Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Before the Cafe Opens: A Short Holiday (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The start of the weekend, Saturday.
Waiting for Seo-yeon at the appointed spot, I realized for the first time in a while just how different this world was from my past life.
"Hey, look over there. Is he here alone?"
"Wow... Is he a celebrity or something?"
When I was working at the cafe, the Cafe Owner had been blocking customers from approaching me without my knowledge.
But now, standing defenseless in front of the movie theater like this, I could hear women's stares and whispers.
"He's not a celebrity, right? Just a regular guy with that kind of looks? How has he not caught anyone's eye until now? If I'd known sooner, I would've made him my boyfriend."
"Ugh, virgin overflowing with confidence."
"Today's me is different! Should I go ask for his number?"
And separately from my looks, I realized why women hadn't approached me much before.
"He must have a girlfriend. No way a guy like that doesn't."
"...Yeah, better not do something embarrassing for nothing."
A business class lecture from my past life.
One of the theories I'd heard back then was game theory.
'The participants in a game consider not only their own choices and opportunities but also those of the other participants when making moves, right?'
It was a pretty complicated theory overall, but the example the professor gave stuck in my head even after reincarnation.
[If a group of guys go to a club and meet an absolute stunner and her slightly less stunning friend, what happens? They all flock to the stunner to win her over, right? Sure, but only a tiny fraction go all-in for real. When they calculate the odds, the chances of landing someone more valuable than themselves are low. Instead, more guys target the stunner's friend, figuring their odds are better there.]
In short, there are few brave souls willing to pick the flower on the cliff.
'Those women who almost got my number back then must've been incredibly courageous.'
Maybe at the cafe, it wasn't the Cafe Owner blocking them, but this reason why no one approached? My assumption that she was protecting me might be off.
'Still, can't do anything about the stares.'
Women's gazes came from all directions.
Some were mixed with looks from women who had boyfriends with them.
"...Su-hyun-ah? What are you looking at right now?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing?"
"I saw it all! You were eyeing another guy!"
"No! Really, I just thought his outfit looked good and wondered if it'd suit you!"
Watching the couple bicker.
I wondered if I'd been viewing this era with too much prejudice.
'It's not like an era that's just kind to men.'
I'd felt that way partly because people around the cliffside flower were nice to me.
And since I'd only focused on the hunter world, my knowledge of society and culture was lacking.
'After investigating the Shin Jeong-hwa incident last time, I saw men are victims in a lot of crimes too.'
Crimes against men made up 36% of total crime rates or something.
There were articles about subway groping or dating violence too, so it wasn't like all women unconditionally protected men.
'...Maybe the porn was my misunderstanding too?'
Last time I checked, breastfeeding play was mainstream.
But I'd only looked at that one site, so maybe it was special.
'Hmm, who knows. I'll see it soon enough anyway. Can check then.'
I had to look at some naughty stuff soon.
In my opinion, what happened with Seo-yeon wasn't just me turning into a dog—it was mostly pent-up sexual desire that I'd always sealed away finally bursting out.
So, I should masturbate periodically to release sexual tension.
'Of course, I don't plan to rely on that alone.'
Just in case, I altered a few of the hypnoses on myself.
First, I erased the one where I turn into a dog when blackout drunk.
Then, I implanted the following:
[When blackout drunk, obey commands from Choi Yu-ra or Lee Seo-yeon.]
...It could lead to a thin-book scenario.
But those two were different from the sleazy women in the male-female reversal novels from my past life.
They're good, kind people, so they won't do anything weird.
'Even if they do, better this way.'
If I did something weird, I'd definitely use hypnosis for unspeakable acts.
But those two would never, so better if I end up on the receiving end.
'Of course, I trust those two! I trust them!'
At first, I considered [When blackout drunk, just fall asleep], but you never know with people, right?
What if, while I'm passed out drunk, some jerk picks a fight and they have to protect me?
Yu-ra noona could handle it, but Seo-yeon doesn't have that combat ability, so better to obey their commands.
"By the way, who's that guy been waiting for so intently?"
"Maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend? I kinda want to make a move."
"Yeah, what girl would keep a guy like that waiting past the appointed time?"
Lost in various thoughts, I overheard the women's whispers around me.
For the record, Seo-yeon wasn't late; I just came early.
Fortune favors the bold? A stylish woman approached me.
"Um..."
"Jun-hyuk!"
Right on cue, Seo-yeon arrived.
"Uh, what is it?"
"Huh? Oh, n-no, nothing, haha!"
Seo-yeon glared, and the approaching woman backed off with a hollow laugh.
"No way, they're on a different level?"
"For real? He's dating a girl like that?"
The whispers grew louder. Luckily, Seo-yeon was only looking at me and didn't hear, but even I sympathized a bit.
"...Seo-yeon? What the hell is that outfit?"
A white T-shirt with an anime character printed on it.
The image of pretty boys with horns on their heads stretching their arms out dancing was hard to accept as a normie.
"It's an Ushimusuko T-shirt! We're watching the movie today, so as a fan, I had to wear it!"
"...Ah, so this is the movie we're seeing today."
What the hell is Ushimusuko?
I shot her an intense look begging for an explanation, but disappointingly, she didn't pick up on it.
"But Jun-hyuk, you got here super early? We set the meetup for exactly 10 minutes before showtime."
"I was excited for the date, so I came early."
And I'd thought Seo-yeon would come early too.
She keeps perfect time.
"I-I see. From now on... I'll come early too."
"Nah, it's fine. As long as you keep good time."
"Right? Hehe."
Liar, you bitch!
