Lily Girls' Academy, and My First Meeting with the Puppy
The day had finally come.
A golden emblem gleamed atop the grand arched white gate.
The moment I laid eyes on the logo—a shooting star with a long trailing tail and adorable cat ears—I swallowed hard.
Beyond this gate lay a clue that could lead me back to my original world.
It had only been a week since Jung Si-young offered me the teaching position at the academy. Standing here now, staring at that shooting star, I kept asking myself the same question.
Could it really be nothing more than a coincidence?
Was there truly a connection between the shooting star that had dragged me into this world and the one in that logo?
It seemed far-fetched to imagine that Lily Academy was launching dimensional-kidnapping shooting stars. Still, they say when coincidences pile up, they become destiny.
In a parallel world I’d arrived in after colliding with a cat-eared shooting star, seeing a cat-eared shooting star logo wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence.
Even if the reason was trivial, there was more than enough possibility that Lily Girls’ Academy was linked to that shooting star.
I can’t give up now.
Even if I was grasping at straws, I had to try. I had to return to my original world, find my little sister, and atone for what I’d done.
Just thinking that a tip about her whereabouts could come in at any moment made my heart burn with impatience.
“Alright, this is your first step as a teacher. The kids might be watching, so straighten those shoulders.”
“Eek?!”
The sharp sting of a slap on my rear made me snap upright in surprise. Jung Si-young burst into bright laughter.
I shot her a glare for daring to touch someone else’s butt, but she simply wagged her index finger side to side and scolded me in a mock-serious voice.
“That cute little scream just now gets a passing grade, but you absolutely cannot make that face in front of the students.”
“…Because a teacher shouldn’t look like someone who gets swept away by her emotions?”
The Spartan training I’d received over the past week at Jung Si-young’s psychiatric clinic came to mind.
Children observe their guardians’ faces and expressions to gauge whether they can fully rely on them. Therefore, I must never show weakness or emotional instability in front of them.
The instant the children sensed that their teacher could be easily shaken, they would stop seeing me as a dependable pillar of support.
Besides that, I had absorbed everything she taught me—from handling the subtle psychology and social dynamics of teenage girls to the unique traits of each animal race. Her vast knowledge was now firmly etched into my mind.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Jung Si-young shook her head, the corners of her lips curling into a sly grin.
“If you make a face like that, the girls will definitely start seeing you as a female, Miss Yeo-eun.”
“………What? What are you—”
“Look.”
While I was still flustered by her incomprehensible remark, she grabbed my rear with her right hand and squeezed hard, continuing in a perfectly casual tone.
“Girls at that age can be so mischievous. If you react this lewdly even to playful ‘girl-on-girl’ touching… what do you think will happen?”
“U-um….”
Her naughty fingers kneaded my butt like warm, springy dough. A heat I had never felt in my life rose from below, spreading warmly through me.
I pressed a hand to my chest to steady my ragged breathing and bit down hard on my lower lip.
Is skinship between girls always this intense? Or am I just reacting strangely because I’m actually a guy…?
The doubt flickered for a moment, but Jung Si-young had never lied to me excessively before. So I had no choice but to believe her when she said this was just “normal girl-on-girl play.”
The reason her touch felt so overwhelmingly sensual had to be because I, a man, was experiencing female-to-female intimacy for the first time.
Besides, her expression hadn’t changed at all.
“The way you’re acting right now is exactly like a boy who suddenly blushes and squeaks ‘eek!’ just because another guy put an arm around his shoulder. Does that make more sense?”
“…Yeah, I get it now.”
If a woman who had become a man blushed and squealed at a simple shoulder hug between guys, it might be natural for her, but to outsiders it would look incredibly strange.
And right now, that’s exactly what I look like.
Unlike my previous life of shallow interactions with only a select few, from now on I would be thrown into the middle of a wild jungle filled with girls who saw me as a woman.
If I reacted sensitively and awkwardly to every little thing among students that age—who were so attuned to anything “different”—they would quickly realize I wasn’t an ordinary woman, just like Jung Si-young had joked about me being “female.”
