By Zephyria 
Seong Hae-min spoke first. His voice sounded like he wanted to dismiss it as a joke.
[It sounds like you’re acting.]
[What are you talking about!]
Just by his voice, I could picture Min Si-hu tearing out all his hair.
[If it were a lie, would I be bothering you guys this late at night? I’d rather call Yoon-hee one more time!]
“Where exactly is the school you went for mentoring?”
[XX High School! Do you know about the mentoring program the university admissions office runs every summer in the provinces? It’s a program where they travel to high schools nationwide and do residential mentoring!]
As soon as I heard the name of the high school, I immediately searched for it on the internet. It was indeed a real high school. I opened its Wikipedia page and scrolled up and down repeatedly. I raised my trembling hand and touched my philtrum.
After a moment’s pause, I asked again, unable to believe it.
“…Really?”
[Yes!]
“You just saw someone who looks like him and are making a fuss, right?”
[I’m going crazy!]
I asked, as if I knew his inner thoughts, with a face full of suspicion, and Min Si-hu jumped.
[I thought about whether I was mistaken about ten times myself. But no matter how I look at it, it’s him. It’s really Lee Beom! I’m sure.]
“Lee Beom is really a high school student?”
[Yes!!! I’m telling you.]
Min Si-hu shrieked, as if he had been waiting for someone else to confirm that Lee Beom was a high school student.
My head throbbed. Not because of his outburst, but purely because of the content of his words.
I was more flustered than by Min Si-hu’s ‘what if’ game, where he made wild assumptions. The ‘what if’ game felt more realistic in comparison.
‘Lee Beom is a high school student?’
It was beyond imagination. Of course, in the novel, not only Lee Beom but everyone was a high school student, and it had only been about half a year since we, too, shed the label of high school student and became adults…
Still, it was a shock. At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if his name in the novel was different from his current name.
Should I be glad that at least his face is the same? But if even that were different, wouldn’t he be a different person altogether?
What kind of world is that?
I was confused. How could a person with the same name as in the novel exist in this world…
‘Ah, forget it. That’s settled for now.’
My mind got tangled up in an instant. I stopped myself from delving into complex, never-ending questions. This wasn’t the time to cling to such dead-end inquiries. It was time to hear about the Lee Beom that Min Si-hu had met.
Without letting go of my suspicion until the very end, I confirmed again.
“Are you sure it’s really Lee Beom?”
[Ah, I told you it is-!]
“How can you be so sure?”
[You can just tell by looking!]
Min Si-hu explained that he had gone to a high school for the admissions office program and, while casually scanning the student list, was surprised to find the name Lee Beom.
He hadn’t thought it was Lee Beom from the start. Still, since Lee Beom wasn’t a common name, he thought it was worth checking out later, but he didn’t have to go far. During the mentor introduction session on the stage, he spotted him among the large group of students.
He was sure as soon as he saw him. ‘That’s Lee Beom,’ he thought.
“…….”
[…….]
As Min Si-hu continued speaking, our reactions gradually faded. I no longer had the will to doubt. I repeatedly ran my hand through my hair.
“What about Lee Beom? Did he recognize you?”
Min Si-hu sighed deeply through the mobile phone.
[No. He seems to know nothing.]
“Is there a possibility he recognized you but is pretending not to know?”
[I don’t think so. Actually, we talked a bit earlier and exchanged numbers.]
“…….”
Seong Hae-min had become quiet at some point. Min Si-hu seemed to realize this belatedly and called out to Seong Hae-min.
[Seong Hae-min. Are you listening?]
[Yeah.]
[Say something.]
[Okay.]
[…….]
[…….]
[Is he really a high school student?]
[Are you still doubting me!]
To Min Si-hu, who was shouting “It’s real, it’s really real!”, Seong Hae-min calmly asked. Though I couldn’t see his face on the call, I imagined him wearing a smile like a resigned kindergarten teacher if he were in front of me.
[Fortunately, it seems Lee Beom can speak Korean.]
[Huh?]
“Pfft.”
I burst out laughing at the unexpected joke. This comedy duo was having a banter session even in this situation.
[I’m serious right now!]
[Okay. I understand it’s not a ‘what if’ game.]
[Hey! Even I wouldn’t joke about something like this!]
[A joke?]
[…I did joke! I did! Why did I do that!]
“Puhah.”
[I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Anyway, it’s real this time.]
Min Si-hu, who had been stammering due to Seong Hae-min’s untimely joke, quickly agreed and apologized.
