When I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar white ceiling again.
By now, I didn’t even get confused about where this place was anymore.
‘This must be a hospital room. My body … feels much better than before.’
It felt similar to how you automatically end up back in the starting village when you get a game over. The distinct smell of the hospital room—something I’d breathed in more than a few times—now carried with it a strange sense of comfort, almost like being home.
‘…No, actually, I’m just kidding.’
Home, my foot. This is really uncomfortable. That thought came with a sudden spike of irritability that made me frown deeply. When I checked the clock, it looked like barely any time had passed since I’d visited Han Jaewoon’s family’s house. Even though I clearly should still be resting, the fact that I snapped awake like this must have been because of my hypersensitivity.
‘Ugh, it’s not like I’m the Princess from The Princess and the Pea1. How long am I going to keep being picky about where I sleep?’
This was exactly why I couldn’t even sleep in the van and kept working until I wore myself out. I knew it was a problem, but I still couldn’t fix it. Maybe there really was something wrong with me. I guess I was just born too sensitive.
I was really sick of myself.
I busied myself with thoughts that didn’t really mean anything, like I was just shuffling them around to stay distracted. Even tossing around dumb jokes would’ve been fine. Keeping things lighthearted was better than dwelling on what had just happened. For some reason, it felt like Han Seungbeom’s body was affected far more severely by things involving Han Jaewoon’s family than by anything else.
[I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you into this world healthier.]
Taking into account the last word that appeared before my eyes and the pain I felt as I collapsed, it was clear that Han Seungbeom’s body had some kind of congenital issue. His mother also seemed to have an unusually strong instinct to protect him because of that.
‘Is this somehow related to the strange power that was given to Han Seungbeom?’
As I mulled over one hypothesis after another and let out a quiet groan, a low voice spoke up beside me.
“How are you feeling?”
I replied without even checking the other person’s face, “A dry leaf wouldn’t even feel this bad.”
“Well, it seems like you’ve gotten a little more relaxed now. You’re even cracking jokes.”
“Looks like you’re not quite there yet.”
Trying to lighten the miserable mood, I tossed out something that was supposed to be a joke. Choi Jeokhyeon just shook his head with a resigned look, let out a soft laugh, and then swept his fallen hair away from his forehead.
And he muttered, “Of course. No matter how many times it happens, I never get used to it.”. Seeing the clear signs of exhaustion on his face, I eventually failed to keep up my act and rubbed my face roughly with the palm of my hand.
And when I glanced over, it looked like the palm of his right hand was a bit red. As I shifted my eyes to check, Choi Jeokhyeon casually slipped his hand into his pocket without changing expression. Did he scrape it on something while bringing me here?
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I usually try to take a taxi when I can, but ever since the article blew up, I figured it’s better to stay out of sight as much as possible.”
“You don’t really like taxis.”
At my vague mumbling that sounded more like an excuse, Choi Jeokhyeon shot back with a look that said, ‘What are you even talking about?‘. The way he brushed it off so casually, not even bothering to entertain it while focusing on his phone like it wasn’t worth his time, left me speechless. I shut my mouth without another word.
‘No, he’s right, but…….’
He was right. I never liked being in a confined space with someone I wasn’t close to.
I was never a fan of such situations to begin with, but ever since my father’s scandal broke, it became even harder to be around people I couldn’t trust.
But then again, it wasn’t like I was in a position to be picky about that right now.
‘I thought just dropping me off along the way would’ve been enough.’
I let out a small sigh. I never thought not having a car would make everything this inconvenient, but with how things keep escalating, I even started wondering if I should just get a license.
But as soon as I thought about it, Choi Jeokhyeon spoke up, as if he had read my mind.
“Don’t drive from now on either. It’s dangerous. I’d rather come pick you up.”
Unexpected things always seemed to happen to Han Seungbeom’s body, and not infrequently at that, so he probably said it out of concern for a potential accident. It felt awkward to respond with a blunt “Okay!” and just as awkward to say “No”, so I simply made a vague sound and nodded my head.
“Hmm…….”
Then, Choi Jeokhyeon lowered his gaze for a moment in thought before speaking again, “Is that body going to keep being like that in the future too?”
