What is a female character addict?
Even though they are often looked down upon with the term addict, they are simply people who want to meet their ideal type, even if it's just on a monitor.
It's like they're personally designing and controlling a character to fit their taste and indulging in a form of self-admiration.
This is quite the opposite of male character addicts who project themselves onto their characters.
Of course, as a female character addict myself, I never used to project myself onto my character.
...Yes.
That was until a few months ago.
It's been about five months since I was unknowingly kidnapped into the world of the dating simulation game [Heart-Pounding Academy Life].
I've been unexpectedly attending this so-called school under the name of an academy.
I've managed to make some friends and adapt quite well, but...
"Phew..."
After finishing up in the bathroom and raising my head, I see "my body" in the mirror.
Wild dark brown short-cropped hair and a slightly sharp, boyish beauty, a slender body with nicely outlined abs...
But with a large, heavy chest and a slim waist, a strikingly feminine figure that extends to wide hips with an aggressive curve.
A textbook example of a sporty young beauty.
This is the appearance of "Lee Seon-ah," whom I created by merging all of my preferences, and now, it is the body I've involuntarily inhabited.
Although I thought I would never adapt to the change in appearance, let alone the change in gender...
Ta-da, turns out there's no such thing as "never" in this world
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd say this myself.
I quickly wiped the moisture from my body, returned to my room, and changed into the Academy's uniform—a white blouse and a navy skirt.
"…I'm off."
With the convenient setting that my parents are overseas on assignment, I left the house I use alone, passed the small yard, and exited through the main gate.
Fresh air that's unlike the city, and a landscape similar to 'reality', yet slightly different.
Things like brand signs with subtly different names are peculiar, but above all, the abundance of residences feels unfamiliar.
Well, even though it's said to be the 'standard rule' of dating sims to be in a suburban area it still feels a little off...
Adjusting the light-feeling bag as I entered the main street, I noticed students gathering in groups, chatting as they headed to school.
The scene is filled with people I can only envy as an outsider.
Since falling into this world, my appearance, and even gender, have changed,
I've been so busy adapting to my transformed body and the new norms that I've only managed to make two real friends.
'…Speak of the devil.'
Just then, one of those rare friends waved at me from ahead.
"Lee Seon-ah, hurry up!"
"Oh, Eunjeong!"
With long, black hair reminiscent of the night sky and a petite, slender figure.
A charming fox-like face, she's the third-generation heiress of a chaebol, my friend Cha Eunjeong.
She's been a great example for me as I adapt to being a woman, a truly pure and beautiful friend.
Unable to contain my delight, I broke into a wide smile and quickly joined her side.
"Seon-ah, today the final exam results come out. What do you think your final exam scores will be?"
"Final exams? Well, just so-so..."
"What's 'just so-so'? You're saying that after doing well again, aren't you?"
"No way. This time, I'm really not sure."
"If I don't come first again, my dad will kill me, but you seem so carefree."
As Eunjeong gave me a sidelong glance with an unreadable expression, I waved my hands dismissively.
Since I'm here alone trying to adapt without knowing how, or if, I'll ever get out of this game world, I've just decided to study a bit for the future.
Basic theories aren't all that different from the previous world except for the names of the scholars who discovered them, so recalling and studying them hasn't been too difficult.
It's the so-called perk of having a second chance in life.
"More importantly, what are you planning to do during the vacation, Eunjeong?"
"I have to attend social gatherings, learn about my father's company work... Things like that."
"That's a shame. I was hoping to take you with me for some exercise."
"I'd rather just do Pilates than follow your hellish schedule."
As we chatted and walked, the front gate of the Academy gradually came into view.
Among the gray buildings around it, the white, grand structures appeared as if they were shining on their own.
As the main setting in the game, it was designed with such an emphasis that it even felt out of place.
I was so shocked when I saw that building on the first day of school.
"What are you doing? Let's go in."
"Oh, okay."
Lost in my thoughts while recalling memories, my attention was caught by the buildings before I regained my composure and headed towards the building used by the female students.
Passing through the entrance filled with the sweet fragrance and delicate, pretty girls in uniforms, I changed into slippers at the main shoe locker and walked softly down the hallway to the classroom.
While I passed the time sitting with Eunjeong, the front door of the classroom slid open with a creak, and our homeroom teacher, dressed in a stylish suit, entered.