And that would create serious obstacles in my search for clues about the cat-eared shooting star at the academy.
Her advice had been meant to keep anyone from discovering that my mind was male, but it was also genuinely helpful for my other goal.
“…I-I’ll endure it.”
“Really? You think you can hold it in?”
“I-I said I can!”
I quickly brushed away Jung Si-young’s hand, which was still playfully groping my rear, then smoothed out the wrinkles in the suit she had given me.
Finally, I turned to face her and forced out the words I hadn’t been able to say until now.
“Um… thank you.”
“Thank you for what?”
“Just… everything, really.”
I looked away in embarrassment for a moment, then met her eyes again. Jung Si-young was wearing a smile I had never seen before.
She gave my back a couple of light pats and gently pushed me forward.
“Those words were all the thanks I needed. You don’t have to feel any more gratitude toward me.”
“B-but still…”
“If you really want to repay me, just prove that my eye for people wasn’t wrong. That’s enough.”
I nodded at Jung Si-young.
Then, after taking a few deep breaths to calm my suddenly racing heart, I took my first step as a proper female teacher.
“Do your best!”
With Jung Si-young waving enthusiastically behind me, I finally stepped through the academy’s massive front gate.
…Lily Girls’ Academy.
True to its reputation as the cradle for talented prodigies and children of the upper class from across the country, the sight before me was overwhelming.
The vast athletic fields stretching toward the horizon and the dazzling marble buildings almost made me wonder if this was heaven. It felt far too grand a place for someone who, until recently, had done nothing but drink.
With every step I took, the heart that had been pounding because of Jung Si-young slowly cooled and sank.
I can do this. No—I have to do this.
I gripped the sleeve of my suit tightly and forced my head up high.
There was no need to be intimidated just because the exterior looked luxurious. At the end of the day, this was still just a school where kids studied.
“Ah, watch out!”
I had only taken a few steps when a girl suddenly shouted. My body instinctively raised a hand at the sensed danger.
The next instant—wham!—a soccer ball slammed into my palm.
…Yeah. A school should have this kind of flavor.
I lowered my slightly stinging hand and saw a group of girls standing in the distance with extremely awkward expressions.
Judging by their white short-sleeved shirts and navy bloomers, they seemed to be part of a sports club practicing soccer since early morning.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…!”
Among them, a red-haired tomboy came running over, her dog ears drooping low as she bowed repeatedly.
This lively, handsome “prince” was clearly the one who had kicked the ball.
“It’s fine. I didn’t get hurt. But you might want to work on your shooting practice a bit more?”
I smiled slightly as I handed the soccer ball back to her. The girl, who had been staring at me with a dazed look, hesitantly reached out and took it.
Then her emerald-green eyes, peeking over the ball she now hugged tightly with both arms, looked up at me shyly.
“U-um… are you a teacher?”
“Yes. The teacher who was on maternity leave needed a substitute, so I’m filling in.”
“Oh? Then—”
“Then?”
The girl looked at me with an expression that suggested her tail would be spinning like a propeller if she had one visible, then shook her head with a bright laugh.
“It’s nothing! I’ll go back to playing soccer now…!”
“Alright. Do your best.”
“Yes! I’ll do my be— whoa!”
“You should watch where you’re going…!”
She had turned to look back at me while running and nearly tripped over her own feet. She barely caught her balance and gave an embarrassed grin.
She started running back toward her friends, but then suddenly turned and came sprinting back toward me as if she had remembered something.
Her flustered, back-and-forth movements reminded me of a puppy. It was pretty cute.
“This is your first day at the academy, right, teacher?”
“Was it that obvious? Yeah, it is.”
“Then I’ll show you to the staff room!”
“Ah, no, it’s okay. I can go by myself, so just keep playing soc—”
“Nari! Catch!”
The girl lightly kicked the soccer ball. Even someone like me who knew little about soccer could see it traced a beautiful arc through the air.
It landed perfectly right in front of her friend’s feet.
