Chapter 21
The night I spent on the same mattress as Chaerin was torture.
The mattress was far too cramped for an adult man and woman to lie on together.
Whenever I turned over, my shoulder or back brushed against her, and each time, Chaerin's soft skin and faint feminine scent stimulated every nerve in my body.
It was my first time ever sleeping in the same bed as a woman.
Even when I tried not to get aroused, my body reacted on its own, and whenever my cock brushed against Chaerin's skin, it refused to go down.
I had to be careful not to wake Chaerin by moving. I spent the night lying as stiff as a mummy.
I think I only managed to drift into a shallow sleep around dawn.
Then I gradually woke to the feeling of something soft pressing against my arm.
When I turned my head slightly, I saw Chaerin sleeping peacefully while hugging me tightly like a pillow.
There wasn't a trace of wariness on her peacefully sleeping face.
Steady breaths escaped from her little nose, and whenever they brushed against my bare skin, they felt wonderful.
So a pretty woman really could make a man happy with nothing but her breath.
The thing that interrupted this happy moment was my cock, which had sprung up to greet the morning.
‘Damn….’
This body was clearly obsessed with women.
I lay as still as possible so I wouldn't wake Chaerin, quietly feeling her warmth.
A woman's body really was this warm.
As I lay there thinking that, Chaerin's eyelashes began to tremble before long.
“Mmm….”
Making a catlike sound, Chaerin woke and slowly opened her eyes.
Then, realizing that she was in my arms, she jolted in surprise and pulled herself away.
I secretly enjoyed her flustered reaction and continued pretending to sleep with my eyes closed.
I heard rustling for a while, then everything went quiet.
I sensed someone creeping closer, like a cat.
And then,
-Peck.
Something soft brushed my cheek and then pulled away.
I nearly opened my eyes in surprise, but managed to hold myself back.
“Hehe… I successfully stole another morning kiss today.”
I heard Chaerin's clear, innocent laugh by my ear.
Then I heard her carefully leave the room.
I abruptly sat up. The sensation of Chaerin's lips still seemed vividly imprinted on my cheek.
After Chaerin finished showering, a savory aroma began wafting from the kitchen. I left the room to eat breakfast.
“Why did you wake up so late?”
Chaerin casually gave me a brief scolding, as if she hadn't kissed me at all.
Since I'd been kissed that morning, I felt awkward and couldn't meet her eyes.
Steaming rice, kimchi stew, freshly fried eggs, and pink sausages were laid out on the table.
They were lovingly prepared dishes I could never have imagined in my previous life.
“I'll enjoy the meal.”
“Don't leave any behind.”
It was a flawless, truly excellent breakfast.
It was delicious enough for me to polish off one bowl and then eat another.
When I ate so much, Chaerin looked delighted, as if she were a mother watching her child eat well.
After breakfast, we headed for the academy with Subin.
I went over last night's resolution once more.
I decided to lie low until I uncovered the truth about the note.
Let's stay away from sex and women for a while.
And that resolve began to waver before the academy gate was even in sight.
“Wow….”
An exclamation escaped me before I knew it. The road to school was a veritable feast of females.
Even latex bodysuits were practically tame by comparison.
There were sheer blouses that revealed the skin beneath, and even unusual outfits that left half their breasts exposed while barely covering their nipples.
The clothes worn by the female students on their way to the academy were beyond sexy—they were practically works of art.
But the woman walking some distance ahead was the one who caught my eye.
She seemed to be an upperclassman and gave off a mature air. A black tail resembling a cat's swayed from her buttocks.
‘No way….’
I doubted my eyes. But that tail wasn't an ornament attached to her clothes.
Whenever she walked, I could see the base of the tail writhing beneath her tight skirt.
The tails were anal plugs. That woman was heading to class as casually as ever with plugs inserted in her ass.
And there were no fewer than four tails protruding from her buttocks.
Behind her, a man was walking to class surrounded by five women, as though they were escorting him.
The women clung to his arms, massaged his shoulders, and fawned over him in every way imaginable.
I couldn't help feeling envious, but I shook my head and forced myself to look away.