Looks like Seo-yeon is a bit oblivious.
"Shall we head in?"
"Yeah!"
Seo-yeon walked beside me.
We're supposed to be lovers, so why not hold hands? Why so awkward?
"Eek!"
No choice—I grabbed her hand first.
She just trembled slightly and blushed, not refusing.
"...Am I dreaming right now? A guy came to see Sonam?"
"L-Look at that guy's T-shirt! It's a Sonam Platinum VVIP Secret T-shirt!"
"Oh my god, I never thought I'd see a Sonam Platinum VVIP Secret T-shirt in real life!"
Platinum is platinum, VVIP is VVIP—what's with all the modifiers?
And it's just a plain white tee with an anime character printed on it— is it that rare to make such a fuss?
"B-But he has a girlfriend!"
"Idiot! Would a guy come to see Sonam? She must've blackmailed her little brother into coming!"
"Argh! So jealous! Why won't my little brother come with me?!"
Is this really Korea?
Did I unknowingly get isekai'd?
"Here, Jun-hyuk."
"What's this?"
"A glow stick!"
Is this a concert?
Why bring glow sticks into a movie theater?
I wanted to ask, but...
"You know? This theater version is a special one made by the Ushimusuko team to celebrate 1 million Korean users, focusing on Korean characters."
"There's an original work?"
"Yeah! Ushimusuko is originally a Japanese game, but it's popular in Korea too, so there are tons of Korean characters. This theater version is a spin-off about how the Cheongdo Team was formed and how they banded together..."
Before the screening started, I couldn't get a word in against her passionate too-much-talker mode.
'Like Yu-ra noona at the Hunter Museum.'
My ears were about to bleed, but after enduring patiently, the movie finally began.
And I watched.
『We're gonna lose anyway! That guy's a black cow! Black cow! His muscle density is on another level from mine!』
『White cow! You already forgot? Cow fights aren't just you alone. It's our whole team! The entire Cheongdo Team fighting together!』
I realized the world is full of mysteries I don't know.
"You gave me dry hay~♪ The taste of that fodder~♪ Becoming the mark of love, our friendship~♪"
"You gave me dry hay~♪ The taste of that fodder~♪ Becoming the mark of love, our friendship~♪"
"You gave me dry hay~♪ The taste of that fodder~♪ Becoming the mark of love, our friendship~♪"
The cow fight tale of the pretty "boys" called Ushimusuko.
Overflowing with love and friendship.
And midway through, Bollywood-style dances and songs with the audience singing along.
'Chaos, total chaos!'
I couldn't focus on the movie at all and looked at Seo-yeon.
"U-ho! U-ho!"
She'd completely forgotten she was on a date with me and was shaking her glow stick like the other women, cheering on the characters on screen.
"Haa, haa, whew, it's been a while since I properly let loose."
"You look beat—have some cola."
"Ah! Jun-hyuk! Thanks!"
Anyone would think she'd hit the gym.
Sweat dripped down her nape.
'...Hot.'
I pulled out a tissue and wiped her nape.
"!?"
She flinched in surprise.
"!!!"
The women around us flinched too.
No, why are you surprised?
"Ahem, Jun-hyuk? You know?"
"What?"
"Every Ushimusuko theater version always has a post-credits scene. So you can't leave right when the movie ends."
"Wow... That's a fun gimmick."
"Right? Cool, huh?"
No real feelings, but she was loving it.
Couldn't bear to disappoint her, so I played along.
"Right? I knew you'd get hooked on Sonam, Jun-hyuk!"
"Haha, first time seeing it, but it's definitely fun."
She seemed happier than when I accepted her confession?
Anyway, seeing her happy made me happy too.
"Ugh, already over."
Finally, after an eternity of endurance, the movie ended.
Credits rolled, but as she'd said, she stayed glued to her seat for the post-credits.
『So this is Cheongdo? The place where Korea's top cow fights happen?』
A mysterious figure emerged against the sunset.
Its grand horns cast a shadow over Cheongdo.
『I don't know Korea's cow fight level... but compared to Japan, probably nothing special.』
The sun fully set, revealing the mysterious character's appearance.
White hair and white horns.
A pretty boy with red eyes.
『I, Wagiu Kyube, stake the honor of the Wagiu clan to conquer Cheongdo!』
But...
'Huh?'
His face...
Looks like me?
"..."
Seo-yeon looked at me with wide eyes.
"..."
All the other women around too.
"J-Jun-hyuk..."
No, what is this?
"Sonam!?"
＊＊＊
"Hina, the theater version's attendance has already broken 1 million."
Ushimusuko's character designer and team lead, Nagamatsu Hina, sipped her coffee while listening to her colleague.
"Like you said, putting the new character in the post-credits scene caused a huge stir."
"Hitting customers where they least expect it—that's true salesmanship."
The communities were buzzing over the new character from the post-credits.
Revealing it through the movie before the game had massively boosted both the film and game promo, with new Ushimusuko registrations up 230% from last month.
"But was there a separate model for the character? It's the best one yet."
"Who knows? Maybe."
The woman behind it all inhaled the coffee aroma, thinking of one man.
'To think a man like that exists in the world.'
The perfect sonam she'd longed for.
She wanted to whisk him to Japan and 3D model him, but with everyone's eyes on her, she settled for sketches.
'If only I knew his name.'
Does he remember me?
I sketched him without even making eye contact, so probably not.
'But another you lives and breathes inside me.'
As the game character sonam.
She, who loved 2D men more than real ones.
'As Wagiu Kyube.'
Nagamatsu Hina was satisfied with that.