episode_0002

“Sorry, Chaewon. Asking as if it’s obvious…”

“It’s okay?!”

Jung Siwoo was a man with many faults.

At the same time, he must have been an idiot who knew nothing about women.

…That’s probably true. Maybe.

Since I’m not Chaewon, the emotions I feel now might not be exactly the same as what she felt.

But the apologies without reason were frustrating and irritating.

Even I, who had barely lived as a woman for 10 minutes, could tell.

“Still. I have to apologize….”

“Hey!”

Strictly speaking, what just happened was a huge mistake.

Min Chaewon had never called me ‘hey’ before.

She had never been this angry in front of me before.

But the mixture of Jung Siwoo and Min Chaewon couldn’t bear it.

Seeing my frustrated self from three years ago made me burst inside.

‘That’s why I ended up being such a fool….’

To my eyes three years later, I was too immature back then.

I was too, too, too weak towards women.

“If you help me just once?”

A woman who didn’t need help.

A woman who only cared about her own success.

Promising to build a great future with me.

Who would have known she would suck me dry and discard me like an empty shell.

However, to me, who only knew practice and lessons, that woman, Yoon Jiyu, was too challenging.

Suddenly, I have such thoughts.

Do I have to avoid only the accident three years from now?

That’s right. Now that I’ve become Min Chaewon, it won’t mess up the universe’s fate just because I loosen up my twisted life a bit.

Soon someone will come to suck your spine dry.

The moment the straw sticks in, the concours fail, assignments fail, team projects fail.

I want to recover all the time wasted with other foolish choices.

Jung Siwoo wants to rewrite his life of three years.

Will it be okay?

It should be fine to intervene to that extent, right?

Why worry.

Since you can’t know if such an opportunity will come again, let’s act first.

To prevent my past self from suffering at the hands of Yoon Jiyu, I’ll give thorough preventive education.

“Sorry, let’s grab a meal.”

Saying the words Chaewon used to say habitually.

Pulling out points Chaewon never did.

It seems I really liked Chaewon a lot.

Even though it was several years ago, the fact that I remember it so vividly.

“Oh. Yeah….”

“Yeah. Stop making that sulky face.”

“Me, me?”

“Yes! Who else is here to talk to other than you.”

Anyway, cheer up, Jung Siwoo.

You are not an inadequate person.

Even if you were overshadowed by other students for four years.

Hanyang University is not a university anyone can enter.

Just enduring there for over three years feeling the difference in talent makes you remarkable.

If it weren’t for all the pressure and interference.

I could have become a pianist like Song Seonghyuk, shining in international concours.

I am a hardworking genius.

As the professor said.

There aren’t as many people who can produce results through effort as one might think.

If only my spirit hadn’t broken, who knows what could have happened.

“Stand up straight.”

“Ouch!”

Oops, I hit his ribs.

“Ah. Sorry.”

“I-It’s fine….”

“Anyway. Hey? Don’t make that sulky face. All the good vibes will disappear.”

“…Yeah.”

Siwoo pouts at me.

Seeing a faint blush on his face a while later, goosebumps rise on my white forearm.

‘I should refrain from getting too involved….’

Chaewon’s body has too much destructive power for Jung Siwoo alone.

I have to gradually fix myself as a human, sudden changes wouldn’t be good for both me and Chaewon.

***

“……”

Upon leaving the hospital, Siwoo stared at his phone with a disgusted expression for a long time.

Probably because of the emergency room medical expenses amounting to tens of thousands of won.

He wasn’t just lying there; he even received painkillers, so the cost was substantial.

“Come to think of it, buying a meal wasn’t in the plan for expenses.”

Moreover, how could one send off someone they fell for at first sight with just a bowl of ramen?

At the very least, one should treat them to some branded pizza or chicken to avoid being seen as cheap.

Although he wanted to take her to a nice barbecue place, compromising was the way to go to prevent a back injury.

But what about his wallet?

Amidst being financially drained by medical bills, another round of chicken or pizza.

By Jung Siwoo’s calculations, that’s 40 packs of ramen, meaning twenty days’ worth of food expenses down the drain.

Apologizing and asking her to buy food was Chaewon’s habit.

Thanks to that habit, there was a possibility of me, with a broken rib, going hungry for twenty days.

Perhaps canceling the meal would be best.

Otherwise, Siwoo had no choice but to borrow money from Chaewon.

“Jung Siwoo.”

It was fine to refer to himself as ‘Siwoo’ in his mind, but speaking it out loud using third-person speech felt eccentric and awkward.

“Oh, Chaewon. What do you want to eat?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Come to think of it, I’m not that hungry. I’ll just drop you off and head home.”

“Ah.”

Siwoo was extremely disappointed.

