The World Without Men
My name is Kim Jun.
Just your average twenty-six-year-old salaryman.
Beaten down by the company, beaten down by people, suffocating in the same endless routine every day—until one moment I thought,
I want to run away.
So I did something insane and bought a plane ticket. The destination? Mount Everest.
Even now, I can’t believe I was in my right mind.
“Ha… fuck…”
I couldn’t breathe properly. My chest felt crushed, like someone had folded my lungs in half. No, it was worse than that. Every desperate gulp of air only made my head spin and my heart hammer wildly.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of my own heartbeat roared in my ears. My legs felt like lead, my skull throbbed, and my mouth was bone-dry.
“This sucks… I’m gonna die.”
Fuck. I never should’ve come.
From the bottom it just looked like a tall mountain. Up here, it was no place for humans.
“Maybe I should just give up and head back down…”
My feet stopped moving.
“Ugh… what an idiot.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. I really never should’ve come.
“No plan, no nothing. No wonder my work life is such a mess.”
I was busy cursing myself and sighing when I spotted a tiny movement at the edge of the cliff.
“Huh?”
A puppy. A small one, huddled in a crevice between the rocks, dangling there like it could fall at any second.
“Hey… that’s dangerous.”
I approached slowly.
“Come here. Here, boy.”
But the little thing just stared at me with terrified eyes, too scared to move.
“Ha… damn it.”
No choice. I took one careful step, then another.
“Don’t move, okay?”
I reached out my hand slowly.
“That’s it… stay right there…”
Just a little more.
The moment my fingers were about to touch the scruff of its neck, the puppy’s eyes widened.
“Yelp—!”
It twisted, slipped, and fell straight off the cliff.
“No!”
My hand shot out on reflex. The instant I felt fur brush my fingertips, the ground vanished beneath my feet.
“Huh…?”
My body tilted. Balance gone. Wind slapped my face. The sky filled my vision.
Flipping through the air, the cliff grew smaller and smaller as I fell.
“Fuck…”
“All because of one stupid dog!”
This is it.
One single thought flashed through my mind.
“If I’d known this would happen…”
“I should’ve fucked a woman at least once.”
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!!”
My senses slowly drifted away. The tips of my fingers disappeared. My legs disappeared. Even the sound of my heartbeat faded.
“Damn it…”
Then I felt nothing at all.
--------
I had no idea how much time had passed.
No consciousness, no dreams, no thoughts—just the feeling of sinking into empty darkness. Strangely, though, my body felt light.
Then a faint scent brushed the tip of my nose. Warm and clean. I slowly opened my eyes, and brilliant light flooded my vision.
Instead of dirt, soft grass and flowers spread beneath me. Blue blossoms and white ones swayed gently in the breeze like calm waves. It felt like I was lying on a bed made of flowers.
“What the…?”
My voice worked.
“Am I alive?”
I sat up and moved my arms around. No pain.
“Huh…?”
My legs were fine too. I flexed my ankles, bent my knees, and gave my body a light shake.
“Completely fine?”
I had fallen from a cliff. From Mount Everest, no less. The height alone should have turned me into paste. Yet here I was without a single scratch.
I took a slow breath. The air was crisp, neither cold nor thin. This definitely didn’t feel like high altitude.
Where the hell was I?
I stood and looked around. Tall trees blocked the sky, but sunlight still slipped through, painting sparkling patterns on the ground. Somewhere nearby, birds sang.
It was peaceful. Too peaceful.
But it was also completely unfamiliar. An entirely alien landscape.
“This isn’t…”
“Everest.”
The moment I tilted my head toward the sky, something felt off. Very off.
The wind brushed directly against my skin.
Wait a second…
My gaze slowly traveled downward and froze.
“Uh…?”
I was naked.
“What the hell…”
My heart plummeted.
“What is this?”
I frantically patted my waist. Nothing. No pockets, no pants, no jacket, no hiking gear at all.
“Why am I butt-naked?”
I quickly covered myself and scanned the area. Thank god, no one was around.
“Where’s my bag??”
I spun around, searching. No oxygen tank, no backpack, no equipment. Just flowers, grass, and me.
“I’m so fucked…”
The breeze brushed my bare skin again, and the reality of the situation finally hit me. My heart started racing all over again.
I hadn’t died, but this was far from good. This was real. I had fallen completely naked into an unknown place.
While I was panicking, I heard the sound of grass being stepped on.
The moment I whipped my head toward the noise, my entire body locked up.
A few steps away stood a woman with golden hair braided into twin tails. She wore turquoise armor with intricate silver engravings that caught the sunlight and glowed softly.
“Armor…?”
A long sword hung at her waist. Her hand slowly moved down and gripped the hilt.
“A sword?”
Cold, sharp blue eyes stared straight at me, filled with caution and clear curiosity.
“Who are you?”
Her clear voice snapped me back to reality.
Wait.
I’m naked right now. Completely naked.
Our eyes met. One second. Two. Three.
Her gaze slowly traveled downward.
And stopped.
“…?”
I saw her eyebrows twitch slightly and suddenly came to my senses.
“Hey, don’t look!”
I frantically covered myself with both hands and stumbled backward.
“Stop looking!”
My heart was pounding like crazy.
“This is a misunderstanding!”
