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Lee Juwon was a little embarrassed as he flipped through Kang Inheon’s math textbook. They were heading toward the end of the second semester, yet Kang Inheon’s textbook was as good as new. The stiff book that seemed to have almost never been opened toppled over itself.
Well, it wasn’t just anyone else, it was Kang Inheon. Did he need to study? Respecting Kang Inheon’s choice, Lee Juwon took the worksheet that the math teacher would check for the next class and had given him, finished it, and slipped it into Kang Inheon’s math book instead.
Even though it was just a fleeting dream and there would be no next time, he wanted to make sure that Kang Inheon wouldn’t be scolded by the teacher for not doing his homework.
Kang Inheon had no intentions of getting up until the fourth period ended and the bell for lunchtime rang. Even though the other students who lost their liveliness during class time came to life and sprang to the cafeteria in hoards, Kang Inheon stayed quietly slumped over.
“Lee Jwon! Aren’t you going to go eat?” said the kids who seemed like they hung around Lee Juwon. Lee Juwon roughly gestured for them to leave. He ignored all their questions. ‘What’s wrong with him?’, ‘Is he sick?’ the kids chattered among themselves before leaving. The classroom emptied like a tide.
Lee Juwon tapped Kang Inheon on the elbow and said, “Let’s go eat lunch.”
“……”
“I heard the Chinese food today is good… Boiled glutinous millet, bird egg seaweed soup, dried squid…”
As Lee Juwon was reciting the menu items he had seen on the bulletin board at the back of the classroom, Kang Inheon got up. He said in a small voice, “W-why are you being like this…?”
So, this is what Kang Inheon sounded like before his voice went through puberty. The Kang Inheon he knew had a baritone voice. His low, calm voice was as popular as his face, and there was even a 20-hour ASMR video of his interviews.
But now, even considering his voice was a bit hoarse, it was high and childish, like a small bird chirping. Lee Juwon said in the friendliest way he could, “Why, because I want us to go and get a bite together.”
However, Kang Inheon didn’t seem to feel his friendliness at all. Kang Inheon said in a wary voice, “Why m-me a-all of a s-sudden?”
“Um…”
Kang Inheon was right to feel strange. The only one who felt intimacy right now was Lee Juwon. Now that he looked at it, the two of them were as different as water and oil in terms of their personalities and the groups they hung out with. It was as if they were in two different worlds and had no interest in each other.
Lee Juwon found out that he briefly attended the same middle school as Kang Inheon from his resume for December. He didn’t realize they were in the same class until he saw the group photo taken at Gyeongju.
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’, isn’t it lunchtime?”
Lee Juwon lightly laughed at the end of his sentence, but Kang Inheon’s expression only got stiffer. Of course, the real-life Kang Inheon also stiffened whenever Lee Juwon smiled as if he saw something he shouldn’t see. So, to try and lighten the mood… he didn’t smile all that much… The younger Kang Inheon seemed to be no different in essence.
He thought that this wasn’t it, but he was over thirty now, and he didn’t know how to carry on a conversation with a middle school student. He tried to pull up his lost sociability and asked him if he liked seaweed soup, but Kang Inheon turned back over.
The silence was short-lived. The classroom erupted again as the children who had finished their lunches quickly came to class. Until the bell rang to signify the end of lunch, Kang Inheon remained laying down and didn’t get up, leaving Lee Juwon no choice but to just stare at his round head.
The last class was physical education. A bespectacled kid who appeared to be the class president wrote ‘To the auditorium!’ in big letters on the blackboard. The black-haired male students cheered and rushed to change into their gym clothes. Kang Inheon, seeming to feel the excited commotion, hesitantly got up.
After checking the blackboard, Kang Inheon took out a neatly folded gym uniform from his bag. Lee Juwon didn’t exactly have any ulterior motives, he just wanted to appreciate the sight of Kang Inheon slowly changing for a moment, but he took the gym clothes in his arms and went out the back door.
When Kang Inheon returned to the classroom after changing into his gym uniform, Lee Juwon was the only one still in his school uniform. Not only did Lee Juwon not have his gym uniform, but he also didn’t have the will to do physical education. Only puppies and minors run around chasing a rolling ball.
