Chapter 1
Before I knew it, lunch break had arrived.
I was sitting in the back row of the classroom, staring intently at the manga book I had brought from home.
Normally, as someone who is constantly hyper-aware of what others think, I would never open and read a comic book in the middle of a classroom. But this time, I just couldn't resist.
The cover of the manga featured a blatantly nerdy female character portrayed semi-nude. On top of that, it depicted two girls embracing each other.
The genre is Yuri.
It was quite an embarrassing illustration to read openly in a classroom, but… it didn't matter.
It was lunch time anyway, and everyone had gone out to eat, so I was the only one left in the classroom.
No one would care what I was doing until someone walked in.
I was happy during this time when everyone was away for lunch and no one was around.
However, one hour is a relatively short lunch period.
Before long, students began returning to the classroom one by one.
My peaceful happiness gradually began to shatter.
As always, a few girls gathered together, sat down, and stared intently in my direction.
‘What are you staring at?’
‘Got a problem?’
I swallowed those words, unable to actually speak them out loud.
After all… what could someone like me—an outcast and a loser, just like in my past life—possibly do?
My past life?
That’s right.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a world completely different from the one I used to live in.
It’s only been a week since I reincarnated.
More importantly, it’s hot, so I should unbutton my shirt a bit.
Even though I’m told to button it up tightly, my tendency to get hot easily is the same in this world too.
Fanning myself with one hand, I unbuttoned the top few buttons with the other.
Just then, the girls who had been sitting together and watching me started whispering.
And they were loud enough that I could hear every word from all the way across the room.
"Hey, look over there."
"……Hmm?"
"Look at how Seo Ha-jin’s shirt is unbuttoned a bit. The skin peeking through looks fucking soft…… so hot."
"Wow…… you crazy bastard. That comment is fucking gross, seriously."
"No, honestly, how can anyone resist this? Look at his chest binder peeking through…… slurp."
"Sigh, wipe your drool. Disgusting bastard."
"Why? Should I try confessing to him?"
"Keep dreaming."
"No, honestly, wouldn't someone like me have a shot?"
"If you have a conscience, put your hand on your heart. Do you think Seo Ha-jin is crazy enough to date someone like you?"
"……Why are you talking so cuntishly?"
It made me want to find a hole to hide in.
Their whispering resonated across the whole classroom, though the ones talking didn't seem to realize it.
The kids who had finished lunch early and returned to class…… even the ones who had been chatting with friends turned their eyes toward me one by one.
The other guys didn't even show interest, instead sending glances of envy……
Meanwhile, I could feel the girls staring intently at my skin and the chest binder peeking out from the front of my shirt…… and those looks were extremely lewd.
Which makes sense, because this world I reincarnated into is one where gender roles are reversed.
Apparently, that's what my appearance looks like to them……
Unlike my past life when I was fat and ugly……
Now, I have such an androgynous appearance that it's hard to tell whether I'm a boy or a girl.
My skin is so soft it can't even be compared to the rough skin of my past life.
My hair hangs down slightly to my chin…… I wanted to cut it, but my mother in this world strongly opposed it.
Anyway, most guys in this world look similar to me.
My height is also much shorter than in my past life…… It’s about the average height of a female from my previous life.
On the flip side, the girls are all a palm's width taller than me, just like the guys in my past life.
It’s practically a visual straight out of an Onee-Shota story.
Even in physical strength, women are stronger.
And above all, the chest binder……
I had no choice but to wear it because my mother in this world insisted on it.
Guys in this world have sensitive chests during their growth period.
Mine was very sensitive right now and slightly swollen, so I couldn't refuse.
I heard that while women get married and pregnant, if a baby is born, the man does the breastfeeding……
It’s treated exactly like a woman's chest in my past life.
Let’s just erase that thought from my head.
Come to think of it, all the guys here were embarrassed to expose their chests.
I can still feel the eyes of the girls staring at my skin even now……
Ah……
Thinking about it pisses me off.
Evaluating my looks……
No, wait……
Isn't this basically sexual harassment?
Rattle.
Kim Ah-rin entered through the back door of the classroom first.
Bright blonde hair reaching down to her waist, sharp eyes……
The tallest among the girls……
Distinct facial features……
An overbearing aura you could feel even when she was just standing still……
In that moment, the classroom became eerily quiet.