“…Maybe. I’ve been consistently working out and trying to eat more, but this seems to be the limit. There’s not much improvement beyond this point. Still, it’s a lot better than when I first woke up in this body. Back then, I couldn’t even handle basic activities.”
“Really? To me, it feels like it’s gotten worse recently.”
“…In everyday situations, it’s much better. The members of Pantheion also said that my stamina has gotten better than it was before.”
“So, basically, while your health has improved compared to before, these kinds of problems are happening more often.”
“…….”
Instead of answering, I awkwardly avoided his gaze and tried to get up, but my body, still weak, felt heavy, and I stumbled. Seeing this, Choi Jeokhyeon stood up and moved a little closer.
Then, as if picking up a rabbit off the floor, he grabbed my ribs with both hands.
‘What, what the hell.’
For some reason, I felt like I wasn’t being respected as a fellow human, but in the end, he helped me sit up straight. A moment later, he glanced at Han Seungbeom’s limbs visible through the patient gown and subtly frowned. It seemed that the thickness and weight he had roughly estimated while helping me sit up didn’t sit well with him.
“You used to suffer from chronic headaches even in your original body. You also dealt with stress by smoking or sometimes sleeping like a corpse for days on end.”
I felt like I hadn’t done my homework, and suddenly a surprise test had started. I felt a little guilty about telling the truth, but since Choi Jeokhyeon knew everything about the way I lived, lying seemed pointless. I just nodded with a nearly half-resigned attitude.
“…That’s right.”
“As you know, your original body was exceptionally healthy. Back then, it was even hard for me to keep up, so you could say it was the complete opposite of what it’s like now.”
Choi Jeokhyeon, with a height exceeding 180cm and a well-maintained body, had a physique much larger than average, but even that couldn’t compare to mine. Even if we had the same height, I would probably have more muscle mass and weigh more.
“As expected, it’s not easy.”
“Ha, it should be difficult, obviously. There’s a difference in weight class. Plus, I’ve been going to the gym for years, and what about our young master? What boxing … you only ever focused on things like fencing and horseback riding for the sake of refinement, right?”
“I have no choice. It’s a family rule, so I had to learn it since I was young.”
It was rather ironic that, back then, whenever we sparred for fun, Choi Jeokhyeon used to struggle so much because of the weight class difference, but now I couldn’t even step into the ring anymore.
‘Damn.’
As I was caught up in a faintly bitter feeling, reminiscing about those days, Choi Jeokhyeon opened his mouth first.
“I’m not sure how much longer you can hold out in that body. You know yourself how inherently sensitive you are. You had all those issues even with your old body, which was almost excessively strong. So what do you think will happen with this one?”
Instead of finishing his sentence, he simply looked me up and down in my hospital gown, as if to say I already knew the answer myself.
“That’s a body you’ll have to take care of for the rest of your life. It reacts sensitively to even the smallest stress, and if you push yourself too hard, it will definitely manifest physically. To have even a remotely peaceful daily life with such an inefficient body, you’ll have to live with constant worry. It’s like carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment.”
“…….”
“But you’re too inexperienced when it comes to that. You have no idea how far you can push your body before it breaks down. To exaggerate a little, you’re like a four or five year old child overexerting themselves and getting a fever because they don’t know when to stop.”
“No, what kind of analogy is that…….”
I’m now thirty-five years old. What happened to my 30s that he came up with such a ridiculous analogy? I was dumbfounded and speechless, but Choi Jeokhyeon didn’t care at all and kept on talking.
“To put it simply, even if you were in a normal person’s body instead of Han Seungbeom’s, you would still have faced problems. You have an inherently sensitive nature and have gone through all kinds of hardships, so living a normal life was never really possible for you. But now that your body is also becoming a hindrance, these kinds of issues will keep happening. You might even end up with a serious illness in the future. To be honest, I think it would be better for you to stop everything and focus on recovery right now.”
“…What does that even mean? The members of Prism and you are living pretty much the same way. Isn’t this just the basic level of living for everyone?”
When I retorted by using the Prism members as an example, Choi Jeokhyeon looked at me with a very sympathetic gaze and immediately replied.
“It’s not for nothing they say ‘birds of a feather flock together’, Yutae-ya. Everyone around you is desperately trying to keep up with you no matter what, so of course, those kids are far from normal by regular standards.”
