episode_0008

March is still too cold to call it full spring.

I stepped outside the dormitory wearing my coat.

Transfer students at Hwakdo are assigned to the outer dormitories, as the official students occupy the inner ones in advance.

“I only organized my stuff yesterday, but I have so much to throw away.”

Having just settled into the dorm, today I’m dragging heavy piles of trash to the recycling center.

“My strength seems to be… about the same as before.”

It’s a world where women are dominant, but my strength seemed no different from my past life. Curious, I tested my grip strength and found it similar to the women in this world.

Not only could I easily overpower boys during middle school P.E., but I could hold my own against most girls.

Although there’s little physical difference between boys and girls at this stage, it won’t be the same from high school onwards.

I need to intentionally hide my strength.

“A transfer student concealing their strength. It’s not like a web novel plot.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean I should be overconfident about my strength.

My physical abilities are just average for women; I stand no chance against women like Alice or Kim Noeul who are beyond the norm.

After walking for a while grumbling, the recycling center came into view. As I was about to discard some tape scraps and useless backing paper, a woman approached.

“I’ll help you.”

“It’s okay. I’ll get rid of it soon.”

“It looks too heavy for one person to handle.”

“…Well, thanks for offering to help.”

I glanced at the woman helping me dispose of the trash.

Her long black hair flowing down as she bent over, and her prominent nose, captivated my eyes.

To be honest, this was the first time I had seen such a beautiful woman in this world. Except for Alice, who is an exception because she’s too young.

She had the ordinary Korean feature of black hair and black eyes, but there was an irresistible charm about her.

She wore a thin gray coat, and due to her tall stature, part of her thighs were visible under her jeans. She seemed to be at least 170 cm, slightly shorter than me.

“This should do. Thank you for your help.”

As I nodded, she also bowed and left.

My dorm room happened to be in the same direction she was heading, so I ended up following behind her.

“Hey, Kim Noeul! Over here!”

At that moment, someone called out a familiar name. Both the girl in front of me and I turned our heads in the direction of the voice.

A girl with dyed blonde hair and dressed in a sweater motioned to the girl who had just helped me. The girl who had helped me smiled and ran over to the blonde girl.

“What, you came all the way here?”

“Kim Noeul, you’re dawdling.”

“It’s still 5 minutes before our meeting time.”

“So, how much money did you bring? We’re going to stay out late at the PC room tonight.”

“I have a lot of mileage.”

Like typical high school girls, they chatted about games and moved away from me. I pondered the current situation.

“Could this Kim Noeul possibly be the one I know?”

It’s not a common name. Moreover, if someone uses that name within the school grounds… ultimately, there’s a very high chance my guess is correct.

“I just saw the protagonist, didn’t I?”

It was unbelievable. I thought she’d just be ‘the beauty who helped me on the street,’ but she turned out to be the main character of this world.

“Of course, the original Kim Noeul was handsome too….”

He was a popular male lead who raced as part of the top two with Alex, so even if the gender was reversed, I expected her to become a beauty.

But I never expected to meet her so blatantly.

The bustling area of the school is usually located on the outskirts, so it seemed like she had come here to hang out with friends.

I returned to my dorm room and looked at the transfer notice again. It was written as follows:

“Kim Maru is a transfer student to Haneul High School….”

If it was Haneul High, then it was the high school where Kim Noeul was currently attending. I thought we would meet someday, but I never expected it to happen while throwing out trash today.

In the webtoon’s setting, Kim Noeul is 18 years old. Alice is currently 19, so Kim Noeul and I are the same age.

“Surely we won’t end up in the same class.”

That “surely” became reality.

On the day of my transfer, the homeroom teacher introduced me to Kim Noeul, the class president, in the faculty room.

“Here is the transfer student, Kim Maru. This is our 2nd year, Class 1’s class president, Kim Noeul.”

“Huh? You’re the guy who was picking up trash on the outskirts back then…?”

