The Pregnancy Skill
“Please, just let me avoid Seong Miyeon! Please, just let me avoid that bully...!”
Group projects. The worst punishment for a college student, second only to graduate school.
With that looming over me, I prayed desperately to the gods. I’d do anything, as long as it wasn’t with that girl, Seong Miyeon.
“Now, regarding the final group assignments. I’ve decided to pair you up randomly, two to a group.”
I felt a slight sense of relief at the professor’s words. There were about twenty students in the lecture. Even by simple math, the probability of getting paired with Seong Miyeon was less than 10%. If this were a gacha game, 10% might be generous, but in reality? There was no way that would happen.
As if to betray my hopes, Seong Miyeon raised her hand lightly.
“Professor, I have a question.”
“Ah, yes?”
The young professor’s face softened the moment the beauty spoke in her sweet voice. You shouldn’t be like that, Professor, man! Of course, even to my eyes, Seong Miyeon in her white t-shirt and jeans was blindingly pretty.
“I want to be in a group with someone from my own department...”
“Ah, well, the purpose of this is to foster cooperation...”
“Can’t you make an exception? Please...?”
“...Working with someone from your own department is good cooperation, too. If anyone else wants to form their own groups, feel free to speak up.”
You bad professor! He was clearly about to say no, but he must have changed his mind after seeing Seong Miyeon’s charm.
Seong Miyeon whipped her head toward me.
“There you have it. Good for us, Jihun. Let’s be in a group together.”
“No, I...”
“Why? Don’t tell me you don’t want to?”
Seong Miyeon smiled brightly. Her eye-smile was beautiful enough to stun anyone, and her figure was superior. But to me, it looked like a death threat: If you refuse, you die.
“O-okay.”
“That’s what I thought.”
In the end, I could only nod obediently. Ah, the genes of this pathetic, pitiful loser. The guys around me looked at me with envy. Don’t give me those looks. I’ve just had a leash put on me like a slave. She doesn’t even see me as a man, you know?
Why did Seong Miyeon have to take this class, of all things?
It was an unpopular elective course unrelated to my major. I naturally assumed I wouldn’t run into anyone from my department. To think that Seong Miyeon, the biggest socialite in the department, would be sitting there. That alone was enough to make my head spin, but now I was in a group with her. Just thinking about how to handle this made my vision go dark.
“Then, that’s all for today’s class.”
After the lecture ended, I fumbled to pack my bag. I wanted to go home quickly and play some games to soothe my gloomy heart. That was when Seong Miyeon, who hadn’t even brought a bag in the first place, approached me.
“Hey, loser. Let’s go.”
I don’t know where she sold off the sweet voice she used on the professor earlier. Her tone toward me was cold, if not outright biting.
“W-where?”
“To a cafe. We need to talk about the project.”
Oh. I felt a slight sense of being moved. I thought she’d just ignore me and dump the whole thing on me. Surprisingly, she actually had the intention of doing it properly.
“Ah, put my books in your bag. They’re surprisingly heavy.”
“...”
We entered a nearby cafe we were familiar with. Somehow, I ended up paying. When I carried the tray up to the second floor, Seong Miyeon was already sitting there with her legs crossed.
...Damn. She really is pretty.
It would be great if her personality were just average. But the soul inside that body is a bully who lives for her own arrogance. As I set the tray down, Seong Miyeon, who had been looking at her phone, finally looked up.
“You got the cold brew right, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. But why do you insist on drinking that?”
“Haa. You really are a loser.”
Seong Miyeon sighed and stirred the ice with her straw. “This Nuna has to control everything—daily calorie intake, step count, even the ingredient content of my skincare products—to be satisfied.”
“Oh... that’s impressive.”
I genuinely thought so. I knew she had an amazing body, but I hadn’t realized maintaining it was that much work. Maybe I was seeing her in a new light?
“Unlike you, who just stuffs your face with whatever and gets fat, our genes are different from the start.”
...Never mind. Cancel that. This girl is just a terrible person. I wasn’t even that fat.
“Pfft! Why? Did I hurt your feelings?”
“It’s not like that’s anything new.”
“Whatever. Take this.”
It was a 20,000 won gift certificate for a grocery store. As I wondered why she was giving it to me, Seong Miyeon smirked.
“Did you think I’d just mooch off you? I hate owing people.”
...Considering that, she’s been using me like a servant for the past year. Does she not count that as a debt?
“Then give me your account number. I’ll give you the change.”
“Forget it. That’s pocket change. I don’t even go to the grocery store anyway.”
