Wi-Fi, Where Are You?
Like someone holding a dowsing rod to find a water vein, I wandered around the sauna with a phone charger in one hand, searching for a Wi-Fi signal.
They say if you're not smart, your body suffers, and if you're broke, your body suffers too. So, being both dumb and poor, I have no choice but to struggle twice as hard… That's just the kind of life I lead.
For a true dirt-poor nobody like me, unlimited data is the stuff of dreams, a luxury of civilization I can only imagine.
Wait, is a service even considered a "luxury"? I'm not sure—maybe "internet service" is the better term.
Anyway, that's not important. To me, Wi-Fi is like an oasis in the desert.
Oh—there it is, I'm getting a signal…
My fully charged phone finally picked up a Wi-Fi signal. The problem? The signal got stronger only when I stepped into the women's sleeping area. I peeked inside, and it was pitch dark—nobody around.
…If it bothers anyone, they'll let me know, right?
I grabbed a nearby wooden pillow, lay down, and immediately started fiddling with my phone.
I opened a portal site called "Naber" (not Naver, mind you) and checked the headlines.
"'Adela,' the UK Prime Minister We Trusted, Causes Controversy by Telling Former US President 'Talia' to Step Down Before She's Dragged Down…"
"President Kim Jae-yeon Stays Silent for 10 Seconds… Sparks Controversy Over 'Bold Personnel Appointment'"
…Samsung's gone, so this kind of news is nothing surprising.
It's fine, it's fine. This was expected.
Next, I decided to check Naber Maps. With GPS syncing, I could immediately see where I was.
Since my house is near Yusik Station, I zoomed in on that area, focusing on Exit 7, where I was standing, and looked around the station's layout.
With Samsung and LG gone, the fact that a few subway station names had changed didn't seem like a big deal.
For example, Hongdae Entrance was now Cheongdae Entrance, and where Gangnam Station should've been, there was Choseo Station. Seeing a subway map with names different from what I knew made my head spin a little, but… whatever, let's just move on.
If I got hung up on every little detail, I'd have too much to worry about.
Still, at this point, it's like the station names are the only thing familiar. This neighborhood feels completely different from the one I know. What do I do from here…?
At least a few places, like Yusik Station, still had the same names. But even then, I had a gut feeling that if I went there, it'd be a completely different place from the Yusik Station I knew.
…Should I just stay here another night?
I don't even know where I am, and I've got nowhere to go. Why go out and suffer for no reason? That's what I was thinking.
What if I've ended up in a world different from the one I know?
I know it sounds ridiculous, but… what if this is one of those "dimensional shift" things? Could that be what's happening to me?
In novels on sites like Joara or Munpia, you see this kind of stuff all the time: "I went out to buy cigarettes and got transported to another world." "I'm an ordinary masseur, but in this world, I'm a legendary healer." "I woke up one day inside a novel." "After waking up, I regressed 20 years into the past." "I became a master at a game after playing it for 12 years, then got sucked into the game world."
Stuff like that. Could that be what's happening to me right now?
It's a stupid thought, but it felt plausible. I mean, what else could explain the situation I'm in?
What if… the world I'm in is one where gender roles are completely reversed?
If it's a world where gender roles are flipped, where it's normal for women to get slapped or doused with water on public TV without anyone batting an eye, then…
It makes sense.
In this society, the presidents… they're all women, aren't they? I just saw the news on the internet—UK Prime Minister Adela, former US President Talia, and Korea's President Kim Jae-yeon. I checked their photos, and they're all women.
Well, that tracks, doesn't it? In our world, men are usually presidents, so in a gender-reversed world, it'd make sense for women to be presidents. Or maybe it just fits? I don't know. My head's a mess. Can a woman even be president with the common sense I know?
Not to sound derogatory, but women… they get pregnant, have periods, and deal with all sorts of limitations, right? So how could they handle a role like president?
I scratched my head, trying to think it through, but my brain couldn't come up with a clear answer.
I remember reading a few gender-reversal novels on Joara when I had nothing better to do. They usually glossed over the pregnancy issue pretty vaguely.
In most gender-reversal stories, they don't bother with detailed world-building like that. Some stories did touch on the pregnancy thing, though. I think they usually went with something like… women implanting eggs in men's mouths, like seahorses, and the men carry the baby. Or something like that.
My hands were shaking like trembling aspen leaves. No way, that's the kind of thing you couldn't even imagine in Las Vegas.
I tapped the touchscreen and searched for information about pregnancy.
Having decided on the closest destination, Arumi just had to get there. Since it overlapped with rush hour, she needed to move quickly to avoid all sorts of trouble.
"Pregnancy: The process in which a fertilized egg implants in the uterine wall, receiving nutrients from the mother to develop into a fetus." —Naber Dictionary.
"The gestation period for women is 266 days from the day of fertilization, or 280 days from the last menstrual period."
After skimming the dictionary for a short while, I was relieved to find that the worst-case scenario I'd imagined didn't happen.
Even in this world, it's women who get pregnant. Thank goodness for that small mercy. But doesn't that make this world way too advantageous for men?
