To the sound of grand, celebratory music, the bride and groom entered the wedding reception hall.
Bathed in the glow of the spotlights, the newlyweds were greeted by thunderous applause and cheers from everyone in attendance.
Shuichi Sato, who had come as a friend of the groom, watched the scene with a beer in one hand.
“Must be nice. He looks so happy.”
Even as he muttered those words, Shuichi couldn’t help feeling slightly out of place.
Many of his friends were already married.
He was one of the few who was still single.
That was when a woman in a red dress caught his eye.
She had charmingly full cheeks, and although she was smiling, there was something faintly lonely about her expression.
After hesitating for a while, Shuichi finally worked up the courage to approach her.
“Good evening. Are you a friend of the bride?”
The woman looked up in surprise, but quickly gave him a gentle smile.
“I am. My name is Manami Sasaki. The bride and I have been friends since we were students.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I’m Shuichi Sato, a friend of the groom. Funny coincidence—our last names even sound a little alike.”
At his lighthearted joke, Manami gave a quiet giggle.
Still holding a glass of red wine, she murmured,
“Weddings are wonderful, aren’t they? But somehow… they also make me feel like I’m being left behind.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. You’ve still got plenty of chances ahead of you.”
Shuichi hurried to reassure her.
Manami tilted her glass and smiled faintly.
“I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I’m already past thirty. It’s hard not to feel a little anxious.”
Perhaps because of the wine, there was more emotion in her voice than before.
Seeing her expression, Shuichi tried his best to encourage her.
“Age doesn’t matter. You’re a very beautiful woman, Manami. I’m sure you’ll meet someone wonderful.”
Manami’s eyes widened for a moment.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
“You’re very kind, Shuichi. But if I could actually feel that ‘beautiful’ thing you’re talking about myself… maybe I wouldn’t worry so much.”
The instant she said those words, the air in the reception hall seemed to ripple strangely.
Then Shuichi’s vision spun.
An unfamiliar sensation swept through his entire body.
When he opened his eyes, he found a man who looked exactly like him standing in front of him.
No—
it was him.
Meanwhile, when Shuichi looked down at his own hands, he saw slender, delicate fingers.
“What… You’ve got to be kidding me.”
His voice was higher.
Soft.
Unmistakably feminine.
Panicking, Shuichi looked around for a mirror.
On a nearby wall, he found one.
Reflected in it was Manami—
still dressed in her red evening gown.
“Why am I… a woman?!”
Meanwhile, Manami, now inside Shuichi’s body, broke into a confident grin.
“Oh, wow. This body’s pretty nice! I’ve always wondered what something like this would be like.”
“Wait a minute! Manami, why did this happen?!”
Shuichi was practically panicking, but Manami merely shrugged.
“I told you, didn’t I? I said I wanted to know what it felt like to be ‘beautiful.’ So why don’t you experience it for me for a while?”
“Experience it?! How are we supposed to change back?!”
“We can figure that out later. For now, let’s enjoy ourselves!”
With that, Manami—in Shuichi’s body—started chatting up some of the women at the reception.
Shuichi’s panic immediately intensified.
“Hey! Wait! What are you doing with my body?!”
At the same time, however, Shuichi couldn’t avoid becoming conscious of his own “new” body.
The unfamiliar feel of the dress.
The way the skirt spread gently around his legs.
The attention he received from the people around him.
Everything was new, confusing, and strangely vivid.
“So this is… what it feels like to be a woman?”
He picked up a small hand mirror.
A beautiful woman in a red dress looked back at him.
Shuichi blushed at the sight—
and yet, somewhere beneath his embarrassment, he felt an unexpected flicker of pride.
Wait, what am I thinking?!
I need to get back to normal!
Meanwhile, Manami was still using Shuichi’s body to charm one woman after another.
Gathering the hem of his dress in one hand, Shuichi hurried toward the exit on unsteady heels.
“Wait, Manami! Give me my body back!”
He rushed outside—
but she was already nowhere to be seen.
“…Damn it.”
At a complete loss, Shuichi sat down beside the shrubs near the entrance.
His vision blurred.
He couldn’t tell whether it was because of the alcohol—
or because he was about to cry.
“Are you all right?”
A low, gentle male voice reached him.
Shuichi looked up.
A man in a tuxedo was standing there, peering down at him with concern.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, with handsome features and a calm, reassuring presence.
“Ah… yes, I’m fine. I just… stumbled a little.”
The unexpectedly feminine way the words came out made Shuichi inwardly wince.
“The reception was pretty crowded, wasn’t it? I’m not very good with crowds either. If you’d like, why don’t we get some fresh air?”
Shuichi hesitated.
Then he nodded.
They sat together on a bench a short distance away, and the man offered him a bottle of water.
“Thank you…”
“You’re welcome. My name is Segawa. I’m a junior colleague of the bride’s at work. And you are?”
“I’m… Manami Sasaki.”
The moment Shuichi spoke a name that wasn’t his own, something stung deep inside his chest.
“Manami… That’s a beautiful name. You looked a little tired, so I was worried about you.”
“…A few things happened tonight.”
Shuichi couldn’t find the words to explain.
Segawa, however, didn’t press him for details.
He simply nodded quietly.
“Everyone has days like that. I used to hate weddings myself.”
“Really? Why?”
“When someone important to you gets married before you, you’re happy for them, of course. But at the same time… it can feel like you’re the only one being left behind.”
The words struck Shuichi more deeply than he expected.
“…That’s how I felt too.”
The confession escaped before he could stop it.
He hadn’t lived his life as a woman.
And yet, ever since entering this body, he had been carrying a strange mixture of loneliness and uncertainty.
Somehow, this man he had only just met seemed to understand those feelings.
And strangely enough, that made Shuichi feel safe.
“You’re very kind.”
“Thank you. But I think anyone who was truly kind would simply find it impossible to ignore someone who looked like they were in trouble.”
Shuichi found himself smiling naturally.
That night, he headed home with a strange mixture of emotions swirling inside him.
Spending even a single day as a woman had shaken him far more deeply than he could ever have imagined.
The person staring back at him from the mirror still felt like a stranger.
And yet, more than anything else that had happened that evening, it was his conversation with Segawa that remained in his thoughts.
“…Why was he so easy to talk to?”
And beginning the very next day—
Shuichi would have no choice but to begin living his life as Manami.
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