The stone was cold against Joon-ho's back. He pressed into it as if the wall might swallow him whole, as if hiding inside its cracks could undo what had just happened. His breath came uneven, shallow gasps dragged from lungs that refused to steady.
The taste lingered. Sickly sweet. Strawberry. A flavor that didn't belong in his mouth, yet it clung stubbornly to him, as though etched into the soft curve of his lips.
He rubbed at them with the heel of his palm until his skin burned, but the shimmer remained, catching faintly in the torchlight.
A glow hovered in front of him, pale and patient. The blue panel did not flicker, did not waver. It sat there, intruding against the silence like an insult carved into the fabric of reality.
Ding.
[ Tutorial Quest: Strike a cute pose. ]
[ Reward: Unlock Femboy perks. ]
The words floated, absurd and cruel. Joon-ho stared until his vision blurred, until the letters doubled and swam before his eyes. His hand trembled as it dropped from his face to his chest, clutching at his shirt as though to anchor himself.
Wait, was he crying?
"This isn't real," he whispered. His voice cracked in a way it hadn't before — softer, lighter, almost melodic. The sound made his skin crawl. "It can't be real."
But reality answered in the form of footsteps. Heavy, deliberate. Metal against stone, ringing steady and sure down the narrow corridor.
Joon-ho's heart slammed against his ribs. He forced his eyes open, though every instinct screamed to keep them shut.
The knight captain emerged from the shadows. A scar traced the line of his cheek, his armour still flecked with ash and blood. He was the kind of man who should have looked immovable — yet when his gaze settled on Joon-ho, something faltered.
The silence thickened. The man stood there, his sword still sheathed, his stare caught like a snare that refused to release its prey.
Joon-ho shifted uneasily. The air felt strange, charged, as though the torches themselves leaned closer to listen.
The captain's mouth parted, only slightly. His brows drew together in a faint crease, and for the briefest instant, colour stirred along his ears. He looked away, then back again, as if his own senses betrayed him.
Joon-ho's breath hitched. He pressed harder into the wall, hating the way the man's eyes lingered, hating the way the silence seemed to magnify every inch of his body, every shimmer of the damned gloss.
"…You," the captain said at last, his voice low, steady, yet strangely unsure. "Why are you so insistent on running"
The question cut deeper than it should have. Joon-ho swallowed against the dryness in his throat. "I'm not…" His voice wavered.
He forced it steadier. "I'm not whoever you think I am. And I'm definitely not—" He bit back the last word, teeth clenching. Not a girl. He wanted to shout it, but the memory of their earlier reaction burned too fresh in his mind.
The captain's eyes narrowed, searching him as though peeling back layers. But instead of suspicion, something else flickered there. Hesitation. Confusion. And beneath it, a pull Joon-ho recognized all too well, even if he hated it.
The silence stretched.
Joon-ho shifted, lips parting to protest, to explain, to do anything — but the faint glow of the panel pulsed again, cruel in its timing.
Ding.
[ Passive Effect Triggered: Allure. ]
[ Target morale reduced. Target attraction increased. ]
His stomach dropped. He didn't need the words spelled out. He could feel it in the air— the wrongness, the heaviness, the weight of another's gaze lingering too long.
The captain cleared his throat sharply, tearing his eyes away. His jaw tightened, but not before the faint flush across his face betrayed him. "…Strange," he muttered, almost to himself. "Everything about you feels wrong. Yet…" His gaze flicked back for the briefest instant. "…I cannot look away."
The words struck harder than the swords had.
Joon-ho closed his eyes, drew a shaky breath through his nose, and cursed the panel under his breath. "I hate you."
The system pulsed, far too cheerfully.
[ System loves you too ♥ ]
Joon-ho nearly screamed.
***
Joon-ho hadn't had much say in the events that happened afterwards.
The rest of the knights had arrived promptly behind the captain, and surrounded by the rowdy bunch, he didn't have much options other than submit to their request.
Strangely enough, they weren't being rough with him, which in turn, thwarted his suspicions about being reincarnated as some sort of evil madman.
The knights gently escorted him to a horse drawn carriage nearby, their glazes fluttering and flickering each time he caught one of them staring.
This cannot be real...
Joon-ho inwardly sighed, slightly uncomfortable by the burly men in armour that surrounded him.
It looked to be evening, and wherever this strange place was, looked like it was plucked right out of a medieval fantasy.
Brick cottages and stores lined the streets surroundings. Men clad in robes and suits, women in pretty dresses populated the sidewalks, horse drawn carriages occasionally passed by the road next to them.
The sun was slowly dipping into the horizon, and warm lights started blooming all around him as people lit their torches and candles.
After entering the carriage, unknowingly, Joon-ho let his mind wander for a small while.
First he thought about what had happened.
He remembered the flashing lights, obviously, and the screech of tires coming to a sudden stop.
And then he was... here?
And what was that all about a femboy!?
He glanced at the pink shimmering panel next to him, levitating flamboyantly by his side.
It almost looked happy to be acknowledged by him...
[ Name: Joon-Ho ]
[Class: Femininity ]
[ Current Objective: Strike a cute pose ]
[ Passive effects: Allure, Femboy Aura ]
[ Active Skills: Catwalk step ]
Joon-ho sighed, outwardly this time.
"This cannot be real..." He managed to hold himself back from flinching this time, his voice still sounded sweet and cute, different from what it was actually supposed to be, which had been extremely deep.
Of-course, the rest of his appearance had not matched his voice at all.
But still...
But still... He had even lost his last claim towards his masculinity!
Joon-Ho threw his trembling hands up in the air, cursing the skies, and the gods beyond.
The knight accompanying him gave him a worried glance, but stayed silent as Joon-ho glared at him.
"You" He tried talking to the knight,
"What is all this about?"
The man blinked for a few moments, utterly dumbfounded. Then slowly, he started speaking.
"A young lady of the Verdigris house and the young lord, Carmen of the Myrvale house had recently gone missing in a scandal. We were tasked with finding the young lady, and now that we have found you, we will be escorting you back to the Verdigris Estate."
Joon-Ho nodded along, trying his hardest to wrap his head around the whole situation.
So i got transmigrated into the body of a runaway noble... girl?
But that wasn't right.
Turning his attention inwards, towards his own body, he was sure that he was a man.
Then why in gods' name was he wearing women's clothing!?
It was truly such a convoluted situation.
It was going to take them more than an hour to reach the Verdigris estate, in the meantime, Joon-Ho had readied himself for what was about to come, letting his eyes wander through the scenery passing by them.
The small town had gave way to vast fields. He could see small dots, houses, littered between the plots. People, farmers most likely, where making their way home after a fruitful day.
The passing wind felt cool on his face, and the air was so much fresher and clean than it had been on Earth.
Maybe being summoned here was not so bad after all...
Joon-Ho let out a quiet sigh.
It was not like his life at earth had been any good.
He had been barely scrapping by, living pay check to pay check, on a small rented apartment with the worst kind of neighbours that one could have been cursed, in a shady neighbourhood that made him fear for his life every time he had worked up the courage to go out.
And the creeps...
He didn't even wanted to get started on them...
Slowly, a large manner started appearing on the horizon, and the carriage lightly sped up, bringing them closer and closer to their destination.