With the top button of her shirt undone, revealing a hint of cleavage, she exuded a subtly seductive style.
Despite her appearance, she was a very diligent teacher.
"Alright, since I'm here, everyone quiet down. If you talk, I'll delay giving out the report cards?"
"Teacher Mina, can't you just keep them forever?"
"Then I'll send them directly to your parents, so if that's what you want, go ahead."
"Eek."
The teacher replied wittily to a student's joke and dropped a thick bundle of report cards onto the desk with a thud.
That seemingly insignificant piece of paper could bring someone to tears or laughter in the future.
"We'll skip roll call and distribute the report cards instead, so come up quickly when your name is called. First, Kim Ga-yeon?"
"Yes―!"
As I watched the homeroom teacher hand out the report cards to her friends, memories of my school days flashed through my mind like a passing scene from a movie.
"Kim Sia, come up and get your report card…. Kim Ayoung? Could someone please wake up Ayoung, who's sleeping over there."
Without understanding the culture here or what I needed to know as a girl, I had to adapt to this absurd world with just my body as I was.
After going through countless humiliating and embarrassing experiences that are hard to even talk about, I was finally able to be here as a girl.
Really, the day when I got my period in the middle of the classroom was the worst of them all…
"Lee Seon-ah? Lee Seon-ah!"
"Oh, yes!"
Shaking off my random thoughts, I dragged my chair with a scrape and stood in front of the desk.
The report card was gently handed to me.
It was filled with complicated explanations for each section, but the most important number printed boldly… was '1'.
As expected, the benefits of being in my second life are revealed in moments like these.
"Once again, our Seon-ah achieved first place in the whole school. Now, everyone, a round of applause for Lee Seon-ah!"
...This teacher is pretty, diligent, and all things nice, but the problem is how she makes people blush like this.
Under the resounding applause, I turned red with embarrassment and quickly returned to my seat.
"Huh..."
Suddenly, I felt a piercing gaze and turned my head that way.
There, sitting and staring at me with an expressionless face, was Cha Eunjeong.
What's with that ghost-like look? She really startled me.
Since I made eye contact, I gave Eunjeong a small wave and a smile as if to say, I did well, didn't I?
After watching me for a moment, she bit her lip, then promptly buried her head in her desk.
Could it be that her grades turned out worse than she expected? No, it's not Eunjeong's turn to get her report card yet.
...It seems like I have a vague idea of what's happening, but one thing is clear: she became upset while I wasn't paying attention.
She's usually quite sensitive, so asking her directly might only worsen her mood.
Since exams are over... if we finish early today, I should take her to the karaoke she likes.
After cheering her up a bit, I can discreetly ask what's bothering Eunjeong while pretending to know nothing.
I sat down, leaving behind the voice of the homeroom teacher calling out other students' names.
Is it just my imagination, or do I have a slightly ominous feeling about this?
"Let's go to karaoke for the first time in a while, okay? The exams are over, so we should relieve some stress."
"...You don't even sing anyway."
"Well, I'm fine just listening to you. I like hearing you sing."
"Honestly, you always have the right words."
As I was persuading Eunjeong, who was sticking to my side as we left the Academy, I noticed from afar... a girl causing a miracle of Moses among the students heading home.
She seemed to be waiting for someone, her short hair dyed golden swaying each time she turned her head.
That girl exuding an aura of a delinquent... is my other friend, Kim Hanna.
Despite her image, she often skips class and gets into fights with bullies, but inside, she's a genuinely warm person.
...I'm not joking, really.
"Eunjeong, wait a moment."
I asked Eunjeong to wait for a bit, then stealthily approached Hanna from behind.
Little by little, as I got closer and eventually began to sense her fragrance, "Gotcha, you rascal!"
I wrapped my arms around her from behind and hugged her tightly.
"Ah... What kind of per—oh, Lee Seon-ah? Let go! People are watching..."
"Hmph, I don't care. No one can see us here, right?"
"But I can see us, geez!"
Despite Hanna's flustered scolding, I ignored it and continued to hug her tight, rubbing my cheek against her back.
One of the perks of becoming a girl is that the barrier for skinship between girls is quite low... allowing me to freely hug beautiful girls like this.
Close friends even kiss or touch each other's chests, so isn't this relatively harmless?
Of course, if the other person really dislikes it, it becomes a problem, but Hanna isn't one of those people.
Even though she talks harshly, her body is honest and soon quiets down.