“…You’re late again today.”
It had been quite some time since the bell rang, but our homeroom teacher still hadn’t entered the classroom.
At first, the students in my class were flustered, but now they seemed used to it, chatting with friends or engaging in affectionate acts with their significant others.
“Miro, look at this. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Nail art…?”
“Hehe. My sister did it for me. Isn’t it cute? Huh?”
Spreading her hand wide, Seo-yoon’s nails were decorated with adorable designs.
The pink base with patterns like stars falling from the sky looked cute even to someone like me, who isn’t into nail art, and I thought it matched Seo-yoon’s bright image.
But.
“Seo-yoon, do you really need this?”
“Huh? Not exactly, but my sister did it for me… Do you think it’s not great?”
“Uh, it’s pretty.”
“Really? Well, that’s good then.”
“Seo-yoon, you’re pretty already. You don’t really need all these complicated decorations. You shine on your own.”
If you decorate too much, you’re only increasing your chances of getting stabbed to death.
Just this morning, there was a news story about a celebrity getting stabbed to death, so there’s no harm in being cautious, right?
But I guess the people in this world wouldn’t understand if I said it directly.
Seo-yoon is at least sensible, but in the end, she’s just another person from this crazy world.
“…Okay. I’ll ask my sister to take it off.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
She understood right away even though I tried to say it indirectly… Seo-yoon is different, after all.
Basically, people in this world like to dress up, so I expected them to lightly ignore my words.
In fact, a few times, I’ve been ignored…
“Hey, Miro. About today at my house…”
Screech.
“Hey, everyone! The teacher’s a little late, but you’ve all been good, right?”
“…Tch.”
“At home?”
“Huh, it’s nothing.See you during break, Miro!”
Seo-yoon, who had been talking, patted my head and returned to her seat in the front.
Home… What was she going to say?
“Do you want to come over?”
That’s what it seemed like at first.
Seo-yoon’s house… I’d like to visit, but I don’t know what might happen if I follow her around.
I don’t fully trust her yet, so it’s better to be cautious. …Is it excessive worry?
Seo-yoon seems harmless enough, so it’s unlikely she would lock me up or rape me.
Get a grip, Han Miro.
This world is dangerous, so you can’t let your guard down.
Seo-yoon might just look harmless now because she hasn’t met her destined partner yet.
…If I think that way, then I’m not her destined partner, so it’s okay, right?
Ah… my thoughts have become unnecessarily complicated.
“So today’s class is about proper contraception methods!”
“Ha ha.”
I was so caught up in thinking about Seo-yoon that I almost forgot about the shocking words that came from the teacher’s mouth.
Contraception…?
In a world without men, are there contraception methods?
I don’t even know how pregnancy happens, but is it all done through artificial insemination or something?
“Since you’re all high school students now, you probably have one or two boyfriends, right? I know it’s a passionate time, but if you sleep around recklessly without contraception, you’ll get pregnant really quickly, so pay attention today.”
“Yes.”
“Hehe, good answers, everyone. Alright, look at the board!”
…I might be a little interested in this.
Since I’ve been struggling to survive since I was around 10, I never really tried to understand this world…
I didn’t have the luxury of learning about it.
Knowing contraception methods might be useful in many ways.
If I get a boyfriend, I might use it, and in the worst case…
if I’m ever assaulted, at least I won’t get pregnant.
“Basically, pregnancy happens when two loving partners sleep together…
You’re all old enough to understand this, right? When you share bodily fluids, you can create a baby.”
…It’s not so different from the usual male and female dynamic.
Only the semen has turned into something else. So why is there no man in this world?
…This world feels like a playground for a mischievous god. People are a bit off, and there’s no man…
…Maybe I’m thinking this way because I was a man in my previous life? If I had been born here, I wouldn’t even know what a man is.
“Now, the necessary item is this pill! Just take one, and you won’t have to worry about pregnancy for the day! Con-D!”
…Ugh, I can’t. It sounds like a condom. Is the teacher making fun of me? Or is this just how the world works…
sigh.
“Take one each before bed with your partner! I’ll hand out a box to everyone, so don’t forget to take it!”
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the students jumped out of their seats to grab a Con-D.
Some of them were blushing while looking at each other, so they might be planning something for today.
…It would be foolish to feel a bit envious, wouldn’t it? If my mother hadn’t been stabbed, if I hadn’t realized the truth about this world, I might have joined them.
I could have had a lover, enjoyed some sweet moments…
sigh…
but for now, I just need to focus on surviving.
“Hey, Miro, don’t you need one?”
“…Huh?”
Maybe because I was lamenting my unfortunate situation despite all the cute girls around me, I didn’t notice Seoyoon approaching me.
I let my guard down.
If it had been anyone else, I might have been dead by now.
“I don’t need it. Are you okay, Seoyoon? You’re pretty popular.”
“Well… I don’t need it either. Rather than that pill, I’d rather share some fish-shaped bread with you. Hehe.”
…Why do I feel a bit relieved?
Maybe it’s because I confirmed that Seoyoon doesn’t have a lover for now?
She’s probably meeting someone else outside of school, though…
…What does that matter?
Love is just a luxury. Besides, if I dated someone as popular as Seoyoon, I’d be riddled with holes in no time.
So…
it’s not going to happen.
“Seoyoon.”
