There are some expressions I often hear but never truly grasp.
For me, one such phrase was ‘feeling someone’s gaze,’ and whenever I heard it, I used to think.
‘How could anyone feel a gaze? It’s not like people have eyes on the back of their heads.
If you could feel that, you’d be a superhuman.’
“…… So this is what it was like.”
Yet, in this very moment, I was experiencing its meaning with my entire being.
Truly, I could feel the gazes.
It wasn’t just the feeling that everyone in the neighborhood was staring at me; they were actually all focused on this spot.
“Ha.”
No, but am I the only man in this neighborhood?
Even with a gender ratio of 24:1, shouldn’t at least one out of every twenty-five people on the street be a man?
Enduring these questions and the heavy burden, I proceeded towards our meeting spot.
“There she is.”
A silhouette visible in the distance: a woman dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans.
She seemed a little anxious, glancing at her smartwatch.
Instinctively, I found myself checking my own watch.
It was 6:28 PM.
I wondered if I was late, but I was actually two minutes early for our appointment.
So why was she acting like that?
“Hmm.”
Seeing her like that, a mischievous impulse rose within me, so I pulled my cap low and crept forward stealthily.
Distracted by her watch, she didn’t notice my approach, even though I made a slight commotion.
“Boo!”
“Eek, ugh! Gyaah!”
In that instant, she bent at a right angle, her body convulsing.
Clearly startled, she suddenly froze solid, then creaked as she turned to look at me.
Normally, I would have guffawed and teased her about her distorted expression—
“…… Hi.”
But faced with the inexplicable demonic aura (TL Note: ‘Gwigi’ refers to a terrifying, ghost-like energy or presence.) rising from her features, I offered an awkward greeting.
However, Park Hamin remained motionless for a while, staring blankly at me.
She looked as if something had slightly malfunctioned.
I poked her with my index finger, like a robot that had gone haywire and was creaking.
At that, she shuddered violently, as if waking from a deep sleep.
“Wh-why, why are you doing that to scare me?”
‘Hahahaha—’
Her face, belatedly laughing reflexively, was grotesque.
She seemed to be forcibly suppressing her anger, a fact that struck me as utterly unfamiliar.
Park Hamin, suppressing her anger? I’d expect her to just lash out instead.
“…… My bad.
Are you mad?”
“N-noooo? I’m not maaad at alllll?”
‘She looks incredibly pissed off.’
I thought to myself, watching her desperately force a smile.
‘Is she perhaps in urgent need of money?’
‘If so, I should lend her some.’
‘After all, I have plenty of money to spare……’
****
Park Hamin, who had seemed slightly angered moments before, soon reverted to the person I usually knew.
No, she seemed even happier than usual.
She was even humming a tune and beaming brightly.
I, on the other hand, felt utterly miserable.
Every surrounding table was intently watching us.
A few of the closer tables, in particular, were glaring at us as if they wanted to devour us, which was genuinely terrifying.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you think people are staring?
Did I do something wrong?”
I couldn’t help but think that.
If the gazes held curiosity or something akin to admiration, as they had before, I might have simply tolerated the burden.
However, the intensity of their gazes was far from any positive emotion.
It was a viscous malevolence, palpable on my skin.
“Huh? No way~ It’s just that men don’t usually come to regular bars…”
“Really? Why?”
“Why, you ask?
Well, most men, when they get drunk—”
*Thud!*
“Here are your two draft beers.”
The part-timer slammed the beer glasses down in front of Park Hamin, who had been smiling and continuing her explanation.
As if to prove it wasn’t an accident, the part-timer glared at us—especially Park Hamin—with clear annoyance.
Then, shamelessly, they turned away as if nothing had happened, and I, feeling a surge of anger, was about to stand up when she stopped me.
“Hey, hey.
It’s fine.
Sit down.”
“No, that was a bit much.”
“I said it’s fineee~ Hehe.”
She continued to smile sheepishly even as she wiped the spilled beer from the table with a tissue.
I let out a small sigh.
“…… Haa, alright.”
She also has a strangely soft spot, this one.
It seemed she was deliberately trying to spare my feelings, and I was genuinely grateful for her consideration.
“So, what’s the big deal that you suddenly called me out to a bar?”
“…… Well, it’s nothing much.”
While it was, in fact, a significant matter, I couldn’t tell her the truth.
Feigning nonchalance, I let the words slip out.
“Just wondering how I should live my life.”
“…… Suddenly?”
She retorted, her eyes wide with surprise.
Her expression, as if she’d heard the most absurd thing, made me realize just how thoughtlessly ‘I’ had lived in this world.
Indeed, I suspect I would have been the same if I had been born into this world.
It seems simply being born male here provides a viable environment for survival.
As long as one’s reproductive capabilities are intact, various subsidies continue to flow.
“Exactly.
If I weren’t a man, my life would just be that of an unemployed person.
Even if I have no immediate problems with making a living, who knows what might happen later?
And life isn’t just about making ends meet.
I started thinking I should really do something.”
“Hmm…… Is that so?
But aren’t most men like that anyway?”
*Crunch, crunch—*
Park Hamin picked up a piece of macaroni, chewed it, and shrugged her shoulders.
“Some might have jobs, but usually, there aren’t many office positions for men.”
“Why?”
“Well, if they don’t give up their subsidies or support, they have to be dragged around for related activities one or two days a week.
Companies avoid them for that reason.
There are even protests about it, you know?
All that ‘men’s rights movement’ stuff lately.”
“…… Ah.”
Indeed, I suppose such an issue would arise.
After all, only a tiny fraction of men would forgo the aforementioned support to work a normal office job.
“So, if you really want to work, you’d have to choose a job with flexible hours.
You could even be a full-time homemaker.”
