By Zephyria 
It was like a movie set perfectly recreating 2005.
‘This is impossible!’
But contrary to my outcry, perhaps there were people who would welcome such an environment from the past. The world is full of diverse people. And if I squeezed my brain until my happiness circuits burned out, I might be able to accept it with a big heart.
Since the novel’s setting was Korea in 2005, I had essentially traveled back nearly 20 years.
Knowing the general international situation that would unfold, I could raise funds now and buy up all the upcoming cryptocurrency to aim for a life-changing reversal… Or, since my family and friends had all disappeared, I could consider it as fast-forwarding my future independence. And since my physical age had also turned back three years, I could think of it as having time for a life redesign…
If this weren’t an internet novel, I might have tried to accept this sudden situation more quickly and positively. That was my personality.
Yes, if I weren’t just an extra destined to self-destruct in this novel, I might have accepted reality without complaint!
But one cannot deny reality forever. For now, I had to go to school.
Although I had gone without food or drink for several days and collapsed, with my twin brother Seong Hae-min somehow handling my absence, I couldn’t skip any longer. My diligent nature, which never missed a single day of school, wouldn’t suddenly disappear, and even in this situation, I was calculating pros and cons and making plans.
Not knowing how to return meant I might have to live here forever. And if I missed any more classes, it could affect my future life.
In other words, at this rate, the title might have to be changed to
‘Who would have imagined I’d have to retake college entrance exams like this….’
But if the situation was unchangeable, I had no choice but to accept it. Just because I entered a novel’s world didn’t mean my personality, which quickly accepts reality and resigns itself, would change.
Pencil case, spiral notebook, file folder, water bottle. I roughly packed my bag and left the house. I was confused because I didn’t know what to do next, but for now, I had no choice but to study hard. As someone who had only studied for college entrance exams and internal grades until now, there was nothing else I knew how to do.
For now, I’m a student, so I’ll study and think about it slowly. I decided to think as positively as possible.
‘Even if I became a character in a web novel, it’s enough if I don’t act like a web novel character!’
Whether characters in web novels kill each other, fight, play delinquent games, engage in gang fights, or seek revenge, it’s none of my business. I’ll escape through studying.
As I made up my mind and stepped into the elevator, I realized something important.
I don’t know the way to school.
“Haa….”
Nothing was going right from the start.
I finally arrived at school after asking random passersby for directions, and it was well past the school start time.
‘Is this okay…?’
The anxiety of being late was immense for a former high school senior who had never missed a class, no matter how sick. Besides, isn’t being late like this a cliché in internet novels? They seem to think of school as a plaza to meet friends whenever they’re bored.
Suddenly, I remembered an image file I found in a folder named ‘Psy- Emotion♥Wallpaper’ on my sister’s hard drive. Just recalling it sent shivers down my spine.
‘As a student, trapped in the prison of school, in the cell of the classroom…’ and so on.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, as soon as I found it, I wanted to grab my sister, who wasn’t even home, and ask, ‘You like this stuff? Really?’
But in this world, there was no sister to grab by the collar. I corrected my thoughts of straying and tried to console myself. Even if I was late today because I didn’t know the way to school, I could live as a diligent student from tomorrow…
But even though I tried to think leisurely, the discomfort of being marked absent without leave was unavoidable for a diligent person who had even earned a perfect attendance award. Should I have been a little late when I was in school before? I took a breath and moved my feet.
Come to think of it, I didn’t even know which class I was in. Damn it. I stopped my determined stride towards the building and stood alone on the field, trying hard to recall, but there was no memory. I knew nothing.
Honestly, just knowing that the character I accidentally took over was 17 years old was something to be grateful for.
If my memory served me correctly, the novel’s Seong Hae-jun was only briefly mentioned in the early parts and then suddenly appeared as a villain in the latter half. So, no matter how much I read the novel, I couldn’t possibly know detailed information about Seong Hae-jun. It felt like the author forgot about him and then suddenly threw him in, thinking, ‘Ah, right, where should I fit him?’