Or maybe this is a more conservative society than I thought, where men who mess around too much aren't treated as human? Maybe men here are expected to settle down, have kids, and take care of their wives and children. I don't know.
It'd be nice if there was a site that explained these gender dynamics clearly. I tapped the screen and browsed a few websites.
One site caught my eye: the Early Morning Soccer Club Gallery. If this is a gender-reversed world, a gallery about soccer—a sport—would probably be female-dominated, right?
"[I'm a college student, but browsing this gallery is more fun than going to class.]"
"[Where should I go if I retake the entrance exam next year?]"
"[Koko University's Physical Education Department has the best output.]"
"[Sungsung University Dance Club.]"
"[Is Chuk-soon-ie's fashion sense pretty good?]"
"[Is Chuk-soon-ie's face decent enough?]"
"[38-year-old Chuk-soon-ie's dinner, is it decent?]"
…It's a soccer gallery, but there's barely any soccer-related posts—just weird stuff. Wait, Sungsung University? What kind of school name is that?
As I scrolled, a post titled "[Is Chuk-soon-ie's face decent enough?]" caught my attention.
Should I click it? I tapped the screen to open it.
The server must've been slow because the photo took a while to load. While waiting, I thought about how, in gender-reversal stories, it's often depicted as easy for an average guy to hook up with a super attractive woman, or there's some hyper-sexual guy going after every woman he sees. That's the kind of trope that's popular, right?
In a gender-reversed world, it's supposed to be easy for men to approach women and form relationships.
Oh, the photo's loaded.
…Ugh.
I let out an involuntary sigh. As expected, not every woman in a gender-reversed world is beautiful.
Just like in our world, where there are handsome guys, cute guys, and tough guys, there are also unattractive guys, funny-looking guys, and annoying-looking guys. It's the same here.
Acne-riddled skin, buckteeth, a protruding mouth, a low nose bridge, wide nostrils, a narrow forehead, and glasses so thick her eyes looked tiny…
She's gotta study hard.
In our world, people say looks aren't everything for men—it's about ability! Seems like people here think the same.
The comments confirmed it:
"[Our Rez… you gotta study hard…]"
"[Hang in there, Rez! Women just need ability to hold their heads high!]"
"[Rez, it seems like something went wrong when your mom was pregnant with you. Be reborn! Reincarnation therapy is the answer!]"
"[Rez, even women get plastic surgery these days… make lots of money.]"
Even in a gender-reversed world, beauty standards don't seem that different.
I went back to the forum and spotted another post: "[Sungsung University Dance Club.GIF]."
It was a GIF, so it loaded slowly. I checked the comments first—posted less than a minute ago, and it already had 13 comments.
"[Oh my… Oppa…]"
"[Kyaa kyaa kyaa!]"
"[Oppa… I'm dying…]"
"[Damn, I wanna suck on those milk jugs lol.]"
"[→ Is our Rez browsing from Paraguay?]"
"[→→ Paraguay's shield is strong, huh?]"
"[→→→ Paraguay unnie's relying on her back!]"
The GIF finally loaded, and I felt nauseous. It was a guy around my age, wearing shorts, dancing. The choreography was a bit intense.
I don't know much about dance, but they'd edited a clip of him trembling while doing breakdance moves. It felt… weird.
Of course, it's a woman posting this, so it makes sense it's here. But the guy's dance moves felt oddly like something a female idol would do—soft lines, graceful.
Seeing a guy dance like a female idol from my world felt… off. Nauseating, even.
If you're a guy, dance with some power, not like a damn eel…
I left a comment: "[This is disgusting;;; Is this what women like??]" and gave it a downvote.
When I refreshed, the replies were just "[NDDJ]" and "[NeDaJot]."
What? "NeDaJot" as in "You're next, pig"? Whatever, overthinking it's too much hassle. I clicked another post.
This time, it was "[Sungsung University Dance Club22222.GIF]." The comment count was insane—140 comments in less than a minute, with over 300 upvotes.
What the hell is so great that it's getting this reaction in one minute? Curiosity piqued, I clicked.
"[Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[Not a fox… just KingGod…]"
"[→ Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[→→ Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[→→→ Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[→→→→ Thank you, Sensei!!!!]"
"[→→→→→ Fox Sensei, overwhelming thanks!!!!]"
What kind of photo is this?
It loaded. I scrolled up to see it. …Huh? Did it not load fully?
It showed an old man lying on a shabby bed, but below his shoulders, it hadn't loaded yet.
Is the public Wi-Fi too slow? I checked, waited 30 seconds, but it still didn't load properly. I scrolled down.
There was an image of a fox raising one paw, with the text:
"[Don't worry! The evil Halkas has been defeated by Desert Fox!]"
Below, it said: "You've received the blessing of Desert Fox Sensei. If you don't comment 'Thank you, Sensei!!!' and upvote, you'll be cursed by Halkas."
What the hell is Halkas's curse?
And what's with this insane number of upvotes? Over 1,000 already? …The women in this world are a little weird.