1. Reversed World
1. Reversed World
1. Reversed World
'Thinking it's my first day of university makes me so nervous.'
As I walked through the apartment complex, as if to announce spring, the scent of grass tickled my nose.
It's a 20-minute walk to the university. It's not that far if you use transportation, but when I tried to walk, it felt surprisingly distant.
I had never been in a relationship until I was 20. It wasn't that I couldn't talk to women. Was it just because I wasn't ugly, but I wasn't particularly attractive either? I recall three times in my school days when I confessed my feelings.
'Fuck...'
It wasn't a good memory. After that, I couldn't even think about confessing to a woman and just hung out with my friends. It was an uneventful, if you call it uneventful, and unremarkable, if you call it unremarkable, school life. Now, I don't even want a relationship. I've done everything to try and have sex. For my 20th birthday, my friends and I went to pickup bars several times, used dating apps, and open chat rooms. I managed to keep conversations going both in real life and online, but I never achieved any results.
'Ah, I want to have sex.'
I shook my head, erasing the fleeting, vexing thought.
Exiting the apartment complex and turning left, a crosswalk for a long, eight-lane road came into view.
'Come to think of it, wasn't the Freshman Welcoming Party tomorrow?'
Just then, the light turned green, so I kept walking and checked the calendar on my phone.
Screech—!
"Huh?"
When I looked up from my phone, the apartment buildings were upside down, and asphalt roads, like a ceiling, stretched out above my head.
Thud.
'Did I get hit by a truck?'
Lying sprawled out on the asphalt in broad daylight, I felt a warm, liquid sensation flowing down my back.
My head wouldn't turn.
'Mom?'
I saw my mother running towards me from afar.
On that day, Kim Myeong-won, 20 years old, died.
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"Haaah...!"
Clutching my startled chest, I shot up and looked around.
An unfamiliar ceiling, unfamiliar furniture, unfamiliar bedding.
Then, I frantically began to grope my body.
"What the!"
A moment later, cold sweat streamed down, soaking my back.
There were no injuries.
I was clearly hit by a truck and died.
But why am I alive?
"This is..."
Something human-shaped caught the corner of my eye.
Slowly turning my head, I saw a full-length mirror, and in it stood a tall, handsome man.
"?"
A sudden wave of cognitive dissonance made me frown and lean my head forward to stare into the mirror.
'What is this?'
Then, the man in the mirror also frowned and stared back at me.
I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked at my hand. Then I moved it.
My fingers moved according to my will, but they were larger and longer than my own hands.
"Uh...! Uh-oh!!!! What the!"
I grabbed both cheeks with my hands with a *chap* sound and stepped closer to the full-length mirror.
"Uh!!"
Words wouldn't come out properly.
"Fucking hell!?!?!?!"
As I frantically groped my face, my hands squashed it in all directions.
But even so, I couldn't hide that handsome face. The world is truly unfair if someone can look this good even when their face is crumpled.
I flung open the unfamiliar door and stepped out, finding myself not in my original apartment, but a two-room apartment.
"This isn't my house."
I quickly pulled out my phone. It was password-locked. Six numbers flashed through my mind.
"0...5...08...24"
It opened...
For a moment, I thought it was a birthday, but that wasn't important right now.
I went into the chat app.
The profile displayed the name of the body's owner.
"Park Ga-ram...?"
Come to think of it, the view outside was familiar.
I immediately slipped my shoes on without fully putting them on and went down the stairs.
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After investigating for a few days, I found that this was a Reversed World.
I had been swapped into the body of someone named Park Ga-ram. What's more, we attended the same university, department, had the same student ID number, and even lived in the same neighborhood.
'No matter how I think about it, does this even make sense?'
It was the kind of thing that only happens in creative works, like webtoons. There were many theories that flashed through my mind, like divine intervention or a trick of fate.
'For now, I have no information I can use. And no solution.'
Since there was no particular way to deal with the current situation, I decided to tackle the immediate tasks at hand to continue living. With my body somewhat accustomed, I immediately headed to school.
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20 minutes later
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"Nopi University... Department of Comprehensive Media Design... Is this it?"
As I entered the classroom, many students were already seated.
The gazes directed at me were burdensome, but I pretended not to be flustered and found a seat.
'As expected, there are a lot of women.'
Soon, the professor entered and began calling attendance.
"Park Ga-ram"
"Yes!"
"Yoon Seo-ah"
"...Yoon Seo-ah isn't here?"
Just then, the door opened, and a woman rushed in.
A beautiful woman with striking black bobbed hair and a tear mole. My eyes kept gravitating towards her.
'What would it feel like to do it with a woman like that...?'
"Yes! I apologize for being late..."
She bowed slightly to the professor in apology, then panted and wiped away sweat. Yoon Seo-ah quickly sat in one of the empty front seats.
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After the boring OT ended, everyone started leaving the classroom.
Of course, I also followed the flow and exited.
After leaving the building and walking a bit, the student cafeteria came into view.