How can a college student be like that? Was the rumor about her working as a model part-time true? She really lived in a different world than me. Anyway, I gratefully took the gift certificate, and Seong Miyeon smiled as if she’d been waiting for it.
“Or, you could just work as much as you received.”
“Huh?”
“Since you took that, you should do the project yourself.”
“Eh?”
What kind of nonsense is this? It’s a project that requires research, report writing, PPT creation, and a presentation. Doing it all by myself isn’t worth the effort.
“Then I’ll do the presentation. That’s fair, right?”
“Even so, that’s a bit...”
I’d be struggling for the whole semester. And she wants to get an A+ just by doing one presentation? That’s not the definition of university.
“Anyway, I don’t know anything about this stuff. Isn’t it better for you to do it alone than for a novice to help you awkwardly?”
“No...”
“Why? Don’t want to?”
Seong Miyeon stretched her legs out under the table. Her stocking-clad feet gently rubbed against my thighs. Oh, oh my... The foot moving up in a suggestive way, barely touching the inner part of my thigh. My lips curled up involuntarily at the strange sensation. It was a prank I’d been subjected to for a year since freshman year, but I could never get used to it.
“Idiot. Does it feel good?”
Seong Miyeon laughed openly and teased me. Does it feel good? To be honest, it does. Any man would become a fool if a woman like Seong Miyeon played with him like that. If she touched more intimate spots with her toes, I’d get an erection automatically.
“Damn. This guy really likes it. It’s disgusting.”
Even as she said that, she didn’t stop. It seemed like she enjoyed watching my helpless reaction. Given Seong Miyeon’s personality, if she thought of me as a man rather than a toy, she wouldn’t be playing these pranks.
“Don’t get a girlfriend. You’ll be treated like a pushover and your bank account will be empty.”
“...I might already have one.”
“Oh? You do?”
She asked fiercely with her eyes wide open, so I had no choice but to answer honestly.
“No. I don’t.”
“Well, obviously. You look like a virgin who hasn’t even held a girl’s hand.”
It’s frustrating. But she’s right. But it’s frustrating!
“Thinking about it, our loser is pretty lucky, right? Having a Nuna like me meet you at a cafe.”
She talks big for someone who just dumps her work on me. “Hey. That’s saying something. All the guys at our school are dying to date me.”
That wasn’t a lie. Just the guys I’d heard of who Seong Miyeon had rejected could be counted on both hands. “They’d do my projects for me with just one word.”
“Not all of them. Some have girlfriends.”
“Ah, that? That doesn’t mean anything.”
What is she saying now? “To the guys in my department, a girlfriend is just the result of falling for me, giving up, and compromising.”
...Her confidence is insane. What kind of life do you have to live to have that mindset? She’s top-tier even in the modeling department, where only pretty girls are gathered, so it’s not entirely wrong. But her mindset of saying it out loud is worthy of respect.
“...Even if it’s you, if the female seniors hear you say that, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“That’s why I’m only telling you.”
“What if I tell them?”
“You, a loser? Do you even have the guts?”
I have nothing to say. Well, I don’t want to be a snitch either. It’s not like they’d be grateful if I told them. If I get on Seong Miyeon’s bad side for no reason, I’ll lose a hundred times more.
“So, we’re done talking, right? When we’re done, I’ll buy you drinks, so just make sure we get an A+. Who knows? Maybe I’ll give you something better as a reward.”
At the word ‘reward,’ my ears perked up instinctively. But now I know. Seong Miyeon’s words were just bait to hook me. Seong Miyeon, who reportedly slapped a handsome model senior who tried to hit on her, wouldn’t do anything for me.
“At least the research...”
“Hey, loser.”
As if this was the line, the fierce Seong Miyeon laughed sharply. “I said I’d buy you drinks. That’s enough. Why are you making so many demands?”
Wow, scary. She really is a former bully. My inner ‘loser DNA’ is manifesting on its own. “You know I have many seniors and professors who adore me, right? If you don’t want to hear unnecessary things, handle it yourself, okay?”
She finished with a final threat and stood up. I couldn’t catch Seong Miyeon as she walked away with her model gait.
“Sigh. My fate.”
Bully and loser. Even after becoming an adult and entering college, this caste system hadn’t changed. Well, I knew it would be like this from the moment I was put in a group with Seong Miyeon.
“I don’t even like alcohol.”
Is it a bit better since she at least took the presentation? I don’t know if Seong Miyeon will keep her promise, though.
“For now, let’s make sure the research is solid.”
