Chapter 13 – Graduate (13)
I committed a bizarre act—pouring soda into a fish tank—and fled the aquarium like a fugitive.
My mind was in complete chaos!
‘Will they be okay?!’
If they’re fish that only survive in pristine water, they’re 100% dead. Even if not, wouldn’t sticky sugar in their gills make breathing difficult?
I’m no marine biologist or doctor, so I couldn’t shake the unease.
Glance, glance…
‘They’ll be fine, right? They have to be…’
I prayed the fish that drank the soda would be okay.
“What are you doing?”
Song Sun-young, walking beside me in the women’s section of a department store lined with famous clothing brands, gave me a weird look.
“I’m worried someone’s chasing us.”
I kept looking back like a nervous petty thief.
“You know it’s fine, right?”
“I know, but…”
Even knowing that going back in time would erase everything, I was still anxious.
“Moon-soo, what do you think of this outfit?”
Flutter, flutter~
Song Sun-young stopped and waved a triangular piece of fabric in front of me.
“It’s nice.”
“Look at it properly before you answer.”
“Ahem! I don’t really get it even if I look.”
It wasn’t fair.
How am I, a guy, supposed to know about women’s underwear?!
“Does it suit me?”
“I think it would.”
“…”
“…”
A sudden silence descended.
‘Did I mess up?’
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead and back.
“You’ve been looking behind you the whole time.”
“That’s because…”
“Forget the aquarium thing. Even if someone chases us to complain, it’s a big deal? They won’t remember anyway.”
“You’re right.”
Everything she said was true.
“Listen up. The only thing human Kang Moon-soo should worry about is my mood, Song Sun-young’s. I won’t forget, even if we go back in time.”
“Oh…”
That’s true too.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Look properly.”
“Okay, I’ll look.”
I focused with all my might.
“…I didn’t mean stare that blatantly, but it’s much better than before.”
“Is it fine now?”
“No. I’m going to hold it up close, so tell me what you think.”
“Huh? Hold it up close…? What does that—gasp!”
I was mid-question, unable to process her words, when I sucked in a sharp breath.
Swish-
Song Sun-young lifted her school uniform skirt with one hand and actually held the underwear up to herself.
“What do you think?”
“Are you crazy?! Put it down! What if people see?!”
“…I asked what you think. And so what if they see? They won’t remember—”
“I get it, just put it down! I’ll talk if you put it down! Hurry~!”
“Fine.”
Swish-
She casually lowered her skirt.
“Phew…”
“Answer quick, or I’ll do it again.”
“It’s really pretty! So much my heart’s pounding!”
I meant it. I was so shocked my heart felt like it’d burst.
“Your heart?”
“Yeah! My heart!”
“…Same here. I can feel my heart pounding too.”
“Right.”
‘If you’re not fazed after doing something like that, you’re not normal!’
For some reason, I felt relieved.
“Let’s go.”
Tap.
With a brighter expression, Song Sun-young hung the underwear back and started walking.
“You’re not buying that? I thought you liked it.”
“Nope. It’ll just disappear anyway.”
“Well… true.”
The sun had set, and the sky was growing dark.
‘Time’s already…’
The department store, quiet when we were wandering, was now bustling with office workers after hours.
“Want to grab dinner?”
“Hm… I feel like the police or our teacher will barge in mid-meal.”
Even with my smartphone off, they could track us through city surveillance cameras or card statements.
‘Just in case.’
This wasn’t our usual sports university pool, so we might not get caught quickly, but we had to consider the opposite possibility.
“Then we have no choice. Getting caught would be a hassle.”
“Good thinking.”
“Let’s go to the rooftop.”
“The elevator’s over there.”
We didn’t head back to school or home. No need to.
Ding!
Using the elevator, we skipped the unexplored floors and went straight to the department store’s rooftop.
“It’s not blocked off.”
“It’s used as a rooftop parking lot.”
“Did you pick this place knowing that from the start?”
“Of course.”
Some buildings block off rooftop access, but this department store utilized the space as a parking lot.
“The railing’s high.”
“Lie down. I’ll step on your back to climb up.”
“Alright.”
“…If you look at my underwear, you’re dead.”
“I won’t.”
‘When did she care about showing it herself?’
She’s so inconsistent.
Whoosh!
The weight of Song Sun-young stepping on my back as I lay down was brief.
“Expect something later.”
“What?”
“Secret~♪”
Speaking cheerfully, unlike someone about to die, she jumped off the department store rooftop.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds…
“…What?”
Song Sun-young was definitely dead. There’s no way she survived that height.
Given gravitational acceleration, five seconds after her jump, my vision should’ve shifted to the school classroom.
“…”
I waited.
‘It’s been over ten seconds…’
The time for regression had long passed, yet time kept flowing forward.
“…”
I kept waiting.
“…”
I waited calmly.
“…Something’s wrong.”
My calm broke.
Thump, thump!
No matter how long I waited, the occult didn’t trigger.
‘If time keeps moving like this…’
“No, no way…!”
No one would believe a girl who was happily wandering the department store just moments ago killed herself.
That leaves only one conclusion: murder by a third party!
And I was with her the whole time.
“God…”
Fear gripped me.
The terror of being framed as a murderer.
And despair that I might never see her again enveloped me.
‘I should’ve stopped her!’
Regret came too late.
In this worst-case scenario, what could I rely on?
“Please!”
Ironically, only the occult.
“Please…!”
Thud!
I fell to my knees, wailing.
‘God!’
I even prayed to a god I didn’t believe in.