Ugh. Control your expression.

“Well, I guess you must be busy. It’s getting late. I’ll worry about you at home.”

Despite trying hard to act fine, his facial expressions were failing miserably.

Looking at myself from someone else’s perspective, this is how I must have appeared.

So embarrassing.

“Sorry. Let’s definitely eat together next time. I’ll treat you then!”

“Yeah… sure.”

The longer the contact, the more Siwoo would inevitably become dependent on Min Chaewon…

Maybe it’s better not to eat after all.

It’s best for both of us to only get involved when necessary.

Realizing that I’ve become overly reliant on the kindness shown by Yoon Jiyu, who left after imparting so much wisdom(?), it was clear that I had been manipulated by her.

In this lifetime, I must ensure she doesn’t get away with anything.

I will rip her vile witch’s claws out.

Outside the bus window, darkness had descended.

Just an hour ago, I thought I was crossing this bridge, but now, it felt surreal.

Due to an accident, the bus and I plummeted into the river.

Thinking I was dead, I woke up as Min Chaewon.

As if that weren’t enough, I had been sent back three years in time.

Truly, dream-like events were unfolding one after another.

Even though I confirmed it wasn’t a dream, my sense of reality was severely lacking.

‘It’s confusing.’

Now, a sense of cognitive dissonance was slowly creeping in.

The shock was so overwhelming that initially, I only entertained hopeful thoughts. As time passed and the shock subsided, more realistic problems began to weigh on me.

I hear my voice in front of me, but it’s not coming from my own vocal cords.

It feels like standing in front of a mirror, where my body moves independently of my will.

Like a scene from a horror movie.

Playing separately from me within the mirror.

‘Even if I try to deny it, this is who I am.’

The man sitting next to me on the bus is undoubtedly Jung Siwoo.

I understood this from our conversation thus far.

Without a doubt, the person beside me is the Jung Siwoo from three years ago.

If we were to define it, in this timeline, there exist two versions of Jung Siwoo.

The Jung Siwoo who came from three years ahead merely resembles Min Chaewon.

Then, who is the real Jung Siwoo?

Is it me? Or is it the sick Jung Siwoo sitting next to me?

Not being a philosopher, I couldn’t easily answer the existential question I posed to myself.

The bus gradually crosses the Han River, and the overpass connected to the bridge begins its descent.

I should press the bell for my stop in advance.

The downhill slope and curves follow each other, and to press comfortably, I need to time it right.

— This stop is Noksa Middle School. Noksa Middle School.

The announcement comes right after I press the bell to disembark.

Naturally, I prepared to get up, causing Siwoo, who was sitting next to me, to look at me with a puzzled expression.

“Uh….”

What the heck.

I may be peeking into your thoughts, but I don’t know everything.

“How did you know I had to get off here?”

My head is ringing.

I’ve made a ridiculous mistake.

At this point, Chaewon doesn’t know where Siwoo’s house is.

Not just at this moment, but she won’t know until they part ways much later.

It’s because they coincidentally met at the bus stop next week to help with her medical treatment.

They’ve never been to each other’s homes or had anyone bring them there.

Normally, Chaewon would be sitting in her seat.

Siwoo should be getting up unsteadily, pressing the stop button, and giving a brief farewell before getting off.

But everything got messed up because I acted first out of habit, causing confusion.

It was a moment that required exceptional improvisation.

“Oh. This isn’t it.”

Let’s pretend it was a mistake.

There’s no other way.

Pressing the stop button a while ago and preparing to get off were behaviors that might seem familiar to someone who has lived in this neighborhood for at least a few months.

‘I need to be careful….’

I must be cautious in front of her.

I am unmatched in observational skills and known for fueling imagination with the information gathered through keen observation.

Each of these careless mistakes could be fatal to Jungsioo and could lead to unexpected developments between us due to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Squeak.

The bus came to a stop.

Siwoo made room for me to get off, but….

“Aren’t you getting off? Closing the door!”

Surprisingly, no one got off the bus.

I stared blankly at Jungsioo.

Why aren’t you getting off?

“Well… it seems to be just a couple of stops away. I’ll take you there.”

You crazy person. Your rib must be broken.

The door closed, and the bus started moving again.

The reason why Jungsioo, who should have gotten off, didn’t get off.

It’s because he was convinced that Chaewon’s house was nearby.

He inflated his own imagination based on my mistake.

‘Come to think of it… I’ve missed lessons before….’

Right. The time spent with Chaewon was so precious that he even skipped important lessons.

It was unthinkable for the Jungsioo at that time not to help Chaewon get home just because his rib was injured.

“Where should I get off? Is it not far from here?”

But what should I do now, Jungsioo?

I don’t know where Chaewon’s house is right now….