The Perilous Commute
1-8. On the Way to School
When Mother heard that I had to enroll at Gyeongseong Academy, her face turned ashen. If I compared the academy to something from the old world, it was like an all-female military academy. Given that this was already a world without men, the fact that I would be attending a place where not a single man had ever enrolled made her worry perfectly understandable.
Despite being overwhelmed with work at the company, Mother had gone all the way to the Gyeongseong City Hall to beg them to at least transfer me to an ordinary university. But they told her the decision was final and refused her request. She seemed devastated that she couldn't protect me. She pulled me into her arms and wept.
"Siwoo... Mommy couldn't do anything for you. What am I supposed to do...?"
"Mom..."
Even so, she had no time to linger in her grief. She had to head straight back to work. The government provides various subsidies to support families that give birth to boys, but recently public opinion has turned skeptical about these policies, and the support has been steadily shrinking. The biggest reason was a string of shameless incidents where people collected the subsidies only to sell their newborn sons to villain organizations. The eligibility requirements have been drastically tightened, the amounts reduced, and housing assistance cut back. I was born right into that generation. In other words, that civil servant bitch had no right to criticize me for "leeching off the system" (fuck that bitch).
In this society, most households consist of one father and multiple mothers. Because men are scarce, the majority of families practice a form of polygamy where several wives share a single husband—not because the man is wealthy enough to afford multiple wives, like in some Islamic countries, but simply because there aren't enough men to go around. Since our household has only one mother, there is naturally only one breadwinner, so we are constantly strapped for cash. Father apparently had other wives as well, but after he passed away they all scattered and we lost contact. On top of that, Mother's income isn't particularly high, so our household finances are no different from how they were in the old world.
...The year is Reiwa 7—2025, to be precise. Monday, March 3rd. Right now, I'm alone at home packing my things. Whether this is fortunate or not, Gyeongseong Academy apparently provides room and board to all students, just like a military academy in the old world. A few days ago the acceptance letter arrived, along with the documents I had to fill out. I've packed a few essentials and am almost ready to leave. At least this might be a small relief for Mother; with one less mouth to feed, she'll be able to save a little on living expenses. Still, she was heartbroken at the thought of us living apart. She said she was far too busy to attend the entrance ceremony. The day I first met her after the world changed and she came back to life was apparently the first proper vacation she'd had in ages—her schedule is that brutal. Given how little she earns, it can't be a very good company.
Before heading out at dawn, Mother left breakfast on the kitchen table along with a note.
I'm so sorry I can't make it to the entrance ceremony. Call me as soon as you get there!
— Mom
The thought that I wouldn't see her for a while left me feeling strangely downcast. It hadn't been long since I'd been reunited with my resurrected mother, and already we had to live apart. It was a bitter feeling. After finishing the breakfast she had prepared, I shouldered my bag and took one last look around the empty house before stepping out. The world had changed, yet nothing inside our home had. It still didn't feel real that I was in another world.
I unlocked the door with a beep and walked out.
...Leaving the apartment building, I headed toward the subway station. Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I'd gone outside since the world changed. As I walked through the apartment complex, lost in thought, I finally understood why they had assigned me to an educational institution instead of anywhere else. I was nineteen years old now—slightly younger than before. The age requirement for entering school was apparently the same as in the old world. In other words, I was exactly the right age for university, which explained the placement. Still, an ordinary university would have been far preferable...
"Haaah..."
A sigh escaped me before I realized it.
...After walking a little while wallowing in self-pity, I left the complex and saw people heading to school or work. The biggest difference from the old world was that there wasn't a single man in sight. Maybe that was why every woman I passed glanced at me. Some didn't just glance—they blushed and turned their heads to keep staring even after I'd walked by.
'This is seriously uncomfortable...'
The blatant, sticky gazes that stripped me bare made me shrink into myself. I quickened my pace toward the station.
...Five minutes later I arrived at the platform and waited for the train. 'Of course,' I thought. I'd hoped there wouldn't be many people, but the chance of an empty subway on a weekday morning was practically zero. Almost every woman waiting on the platform was staring at me—as if a man had wandered into the women's restroom, as if I didn't belong in this space, as if I were some exotic animal in a zoo. Every single pair of eyes was fixed on me.