The guys who were glancing at me and whispering……
Even the girls who had been making a fuss about me until a moment ago instantly shut their mouths and read Kim Ah-rin’s mood.
Kim Ah-rin walked side by side with her close friend Lee Joo-hee, who followed her in……
Kim Ah-rin is the girl who sits right next to me.
In terms of my past life, she’d be part of the male delinquent group.
Among them, Kim Ah-rin was like the boss of the delinquents.
Honestly, I was scared.
This is a place where gender roles are reversed……
Even though she's a girl now, her behavior was just like the male delinquent leader from my past life.
And yet, that very Kim Ah-rin…… would always talk to me first, simply because I sat next to her.
For a delinquent leader whom the entire classroom feared, she was quite kind.
She was unusually kind only to me.
It was as if…… in my past life, a male delinquent was subtly taking care of and following around an outcast girl tucked away in a corner.
It was the kind of friendly attitude that the delinquents who used to bully me in my past life only showed to quiet girls.
Truth be told, in my past life, I envied those girls.
At least they weren't openly bullied like me, and were instead treated with a strange kind of gentleness by the delinquents.
To think that I'd experience that firsthand in this world……
It feels strange.
Because I'm receiving the exact same looks and treatment that only girls used to get in my past life.
It's true that the eyes that used to look down on me and bully me have changed into lewd glances.
I thought it was at least better than before when I suffered violence.
No, maybe this was the attention I, an outcast, had longed for so badly.
Because after the bullying ended, all that was left for me was cold indifference.
But experiencing it in reality made me realize that something was wrong.
I was completely unaccustomed to this kind of attention……
And those persistent, piercing gazes felt less like goodwill and more like another form of bullying.
It was annoying…… uncomfortable…… and at the same time, frightening.
To me, who had been an outcast without a single friend and left only with wounds……
This sudden, lewd attention from others was merely a burdensome and scary object of vigilance.
Kim Ah-rin said goodbye to Lee Joo-hee.
"I'm heading to my seat then."
"Yeah, see you later."
After saying goodbye to Lee Joo-hee, Kim Ah-rin slowly walked over.
Unlike Lee Joo-hee and Yang Min-ji, who took their seats in front of me on the opposite side, Kim Ah-rin's seat was right next to mine.
As soon as Kim Ah-rin arrived at the desk next to me, she looked at me.
To be precise, she looked at the cover of the manga book open in my hands.
Soon, she pointed at the cover with her finger and looked horrified.
I was afraid I'd get that look of disgust again like in my past life, but……
"Ugh…… Seo Ha-jin, you read stuff like this? That’s hideous…… my eyes are rotting……"
"Huh, what's wrong with it……?"
"How can you like this? I'm a woman, you know?"
"Just because you're a woman doesn't mean there's a law saying you have to hate it."
"No, what kind of woman likes this stuff……"
"It's not that weird."
"It's basically the same thing!"
"No it's not. It's slightly different."
"……What is the difference, really?"
"Don't you know?"
Fortunately, she didn't seem to look at me with disgust.
Still, I felt a bit cranky for no reason.
Normally, I would have just glossed over it with a brief reply…… or ignored her entirely.
Honestly, delinquents are scary.
But…… I couldn't help it.
Insulting two female characters embracing each other…… no, insulting Yuri was something even I couldn't tolerate.
Ah, come to think of it……
What was Yuri in my past life would probably be BL in this world.
Hmm……
If I imagined myself watching BL in my past life……
……It might actually be understandable to find it disgusting.
More than that……
Without realizing it, I was conversing naturally with Kim Ah-rin.
And with the boss of the delinquents, no less……
When I turned my head……
I made eye contact with Kim Ah-rin, who was standing beside me, looking down.
It’s just my imagination that she’s acting even friendlier toward me, right……?
However, Kim Ah-rin's gaze……
Without realizing it, I lowered my head and looked at the top of my shirt.
My white, soft skin was fully exposed through the unbuttoned shirt.
Looking down from above, even the chest binder would be clearly visible……
When I raised my head to look at Kim Ah-rin again……
There was no mistake.
Kim Ah-rin was staring intently through the gap in my shirt with lewd eyes.
I felt a gaze even more persistent and obscene than the one the other kids had given me earlier.
It felt as if goosebumps were breaking out all over my body.
I quickly grabbed my open shirt, turned my body away, and spoke to Kim Ah-rin:
"P-Pervert……"