“Student Kang Moon-soo, come up and solve problem 3 on page 338.”
“Please…!”
“‘Please’?”
“Oh!”
Was it just my imagination? The occult triggered.
Thump, thump!
But my heart, shocked beyond measure, was still pounding.
“Student Kang Moon-soo?”
“…Teacher, I’m really sorry. I have to go urgently.”
This time, I jumped out the classroom window, thinking,
‘What a relief!’
I was relieved to have a chance to avoid regret.
***
While my peers studied at school, I was out having fun with a pretty girl, free from money worries.
Since my father’s death, my life had been bleak and desperate. This might’ve been the happiest moment of my life!
By the way…
“She’s late.”
I always entered the pool before Song Sun-young, but this time she was taking unusually long.
‘Did something happen?’
I was certain it couldn’t be, but her recent strange behavior made me slightly uneasy.
“Well… doesn’t matter.”
I’d learned all the theory. She still pointed out my unconscious mistakes, but those corrections were decreasing.
‘Just a bit more…’
The day I’d beat her at swimming felt close.
“Moon-soo.”
Song Sun-young’s voice called me as I floated absentmindedly on the water.
I turned toward where I thought she was.
“Why so late… huh?”
“What do you think?”
Appearing near the end of the pool’s open hours, Song Sun-young spun in place and asked.
“…”
“Why no words?”
“Uh… a bikini?”
She wasn’t wearing her usual one-piece swimsuit.
A daring design that looked like it’d cause a disaster if she swam fast!
It seemed like a single tug on the thin strap would make it fall off.
“I asked what you think.”
“Pretty.”
“That’s it?”
“Really pretty! You could be a swimsuit model!”
Her chest seemed a bit bigger, but it must be my imagination.
“…Your reaction’s boring.”
Splash~
Song Sun-young, wrinkling her nose as if dissatisfied with my reaction, slowly entered the water starting with her feet.
“Can we race?”
“Of course not.”
“…”
I had no idea what she was thinking, changing into such a daring swimsuit.
“Moon-soo.”
“What?”
“I realized something while having fun with you without worrying about money.”
“What?”
“I was such an idiot before. Aptitude doesn’t matter at all.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Think about it. We can predict stocks like reading palms. We can safely bet on sports gambling outcomes. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re right.”
I knew it was a common trope in fantasy novels, but I gave up on it since I couldn’t control the occult.
Even if I made a fortune with stocks, it’d vanish with regression!
But Song Sun-young, who can control it, is different.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“If we set our minds to it, we could become rich in no time.”
“Probably.”
“If you’re so rich you don’t need to work, you don’t have to care about aptitude.”
“…”
Song Sun-young was absolutely right.
If we had a lot of money?
Our aptitudes would no longer be a means to survive in a hyper-competitive society but would be relegated to hobbies or quirks.
“You wouldn’t have to become a shaman you don’t like either.”
Her persuasive voice, like the devil’s whisper, sweetly tickled my ears.
“I…”
I don’t like being a shaman.
But unlike her, I don’t have a clear reason for hating it. I don’t even have a baseline to judge whether it’s good or bad.
If I had to give a reason?
It’s a vague prejudice that exorcising ghosts isn’t profitable.
“I like you.”
“What—?”
“I said I like you.”
“…”
I’d noticed she’d been acting strange lately, but I never expected her confession.
Her cheeks flushed red as she urged me.
“Hurry up and answer! You’re making me feel like the weird one!”
“…Why?”
“Idiot! Is that supposed to be an answer?!”
“Sorry.”
Even I thought it was a pathetic response.
“I thought you liked Choi Kang-hoon.”
“That second-year? I just tested him because he’s popular. I didn’t actually like him. That’s why I killed myself right after meeting him.”
“Is that so…”
It seems Song Sun-young, rejected by Choi Kang-hoon, regressed out of wounded pride, making the confession never happen.
“But you’re different.”
She looked at me with earnest eyes.
“You’re the only one in this world who feels like a real person, a real man.”
“What does that mean…?”
“Everyone else feels like stationary mannequins.”
“…”
“They repeat the same lines and actions like machines with every regression. My head knows they’re not mannequins, but my heart can’t accept it. What about you?”
“…I feel the same.”
Skipping class, ignoring attendance, turning off my phone because my teachers’ concern was annoying.
Disregarding the relationships I’d built and the social order I was supposed to follow!
‘She’s right. It’s not normal.’
At some point, I, too, stopped seeing others as equal humans, just like Song Sun-young.
“If you’re the only man in the world, how could I not like you?”
“…I guess so.”
Like Adam and Eve, a man and woman stranded on a deserted island.
It stung my pride as a man, but I understood why she couldn’t help but be drawn to me as the opposite sex.
“What about you? Am I the only woman you see?”
“…You are.”
Splash~
Our distance narrowed as we gazed into each other’s eyes, unflinching.
“…”
“…”
Closer, until our lips nearly touched—
Beep~!
“Guests! Pool hours are… ahem! Don’t stay too late.”
The lifeguard, pulling his lips from the whistle, quietly left.
‘Thank you, Coach!’
Even if you won’t remember, I’ll definitely repay you.
Because we’ll remember this moment forever.
“Sun-young.”
“Speak.”
Her moist, flushed eyes met mine.
“Sun-young.”
“I said speak.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
Song Sun-young looked bewildered, not expecting that response.
My soul, soaked in happiness, ached as if squeezed.
‘Even so…’
I couldn’t stop here. I was the only one in the world who could stop her runaway train.
“Race me.”
“…”
I hated myself for having to say something she didn’t want to hear.