'Even if men are rare, they've seen them before, right? Is it really that shocking to see one outside?'
Wait a second... I suddenly recalled the conversation I'd had with Mother last night.
"Siwoo, take a taxi tomorrow with this money."
"No, Mom. It's not that far. A taxi would cost a fortune."
"Listen to your mother! Men don't take public transportation. Do you want to get hurt?"
I'd accepted the money thinking a taxi all that way would be too expensive for our household (not that I was trying to mooch), but I still hadn't fully escaped the common sense of the old world. I'd planned to take the subway and bus like usual. Now that I was at the station, though, I finally understood why Mother had insisted on a taxi.
'Forget getting hurt—I'm already drawing way too much attention.'
I realized my appearance was also contributing to the aggro, not just the fact that I was male.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the train will arrive shortly. For your safety, please wait inside the yellow tactile paving blocks. Dear passengers, the train is arriving soon..."
Along with the announcement, the train pulled up to the platform. Desperate to escape the stares, I hurried to board. But—
'Shit. I'm screwed.'
The place I'd fled to was packed with even more eyes. The car I tried to enter was already full; it was standing-room only. I wanted nothing more than to wait for the next train when it would be less crowded, but the probability of an empty subway in Seoul—no, Gyeongseong—during morning rush hour was nonexistent. And I didn't have the luxury of time. With the resigned feeling of having no choice, I squeezed between the passengers and boarded.
It wasn't that I hated crowded trains. It was that I hated crowded trains full of sticky stares. I wasn't gay, I didn't hate women, and I certainly wasn't asexual. Having women show sexual interest in me wasn't unpleasant—in fact, it would normally be welcome. The problem was that there were simply too many of them.
Sure enough, every woman who could see me was staring. The ones standing right in front of me reacted especially strongly the moment they spotted me.
"Eh? A man?"
"Seriously?"
"A man riding alone?"
"No, he must be with someone."
Some of them whispered speculations to their companions, loud enough for me to hear, which only made me more uneasy since I couldn't understand what they were saying.
'I really need to study Japanese soon...'
No, if I didn't, I probably wouldn't survive. I prayed silently that this moment would pass without incident. But God wasn't listening to my desperate wish.
"Hey, who are you here with?"
"You're cute~~"
"He's really handsome~"
Three young women had approached me. While most people only stared, there were always those with enough courage—or just that kind of personality—to speak up.
'Ha... God...'
Cursing the heavens, I decided to respond with the few simple Japanese phrases I'd memorized over the past week.
"I... I don't understand Japanese."
"Eh? You can't speak Japanese?"
"How is that possible at your age?"
'Please just leave me alone...'
But the three women showed no sign of backing off and kept talking to me. While I was frantically trying to figure out how to escape the situation without trouble—regretting not listening to Mother—a single woman bolder than the three suddenly stepped between us.
"You three, can't you see he's uncomfortable? That's enough."
"Y-yes, sorry."
"Tch, so he has someone with him."
I didn't understand exactly what she'd said, but it was clear she'd driven them away.
'As expected... no matter the world, there are still decent people.'
Grateful that kindness still existed here, I turned to thank the mysterious woman who had saved me.
"Th... thank you very much."
"Pfft, you really can't speak Japanese, huh?"
In my nervousness I'd blurted out broken Japanese. Embarrassment flooded me and I felt my face heat up. But when she answered in the familiar language I knew, I was surprised all over again.
"Y-you can speak Korean?"
"Yeah. I graduated from the academy too."
Academy entrance exam? Did she mean that hero school? So they used Korean at the academy? Even though I was about to enroll there myself, I knew less about it than she did.
"I see... Anyway, thank you so much."
"Haha, by the way, why are you traveling alone? That's dangerous."
"Well, there were some circumstances..."
Talking in my native language felt so comfortable that a smile naturally spread across my face.
"Really? I see... Still, riding the subway with a face that cute and a body like that is extremely risky."
"Huh?"
My smile vanished.
"Because in this world, there are only girls like the ones from earlier—or dangerous older sisters like me."
Thud. Her arms came down right in front of me. Before I knew it she had moved behind me and wrapped me in a hug.
"Today, big sis will teach you exactly why men shouldn't come to places like this. From now on, be careful, okay?"
Fuck. It looked like I wasn't going to make it to school safely after all.