“Noeul, calling someone trash just by looking at them.”

“No, that’s not it. He’s the one who helped with the trash collection.”

“Really? So it’s already the transfer student.”

Kim Noeul greeted me, clearing up a misunderstanding with our homeroom teacher.

“Well… I guess it’s right to be casual, since we’re the same age. I’m Kim Noeul.”

“Kim Maru.”

Upon hearing my name, Kim Noeul offered a faint smile.

That smile.

It was eerily similar to the original webtoon’s art style, to the point where for a moment, it seemed as if the smiling faces of both male and female Kim Noeul overlapped. When I read the webtoon, there wasn’t much of an impression, but seeing her smile as a girl made it difficult to maintain the impartiality I had as a guy.

“Similar to the feelings from Alice.”

“Now it’s almost time for the morning assembly, so let’s head to Class 1. We can do a brief self-introduction and get ready for class. Oh, and you can pick up your textbooks at the administrative office.”

As soon as the assembly began, the three of us headed to Class 1. When we opened the door, the students who had spotted the teacher quieted down, their gaze fixing on me, the unfamiliar student.

“This is a new student this year. If you don’t know something, make sure to help him out.”

When the teacher gestured, I spoke up.

“I’m Kim Maru.”

The students seemed taken aback by my brief introduction, offering no response. Then, Kim Noeul, who was standing beside me, applauded.

“Welcome.”

As she clapped, the other students followed suit.

“Since Noeul’s seat next to her is empty, you can sit there.”

The teacher pointed to Kim Noeul’s seat in the back row. That meant my seat would be in the corner by the window in the far back.

“I guess I’ll be able to concentrate better on studying.”

I went to the back with Kim Noeul and sat down side by side.

“Also, we have the March mock exam and the school’s own mock exam coming up soon. Based on those, classes will be arranged according to skill level, so make sure to do well.”

After the assembly, as the teacher left the classroom, Kim Noeul pushed her desk closer to mine.

“What’s up? Don’t you have your textbook today? Let’s look at it together.”

Come to think of it, my bag only contained a tumbler, a hand mirror, one notebook, and some stationery.

“Yeah… if you don’t mind.”

“Today, we have Art as our first period.”

I watched as Kim Noeul took out the Art textbook.

In her own way, Kim Noeul tried to show a friendly attitude towards me, but I couldn’t help feeling burdened for no reason.

That guy, who everyone originally thought was a man, would surprise anyone by speaking to them as a woman.

“Hey~ Kim Noeul is so sweet~”

A few girls who seemed friendly with Kim Noeul approached and whistled. Meanwhile, they glanced at my face.

“It’s my first day, so I didn’t bring my book. That’s why I’m showing it.”

“Are you interested?”

Kim Noeul responded to her friends’ teasing with a wry smile, avoiding the question. The blonde girl tapped Kim Noeul on the head and spoke to me.

“Maru, tell me if she bothers you.”

Upon closer inspection, it was the same blonde girl who had gone to the PC room with Kim Noeul before.

“…Thanks.”

Kim Noeul sighed and replied to the blonde girl.

“Maru is misunderstanding.”

“Wow, Kim Noeul is already dropping formalities.”

“This is Alpha Girl’s flirting…”

Overall, Kim Noeul’s friends seemed to be in high spirits. They didn’t cross any lines, so everything was just fine.

“I’m more used to getting along with girls than guys in this world. Women here aren’t much different from men in my past life. So, I don’t really mind the current atmosphere.”

In fact, receiving jealous or admiring looks from other men was more annoying. The former came from tough, macho guys, and the latter from shy types or guys who liked celebrities.

“Oh, damn. It’s so damn noisy.”

As Kim Noeul chatted with her friends, a loud curse echoed through the classroom.

All the students fell silent. I turned my head towards the girl who had cursed.

She had pink curls in her bangs and was a female student drawing her eyebrows while looking in the mirror. She didn’t look like a model student by any means.

