Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chap 9

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it."

Today, I met two girls. That should've been exciting for a newly pubescent teenager like me—but why does everything always start out so awkward?

It makes me feel like the Yona from my old world was better than the one here. At least—I never felt awkward around her, even though she rarely talked.

No, maybe instead of blaming Yona's change in personality—this is more like my own fault for rarely talking with girls my age.

I can't run away now. My banana might've been crushed by Yona, but that doesn’t mean my mentality has to be.

"Want to... have lunch together?"

She was about to walk away, but froze in place the moment she heard me speak. Yona looked at me with clear hesitation.

"...Are you sure?"

"W—Well... I happen to be alone today since Kaito’s eating with his friends from another class. Don’t you want to?"

"Alright. But I need to buy something from the cafeteria first."

Oh, right. I remember Yona’s parents are always busy in the mornings. They probably never have time to prepare lunch for her.

I looked at my lunchbox. Compared to what I saw this morning, it looked about twice as big now. Clearly, there’s no way I could finish it all on my own.

Dad should know about Yona’s parents’ situation... Since he asked Yona to bring my lunch—could he have wanted me to share it with her?

I immediately stopped Yona.

"Wait. How about we just share my lunch? I think my dad made it too much."

"No need to go through the trouble, Ren. I—"

"Come on! Just follow me."

Sensing that Yona would give an excuse I couldn’t counter, I pushed her from behind and led her to the spot I had in mind.

---

After a few minutes of dragging a confused Yona along, I finally arrived at my destination.

"The parking lot?"

"It’s quiet, right? This is where I usually have lunch. Even though the view is just bikes and forest, this is my favorite place."

Our school is located right at the foot of a mountain. That’s why from the rear parking area like this—you can see the woods.

I watched Yona for her reaction. But why... is she looking at me with pity?

"Ren... Is this why you brought me here? You’re lonely, aren’t you? If you had told me from the beginning, I would’ve gladly kept you company every day."

"Why would you even think that!? And I’m not lonely—Kaito and I usually eat lunch here together!"

"It’s okay, Ren. Kaito’s eating with someone else today—I don’t mind taking his place just for today. And honestly, even without sharing your lunch, I still would’ve come."

"Are you even listening to what I’m saying?"

Seriously, Yona in this world is exhausting. I’m already getting tired of dealing with her.

I laid down the cloth that wrapped the lunchbox as a mat and invited Yona to sit beside me.

However, just as I began to open the lunchbox—I froze.

"What’s wrong?"

"There’s only one spoon."

W—What the heck, Dad!? You increased the portion so I could eat with Yona, didn’t you? Then why did you only pack one spoon!?

"Um, is there a fork? I can just use that."

"...There isn’t."

If my mom had packed this, I could understand—she’s forgetful. But my dad is always so meticulous—unless he’s gotten soft from becoming a stay-at-home dad here!?

No, wait. Looking at the big picture—what if this wasn’t a mistake? Don’t tell me Dad planned this too?

But Dad, what are you trying to do? If you’re trying to fix my relationship with Yona, why go this far?

At this rate, this isn’t about fixing our relationship anymore! This is pushing me and Yona closer romantically!

I was at a loss. Lunch break should be ending soon, and if I didn’t decide now, we might both end up not eating at all.

I saw Yona getting up.

"In that case, I’ll borrow a spoon from the cafeteria—"

Looks like I have no choice but to bite the bullet now.

"...Don’t go, Yona."

"Uh? Then how are we going to eat?"

At first, I thought about asking her to feed me. But since I’m the one who invited her, it felt wrong.

And besides, I remembered that in this world, gender roles are reversed. Doesn’t that mean the guy is the one expected to do this?

That’s why I had no choice but to do this!

"I’ll feed you! B—Break’s almost over. So instead of wasting time, how about we just do it this way?"

Right, I had no other choice! It’s not like I’m too embarrassed to ask her to feed me or anything!

Yona was stunned.

"F—Feed each other...? W—What are you saying, Ren!? I—I’ll just go get a spoon!"

Stammering, her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. This was the first time I’d seen her face like that here.

Honestly... she looks kinda cute right now. It makes me excited to feed her.

"No way! Come on, open your mouth. Aaaaah."

I grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. Yona’s strength in this world is supposed to be insane—but since she didn’t pull away from my grip, that means she’s okay with being fed!

"..... Aaahm."

"Nice!"

Like a child being forced to eat vegetables she doesn’t like, Yona kept her mouth shut for a few seconds—before finally giving in and accepting my offer.

What is this sense of satisfaction? Why does it feel like something new is awakening inside me?

Once I saw Yona swallow the food, I asked her:

"So, how does my dad’s cooking taste?"

"...I want to say it’s good, but because you forced me, I can’t taste anything, Ren."

"Is that your roundabout way of saying you want me to feed you again so you can taste it?"

"Ughhhhh!"

After that, I kept feeding Yona until the lunchbox was empty.

---

A few minutes later.

Since the bell hadn’t rung yet, we decided to sit for a while and let the food settle.

But after a while, I stood up.

"Well, how about we head back to class now?"

"...Thank you, Ren."

"For the food?"

If it’s about the meal, maybe Dad deserves all the credit. After all, I’m grateful too—his cooking was really good.

Even so, it seems Yona wasn’t just thanking me for that.

"For everything. I thought after yesterday, we wouldn’t be able to see each other again. Thank you for not avoiding me, Ren."

"If I may say so, I think you were a bit too impulsive yesterday. If you hadn’t rushed things, maybe it would’ve turned out differently."

Honestly, I’m not even sure what I was saying. Maybe it was a teenager’s instinct to sound cool—or maybe something else.

But I’m sure I’ll cringe about this for the rest of my life.

Before Yona could even respond, I bent down so my head was level with hers and whispered.

"But you know, Yona? Even in this world, there’s such a thing as second chances."

"...."

Yona's eyes widened. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out. She blushed—only this time, it was even worse than before. Because I could see her entire face turned red, not just her cheeks.

"I—I just remembered I have something to do! S—See you, Ren!"

Yona stood up immediately. Without another word, she ran off—no, it's more like she fled.

A soft breeze brushed against my face. The school bell began to ring. 

Watching Yona’s back as she disappeared into the distance, I started packing up my lunch—and slammed my head against the wall.

"WHY DID I HAVE TO BE THAT CRINGE!?"