Chapter 7
I opened my eyes with the thrilling memories of last night still fresh in my mind. Unfortunately, there was no one beside me.
Chaerin had gotten up first and was already preparing breakfast. The clattering sounds and savory aromas coming from the living room reached me.
Once again, I threw off the tented blanket and rose from the mattress.
Even as I showered and washed away the traces of last night, my thoughts were completely occupied by the academy. I couldn't stop looking forward to the academy starting today.
What kind of place was this academy, filled with women learning all sorts of things for marriage and sex?
Feeling my cock harden again at the mere thought, I cleared my head with cold water.
When I came out after washing up, steaming omurice sat waiting on the table.
It still had the same clumsy ketchup cat drawn on top. Still, it looked a little better than yesterday.
Only after I took a spoonful of omurice did Chaerin pick up her spoon as well.
“I told Subin that we should go to the academy together.”
I said it casually while eating my omurice, but Chaerin's spoon suddenly paused.
“Han Subin? With her?”
“Yeah. Apparently, all three of us are in the same class.”
“…Hmph.”
Chaerin made an incomprehensible nasal sound, then stabbed her omurice and stuffed it into her mouth.
She didn't say anything, but her lips were slightly pushed out, making her look somewhat sulky.
After finishing breakfast, we got ready to leave the house.
Since it was an adult academy, there were no uniforms. Chaerin wore a comfortable sweatshirt and jeans that weren't much different from what she usually wore. I dressed similarly.
But when I opened the front door, someone with an air distinctly different from ours was standing there.
“S-Sihyeok! Good morning!”
It was Han Subin.
Subin's bright blonde hair fell to her shoulders. She was wearing a light, airy white blouse and a pale-pink skirt.
She was dressed up far more than she'd been at the hospital.
Had she dressed up for me?
Her face was flushed and tense, but her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I momentarily forgot what to say, then complimented Subin on impulse.
“Wow, you look incredibly pretty.”
At my sincere compliment, Subin's face turned bright red, as if it might burst.
I had never complimented a woman on her looks before, and nearly forgot to do so.
“Really? Th-thank you…!”
Subin fidgeted with her hair, clearly unsure what to do.
Chaerin, who had been eyeing her sidelong, subtly tugged on my arm and spoke.
“We’re going to be late. Let’s go.”
We began walking side by side toward the academy.
Our neighborhood was an ordinary residential area, so the morning air was fresh and the streets were quiet.
But the closer we got to the academy, the stranger the scenery became.
At first, we only saw one or two women who seemed to be heading to the academy like us.
But once we reached the main road, their numbers increased rapidly.
And their clothes were anything but ordinary.
One woman was wearing a beige knit dress nearly the color of skin. Since no underwear lines were visible at all, she seemed to have simply slipped it on over her bare body. It was the so-called Dongtan look.
The thin knit fabric stretched taut across the curves of her ample breasts and buttocks, looking as if it might burst.
With every movement, the lewd contours of her breasts or buttocks showed through, inspiring fantasies nearly as risqué as seeing her naked.
Another woman was wearing a blouse so sheer that it was completely see-through, along with a black bra. She was practically revealing everything, yet the single thin layer of fabric covering her made the sight strangely seductive.
……”
Walking beside me, Subin unconsciously pulled her collar closed. Her gaze wavered anxiously.
Chaerin's expression remained blank, but the faint furrow between her brows revealed her discomfort.
I was left speechless and could only survey the scene unfolding before my eyes.
I had to remind myself that this wasn't a fashion show, but simply the route women took to school.
But that fashion show was only the beginning.
By the time the academy's main gate came into view, I began to doubt my own eyes.
I saw a group of women crossing the crosswalk. One of them was wearing an incredibly short miniskirt around her waist.
The skirt was so short that, as she walked, the line of her thong and the cleft of her buttocks were fully exposed.
When I looked more closely, I could even see the neatly trimmed hair above her pussy.
“Isn’t that… a bit too much?”