Ah, I wanted to deny it … but I couldn’t.
Take the Prism members, for example. If I hadn’t been there, they might have managed a much more normal amount of practice compared to now. The fact that I took on an abnormal amount of practice was actually the root cause of the ‘Prism practice time controversy‘ that became a hot topic among idols.
“But if you hadn’t gone to such extremes, you wouldn’t have been able to reach the top. It’s the same with your revenge now. It’s something you ‘must do’, right?”
“…….”
I wondered what had gotten into him, defending my point of view first like that. Had he finally mastered the art of empathy and social conversation now that he’d reached the age of forty? Just as that thought crossed my mind, Choi Jeokhyeon, with his trademark lunatic smile, blurted out something completely unexpected.
“So, while we’re on the topic, where is your original body now?”
“…I told you before, I don’t know either.”
“If you think carefully, you might be able to find even a small clue. Could you try telling me as much as you remember about what you saw that day?”
‘What?’
I was puzzled by his sudden question, but to answer what he asked, I tried to recall the time when I briefly returned to my body.
“It was a strange house. Usually, when someone lives somewhere, there are photos or things that give you an idea of their hobbies or or what they like. But there was absolutely nothing like that, just the bare essentials for living. I’d say it had a similar feel to your house. But while your place has a fair number of decorative items, that place didn’t even have those. And yet, someone was living there.”
“…Did you see that person’s face?”
“No, I didn’t. My body suddenly stopped moving in the middle of it ……. But still, I don’t think it was someone who had any ill intentions toward me.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“I don’t know, I could just tell. The body was taken care of so perfectly, it felt almost unnatural. The clothes, the hair, even the fingernails and toenails ……. Normally, no one goes to that extent for a total stranger.”
After saying that, I looked up at him and added jokingly, “The hair was so long it trailed down to the bed, but there wasn’t a single tangle. Even I couldn’t manage that level of care myself.”
But he didn’t meet my gaze.
“…Is that so?”
I was taken aback for a moment when I caught sight of those icy red eyes and quickly drew in a sharp breath. But Choi Jeokhyeon, seemingly distracted by something else, didn’t notice my reaction. After a brief pause, he turned back to me, flashing his usual eye smile.
After that, he continued chatting with me about trivial things as if everything was perfectly normal.
Perhaps it was spontaneous, but he started talking about Kang Hyukwoo, mentioned the Prism members’ living arrangements, and offered to help them find a new place to move into.
“Ah, come to think of it, did Seo Yuseong ever live on his own before?”
And finally, he brought up Seo Yuseong. Back when Seo Yuseong was alive, they acted like they couldn’t stand each other, almost as if they harbored some sort of same-species hatred. But now, it seemed like he was making an effort to bring up a topic that I might like.
“No, I’ve been taking care of him since he was young. That guy was a handful from a young age, so I had to look after everything for him.”
As I let out a small chuckle while talking about Seo Yuseong, he closed his eyes slightly and smiled, then spoke in his usual tone.
“…If he had lived on his own, you probably would have become really anxious.”
“I suppose so.”
“Right, because you have no idea how that kid would have lived on his own.”
You can support this translation through Buy Me a Coffee or Wishlist!
Translator’s Corner:
to you, I can admit …… that I’m just too soft for all of it …. all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing ha ha ha ….
who miss me (it has only been less than 48h)
anyway since we’re on this chapter with these two, the next person who’s going to write review on NU, maybe you can try to add “Don’t read if you’re homophobic / not comfortable with gayness” ….. just adding this because I remember seeing an idol novel review on NU complained that the novel sounds too gay ….. the newest chapter that released this week kinda …. well, it’s a flashback of their past so it already happened at this point, but let’s just say the author-nim must be practicing for writing their new novel in another genre next….. (i cant defend this novel anymore) (even if i tried to tone down when translating it to not let my personal taste affect the objectivity, IT DIDN’T WORK) (it made me remember the unnies once asked me how did i even managed to find this kind of novel in kkp…..)
Thank you None for the lightsticks!
It didn’t say the novel name, so I hope I’m not putting this in the wrong novel…..
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter