NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17.1
Jihoon flinched, as if my expression had triggered memories of the past. His unease was evident.
I sighed, letting go of my tense demeanor.
“Ha… Well, it’s late, but it’s good to see you again, you little shit.”
I told him to drop the formalities and speak casually around others, at least enough to blend in like we were normal friends.
“Uh… sure.”
As we walked back to my usual spot with Da-yeon, I saw her absorbed in a Japanese manga. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice us approaching.
“Da-yeon,” I called.
“!!! Si-yoon! You’re back?”
Startled, she looked up and immediately smiled at me. But as soon as she noticed Jihoon, her smile disappeared.
“This is an old friend of mine,” I said, motioning toward him.
Da-yeon eyed him warily and greeted him with obvious reluctance.
“H… hi.”
Since becoming close to me, Da-yeon had started growing cautious around other people.
“This is Da-yeon,” I introduced. “Second-born of Hanseong.”
Jihoon’s eyes widened, a mixture of shock and disbelief.
“What? Wait… Are you serious? Hanseong? As in Lee Jin-seok?”
Da-yeon’s cheeks puffed up, her annoyance clear as day.
“Who are you to just throw my grandpa and dad’s names around like that?!”
“Ah… sorry. My bad,” Jihoon said awkwardly.
“Si-yoon, I don’t like him…” Da-yeon muttered, her distaste obvious.
“Yeah, me neither,” I replied with a casual shrug.
Hearing that, Da-yeon immediately brightened. It was clear she had been worried that this new friend might replace her.
“Wow… I can’t believe I went through all that trouble for this guy,” I muttered under my breath.
“And I told you to run back then,” Jihoon shot back.
Da-yeon, unable to follow the conversation, stared awkwardly at the floor.
“Where’s Antonio today?” I asked, changing the subject.
At the mention of her beloved rabbit plushie, Da-yeon’s face lit up again.
“Oh! Gayeon’s playing with him.”
Gayeon was her younger brother.
“Lucky Gayeon, getting Antonio to protect him,” I said with a small smile.
“Yup!”
Turning back to Jihoon, I gave him a once-over and smirked.
“You’ve really embraced that nerdy look you used to hate so much,” I teased.
His plain features and small eyes gave him a meek appearance, like someone resigned to always blending into the background.
Da-yeon tensed, thinking I was picking a fight, but Jihoon let out a long sigh, his expression turning somber.
“Ha… This face looks just like Park Gi’s.”
“What?”
Now that he mentioned it, I could see it—the resemblance to Park Gi was undeniable.
“…Yeah, I see it now.”
Jihoon let out another deep sigh, clearly unhappy with his new appearance.
“So, if we’re here, does that mean Park Gi is, too?” I asked.
“…Do you think… others are here as well?”
“It’s not impossible,” I said thoughtfully.
Jihoon still seemed uncomfortable speaking casually to me. After all, in our past lives, there had been a 12-year age gap between us.
As Da-yeon returned to her manga, I leaned in closer to Jihoon.
“So, what’s your plan? Got any goals in this life?”
“I was planning to take down S Corporation,” he said flatly.
“How?”
“What else? The only thing I’m good at is brute force.”
Something about his response felt off.
“What did you eat two days ago? Do you remember?” I asked.
Jihoon hesitated, clearly puzzled.
“…Uh? Since when did we ever remember things like that?”
I pressed on.
“What’s 423 times 382?”
“…Are you joking?”
“It’s 161,586,” I said immediately.
Jihoon stared at me, his confusion turning to disbelief. Beside us, Da-yeon muttered softly.
“I… I can do it too…”
“Huh? You can? Sorry, I answered too fast,” I said, patting her head gently.
“Yeah… way too fast,” she pouted.
I ruffled her hair with a small smile before turning back to Jihoon.
“It’s not that there’s anything special about me… This body is just incredibly smart.”
“And it feels like I’ve gotten dumber,” Jihoon muttered bitterly.
“What was that?” I teased, smirking as I picked up a pencil to sketch something.
“Well, my goal’s the same as before—taking down S Corporation.”
“…And?”
“And finding Tae-baek, wherever he’s hiding.”
Jihoon’s gaze sharpened.
“I’ll handle S Corporation. You and Park Gi can take care of Tae-baek,” I said firmly.
“…Fine.”
As we exchanged secrets and strategies, I idly sketched a colorful rabbit with crayons, enjoying the strange normalcy of it all.
When I turned seven, Hanbit Kindergarten started introducing more activities to keep us busy. It wasn’t like when I was five and could leave as soon as my dad came to pick me up. Now, we couldn’t leave until 5 p.m. To top it off, they added specialized programs to help kids discover their talents.
“Si-yoon, how about we try some math games instead of drawing today?” my teacher suggested with an overly cheerful tone.
I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Before I could respond, Jihoon snickered from the side.
“That dummy could use some math practice. Go ahead, take her,” he quipped smugly.
“Si-yoon! That’s no way to talk about your friends!” the teacher scolded.
I turned to glare at Jihoon, whose smirk only deepened.
What happened to this guy? He’s even more insufferable than before.
The teacher sighed and moved on to help another student, leaving Jihoon and me to ourselves.
Over time, one thing became clear: Jihoon and I weren’t like the other kids. Even as infants, we’d had control over our movements, and now our physical abilities far exceeded theirs.
During running exercises, it was especially obvious. Meanwhile, Da-yeon sat on the sidelines, bouncing her legs as she flipped through a Japanese manga. I joined her with my sketchbook, feeling an odd sense of pride watching her grow up.
“Want me to draw Kamino for you?” I asked, referring to her favorite manga character.
“Uh… yeah,” she replied hesitantly, her response lacking enthusiasm.
I frowned, dissatisfied.
“P-please draw him!” she added quickly.
“…No.”
“Si-yoon!!!”
She immediately closed her book, shoved it at me, and clung to my arm.
“Please, draw him!”
“Hmm… if you insist,” I said, pretending to relent.
Her eyes lit up briefly, but she quickly glanced nervously between my pen and the manga.