Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Not the First Day of School
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While Mom and the aunties faithfully followed Taeyang's orders, Taeyang himself was heading off to school for the first time.
'Definitely this way from here...'
Since it was his first time going somewhere after arriving in the M World, he was a bit lost on the route, but he'd already roughly looked up the school, so he made his way there without much trouble.
"Oh~ Not bad at all?"
The school was on the larger side—not quite top-tier, but solidly upper-rank, the sort of place you had to be known as "pretty good at studying" to get into.
'Guess the me in this world was quite the studious type.'
The school I'd attended in my original world was your standard private university—not one just anyone could waltz into, but still fairly easy to get accepted to.
That let him indirectly gauge that his M World self had been better at studying than he was now.
"Eek! Better hurry inside."
Having overslept that morning, time was running short, so he rushed to find the lecture hall and barely slipped in just before being late.
"Hey~ Taeyang."
"Huh? Oh, hi?"
The moment he stepped into the lecture hall, what stood out most—as expected—was the far higher proportion of women, a natural side effect of the drug No Wol Peace had developed, which had caused male births to plummet.
Anyway, as he scanned for a seat, someone who knew him called out his name, so he approached, and the guy greeted him warmly before striking up a chat.
"You usually show up early, but you're a bit late today~"
"Yeah, overslept a little."
"Really? That's rare~ This lecture has So-hee in it, so you always rush in early to sneak peeks at her~"
The skinny, short guy who seemed like a friend was chatting freely without reservation, apparently pretty close with Taeyang's M World self.
"So-hee? Who's that?"
"What? Who else? The one you were always saying you wanted to serve as your queen~"
"Oh, did I say that?"
So-hee was a classmate in his major, with a somewhat prickly personality and celebrity-level looks that made her wildly popular.
She was one of the people Taeyang's M World self had been into.
"Well, I get why you'd give up~ Even I know So-hee's super popular."
His friend had jumped to conclusions on his own, but since there were no weird suspicions, Taeyang just let it slide.
In the M World, pretty and cute girls were a dime a dozen, but the popular archetype was pretty fixed.
From the guys' perspective, it wasn't gentle, sweet-looking girls who turned heads, but sharp, prickly ones.
All the guys without exception (except me, of course) were dyed-in-the-wool masochists, so queen types who would boss them around were way more popular than angel-like sweethearts.
So-hee had been the talk of the town as a queen archetype since freshman year, popular across genders.
'Where's So-hee... Ah... That's her.'
When his friend mentioned her, he'd honestly felt meh, but the girl striding through the lecture hall door was unmistakably So-hee, and he could instantly see why she was such a big deal.
With her porcelain skin, long wavy hair dyed light blonde, killer style, and that slightly prickly, sharp-edged look his friend had mentioned, So-hee was drop-dead gorgeous even by M World standards—enough to qualify as a genuine beauty.
"What~? Thought you'd given up, but seeing So-hee shook you again?"
"N-No, that's not it..."
His friend's words nailed it right on the head; Taeyang denied it, but So-hee's looks made it clear why his M World self had been smitten.
"Ah~ I wanna meet a queen like So-hee and live like her dog forever~"
"Y-Yeah..."
Caught off guard by his friend suddenly spilling his tastes like that, but in this sexually open world, Taeyang just acknowledged it and glanced at So-hee.
'Even looking that pretty and prickly... she's ultimately just a masochistic bitch, right?'
So-hee might have been everyone's favorite queen type, but deep down, she was a true masochist like the rest.
Which meant—with the right mindset—he could train her however he wanted, just like Mom or the aunties. The thought sent a twitch straight to his groin.
'Calm down first; class is about to start. Can't pop a boner now.'
Just fantasizing about turning So-hee into his bitch slave and pounding her from behind like a dog had him riled up, but he reined it in and waited for the professor to arrive.
It wasn't long before she walked in to start the lecture.
'Whoa! The professor's no joke either.'
He'd known from the name Han Hye-jeong that it was a woman professor, but he hadn't expected someone this young and stunning.
Looking late twenties to early thirties, her crisp suit perfectly complemented her haughty features.
Her neatly bobbed hair indirectly broadcast just how meticulous she was.