At this point, Seong Hae-min’s skill seemed remarkable. He had thoroughly reprimanded that prankster with just one joke; it wasn’t for nothing that they were old friends.
[But it doesn’t change anything that Lee Beom is a high school student. Ah.]
Min Si-hu, who seemed to be scratching his head, exclaimed as if he had realized something.
[Ah! It does make managing titles difficult!]
[Huh?]
“Huh?”
Suddenly, titles? Seong Hae-min and I both showed confusion, thinking ‘What’s the problem?’, and Min Si-hu began to explain seriously.
[In the novel, we were all the same age. But seeing him in reality, there’s an age difference. We’re Hyung, so we can just call him Lee Beom. Then what should Lee Beom call us?]
“What else? He’ll call you Min Si-hu.”
To me, who is actually called by my name by my younger sister, it was a trivial question. Without even considering it, I answered, and Min Si-hu jumped.
[Isn’t this a complete collapse of Confucian culture?]
“Haa…”
I sighed and shook my head. Seong Hae-min laughed as if he couldn’t breathe.
[Min Si-hu is such a boomer.]
“You really want to be called Hyung.”
[No, put yourself in my shoes! This kid is calling me Teacher right now-!]
“Being called Teacher sounds creepy.”
[Me too.]
We listened to Min Si-hu’s complaints with one ear and let them out the other. Min Si-hu huffed, full of indignation.
The shock of Min Si-hu meeting Lee Beom and Lee Beom being a high school student was brief; it had now become amusing. The situation even felt funny.
[But did you talk about the novel with Lee Beom?]
[No. He seemed completely clueless, so I haven’t yet. Still, I have to mentor him for three days and two nights during the camp, so it would be weird if I suddenly brought that up, right?]
“That’s true.”
It was certainly a difficult situation. I nodded.
If I had brought it up rashly, and if Lee Beom didn’t remember it throughout the mentoring period, Min Si-hu would be in trouble. He might be treated as a suspicious person who was hitting on a student he just met.
[Hmm, but I’m a little worried too.]
[About what?]
Seong Hae-min, showing a moment of thought, brought up a new topic in a perplexed voice.
[Is it really a good thing for him to recall his memories from the novel?]
[Huh?]
“Huh?”
[For Lee Beom.]
“I hadn’t thought of that…”
Come to think of it, I had to nod.
He was a high school student, especially a student facing college entrance exams, a time when he should be focusing on his studies.
Thinking about it, I wouldn’t like it if I were in the position of a student preparing for exams. I wouldn’t want to deal with such things right now, so I would have asked him to leave.
Everyone fell silent at Seong Hae-min’s sudden question. Only sporadic background noises, whose source was unknown, continued to be heard.
For a moment, Min Si-hu’s breathing seemed loud, and then, with a rustling sound, he moved away again. I could hear muffled voices like, ‘Ah, yes, Head of Department Teacher. Yes! See you later?’ as he spoke with someone from the faculty. Then, as if he were moving away with his mobile phone, only the clattering of objects filled the audio for a long time.
[But.]
Min Si-hu suddenly asked.
[Seong Hae-min, weren’t you planning to find our members again?]
‘Our members, he says…’
I couldn’t laugh in this situation, so I clenched my lips tightly.
In fact, among us, Min Si-hu might be the most sincere about the novel.
I also wanted to meet the characters from the novel again. Sharing the same time and having someone to share it with afterward was more important than I thought, as I learned through Do Yun-hyeok.
So, without much thought, I just thought we had to find them, and I assumed Min Si-hu and Seong Hae-min felt the same.
Seong Hae-min hesitated to answer.
[Well… what I mean is, there’s no need to force them to recall.]
[Force them to recall? We’re not forcibly injecting memories, are we? Is it not okay to just meet? Do you want Lee Beom to remain strangers forever?]
“Calm down.”
For some reason, Min Si-hu, who had become agitated, was pressing Seong Hae-min, and at the same time, a voice called from a distance, ‘Si-hu Teacher, they’re having a meeting now-!’ and it came through the microphone. As if he quickly covered the microphone, the sound became muffled and distorted, like talking underwater.
[For now… I understand.]
Min Si-hu, who had returned, quickly finished his greetings and hung up first.
[Let’s talk again later. I have to go in now. Bye!]
[Go safely.]
Min Si-hu’s exciting news about meeting Lee Beom ended ambiguously like that. After exchanging brief goodbyes with Seong Hae-min, who was left alone, I tidied up my things.
I put down the mobile phone after the call ended, sighed, and placed my hand on my forehead.