“Sigh….”
A sigh escaped me at my pathetic situation. A desolate sandstorm seemed to blow along with it.
Still, I thought I had to go inside the building and started walking again. I’d either grab anyone I met inside and ask if they knew me, what class I was in, or go to the teachers’ office and tell a blatant lie that I fainted on the way to school and lost my memory. I couldn’t just stand here.
Just as I was about to move my feet.
Vroooom-.
I froze stiffly at the sound of a motorcycle approaching from behind.
‘Ah, wait. No, just a moment.’
The acrid smell of oil mixed with the dust and sand of the field stung my throat like needles.
“Huh? Hae-jun!”
“…Are you my twin sibling?”
“Cool…”
“Whoa? Is that the legendary Jjuni?”
I’m screwed.
I should have gone into the building earlier.
“Hae-jun, weren’t you supposed to be at school already?”
“Hae-jun, hi! Kyaa, nice to meet you! I’m Si-hoo!”
I had to greet them naturally and move on… but hearing the voice acting incredibly cute made me think, ‘This isn’t right.’
I remained frozen, and hearing Seong Hae-min (and his friends’) voices getting closer behind me, I bolted without looking back.
“Hae-jun, Hae-jun!”
I heard Seong Hae-min’s voice calling out to me desperately from behind, but I ran away breathlessly, not even knowing where I was going. In times like these, even the ancient sages who wrote books on military strategy would say running away is the answer!
I don’t need anything else, just don’t get involved with the main protagonists!
‘Please leave me out of your friendship!’
They’re just Seong Hae-min and his friends, but why am I running away breathlessly like a woodcutter who saw a tiger while crossing a mountain at night?
I had to consider Seong Hae-jun’s position in the original novel.
Seong Hae-jun, being naturally frail, was the twin brother doted on and cared for by Seong Hae-min. He himself was an ordinary extra who had no interest in playing delinquent games and lived his life studying diligently. However, he later turns dark and becomes a villain.
If you’re thinking, ‘Suddenly a villain?’, your brain is functioning normally.
Seong Hae-min, who loved the female protagonist, dies in the middle of the novel while saving her. In response, Seong Hae-jun harbors resentment, believing the female protagonist killed his precious twin brother. He then schemes to get revenge on the innocent female protagonist, fails, and ultimately meets his ruin.
In other words, he’s a character who meets an absurd end, the kind that would only be used in a melodramatic drama that breaks 40% viewership ratings by drawing viewers in with its sensational plot!
But the me of now was not the character Seong Hae-jun from the original novel, and to me now, Seong Hae-min was merely a person of passing significance, like ‘Stranger 1’. Therefore, even if Seong Hae-min died, I wouldn’t think it was the female protagonist’s fault, nor would I have any intention of seeking revenge. I certainly had no intention of joining forces with bad guys.
In other words, if the link called Seong Hae-min were severed, I could become an ordinary student.
By the very simple method of not forming friendships, I could distance myself from the lives of the protagonists who are constantly fighting, risking their lives, and engaging in passionate dramas. That was my immediate goal.
‘And then, I could live a second life here, or at least have the chance to….’
Huffing and puffing, I entered the building. My lungs felt like they were about to burst. I awkwardly wiped the sweat that had formed beads on my forehead.
I hadn’t felt it when I was just staying inside, but coming here, perhaps because I wasn’t exercising, my body seemed to have weakened. Just running a little like that, my breathing became excessively heavy, and my vision swam. I felt like I was about to faint. Hurriedly, I crouched down and tucked my head between my knees.
As I stayed still like that, blood slowly began to circulate in my head, and the dizziness subsided. I slowly pulled my head out from between my knees. I felt much better than before.
“Hoo…”
I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again to shake off even the slightest dizziness. The floor, tiled with marble-patterned tiles, came into view.
Right, now that I’m feeling a bit more myself, should I go find a classroom…?
“Gasp! You scared me!”
“…”
As I was thinking, I spotted a pair of legs right in front of me and was so startled that I plopped down on my rear.