“Was the auditorium on the second floor?” Lee Juwon asked as he blocked Kang Inheon from entering through the back door, and Kang Inheon nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Kang Inheon looked confused as he and Lee Juwon walked side by side to the auditorium in the heat of the moment. He had every reason to find it weird.
While Kang Inheon was in the bathroom, other kids came up to Lee Juwon and said things like “You’re really weird today” before leaving. But whether this was a dream or not, Lee Juwon didn’t care because he came to school to see Kang Inheon, not to hang out with kids he didn’t remember.
Kang Inheon repeatedly glanced at him for a while, as if he had something to say, and only when they reached the auditorium did he hesitantly speak up.
“…W-what about your gym uniform?”
“Ah… it’s a cloudy day, so my knees ache.”
Kang Inheon’s round eyes were immediately filled with concern.
“Y-your knees hurt?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Lee Juwon had clicked his tongue calling him nosy, but he also benefited from that nosiness. A few years ago, he passed out at home, and when he woke up, he was in a hospital. He didn’t know how he found him, but Kang Inheon had taken him to the hospital.
It was overwork and stress, obvious diseases. He kicked up a fuss asking why he would even bring him to the hospital, but he said that if he didn’t quietly stay in the hospital for a week, he would take a sick leave for a month. It wasn’t a causal relationship at all, but he couldn’t let him take a month off of inactivity when they had a full schedule, so he stayed stuck in the hospital crying and eating mustard.
Yeah, that was a worry of his… His human-loving nature hadn’t changed from childhood to adulthood.
Maybe it was because it was the end of the year, or maybe they were originally like that, but the physical education teacher was not motivated. They threw over a basketball while wearing slippers. When they saw Lee Juwon in uniform, they didn’t say anything but looked at him with dissatisfaction. Speaking nicely, it was a territorial and competitive activity, and in simple words, it was just them throwing a ball and ignoring the class, but the kids loved it.
“I’m even wearing Jordans today!”
“Are you so bad that you have to get equipment to win?”
The brute, who had a nearly shaved head, said when he saw Lee Juwon, “Lee Jwon, are you really sick? Just play.”
“Yeah, it’s no fun without you.”
Lee Juwon nodded his head and said, “Yeah, sure.”
The children burst into laughter at Lee Juwon’s too-obedient response.
“What the hell, so you were faking sick after all?”
“Of course.”
Relief hung on Kang Inheon’s face at Lee Juwon’s words. His emotions were easy to read as he showed all of them on his face. The more he looked, the more fun it became.
Lee Juwon took a red vest, the same colour as the vest Kang Inheon was wearing, from a large yellow basket at the front of the auditorium and put it on.
Thirty students were trying to use the auditorium at the same time, so it wasn’t a formal basketball game, just a game where there were eight or nine students per basketball hoop, and anyone could throw it in.
Squeak squeak, the friction sound of sneakers rubbing against the floor, thud thud, the sound of basketballs bouncing on the floor, shouts, and curses filled the auditorium.
It had been so long since he had last held a basketball so he felt awkward, but it was fun in its own way. But Kang Inheon was just standing there, only wearing his uniform vest. No one was passing to him, and he didn’t seem motivated to participate either.
“Juwon!”
The opposing team blocked Lee Juwon’s path as he caught the basketball flying toward him. Lee Juwon threw the ball past the blue vest in front of him to Kang Inheon. Tak, Kang Inheon, who had been standing blankly, caught the ball in the heat of the moment. He knew there was no way he wouldn’t catch it.
“What the hell, you must be really sick if you missed the pass!”
A kid from the same team next to him playfully put his arm around Lee Juwon’s shoulders. Shrugging him off, Lee Juwon looked at Kang Inheon and mouthed a whisper.
Throw.
Holding the orange ball, which was much bigger than his head, Kang Inheon hesitated for a moment and then threw the ball toward the tall goal. The moment he leaned back with a slight jump, all eyes in the auditorium were on him. His stance was that precise and clean. The basketball sailed through the air in a neat arc.
Without even touching the rim, the basketball went through the net. The net rippled lightly. But instead of cheers, there was silence in the auditorium.
“Nice shot!”
Only the shout of Lee Juwon, who was accustomed to and had no choice but to play golf while on business, rang through the auditorium.
For Lee Juwon, six periods were too long. He wondered how he had once been able to go to class from period 0 to period 10 and do self-study all night. It was a different kind of tiredness from working in an office all day.
