Should I just stay lying down, or head back to class? In his past life, Jingi would have easily drifted off to sleep in the infirmary. He hesitated for a moment, then sat up once the noise outside the door quieted down. He slipped on his slippers and pulled back the curtains, taking in the sterile white room.
Hoping to avoid waking any other students who might be sleeping, he turned the handle gently. Just then, someone from the outside turned it simultaneously, causing him to stumble forward slightly.
“Oh.”
As he took a step back, the door swung wide open. Joo Unyoung stood there, brows furrowed. His lips parted slightly as he locked eyes with Jingi, then closed them.
“Oh, Joo Unyoung… are you sick? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No, I just heard you collapsed.”
“Ah, no. I’m fine. I just got some sleep.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say, ”I got hit by a ball and passed out from heat exhaustion!” so he glossed over it. Unyoung scanned him briefly, and seeing that he looked okay, he simply nodded with a skeptical, “Is that so?”
But something—something felt off. It was like a stray hair caught inside his shirt, a constant, itchy tickle. ‘Joo Unyoung, Ju Hyeon-je.’ He tried to think of the two names together, but no connection came to mind. In the original novel, Joo Unyoung didn’t have a brother.
And yet, the feeling that they looked alike persisted. Their vibes were worlds apart and their features were different, but they shared the same surname and that same blonde hair.
“Um, Jingi?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Shall we go up?”
“You seem out of it. Maybe you should lie down more.”
“No, no. I was just lost in thought.”
Right on cue, the bell for the next period rang out loudly. Unyoung gave him a suspicious look but chuckled softly when he saw Jingi flailing his arms to prove he was perfectly fine. He turned around, signaling it was time to go.
Jingi walked beside him, mentally repeating the name ‘Ju Hyeon-je’ over and over. It wasn’t a good feeling. Was he one of the lackeys Baek Jaehui used to bring around? But an extra like that couldn’t possibly be that handsome.
‘Even in a genius body, I can’t put it to use.’ Jingi ruffled the back of his hair in frustration.
“Ah, seriously.”
“What is it?”
Unyoung asked casually, but it wasn’t something Jingi could consult him about. What was the point of asking the protagonist about the latter half of the book?
Come to think of it, Kim Hyeyeon—the author—had definitely bragged about there being a ‘secret keyword.’ That day, after the novel had completely tanked, she brought over a bottle of soju and definitely said something…
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Something’s up, right? You look troubled.”
“Ah, sigh… well, hmmm. I don’t know. It’ll work itself out.”
Since he couldn’t remember right now, there was nothing he could do. Jingi shook his head vigorously, as if to clear it. Unyoung didn’t pry further. The two sped up their pace and headed to the second floor.
The hallway was already deserted. Jingi and Unyoung quietly slipped in through the back door. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so the students were still scattered about.
Jingi spotted Go Yeol, who had actually shown up for class for once, and approached him with a bright face. He was still feeling grateful for what happened earlier. However, unlike usual, Go Yeol’s face was crumpled in an expression so dark anyone could tell he was furious.
In the original novel, the only time Go Yeol’s expression changed that drastically was when Joo Unyoung was kidnapped. He had been so expressionless that even the original Unyoung was shocked by the change.
“Jingi, but…”
“Yeol, is something wrong?”
He rushed over to Go Yeol. Unyoung’s voice, trying to say something, faded behind him. Jingi looked back and said, “Just a second!” before sitting down. Go Yeol’s expression remained grim.
“What’s wrong?”
The atmosphere in the classroom was slightly subdued. Some classmates glanced their way before quickly looking away.
Go Yeol was staring straight ahead at his desk, sitting perfectly upright. His twisted expression was full of an unreadable rage. To meet his eyes, Jingi leaned down and ducked his head under Go Yeol’s line of sight.
“Yeol?”
Only when their eyes met did a spark of life return to Go Yeol’s pupils. It was more like he finally found his focus. For him to look like this meant something major had happened. But Jingi couldn’t fathom what.
