body is definitely toned, but not bulky.
Of course, that conversation wasn’t about that, right?
The reversed world is a world where many things are turned upside down.
While the physiques of men and women haven’t changed, the strength difference is the complete opposite.
In this world, a rough man can be sexually assaulted by a woman smaller than him.
I don’t really want to know about it, and it’s bizarre, but it’s true.
So, it’s no wonder they’re shocked seeing me lift weights that would usually be beyond most women’s ability.
As a “normal” man, it feels good when a young woman is amazed by my bench press.
It’s just…
I should have just enjoyed the good feeling and left it at that.
“Would you like to try touching it? It’s really something today.”
“…Huh?”
“…Ah.”
After living in this reversed world, I’ve been treating women the same way men would treat them in the original world, so I didn’t realize we were dealing with gender dynamics at all.
“Ah, I-I’m sorry! I said something strange… I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable!”
“Huh? No, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable…”
“Just think of me as an old man who got carried away. Haha…”
I still feel my face flush when I think about it.
If I reversed the situation and thought about it like it would be in the original world, it would be incredibly embarrassing.
An awkward woman telling a young man to touch her chest?
I’m not even in my twenties anymore, and if
I were accused of sexual harassment, there’s nothing I could say.
I sighed and walked away.
After finishing my workout, I went home to change into casual clothes and headed out again.
Today’s second agenda is grocery shopping.
There’s a supermarket right near the apartment complex, so I stepped outside in light clothes.
I wore breezy pants with a tight-fitting top, and a cardigan to match the autumn weather.
Since I’m not great at fashion, I just picked out something that wouldn’t look awful.
After all, I’m just going out for a quick errand.
Once I entered the supermarket, I noticed the male staff members at the checkout.
Another feature of the reversed world, I guess.
Usually, the cashiers here are mostly women, so why has the gender suddenly flipped?
Meanwhile, people I’m somewhat familiar with seem to be the same.
I wonder if Mr. Kim, who I met when I was doing labor, has become an aunt now.
Is this the third perk of the reversed world?
Nah, surely not.
Anyway, as I wandered around with a basket, I ended up collecting quite a bit of stuff.
On days when I run the café, it’s hard to come to the supermarket, so I bought enough for the whole week.
After checking out, I found myself with two full baskets.
As I was heading home, muscles from today’s workout being put to use, I heard someone calling me.
“Isn’t that Mr. Shin?”
“Eh? Oh, Mr. Park! Are you out for a walk? Is that your grandson with you?”
Mr. Park, the elderly gentleman who takes care of the fixed income for our Vanillin Café, was walking by.
He loves coming to the café to chat, and his favorite topic is always bragging about his granddaughter.
When I looked at his granddaughter, she definitely had the face of someone who would do well in studies.
I wasn’t thinking about calling a 10-year-old girl who is younger than me, pretty or anything, but objectively speaking, she looked that way.
“Is your name Ye-eun?”
“Yes?! Ah! Yes!”
“Your grandfather talks about you all the time. I didn’t think I’d get to see you in person, but you’re really cute.”
As I smiled and said this, she turned red and seemed flustered.
I’m not sure if “cute” is a compliment in the reversed world, but she seemed to like it, so I was relieved.
“Would you like me to help you carry this…?”
“Eh? It’s a little heavy, so I didn’t want to trouble you…”
“Still, I think I’d be better off than Mr. Shin. It’s more comfortable this way.”
I carried the left basket, and she took the right one, with us sharing the handles.
It might look a little awkward to anyone else, but this was a gesture of my consideration.
The right basket had heavier items like milk, so it seemed like it made more sense for me to carry it, since
I was stronger than Ye-eun.
Ye-eun didn’t look stronger than a man, so I was trying to avoid putting her in that position.
I noticed the veins on her arm slightly popping up as I glanced at her.
“Thanks to you, Ye-eun.”
“How were you planning to carry this all by yourself…?”
“Haha, Ye-eun’s boyfriend must be happy, considering how thoughtful you are.”
“Eh, I don’t have a boyfriend…”
“Ah, you broke up?”
“No, I just don’t have one…”
I should’ve stopped at just the compliment.
Honestly, I still felt like my mind was stuck in high school, and yet,
I somehow ended up making an awkward situation by bringing up the topic of relationships.
It was a bit embarrassing.
Thankfully, Mr. Park saved the conversation with his quick wit.
“This girl’s a bit shy, that’s why she’s worried. Someone like Mr. Shin should take Ye-eun, though.”
“Me? Haha! Isn’t Ye-eun in her early 20s? Young people don’t like older guys like me.”
“Mr. Shin, what are you talking about? You two look the same age, really. Carrying the basket together, you almost look like a married couple.”
“Oh, no. Ye-eun would be too good for me, Mr. Park.”
“Right, Ye-eun?”
“Yes?! Oh, no! I’m, um, honored…?”
Ye-eun’s face turned bright red again.
Mr. Park’s playful teasing was a bit much, but it wasn’t as awkward as before, so I was relieved.
Our conversation quickly ended, and I got home after what felt like a short walk.
As we said our goodbyes at the apartment entrance, Ye-eun looked utterly drained.
We’d only made small talk about her good skin, and her tiny hands, but why did she seem so tired?
Was it really that heavy with the three cartons of milk?
It wasn’t that important.
At her age, she’d recover quickly anyway.
But thinking about my own situation, struggling with fatigue after turning 30, made me feel a bit down.
Maybe I should just go play some games.