Plus, it was a dream, but he still needed to go to the bathroom. He was surprised at how realistic the recreation of a middle school bathroom was, right down to the musty smell and faintly yellow urinals.
When Lee Juwon returned to the classroom, the kids were gathered around Kang Inheon’s seat.
“Are there any other thieves in our class?” The brute, who was loosely wearing his school uniform, shouted and tried to search Kang Inheon’s bag. Lee Juwon quickly grabbed him by the wrist.
“What are you doing?”
After making eye contact with Lee Juwon, the brute looked surprised for a moment before soon gushing out his complaints. “Juwon! My MP3 is gone! I clearly had it with me this morning.”
The brute shook his finger at Kang Inheon and yelled, “This bastard did it!”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
At Lee Juwon’s words, the look in the brute’s eyes sharpened. Lee Juwon continued regardless, “You didn’t bring it in the first place.”
“Fuck! I brought it with me this morning?”
“Then you must have dropped it somewhere, moron.”
The brute’s face turned red with anger.
“Why the fuck are you getting involved in this bastard’s business?”
“Because you’re accusing an innocent person without proof?”
One of the kids standing next to the brute interjected in frustration, “No, the stutterer always stays in the classroom during lunchtime! It’s so damn uncomfortable whenever we go to eat.”
Lee Juwon said, looking at them pathetically, “But I didn’t go eat lunch today either?”
“…What?”
“Want to look through my bag first? Ah… I didn’t bring my bag today, though.”
Lee Juwon swept his neck, and the kids around him spoke in whispers. Come to think of it, Lee Juwon didn’t eat lunch today either, did he? They were together. As the mood gradually changed, the brute shouted, “Ah, fuck! Then where did it go?!”
“How am I supposed to know? Never mind, you’ve got nothing else to say?”
“Say what?!”
“When you accuse an innocent without evidence or witnesses, you usually have to say something, no?”
The jock, his face reddening, grabbed Lee Juwon by the collar.
“Fucking hell, why are you like this today? Did you take drugs?”
Lee Juwon looked back at what he had eaten. It wasn’t drugs, but alcohol. While drinking it, he did some self-reflection.
“I’m trying to live a good life now, but why aren’t you helping me…”
With a line like a gangster who opened a snack bar after being released from prison, Lee Juwon tapped the brute on the cheek. It was a playful gesture, but one that could turn violent if displeased.
Spitting out profanities, the brute grabbed the wrist of Lee Juwon, who was hitting him on the cheek.
“Stop it?”
“I didn’t even start yet, so what’s there to stop?”
He’d forgotten about his school days, but he hadn’t lived a particularly easy life anyway. If it was an unripe middle school student who only his height was big, he could give him a light beating. It was a dream, so he didn’t need to pay settlement money either. Contrary to Lee Juwon’s feelings, the atmosphere in the classroom quickly became fierce.
“Y-you can search through it!”
It was Kang Inheon who broke the ice-like atmosphere. He took his own bag, turned it upside down and shook it before laying it forward.
It was a bag made of old material that was only big and didn’t really hold anything. There were two short pencils rolling around with no pencil case and a piece of tissue paper.
“Y-you can search me more too.”
He patted the inside pocket of his school jacket to indicate that it was empty, then turned the lining of his pant pocket inside out. A single ten thousand won bill fell out of his pocket.
“Ah, not this…”
After picking up the ten thousand won bill and putting it in his pocket, Kang Inheon squeezed Lee Juwon’s wrist.
“T-then, w-we’ll be going f-first…”
He left the overturned bag on the floor as it was and dragged Lee Juwon out of the classroom. The force of Kang Inheon’s grip was stronger than the brute that was badgering others, so Lee Juwon had no choice but to be dragged out.
It wasn’t until they were outside the school gates that Kang Inheon realized he was still holding onto Lee Juwon’s wrist and was startled. He quickly removed his hand and apologized. “S-sorry.”
Lee Juwon lightly turned the wrist Kang Inheon held around and said, “Why, it was nice and the force made my heart flutter though?”
Lee Juwon jokingly passed it off, but Kang Inheon’s gaze never left Lee Juwon’s reddened wrist. For a moment, he lowered his head back down and muttered in a small voice, “B-be careful on your way.”