The pass was practically a work of art. I almost clapped without thinking.
How could someone who could kick like that have accidentally sent the ball flying at me?
“Let’s go, teacher!”
“Ah, sure… thanks.”
She laughed cheerfully and walked half a step ahead of me, beginning to lead the way.
“Oh right, what’s your name, teacher?”
“Me? I’m Woo Yeo-eun.”
“So you’re Miss Yeo-eun? I’m Kang Hee-ji!”
Whatever made her so happy, the corners of Kang Hee-ji’s mouth stayed firmly lifted in a permanent smile.
Maybe it was because she was a dog beastman and enjoyed helping people?
“But teacher, you have such an amazing figure and you’re so pretty… You must hear that all the time and be sick of it, right?”
“Huh? Well, not really…?”
“Ehh— liar!”
Kang Hee-ji turned to look at me as if I had said something ridiculous, but it was the truth.
At least for me, now that I had become Woo Yeo-eun.
“I used to just drink… I mean, I used to hang out by myself a lot. I didn’t really have any friends to go out with.”
“I don’t believe that at all. Who would leave someone as pretty as you alone?”
“It’s true.”
Kang Hee-ji, who had been staring at me with deeply suspicious eyes, suddenly clapped her hands together.
“Then can I be your first friend, teacher?”
“My first friend?”
“Yes! Kang Hee-ji will be Woo Yeo-eun teacher’s very first friend!”
……Wasn’t this usually the kind of line a teacher said to a lonely student?
It felt strange, but there didn’t seem to be any harm in getting close to a pretty, friendly girl like Kang Hee-ji. She might be able to help me in various ways.
“Alright. Let’s be friends, then.”
“Ehehe♡”
Kang Hee-ji’s emerald eyes curved beautifully with joy.
The moment I saw that smile, bright as full-bloom sunlight, my heart sank with a thud. I cleared my throat and quickly looked away.
Woo Yeo-eun, get a grip.
Regardless of gender, this was the relationship between a teacher and a student.
Even if I was still lacking in awareness as a teacher, getting flustered by a student this early on…
“Yeo-eun teacherrr, what’s wrong? Are you feeling shy?”
“N-no, I’m not…!”
Kang Hee-ji’s face suddenly filled my entire field of vision. I jumped back in surprise.
Seeing my reaction, she clutched her stomach and burst into roaring laughter.
“Ahaha, ahahaha…! Teacher, you’re seriously so cute. What am I supposed to do?”
“W-what do you mean, what are you supposed to do?”
“It made me think I want a girlfriend just like you.”
Kang Hee-ji linked her arm with mine as she teased me.
Her carelessly pressed chest squished softly against my forearm. Of course it was just girl-to-girl skinship, but from my perspective, every nerve in my body was helplessly focused on that point of contact.
On top of that, her body was still warm from playing soccer, and she gave off a soft, pleasant scent…
Is the sense of personal space between girls always like this?
Not wanting her to notice how conscious I was of her touch, I forced out a joke in return.
“Then does that make you my boyfriend? If I get to have such a pretty boyfriend, I’d be pretty happy too.”
“I-is that… how it works?”
“Of course that’s how it works.”
“Ah… haha…”
The tips of her ears, visible through her red hair, seemed to match the color of her hair. Was that just my imagination?
Together with the suddenly quiet Kang Hee-ji, I crossed the academy grounds and arrived in front of a tall building in the center.
“This is the faculty building. It’s where all the teachers work.”
Kang Hee-ji rubbed her nose and looked at me.
“Now that I’ve shown you the way… I’ll be going. See you later!”
“Ah, okay. By the way, what grade are you—”
“Don’t forget! I’m your first!”
I shrugged as I watched Kang Hee-ji’s back disappear like the wind.
If all the kids at this academy were as nice as her, adapting wouldn’t be something I had to worry about.
I pulled my gaze away from the girl who had already become a tiny dot in the distance, took one deep breath, and opened the door to the faculty building.
The clues about the cat-eared shooting star… and the clues that would let me return to my original world…
They were inside.