This was surely because the feelings Joo Unyoung’s original lover had for him still remained in this body.
As he had planned this morning, he had to become “Pathetic Choi Jingi” or “Bad Choi Jingi.”
The two soon arrived at the canteen.
Located at the very end of the first floor, it was already packed with students even though it was morning.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Uh… just any soda for me.”
“Okay, wait a sec.”
Joo Unyoung skillfully wove through the crowd of students.
With a few light taps, the crowd of boys parted like the Red Sea.
The guys glancing at Joo Unyoung all had dazed, silly grins on their faces.
‘I guess they like him even if he’s a guy like them.’
“Here, take this.”
“Thanks.”
Joo Unyoung pressed an ionic drink into Jingi’s hand. Jingi was sure he had asked for a soda, but figuring the other boy had misheard, he didn’t say anything and twisted the cap open.
He naturally started walking toward the stairs, but Joo Unyoung, who had stuck a straw into a small square apple juice carton, waved his hand toward the outside.
Following him, the strong sunlight stung Jingi’s eyelids. It had felt cool this morning, but now… Jingi shaded his eyes with his hand and walked toward the bench where Joo Unyoung had already sat down.
“Sit here, Jingi.”
“Oh, okay.”
When Jingi sat a little distance away, Joo Unyoung slid closer.
Because of their short-sleeved summer uniforms, their elbows brushed. Jingi hid his surprise and tried to act natural.
“I was a bit too rushed yesterday, wasn’t I?”
“…Huh?”
“Sorry. I just wanted to know how you really felt.”
The playground was empty, as the time for school to start had passed.
Jingi was sweating buckets internally, agonizing over how to respond. The cold ionic drink already felt lukewarm.
“Let’s get to know each other slowly. That would probably be better, right?”
“Th-that, Unyoung.”
“I’ll adjust to you. We both know we like each other… honestly. Right?”
Joo Unyoung naturally draped an arm around Jingi’s shoulder and smiled broadly. He set down his finished drink and leaned in close to Jingi.
As they locked eyes and he tilted his head, his platinum blonde hair sparkled and fell out of place.
“Ah.”
An unexpectedly large hand rested on Jingi’s thigh. Joo Unyoung’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, reflecting the bright sunlight. He smelled like warm, yellow sunshine.
“That’s not it, well… Unyoung.”
“Yeah?”
“What I said yesterday, I really, really meant it.”
As if on cue in a novel—ding-dong-dang-dong—the school bell rang over the playground speakers. Jingi’s lips parted anxiously, but Joo Unyoung stood up first.
“We should head back in. We barely got to talk.”
“No, Unyoung. Wait. I think you’re misunderstanding, so just a moment, let me explain…”
“First period is math. You know how scary it is to be late for math, right?”
Joo Unyoung gave a playful smile and flicked his empty juice carton into the trash can.
Seeing it land perfectly inside, he waved his hand, gesturing for Jingi to hurry.
Jingi swallowed hard as he followed behind. Joo Unyoung’s personality was a bit different from what he knew.
In the novel, Joo Unyoung was bright and pure; he wasn’t exactly timid, but he wasn’t bold either. Jingi never expected him to be so direct.
‘Jingi, I’ve never met someone as good you.’
‘No. It’s because you’re too kind… that other people were mean to you. There are plenty of good people.’
‘Still… thank you so much for comforting me like this. I only have you.’
Before his transmigration, Choi Jingi and Joo Unyoung had slept in the same room. The memory of that quiet, whispering voice… came back vividly, unlike when he had just read it in the novel.
A glimpse of a white collarbone inside a thin t-shirt. At that time, Choi Jingi was led along as if enchanted by Joo Unyoung, and the two lay in Choi Jingi’s room and went to sleep together. Holding hands tightly under the covers.
Joo Unyoung already liked Choi Jingi back then. That meant the two of them at the start of Volume 2 already knew they liked each other. It wasn’t just flirting; they were practically dating.
“Ah… damn it, this is driving me crazy.”
He buried his face in his hands, feeling a heavy weight in his chest. He rubbed his face and pushed his hair back, but it immediately fell forward again. Jingi let out a long breath and trudged along behind Joo Unyoung.
‘He’s not a bad kid, really. But why did I have to end up in this body, of all things… why me? Ah!’
His head throbbed as if someone were hacking away at it. Jingi gripped the ionic drink he’d barely touched and spat out a curse. Some boys passing by with pizza bread in their mouths glanced his way.
“Ah, what?!”
When he yelled out in sudden irritation, the boys—who looked just over 170cm—hurried up the stairs to their classroom, grumbling under their breaths.
‘I’m seriously losing it. Why do these two know they like each other and still not say anything? They should have just started dating in Volume 2! Then I could have at least broken up with him. Damn it. If I were anyone but Jingi it would be perfect, but why this guy?’
“No, it’s a total jackpot. Yeah, I’m handsome, rich, and smart!”
If he could just shake off Joo Unyoung, his life would be smooth sailing.
Being possessed by Choi Jingi was actually a stroke of luck—except for this one situation.
Consoling himself with those thoughts, Jingi took the stairs two at a time. He replayed the memories of that day over and over.
The day they slept together. The conversations they had, even the trivial details, came back clearly.
But there was one thing that bothered him. In Choi Jingi’s memories, there was no memory of a secret “kiss.” Nor had he followed him around openly as Joo Unyoung had claimed yesterday.
Whether that was a problem with his memory or if Joo Unyoung was lying—there was no way for the current Jingi to know.
“Still…”
“No.”
“Jingi.”
After finishing first-period math, my anxious thoughts vanished in an instant. The knowledge stored in Choi Jingi’s brain was beyond my wildest imagination.
To hell with Joo Unyoung—this head was packed with information up to high school advanced courses; I could probably take the CSAT right now and crush it.
For the first time in my life, sitting in a classroom was fun. The same went for the second and third periods.
Recognizing that I could solve every problem gave me a surge of groundless confidence that I could handle anything this world threw at me.
Throughout the morning, Joo Unyoung kept buying me drinks and bread. My past-life instincts—honed by years of being too broke to eat—made me accept them automatically.
Of course, my brain kept repeating like a mantra: Next time, I’m saying no.
Finally, the long-awaited lunch break arrived. The moment the fourth-period bell rang, students bolted toward the cafeteria like madmen, screaming at the top of their lungs.
“Want to see what’s on the menu today?”
“Ah, no.”
Joo Unyoung tried to lure me with the meal plan, but I cleared my throat and avoided his eyes.
I felt a nagging sense of guilt for eating the bread he bought earlier, but I had to distance myself. We had to drift apart.
Just then, the back door swung open, and a guy with reddish-brown hair strolled in looking like a total delinquent, swinging his arms.
“Yo, the boss is here.”
He unbuttoned half his uniform shirt, plopped down in the seat next to me, and let out a massive yawn. His right ear was studded with several piercings.
“Let’s head out in a bit. It’s Bulgogi today, so the line’s gonna be insane.”
“Oh, sure.”
I gave an awkward smile and leaned back, pulling out my phone.