“I can’t concentrate on drawing my eyeliner.”

When she grumbled, Kim Noeul offered an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Ahn Hyojin. I was being too loud in class.”

“It’s fine.”

Hyojin, as she was called, put her hands in her pockets and left the classroom. As she exited, the atmosphere in the classroom relaxed again.

“Why is she making a fuss again?”

“If she wants to chat, she should do it during break time, not during class. She was even chatting during break.”

Kim Noeul’s friends grumbled as they watched An Hyojin’s back. It seems that An Hyojin is the leader of 2nd grade class 1.

How do they know…?

“In the early part of the webtoon, Kim Noeul is bullied by An Hyojin.”

In the prologue of the webtoon, Kim Noeul secretly meets with An Hyojin after disliking how he disrupts the atmosphere of her class, and then she completely embarrasses him.

Although Kim Noeul had a model student image, she wasn’t just a sweet and innocent student.

I actually liked that kind of personality. The protagonist who only takes hits and is bland has fallen out of recent trends.

“I guess we made too much noise.”

“No, what should we do about Kim Noeul, this pushover.”

Kim Noeul just laughs while receiving insults from her friends. Watching her, I felt a lump in my throat.

As I was gently stroking her plump arm, first period Yeoryeong rang. The students returned to their seats, and I skimmed through the book Kim Noeul had taken out.

“Rhetoric and Composition… It might be a piece of cake in the college entrance exam, but that’s an old story.”

The correct answer rate for recent college entrance exams’ rhetoric and composition killer questions was barely in the 30% range. Being trapped by the prejudice of it being easy, if you neglect it, you’ll shed tears of blood.

“Well, have a strong and healthy morning today, too~.”

The Korean teacher came in with a strange greeting, and for the first time, the class began.

The class itself was bearable. I alternated between the textbook and the blackboard, cramming the contents into my head.

Concentrating, first period ended quickly.

“Well, have a strong and healthy day today, too~.”

Once again, the teacher left the classroom with a strange greeting, and the girls suddenly started jumping around.

Some rushed out of the classroom saying they needed to borrow something, and the rest took out their gym clothes from their lockers and left the classroom.

“The next class is P.E.”

Upon Kim Noeul’s words, I understood why the girls were going crazy.

“They must be eager to play around.”

Considering the life I’ve lived, which spans over 30 years, they just looked cute to me. Of course, their figures were not cute at all.

“Hey, don’t change here!”

A male student shouted at a girl who was taking off her top in the classroom. She didn’t care and exposed her bra while changing into her gym clothes.

“Go change in the bathroom, or you’ll be late!”

With those words, the girl grabbed a soccer ball and dashed towards the field. As she did, she shouted to Kim Noeul,

“Kim Noeul! The PE teacher wants you to get the softball set from the storage.”

“Got it.”

In response to her, Kim Noeul turned her gaze towards me.

“No gym uniform?”

“Nope.”

“Since we’re bringing textbooks and clothes during lunchtime, we should wear our school uniforms today. I’ll let the teacher know in advance.”

“Okay.”

“Since our class will be gathering at the field, just join us there. I’m the PE leader, so I have to go now.”

Saying that, the girl with the soccer ball walked off in the direction she had run earlier. Left alone, I idled away the time in the classroom among the boys changing their clothes.

Some boys approached me. They seemed quite friendly, and one of them, who was at the front, spoke to me.

“Did you say your name is Maru? Not changing into your gym clothes?”

“I don’t have a gym uniform.”

“I see.”

He fell silent for a moment. During the pause in our conversation, I observed the boy who had spoken to me.

It seemed like he paid a lot of attention to his appearance. He didn’t look much different from the male idols I’d seen on TV.

Even his school uniform… judging solely by his appearance, he reminded me of those guys who were popular with girls.

“You seemed to get along well with Noeul.”

The boy said that, looking at me suspiciously.

Could it be…