I stood up with the gift certificate Seong Miyeon gave me. Since I received it, I have to use it. I went straight to the grocery store and bought sushi for 19,990 won. I have to comfort myself at least this much, being the poor soul I am.
I bought other things and was heading back to my studio apartment when I ran into someone I knew.
“Oh, Jihun. Are you on your way back from grocery shopping?”
“Hello, Senior.”
Senior Lee Mirae, who is in the same Fashion department as me. If Seong Miyeon is the goddess of the Modeling department, Senior Lee Mirae is the goddess of the Fashion department. Unlike Seong Miyeon, she’s even kind. She’s the one who kindly spoke to a loser like me first, so that says it all.
“Oh my. You look so drained. Did something bad happen?”
Wow, look at that. This beautiful character. If this were a fantasy world, she would definitely be a saintess with a huge pool of holy power. “No. It’s the beginning of the semester, so I must be a bit tired.”
“Hmm, that’s a relief. If anything happens, tell me anytime. I’ll listen, at least.”
“I appreciate the thought.”
“I’m serious, you know?”
“You have a boyfriend, Senior. You’ll get misunderstood for no reason.”
The reason I gave up on the senior I fell for at first sight, while shedding tears. It’s because she already has a boyfriend. If I had confessed a little earlier, would my future have been different? No, I knew it wouldn’t have been.
“Haha! It’ll be fine. I wouldn’t think of anything like that with you, Jihun.”
Excuse me? Senior? What does that mean? Does it mean I’m not even a target for that? Is this pure evil? But it was sad that it was a fact.
“Jihun, you’re famous for being diligent in our department. So people won’t think like that.”
“Ah... thank you.”
Ah...! To think I dared to doubt Saintess Lee Mirae! I must repent before class tomorrow.
“Then take care. See you next time.”
“Yes, take care on your way.”
I hid my regret and parted ways with her. There are men in this world who date beauties who are both kind and pretty like that. But why is my life like this? Is it because of my face?
I, too, once dreamed of a flashy college debut. I thought my life as an outsider would change once I became an adult. I lived diligently, worked out, and tried to dress up. But it wasn’t easy to change just through effort. Why is there no joy in my life? No, I’m not even asking for that much. Just living comfortably would be enough. I wish people would be as kind to me as they are to others.
Even if it’s not some huge stroke of luck or a jackpot, can’t I hope for a decent life?
“Haa... what’s the point of thinking about this? Let’s just go home, eat, and do the project.”
Still, today I greeted Senior Lee Mirae and talked to her. I took comfort in that and headed home.
****
“Ugh! This should be enough for now.”
I finished the primary research for the project. From experience, it’s faster to supplement the rest while writing the report. I sent the materials to Seong Miyeon first. I needed to let her know the progress.
“But reading it and not replying is too much.”
Couldn’t she at least say ‘thanks for your hard work’? This is why bullies are the problem. She must have been a bully who shortened her skirt to an H-line in high school.
She doesn’t know the hardship of working hard on a project. Well... Seong Miyeon is the top of the modeling department just like me, though.
“...Let’s rest for a bit.”
I lay on my bed and looked at my phone. While watching shorts and webtoons, a new 19+ title caught my eye. It was a standard story where a loser protagonist hypnotizes a bully and trains her until she gets pregnant. A bully wearing only dolphin shorts was sucking the protagonist’s dick with a dazed look in her eyes.
“Oh, that’s hot.”
I know it’s something that can’t happen in reality, but that’s why I have no choice but to find vicarious satisfaction. How great would it be if that were me and Seong Miyeon? A bully sucking my dick and balls deliciously and even cleaning up? It would be a truly amazing college life.
Well, I don’t know about others, but there’s no way that would happen to me.
[Ding!]
Then, a message popped up with a clear sound in my ears.
Congratulations! Your wish has been received!
“Eh?”
I blinked. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I’d misread it. But the window didn’t disappear. To think a text would suddenly appear before my eyes. Did Bill Gates finally kidnap me and secretly implant a chip?
“Or am I crazy?”
You are not crazy!
Surprisingly, the message replied. What, that’s scary.
You have become a chosen being.
Now you can impregnate others with the Training Skill and give birth!
“...”
At times like this, my mind goes blank. Training, skill, pregnancy, childbirth. A sequence of words that makes me wonder if this is even Korean. Even for someone as used to manga and novels as me, it took time to accept it. No, more than that...
“Pregnancy? But I’m a man?”
I know.
...It seems something has gone terribly wrong.