With a barely audible greeting, Kang Inheon brushed past Lee Juwon. Lee Juwon walked behind him. It was more like walking with him than following him, so the two of them, wearing the same school uniform, looked like friends walking home from school together.
Kang Inheon’s route home from school was nearby so it was also familiar. It was currently lined with low five-storey mansions without elevators and old shops, but it was soon to be redeveloped into a new town with high-rise apartments. It would have been nice to rent it out, but there was no point now. Anyhow, this was just an illusion and he had other things he wanted to do right now.
Kang Inheon, who had been keeping his eyes on the ground and silently walking, suddenly turned into an alleyway. As they passed by the side road between the shopping district with no sunlight, he even kicked away crumpled cans and cigarette butts at his feet. It was too narrow for the two of them to pass side by side, so Lee Juwon followed closely behind Kang Inheon.
As they quickly rounded the widening corner of the alleyway with bumpy cement, the walking Kang Inheon suddenly stopped at some point. As Kang Inheon who was walking in front quickly stopped, Lee Juwon almost ran into him. Kang Inheon, who had only turned around halfway, said, “…A-are you f-following me?”
Lee Juwon could barely contain himself from almost copying Kang Inheon’s tone and voice. To think he was really Kang Inheon.
Moreover, the school uniform he wore was too big compared to his size. The shirt was so loose that it looked like he was wearing someone else’s clothes, exposing his pale and thin neck and making his small face look even younger.
When Lee Juwon nodded, Kang Inheon asked again, “…Why?”
“…Because I’m on my way home too?”
“Y-your house is in S-Sungil-dong.”
“…H-how do you know w-where my house is?”
Unable to resist, Lee Juwon mimicked Kang Inheon’s tone of voice, and Kang Inheon turned around without answering. He walked quickly, only looking straight ahead again.
“I was teasing.”
Lee Juwon felt a little sorry and rubbed his nape while following him again. But unlike before, Kang Inheon’s back was getting farther and farther away.
The determined and fast-walking Kang Inheon was too fast. Even if he ran, he couldn’t keep up with him. He was so young and so short; how could he be this fast?
“You’re really fast.”
Lee Juwon was also a good runner, but Kang Inheon’s athleticism seemed to be extraordinary even before his hunter manifestation.
“Pant, slow down a bit.”
Kang Inheon was fast like an arrow, like a deer being chased. Not a savage beast, but a deer. Lee Juwon smirked to himself about the word that fit him yet didn’t fit him before running out of breath. As he rounded the corner of the narrow alley, he couldn’t even see his back.
“Haa… pant…”
He had lost Kang Inheon right in front of his eyes. But Lee Juwon didn’t have the strength to chase after him, so he leaned on his knees and caught his breath. He muttered despondently between gasping breaths, “Haa… It’s so hard to get even one meal…”
Since they couldn’t have lunch together, he was hoping for dinner at least, but even that was out of the question. He didn’t know how long this dream would last, so even if it was an illusion, even if it was when they were young, he wanted to try and do the things he wanted to do…
orcinus comments:
one of the traits i love most about lee juwon is that hes definitely not a pushover
and no matter how much hes changed since the beginning of the story, he still has it in him to make fun of kang inheon 💀💀
Ah i love this, thank you translator!!
not him mocking inheon just cause he couldn’t help it ㅠㅠ
Dios te bendiga por tus traducciones 🤭🤭
Fuera de relajo gracias por tu trabajo
☺
Thank you for the chapter!
Ommmggg Kang Inheon was so cute when he was younger! Thank you for the translation!
so Kang Inheon liked Lee Juwon even back then, thats so cute
Wonder if he’s back to the present would he also tease Kang Inheon speaking style when he was young
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the chapter!!
Since they knew each other from school, LJW change after he grew up must be even more jarring to KIH huh… Maybe that’s why he so adamantly stuck to LJW’s side after he formed December… Other than obviously being in love with him ofc
Thank u for the chapter
is it really just a dream though 🧐
Really made one wonder just how did this sunny, popular, high achieving kid grow up to become such a horrible boss lol
Wonder how they both changed so much after growing up OwO
IT WAS NICE AND THE FORCE MADE MY HEART FLUTTER?!!!😡😳
Poor Kang Inheon was such a cute child LJ couldn’t not tease him 😩
I’m looking forward to LJ jumping from the cute, stuttering little KI to being confronted with his adult confident version