“Yeah? Are you confessing?”
“Don’t be stupid. If you get a lover later, tell me.”
“…Why?”
“I have something to give you. Got it?”
Various disguise tools for dates, a good anti-stab suit, a GPS app that tracks live locations on a computer, and a spray that makes your eyes blur for a while…
I’ve gathered these, and they’re necessary to stay safe.
I’ve collected them carefully, and while they’re dangerous if others find out, it’s okay to tell a friend.
Seoyoon would never misuse them… right?
“…Huh? Hehe, Miro, so you were preparing these things?”
“Huh? …You noticed?”
“Ugh, you’re such a shy person.”
I didn’t expect Seoyoon to know. But thinking about it, there are grandmothers in this world, so everyone must have at least some basic knowledge about survival.
“I’m looking forward to it, so you better make sure to be prepared.”
“I’ll try to find more for you, so you’ll be satisfied.”
“Yeah! I’ll practice hard too!”
Practice…?
Seoyoon is a thorough person.
Well, if I need to deal with a crazy person who might stab me, I’ll need to practice.
“I really like you, Miro!”
She gave me a tight hug.
“Okay, I got it. Let go.”
It’s a good thing that none of our classmates are interested in Seoyoon, or else they might cause a fuss… sigh.
“The fish-shaped bread is really good, right?”
“It’s okay.”
After class, I went with Seoyoon to the fish-shaped bread shop, and it was as good as she said.
The red bean paste inside was generous, and the bread was crispy… it was delicious.
“You like red bean paste, right? I got custard cream, so should we split it in half?”
“Custard cream isn’t real fish-shaped bread.”
“Come on, don’t be like that! Here, say ah~.”
“I’m not eating… Ugh!”
I rejected her repeatedly, but Seoyoon wasn’t listening and forcefully shoved the bread into my mouth.
In the moment of confusion from the hot bread, she bit the other one I was holding, and I ended up swallowing the custard cream bread.
“Mm~ the red bean paste is good too. Next time, I’ll get the red bean paste again!”
Munch, munch.
“Don’t glare at me like that. Hmm? Isn’t the custard cream good too?”
Swallow.
“It’s fine, but this isn’t real fish-shaped bread.”
“That’s fine! What matters is the inside, not the outside. Don’t you think so? Hmm?”
“…If I think of it as a custard cream bun, it’s okay.”
“That’s my Miro! Kiss!”
“Stop it.”
…Going around with Seoyoon drains me a bit.
Sometimes it’s tiring, but still…
if it weren’t for Seoyoon, I wouldn’t even have dreamt of doing such youthful things.
So, it’s bearable.
But, Seoyoon really has no sense of danger.
She bit the bread I was eating? Lucky it was me; if she did that to anyone else, they might have thought she liked them.
How should I tell her not to take other people’s food without making it sound rude…? Maybe I should just say,
“Don’t eat things others are already eating because it’s gross.”
Would that work? Ah
“Seoyoon, I think we should part ways here.”
“…Why? Your house isn’t here.”
“I’m starting a part-time job at the convenience store.From 5 to 9 PM, three days a week.”
“Miro… at a convenience store?”
“Yeah. My house only has my grandmother, so I have to work hard.”
I told the truth, but the money my biological mother and my trashy mother left me was quite a bit… so I didn’t actually need to work part-time. But there were a few reasons I had to work, considering safety and other things.
First, I personally needed money.
My grandmother gave me a decent allowance, but it was only enough for basic needs.
To buy the anti-stab suit and other self-defense tools, I needed more
It’s better to earn it myself than ask for more money from her. Second, I needed to work to understand how this world works.
From the outside, this world doesn’t seem much different from the one I lived in, except that there are only women, but there are subtle differences in everyday life.
For example, there’s a train car specifically for people under 150 cm.
…The reason such cars exist is because tall women were being harassed too much, and it was a huge shock when I learned that.
Unless you experience these differences firsthand, you wouldn’t know where they might be, so it’s better to start experiencing social life early.
I won’t be living like this forever, after all. The convenience store is a safe place to work because if anything dangerous happens, I can call the police immediately.
It’s a good place to start my first job.
“Hey, Miro… do you need money?”
“Huh?”
“If it’s you, Miro, I can give you some money. I know it’s not a good thing, but… I don’t like seeing you struggle.”
…Seoyoon.
Was she really worried because of my grandmother’s situation? She’s such a kind person, it’s hard to believe she belongs to this messed-up world.
“It’s okay.”
“Miro…”
“Exchanging money could cause a rift in our friendship. I want to keep things clean between us. And my family isn’t completely broke. This is more for my own interest.”
“…Really?”
“Really.”
Hug.
“I’m glad you think that way, Miro. Hehe…”
“Of course. And, get off me.”
“Do you know how many people don’t think like that? Hey, what convenience store do you work at?”
“If I tell you, you’ll probably come visit me every day, so it’s a secret. I want to take my job seriously.”
“How mean! How mean, how mean!”
“Three times won’t change anything.”
“…Hmph.”
…By the way, Seoyoon must be from a wealthy family.
She’s offering money to help me, but that’s not something you do by giving a few thousand won.
She really gives off that rich aura.
I guess it’s natural, huh? That doesn’t really change my feelings about her, though.
Whether Seoyoon is rich or not, she’s still my friend.