Why Am I Your Husband?

I developed gynophobia after being harassed by women. Then, overnight, I ended up getting proposed to by every woman imaginable. And apparently, it’s mandatory.

There’s only one way to escape this mess: raise my ability level, polish my magic path, and ascend to the realm of a transcendent being.

So… all I had to do was earn women’s disgust, save up money, and train. It should have been that simple.

But then this happened.

…Something feels very, very wrong here.

My name is Yoo Ji-tae. Twenty years old. Male. And currently, the most pitiful man in this twisted world.

Why am I the most pitiful? Because this place is a matriarchal society where women hold absolute power. Men are treated like rare, precious livestock—protected, pampered, and expected to do nothing but breed.

But that’s not even the worst part.

The real problem is that I suffer from severe gynophobia. Thanks to the trauma I endured in the Femi District when I was younger, the mere sight of a woman makes my entire body break out in a cold sweat. My heart races. My hands shake. Sometimes I even pass out.

So I did everything I could to avoid them. I lived like a ghost, keeping my head down, never drawing attention. I studied like a madman, trained until my bones screamed, and poured every waking second into raising my abilities.

I thought that if I became strong enough, I could at least earn the right to live quietly on my own.

But the world had other plans.

After I awakened an SS-rank skill called Hephaestus, everything changed. Women who had never even glanced at me before suddenly started swarming like bees to honey. Proposals, confessions, even forced engagements—everything came flying at me all at once.

And the worst part? The government declared it an “obligation.” Men have a duty to marry and reproduce for the sake of society. Refusal is apparently a crime.

That’s why I’m currently hiding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city, disguised as a woman using the artifact Kynee Replica.

My current name is Lee Se-rin. Silver-gray hair, delicate features, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and a slender figure that makes me look like the very definition of a fragile beauty. The disguise is perfect. No one would ever guess that the “cute girl” trembling in the corner is actually a man trying desperately to escape his own gender’s reproductive quota.

I let out a long sigh and checked the points I had saved up.

Just looking at the numbers made my stomach turn.

I never asked for any of this. I just wanted to live quietly, raise my skills, and maybe one day become a transcendent and leave this rotten world behind. That was my only dream.

But these women… they keep sending me messages like that. Through the Affection System that appeared after my awakening, they shower me with points and obsessive confessions every single day.

At first I thought it was a bug. Then I prayed it was a nightmare. Now I just want to scream.

“Why the hell do I have to be your husband?!”

I muttered the words like a curse under my breath. The warehouse was empty, so no one heard me. Still, the frustration burned in my chest.

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. The scars hidden beneath my clothes—marks left by the women who had tormented me in the past—itched as if reminding me of my trauma.

Gynophobia isn’t something you can just “get over.” Every time a woman gets too close, my body freezes. My mind goes blank. The fear is bone-deep, carved into me after years of abuse.

Yet here I am, forced to navigate a world that wants to shove me into marriage with dozens of them.

I took a deep breath and opened my status window.

The Dual Cultivation Magic Body I had recently obtained was both a blessing and a curse. It dramatically increased my talent and rapidly raised my magic power, but it also made my appearance far more attractive. Even in my male form, I had become dangerously handsome. In this female disguise, I looked like a goddess who had descended to earth.

Which, of course, only made the problem worse.

“I need to get stronger. Faster.”

I whispered the words like a vow. The only way out was to reach the transcendent realm. Once I did, even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the government wouldn’t be able to force me into marriage. Transcendents existed outside the laws of ordinary people.

That was my only hope.

I adjusted the Kynee Replica once more, making sure my disguise was flawless, then stepped out of the warehouse. The sun was setting, dyeing the sky in deep crimson hues.

Tonight, I had to attend an academy entrance exam under the name Lee Se-rin. It was the only way to gain access to high-grade training facilities and rare materials without drawing attention as a man.

As I walked down the dimly lit street, I kept my head lowered and my steps quick. Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind me.

“Se-rin! Wait up!”

My shoulders stiffened. I recognized that voice immediately.

Lee Ah-rang. One of the top-ranked female hunters in the country and, unfortunately, my self-proclaimed fiancée.

I turned slowly, forcing a polite smile onto my disguised face. My voice came out soft and feminine thanks to the artifact.

“Ah-rang sunbae… what brings you here?”

She grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling with unmistakable obsession. Even though I was disguised, the way she looked at me made my skin crawl.

“I heard a rumor that a new beauty was enrolling at the academy. I just knew it had to be you. So I came to escort you personally.”

She took a step closer. I instinctively took a step back.

“That’s… very kind of you, but I can manage on my own.”

“Nonsense. A delicate girl like you shouldn’t walk alone at night. What if some pervert tries to approach you?”

The irony of her words almost made me laugh. The biggest pervert here was probably the one standing in front of me.

But I kept my expression neutral, maintaining the calm, slightly melancholic image that the disguise created. It was the only way to survive.

“I’ll be fine. Really. Thank you for your concern.”

I bowed politely and tried to slip past her, but she caught my wrist. Her grip was firm yet strangely gentle.

“Ji-tae… I mean, Se-rin. You know how I feel about you, right?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. My heart began to pound—not from excitement, but from pure terror. The trauma was kicking in. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

I forced myself to stay calm. If I showed fear now, she might suspect something.

“Sunbae, please… I need to focus on my training right now.”

She smiled softly, her eyes filled with that terrifying mixture of affection and possession.

“Of course. I’ll support you with everything I have. After all, you’re going to be my husband one day.”

There it was again. That word. Husband.

I wanted to scream. Instead, I simply nodded, pulled my wrist free as gently as possible, and hurried toward the academy gates.

Behind me, I could feel her gaze burning into my back like a brand.

As I walked, I opened the system once more and stared at the new notification that had just appeared.

I nearly tripped over my own feet.

This system… it was clearly trying to kill me.

I clenched my jaw and kept walking, silver-gray hair swaying gently in the night breeze.

“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll become a transcendent. And when I do…”

My voice was low, filled with quiet determination.

“I’ll make sure none of you can ever call me husband again.”

The academy lights glowed ahead like the gates to hell itself. I took one last deep breath and stepped forward.

Let the nightmare begin.