Subin muttered almost in a whisper. I agreed with her. Even in a gender-reversed world, wasn't that practically indecent exposure in public?
“That’s nothing.”
Chaerin tossed out the words.
“There are people worse than that?”
“Yeah. I heard some female upperclassmen come with nothing but body paint on their upper bodies, or with nipple piercings and nothing but a jacket on. Compared to them, that’s pretty ordinary.”
Apparently, I needed to relearn the definition of ordinary in this world.
There was another strange point. Whenever those provocatively dressed women made eye contact with me, they would suddenly blush and look delighted.
Yet not one of them approached me or struck up a conversation. They merely kept their distance and sent heated looks my way.
Their eyes were filled with blatant lust and the feverish heat unique to women in heat, yet their behavior was astonishingly restrained.
“Why do they all just stare like that? None of them are coming over to talk to me.”
At my question, Chaerin looked at me and snapped irritably.
“You don’t remember that either? Men don’t like women who make it obvious they’re in heat. They look like rutting monkeys. So everyone pretends to be demure and acts like they have no sex drive. Inside, they probably want to rush over to you this instant and scream at you to fuck them.”
Ah, so their libidos were overflowing, but they pretended to be demure because men disliked seeing it.
The academy's main gate, which we finally reached, was far larger and more magnificent than I'd expected.
Gigantic stone pillars reminiscent of an ancient temple and elaborate carvings loomed before us. It seemed designed to showcase the academy as a vital institution underpinning society.
Of course, in a world with a male-to-female ratio of 1:20, what could be more important than marriage and childbirth? The social importance of this Marriage Academy must have been immeasurable.
A sign pointed freshmen to their first destination: the auditorium.
After passing through the main gate, I was once again overwhelmed by the auditorium's size.
It was a gigantic space that looked capable of holding at least a thousand people. More than a hundred freshmen were already seated, and almost all of them were women. It was difficult to find any male freshmen.
As a man, I naturally became the focus of countless gazes. Admiration, curiosity, and above all, intense sexual desire.
Hundreds of eyes fixed on me made it hard to breathe.
“Sihyeok, that’s where our class is sitting.”
Subin lightly tugged on my sleeve and whispered. Thanks to her, I came to my senses and took a seat beneath the sign marked Class 1-1. Chaerin and Subin squeezed in beside me, one on either side.
A moment later, all the lights in the auditorium went out, and spotlights flooded the stage. The entrance ceremony began in a solemn atmosphere.
The familiar formalities, such as saluting the national flag and singing the national anthem, went by. But when it was time for the freshman representative's oath, the atmosphere changed completely.
As the freshman representative stepped onto the stage, the ordinary atmosphere in the auditorium instantly turned solemn.
A woman with long black hair neatly tied back walked onto the stage.
She had a fairly intellectual air, but she too didn't forget to flaunt her figure in a tight-fitting, suit-style outfit.
Her introduction revealed that she was Cha Ayoung, who had been admitted to the academy as the top-ranked student. When I quietly asked Chaerin about it, she said women had to take an entrance exam before being admitted to the academy.
While Chaerin and I whispered to each other, Cha Ayoung began reading the oath in a clear voice.
“Oath! We, all of us freshmen, as proud citizens of the Republic of Korea and future wives who will serve the great men, solemnly swear to the following.”
Following her lead, every woman in the auditorium raised her right hand and repeated the words. Their voices became one enormous wave that reverberated throughout the auditorium.
“One! We swear to uphold the noble spirit of the Male Protection Act, recognize every man as a special object of national protection, and place his physical and mental well-being above all else!”
“One! We swear to remember that every attempt at sexual contact against a man's will is a serious felony, and to serve his body only in permitted circumstances!”
“One! We swear to fulfill the sacred duty of receiving the precious genes of men and bearing and raising healthy descendants for the continued existence and prosperity of this nation!”
Oath, oath, oath. There wasn't the slightest hesitation in their voices. Their faces even held grim resolve, like worshipers reciting sacred scripture.
I had thought I understood this world fairly well, but the freshman oath left my mouth hanging open.