I checked the time on my Apple Watch. It was exactly 12 o'clock, so I went in without delay.
'Jeyuk is god-tier.'
I immediately ordered the 5,000 won Jeyuk-deopbap (spicy stir-fried pork over rice), received it, and sat down at a random empty table.
With my phone in one hand, I busily shoveled rice into my mouth with the other, chewing noisily.
'By the way, where was the afternoon general education lecture hall?'
It was the first day, and I thought I had no one to ask, when an app suddenly flashed through my mind.
'Ah, that existed, didn't it?'
I immediately downloaded 'Maeta,' an essential app for university students, and searched the free bulletin board for information about my general education course, "Debate and Presentation."
Normally, debate and presentation weren't fields I was interested in, but I ended up taking it because it was a mandatory general education course.
As I searched, a particular board caught my eye.
'Sexual Counseling Board...?'
As if possessed by something, I clicked and skimmed through the posts.
- Ah, I want to have sex.
In my previous life, I'd also spent a good deal of time on online communities, so it was a post that evoked a nostalgic feeling.
'These bastards are the same everywhere, whether there or here.'
Grinning, I scooped another spoonful into my mouth.
- A man to meet today?
- I'm 162cm, 53kg, 75C, message me if interested.
- The man I saw at the art building today was so fucking hot, goddammit.
- Guys, what do you think about partners? Please vote.
- Ah, isn't there a man to meet anywhere?
I looked around, wondering if anyone was watching me.
I felt glances from various places peeking in my direction.
'Since I have an appearance that draws attention, I should be careful.'
I subtly held my phone at an angle only I could see.
In middle and high school, my friends and I used to mess around with open chat and random chat.
Most would leave if I said I was a man, and even if I met a woman, they were either hostile or indifferent.
I wondered how proactive women in this world would be towards men.
As if drawn, I selected the latest post and sent a message.
[ I'm a man ]
Was that too insincere? I wondered, but a reply came less than 3 seconds after I sent it.
[ Hi, how old are you? ]
[ I'm 20 ]
[ I'm 23 ]
'If she's 23, is she a senior?'
[ So you're a senior? ]
[ That's right, but do you want to meet? ]
[ What would we do if we met? ]
[ Sex ]
I was momentarily flustered. Compared to the real world, this woman was too blatant and direct.
'What kind of person is this?'
[ LOL why are you so blatant ]
[ I'm really desperate right now ]
[ Want to? Sex ]
Still accustomed to the values of my original world, a wave of anxiety washed over me.
'What if I get reported for sexual harassment and arrested?'
[ I want to! Definitely want to! ]
My worries were for naught; the other person was proactive. I wondered if this was right, but my lower half swelled regardless of my will, so I made up my mind for now.
[ Then come to the front of the student cafeteria ]
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I finished my meal and was heading towards the entrance to get a drink from the water fountain.
But at the entrance, a woman was standing in an awkward posture that anyone could see.
[ Where are you? ]
As the woman typed something on her phone, my phone vibrated.
[ I'm at the front right now ]
The woman looked around. Her hair was short, and her face...
'Fuck? Is this a fantasy world? Why is there an orc?'
Her face was full of acne, round wire-rimmed glasses made her already small eyes even smaller, a strangely crooked low nose, and protruding lips. It was an appearance that made me understand why she was in such a hurry.
'Ah, fuck, I absolutely can't be caught.'
I immediately blocked her message and quickly left without even glancing in her direction.
The woman looked at me, but fortunately, she didn't say anything.
As I walked, breathing a sigh of relief, strange things in my surroundings finally started to catch my eye.
There were "Male Safety Home Route" signs, and massage flyers scattered around explicitly showed the bodies of Vietnamese men.
It was then that I truly realized this world had changed.
'It's not just me who changed; it's a world where genders are reversed. Why me?'
The natural question led to another question, and it ended with an unanswerable question.
'Well, for now... since things have come to this, I have to adapt.'
I let out a deep sigh and plopped down on a nearby bench.
Across from me was a parking lot, and behind me, a large university building. The women passing by all stared at me.
'Those fucking bitches... kinda hot, though?'
The moment I imagined fucking the girls who were giggling at me, my lower half started to swell thickly.
I realized on the first day, when I peed, that this new body's dick was quite large. The weight in my hand felt different, so I couldn't resist my curiosity and measured it. It was exactly 19.7cm. A size nearly 20cm, a level that wouldn't lose even when compared to a Black man.
'They're going to notice, aren't they?'
My blatantly bulging crotch. Before anyone could see, I quickly put my hand in my pocket and adjusted its position. Fortunately, my pants were loose, so it was mostly covered.
And the girls passing by, whispering as they saw me.
"Hey, look at that guy, he's really handsome..."
"You go get his number."
"As if? He probably has a girlfriend..."
I averted my gaze from the women and checked the time; class was almost upon me.
'Ah... I should just go to my general education class for now.'
Standing awkwardly and walking in a posture that clearly looked uncomfortable to anyone, I headed to the classroom.