'Now lectures will actually be worth sitting through!'
Honestly, he had zero real interest in studying, so classes were usually a drag, but alternating glances between So-hee and the professor? That alone made it entertaining.
A total feast for the eyes.
'The other girls aren't bad, but those two are in a league of their own.'
The other girls in the hall were cute or pretty enough to get compliments elsewhere, but they paled hard next to So-hee and the professor.
"Then today, picking up from last time..."
The professor did a quick roll call and dove into the lecture, but just watching her was so satisfying that—for the first time ever—Taeyang could actually focus.
'Hmm~ Thanks to the others, it's easy today too.'
So-hee arrived at school and, as always, enjoyed a cushy time thanks to her friends voluntarily waiting on her hand and foot.
One carried her bag; even the girls practically swooned from a single cold glance. Her natural looks and personality made her welcome everywhere she went.
In the M World, M tendencies were the baseline for everyone, and So-hee was no exception—but unless it was her ideal sadist guy, she had zero interest, so her masochistic side stayed well hidden, letting her boss people around with ease.
They bought her coffee on the way to morning lectures, prepped her textbooks, snagged the best seats—
She truly reigned as the queen of the school.
"Please submit the assignment from last class now."
For assignments, her die-hard devotees handled everything and turned them in, so all she had to do was check if they'd been submitted properly.
'Huh? What's this? It was definitely Taeyang's turn.'
This one was supposed to be done by Taeyang, her classmate who made no secret of crushing on her, so she waited for him to hand it over.
But no matter how long she waited, nothing.
And then she overheard chatter from behind...
"You didn't do the assignment?"
"Ah~ Forgot about it."
"This class weights assignments heavy; skipping even once tanks your score big time?"
"Eh, it's fine~"
So-hee was floored seeing Taeyang so casually admit to his friend that he hadn't done it.
'He didn't do the assignment!? Mine either!?'
"The ones who didn't submit... just Kim Taeyang and Kim So-hee. Not turning them in?"
"Sorry. Forgot."
"M-Me too..."
Taeyang declared it boldly, while So-hee mumbled in embarrassment as eyes turned her way.
"Hmm... Alright. Then let's continue the lecture."
Assignments carried heavy weight in this class, so of course everyone else had done theirs. With just the two of them skipping, point deductions were inevitable.
'How can he not do it and still act so brazen!!'
Of course, making others do your assignments was wrong, but from So-hee's perspective, it felt a tad unfair—
She hadn't ordered it; her sycophants had taken it upon themselves, and she'd just gone along.
But because Taeyang flaked, her grade was suddenly taking a hit.
She couldn't exactly say she'd failed to submit because he'd promised to handle it, so her fury naturally zeroed in on Taeyang.
'H-He won't even look at me!?!'
Normally, one glance would have him grinning like an idiot, but right now he seemed laser-focused on the lecture, eyes only on the professor, ignoring her completely.
Fuming at Taeyang's overnight attitude shift, So-hee found his nonchalant lecture-listening—after blowing off her assignment—thoroughly grating.
She waited for class to end, then marched over to him.
"Taeyang, let's talk for a sec."
"Huh? Sure."
"S-So-hee!!"
Normally he'd stammer and fidget the second she spoke to him, but now he replied casually, leaving his nearby friend the flustered one.
Having pulled Taeyang aside like that, So-hee dragged him into the now-empty lecture hall and laid into him.
"You said you'd do my assignment! So why didn't you!?"
"Me? ...Uh... Um... Forgot."
"You promised to do it, then bailed, and now my score's tanked too! How are you gonna make this right?"
"Sorry about that... But don't you think it's better to do your own assignments yourself?"
"Grrr!! Forget it! Don't talk to me anymore—we've got nothing to say to each other!"
Unlike the Taeyang she knew, he wasn't fumbling or hesitant, just conversing casually, which felt off-putting.
But her rage over the assignment blinded her to it, and she kept laying into him.
She figured he'd normally grovel, beg, and cling to her like a worm.
But against her expectations, Taeyang just stared blankly.
Sensing something weird about him but with nothing left to say, the irritated So-hee spat one last barb and turned on her heel.
"For a loser like you..."
"What?"
And she had no clue right then that those words would upend her life.