Because the story had deviated so much from the original, he had no idea what was coming. Besides, the period before the school trip had been heavily condensed in the book, showing only scenes of Choi Jingi and Joo Unyoung going on dates.
“…Jingi.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
At the blunt question, Jingi forced a wide grin. He leaned against Go Yeol’s desk, resting his cheek on his arm, and gave a big thumbs-up.
“Me? I’m totally fine. I heard you carried me. Thank you. You must have been shocked while you were running. Thanks.”
Deep concern filled those pitch-black eyes. ‘Why does an eighteen-year-old kid have so many worries?’ Jingi clicked his tongue inwardly and gave Go Yeol’s head a playful pat.
Was he like this because he was worried about him, or because he was mad that he got hit by the ball? Jingi looked up at the silent Go Yeol, who was still scrutinizing him. The short, bristly hair brushed against his fingers.
“If you’re okay… then that’s enough.”
“Nothing happened to you, right? You didn’t throw out your back carrying me? Relax that face. Why so serious? If something happened, just tell me. Want me to buy you something delicious after class? What do you want to eat?”
He couldn’t afford it in his past life, but now, he could buy him a steak if he asked. Jingi straightened up and draped an arm over Go Yeol’s shoulder as if saying, ”Just trust me.”
“Hmm? What do you want? Just say the word.”
He intended it to be a friendly arm-over-the-shoulder move, but due to the height difference, it looked more like he was hanging onto him. Jingi felt both grateful and a little strange that Go Yeol was so angry on his behalf.
“Whatever you want to eat.”
“You rascal.”
The blunt reply was cute. The way a shy eighteen-year-old boy treated a friend was endearing. In reality, wasn’t Jingi actually twenty-two? In his eyes, both Go Yeol and Ju Hyeon-je were just high school kids.
Throughout the lesson, Jingi swallowed his saliva at least ten times thinking about the steaks he never got to cut in his past life. He prepared to bolt as soon as class ended.
However, his plan was instantly shattered. Just as he picked up his bag, Joo Unyoung spoke with a strange, forced-looking smile.
“Are you skipping evening self-study today?”
“…Self-study?”
“Yeah. It’s Thursday. You have self-study with me.”
Go Yeol, who was packing his things, stared at Jingi. He seemed to have been looking forward to it, as his expressionless eyes seemed to ask, ”What’s going on, Jingi?”
“Did I… did I really?”
Even if he’d read the book, he wasn’t smart enough to remember such trivial details. Would it have been different if he’d read it with Choi Jingi’s brain? Honestly, shouldn’t he be able to recall his previous memories more clearly now that he was in a smart body?
Jingi sat back down with a hollow expression, letting out a dumbfounded laugh.
“Yeah. You signed up for the same days as me and Jaehui. Thursday and Friday.”
“…I see.”
‘Why did you include a self-study setting, Kim Hyeyeon…? Are you crazy? You knew you didn’t need to make the setting this realistic, but you did it anyway, didn’t you? You’re just dying to torture the characters, aren’t you?’
He felt like grabbing the author by the collar. Jingi slid the bag he’d so excitedly slung over his shoulders back onto the desk.
To get into a good college… it’s better not to skip self-study, right? It’s better not to tarnish the grades Choi Jingi worked so hard for…?
“Yeol…”
“Yeah.”
“Yeol-ah, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll stay too.”
It was a bit abbreviated, but Jingi understood. He knew it meant, ”It’s okay, I’ll do self-study too, so let’s eat afterward.”
Past-life Jingi had been too busy to study, but he often enjoyed reading on the bus or subway. He liked the feeling of going to a second-hand bookstore and buying a pile of books for a cheap price. That’s why he could understand Go Yeol’s short sentences.
“Okay, thanks. I really forgot.”
Feeling apologetic, Jingi patted Go Yeol’s waist. But then he jumped. The muscle he felt was on a completely different level from the shoulders he had touched before. ‘Is this possible for a high schooler?’ His eyes widened with awe.
“Yeol, your body is… seriously amazing.”