“Homemaker?”
At my question, Park Hamin glanced vaguely into the distance, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Oh, well~ if you find a nice girl around, you could get married~ Then the country gives you a lot of support~ Raising kids happily together isn’t so bad—”
As she rambled on and on, I stopped paying much attention to what she was saying.
Instead, I briefly replayed her earlier words in my mind.
“…… Flexible hours, huh.”
Originally, this was a difficult condition to meet for most professions.
But as soon as I heard that, the profession I had intended to pursue in my original world came to mind.
“Hey.”
“Huh? Uh-huh? Whyyy~”
“…… What are you thinking that’s making you grin like that?”
“Oh? Nothing.
Why?”
She had been giggling with a somewhat unsettling smile, but after a moment, she seemed to snap out of it and returned to her usual self.
I met her gaze and asked.
“Do men do a lot of internet broadcasting?”
“…… Internet broadcasting (TL Note: ‘Inbang’ is a Korean abbreviation for ‘internet broadcasting’ or ‘live streaming’)?
Some people do it, yeah?
There are even quite famous ones.
Oh, hey, are you thinking of becoming an internet broadcaster?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Her attitude suddenly shifted, and her voice grew louder.
I was momentarily flustered by this.
‘Is there some kind of problem?’
“No, uh…… there’s no problem!
No problem, but… you’re not planning to do any weird broadcasts, are you?”
“Would I?
I’m just planning to do some ordinary game streaming.”
“…… Right, I guess you are pretty good at games.
Especially for a guy.”
Her tone, despite the words, was quite displeased.
While I wondered if a friend starting a broadcast was really such a big deal, after a moment’s thought, I understood her concerns.
Even in my original world, the perception of internet broadcasting wasn’t great, and the impression one gets from ‘yeocam’ (TL Note: ‘Yeocam’ is a Korean term for female webcam broadcasters, often associated with suggestive content) probably applied to male broadcasters here.
“Don’t worry.
I won’t do any weird broadcasts.”
When I asserted this, Park Hamin stared at me for a moment before shaking her head.
“…… I wondered what you were suddenly talking about.
Do whatever you want.”
Her tone was strangely sulky, which puzzled me somewhat.
“One more drink, one more—!”
Not long after, seeing her with a flushed face shouting “One more drink!”, I simply laughed.
‘Nothing’s changed with this one.’
****
*Chirp, chirp—chirp—*
Birds chirped, signaling the morning, and warm sunlight streamed into the room.
There, Park Hamin lay sprawled, sleeping—
“Ugh?!”
…… Or rather, she woke up.
Opening her eyes with a disheveled look, she yawned and reached to turn on her smartwatch, only to suddenly remember something.
“…… Wait.”
‘Why am I here?’
‘I was definitely out drinking with Hyunwoo—’
“Ah.”
A short cry escaped her lips in that instant.
Along with it, fragments of memories surfaced in her mind.
‘–Let’s really drink tonighttt~’
‘–Hey, you’re reallly handsome, aren’t you?’
‘–Hey you, damn it, I told you not to go around grinning like that everywhere, didn’t I?’
‘–You jerk, Kim Hyunwoo.
You bastard! *Gurgle—*’
“…… Shit.”
Fragmented, incomplete memories flashed through her mind like a panorama.
Unable to think positively about those memories, Park Hamin buried her head straight into the bed.
*Thud!*
“Ugh… uwaaaah……”
Like an ostrich, she groaned with her head buried.
She stamped her feet and writhed her body this way and that.
She looked like some kind of grub.
“You idiot woman……”
Just yesterday, she had gone out with such high spirits.
The problem was that she had chugged alcohol, exhilarated by the thought of drinking with a man—her friend whom she had liked for years.
Thanks to that, she seemed to have completely passed out.
She had no memory whatsoever from the end of the drinking session.
It was a miracle she even made it home.
“…… It’s over.”
With that desperate whisper, tears streamed down her face.
Having gotten drunk before him at the bar and causing all sorts of trouble, there was no way he wouldn’t be turned off.
No matter how kind Hyunwoo was—
*Ding!*
At that moment, a single notification rang on her smartwatch.
She thought about ignoring it, but then, a premonition struck her, and she hastily straightened her posture.
–Hey, did you get home okay?
Kim Hyunwoo.
Seeing his name pop up on the messenger notification, she sent a trembling reply.
–Yeah lol;; Hey, sorry about yesterday.
–So you know you’re sorry? I told you to stop drinking so much ㅡㅡ
–Ah, I’m really sorry;; I usually handle my alcohol better than that.
‘…… He’s not too mad, is he?’
A glimmer of hope sparked as a relatively mild reply came back.
–Well, it’s fine, but—
–You threw up on my clothes when I was helping you yesterday…
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
In the middle of reading that message, Park Hamin screamed and ripped off her smartwatch, throwing it against the wall.
With a *thwack*, the shattered smartwatch fell to the floor.
She then repeatedly slammed her head into the bed, shouting.
“Die! Die! Die! DIEEEEEEEE!”
*Thump-thump-thump-thump—*
With her hair disheveled, Park Hamin continued this behavior for a long time, then collapsed onto the bed like trash.
Then, in a hoarse voice, as if she had lived a thousand years, she muttered softly.
“…… Should I really just die?”
For Park Hamin, the shock was utterly profound.
However, at that very moment.
“…… I was going to ask her to help me prepare for the broadcast, but she suddenly disappeared.”
Kim Hyunwoo, in truth, wasn’t thinking much of it at all.
After all, he had witnessed such antics countless times in his original world.
And there were far more pressing matters at hand.
“Spiral 2…… I hope it turns out well.”
Only two propositions filled his mind: broadcasting and gaming.