“Well, not really a misunderstanding, but still!”
A naked man in the grass. An armored woman holding a sword.
What the hell kind of situation was this?
She kept her hand on the hilt, watching me. Her expression barely changed, but her eyes definitely had.
“You… are strange.”
Her gaze moved from my head to my shoulders, then down my body.
“You are not wearing clothes.”
“And your hair… why is it so short?”
Her eyes continued lower. Her brows furrowed slightly.
“And there are no curves…”
“What…?”
She took one cautious step closer, but her hand stayed near the sword.
“Your body is so flat.”
She tilted her head slightly as she looked me over again.
“I have never seen this shape before.”
“What…?”
“Shape?”
Hey.
What the hell did you just say?
“Are you… ill?”
A serious look of concern appeared in her eyes.
“Or… have you been cursed?”
A chill ran down my spine. She wasn’t joking. She genuinely didn’t understand.
“What exactly are you?”
Her careful question left me speechless.
Fuck.
I really am screwed.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of recognition in her eyes. No wariness, no disgust—just pure confusion. The thought that flashed through my mind made my heart slam against my ribs.
No way…
This can’t be happening…
Is she crazy?
Who walks around in armor with a sword if they’re sane?
I answered, completely dumbfounded.
“What do you mean, what am I?”
“I’m a person. A man. You don’t know what a man is?”
Wait, am I the crazy one?
Or is this the afterlife?
At that moment her body stiffened. Metal scraped as her grip tightened on the sword.
“A man…?”
Her eyes widened and shook. She carefully took a step back, increasing the distance between us.
“Did you just say… man?”
She rolled the word around in her mouth, organizing her thoughts, then slowly spoke again.
“That is… a legend.”
Her voice was quiet.
“What…?”
“An old story.”
She spoke carefully.
“A being from the tales we tell children.”
“…”
“They are a race that no longer exists.”
My mind went blank.
“Fuck, race? It’s a gender. Gender.”
When I answered in disbelief, her eyes changed from fear to curiosity. She stepped closer, as if to confirm something.
One step.
Clink.
Another step.
Clink.
Those blue eyes examined my face, shoulders, chest, waist. Then they rose back to my face. I heard her swallow.
“But you…”
“You exist in the flesh.”
Her blue eyes stared directly into mine.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I let out a hollow laugh, completely lost.
“Fuck… you’re joking, right?”
Legends? Extinct? No men?
Does that even make sense?
My head was spinning. I slowly looked around again. Trees I’d never seen, flowers I’d never seen, and a woman in armor.
“Wait a minute…”
My stomach dropped.
“Where the hell am I?”
She answered as if it were obvious.
“The Lunaris Kingdom.”
I’d never heard the name before.
“What…?”
“No, not that.”
My voice rose a little.
“Where is this place? Not the country—the world.”
She looked at me strangely for a moment, then answered.
“You ask the obvious.”
“This is Elcia.”
“What…?”
“The name of this star.”
“…”
“The world we live in.”
My mind went white.
A star? Elcia? Not Earth?
Then something else hit me. I narrowed my eyes.
“But why can we understand each other?”
I was definitely speaking Korean. This wasn’t a foreign country—it was another world, apparently.
She tilted her head.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I am simply speaking normally.”
“…”
A chill ran down my back. This wasn’t a joke. This really wasn’t Earth.
And in this world…
“There are no men?”
The silver pendant on her necklace swayed slightly as she gave a slow nod. The metal of her armor clinked.
“That is correct.”
She hesitated for a moment, then added,
“There have been no men in Elcia for at least the last five hundred years.”
Then she tilted her head slightly.
“To be precise…”
“It has been four hundred and ninety-seven years, three months, and twelve days.”
“What…?”
She casually spun the hilt of her sword as if it were nothing.
“Elcia’s history has been recorded in full.”
“The Chronicles of the Queens.”
“Since then, not a single man has been born.”
My head felt numb.
Five hundred years?
She continued.
“The existence of men now only appears in myths.”
She chose her words carefully.
“Beings from old stories. Sometimes described as invaders who came from across the sea. Other times recorded as beings who descended from the sky.”
She gave a light shrug.
“No one knows the truth.”
Her blue eyes deepened as she looked at me again.
“But you are not a legend…”
She paused as if catching her breath.
“You are here, existing before me.”
“Ha… seriously.”
I ran a hand through my hair, completely at a loss.
“You’re messing with me, right?”
No men for five hundred years?
That can’t be real.
I sighed and waved my hand.
“No. Fuck.”
“If there are no men, how do you have babies?”
She blinked.
“Pardon…?”
“Babies.”
I kept going, frustrated.
“Children. Birth. Reproduction.”
I hesitated, then added,
“You need a man and a woman… right? You know?”
“Like… doing that stuff… you know?”
“Making love and stuff…”
As I spoke, I suddenly realized what I was explaining and felt a wave of embarrassment crash over me.
“Ha…”
I covered my face with my hands.
“What the hell am I even doing right now…”
My mind felt distant. A long sigh escaped on its own.
I fell off a cliff.
Woke up in a weird forest.
And now I’m giving a ‘men 101’ lecture to a woman in armor.
This has to be a dream.
Definitely.
A nightmare.
But… is it really a nightmare?