But the shock didn't end there.
Over there, a male student was walking with four female students on leashes, as though he were taking dogs for a stroll.
The women followed behind him on all fours without the slightest sign of embarrassment.
They were even wearing protective pads on their arms and knees to prevent abrasions.
This was a crazy world. I was left speechless.
Meanwhile, I saw women leaning against the academy wall and trembling all over.
Their faces were flushed with pleasure, and moans they were clearly trying to suppress escaped their lips.
“What is that?”
“Maybe… their master ordered them to come with vibrators inserted in their pussies.”
This time, Subin explained in a small voice.
I couldn't help but marvel. This world was even more twisted than I had imagined.
And that fact aroused me enough to make me forget my anxiety over the note for a moment.
As soon as we entered the academy grounds, we saw a sign announcing, ‘All students assemble in the auditorium.’
“We have a school-wide session today.”
Chaerin muttered.
The auditorium where yesterday's entrance ceremony had been held was so magnificent that it was impossible to get tired of seeing it. It was larger and more magnificent than most concert halls.
As first-year students, we sat in the very front, while the second- and third-year upperclassmen took their places behind us.
On the second floor, a balcony-like space jutted out, where the teachers sat looking down at the students.
A short while later, a woman stepped onto the platform.
It was Choi Ara, the academy's chairwoman, whom I'd seen at the entrance ceremony. She had long, gleaming silver hair, astonishing beauty that made her age impossible to guess, and a charisma that overwhelmed everyone around her.
As soon as she appeared, the noisy auditorium fell silent.
“Students, it is good to see you.”
Her gentle yet powerful voice rang throughout the auditorium over the microphone.
“Today's school-wide session is meant to establish the fundamental mindset and philosophy that women who serve men must possess, before you begin the practical physical training you will undergo from here on out.”
“The goal of this education is to empty each student's mind of useless thoughts and fill it with a single purpose: service solely for the sake of men.”
On the wall at the front of the auditorium behind her, the academy's three guiding words—‘Dedication, Obedience, Sacrifice’—were engraved in gold leaf.
“You are the most blessed beings in the world. Every woman born into this world is given a sacred calling. That calling is to devote herself to her husband.”
Choi Ara displayed a graph on the auditorium wall showing a male-to-female ratio of 1:20.
“Look at this unbalanced gender ratio. Can you not see our role? Every woman must become a living shield and cradle that protects men.”
“Everything you learn from now on will serve this one goal. Your knowledge, skills, body, and even your heart. Everything will be reborn as a tool for the peace and satisfaction of men.”
The chairwoman's face showed not the slightest trace of shame as she poured out those outrageous words.
As a man, I felt strange hearing that women had to become men's slaves.
I had been taught that all human beings were equal.
But in this world, where the gender ratio was utterly skewed, equality seemed to be a luxury.
“Obedience is the greatest act a woman can perform.”
The chairwoman began explaining the academy's three cardinal rules. They were unwritten laws that no female student was ever permitted to forget before graduation.
“First, a man's judgment is correct in most cases.”
“Second, your desires are not your own.”
“Third, act before a man tells you to.”
I watched the scene with bated breath. This went beyond education; it was outright brainwashing.
When I looked around, many of the female students, including Chaerin and Subin, were completely captivated by the chairwoman's words.
Their eyes shone with admiration and awe.
Only then did I begin to grasp something.
I was finally beginning to understand what the ‘Marriage Academy,’ so meticulously planned and run by the government, truly meant.
Humanity in this world was fighting desperately.
It was a desperate struggle to preserve the human species amid an extreme 1:20 gender imbalance.
The human race was trying to maintain its population, even if that meant turning women—the majority of humanity—into men's slaves.
The government had turned this kind of academy education into ‘common sense.’
I alone was an outsider in this vast maelstrom of madness.
I thought once more of the note I had discovered last night.
[It isn't amnesia or anything. I have to remember. I-]
The original Kim Sihyeok, who had cried, ‘I have to remember.’
What, exactly, had he been trying to remember about this insane world?