77. Golden Week: Day Three - 7:20 AM Departure, A Miracle on a Suddenly Crowded Train (Part 3)

I smirked at myself, thinking even my dreams were haunted by men now. My frustration's getting out of hand, I admitted.

"Haa, haa…" The heavy breathing kept going.

Wondering what was up, I opened my eyes and looked up. My breath stopped cold. Right above me was a young guy's face, twisted in pain. He wore a boys' black uniform—the kind with a high collar and buttons down the front, what students call a gakuran. A high school boy.

My eyes widened, but I doubted what I saw. Sure, guys like him exist somewhere in the world. But here? No way. Someone I'd never cross paths with in my whole life. Yet there he stood, right in front of me.

I wanted to reach out and make sure he was real… No! That'd ruin my life! I snapped back to my senses and pulled my hand back fast. If this high school boy wasn't just my imagination—if he was really there—touching him would get me tackled by the women around me, arrested on the spot as a creep.

I scanned the car again. Just as I thought. The students and office ladies were all eyeing each other, holding back, watching like hawks. A few stared at me, catching how I almost reached out. This wasn't about protecting him from creeps, though. I knew better. These women wanted to "accidentally" bump into him too. But if they tried anything obvious, the others would turn on them. So everyone's on edge, waiting for a split-second chance.

I didn't want to get caught as a creep over a moment of weakness either. But if an opportunity came, I'd take it. And if there wasn't one, I'd make one happen. That's when the train jolted.

His body swayed hard. He's going to fall! I have to catch him! My hands shot out without thinking. At the same time, other hands moved too. You sneaky jerks! I cursed inside. They just want to touch him under the guise of helping! Lowlife women! Me too, though!

But he grabbed the vertical handrail I'd been leaning on and steadied himself. His face looked ready to collapse, but he's got guts. I yanked my hands back quick. So did everyone else. For a moment, the car was thick with tension, then it settled back to normal, like nothing happened.

His pained expression didn't change, though. If anything, it got worse. I sat there, silent. What should I do? I wondered. If this were a woman, I'd laugh it off in my head and call her weak. But this fragile, pretty boy in front of me—I wasn't sure I could just ignore him.

Helping him would be easy. I could give him my seat, simple as that. Maybe I'd get a quick thank-you out of it. But if I do, some woman nearby might jump in to help him settle in, taking over as his rescuer and hogging the attention I'd earn. Thinking like this makes me a rotten person, and I know it. But I've got no guarantee another moment like this will come in my life. In a world where women outnumber men thirty to one, grabbing a guy means risking some shady moves. The women around me? They'd do the same. In my spot, they wouldn't give up this seat either.

Thinking like this makes me a rotten person, and I know it. But I've got no guarantee another moment like this will come in my life. In a world where women outnumber men thirty to one, grabbing a guy means risking some shady moves. The women around me? They'd do the same. In my spot, they wouldn't give up this seat either.

Even knowing that, I couldn't stop myself. "Hey… kid, you okay?" I called out.

Angry glares hit me from all sides. I could feel their resentment slamming into me—You ruined our chance to touch him! But with this boy suffering right in front of me, I couldn't just sit there. Not being ruthless enough is another bad habit of mine.

He flinched, surprised by my voice. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay…" he said, forcing a smile. His face was way too pale to mean it.

"No, don't play tough. You're white as a sheet. Sit here," I insisted, starting to stand. That's when he lost his strength and tipped over hard. Anemia? He's going to collapse—this is bad!

"Whoa!" I caught him without thinking. With our height difference, his face landed right in my chest. It's not that he's small—I'm just too tall. This position is trouble. Really big trouble.

The car buzzed instantly. Of course it did. Here I was, a woman pressing a high school boy's face between her breasts. I could feel their readiness to grab me, mixed with jealousy. This is it, I thought. The second he pulls away, they'll pin me as a creep, drag me to the stationmaster at the next stop, and I'll end up with the police.

I sighed inside. Looking back, my life's been nothing but struggle, pretty boring overall. Might as well enjoy this, I decided. I leaned closer to his neck, ready to breathe in the scent of a young guy in a black uniform. Then he moved his arm, struggling.

That made it worse. In his daze, fighting to breathe, his hand shot out and slipped inside my jacket. It grabbed my chest hard, fingers locked tight. No excuse could save this. A woman smothering a half-conscious boy's face in her chest, now letting him grope her? I'm not just a creep—I'm a full-on predator now, upgraded to something like assault.

I tried to pull his arm off, but that only dug his fingers in deeper. "Nnh!" A sharp pain and a jolt I'd never felt before made me gasp.

"Huh?" My groan seemed to snap him awake. He looked up at me. Our eyes met. I couldn't speak. Oh—this is what it means to have your soul stolen, I thought.