Chapter 10
There's a famous sports university just a 15-minute walk from our school. As a sports university, it has fantastic swimming facilities, and on days without official competitions, they open to the public for a fee.
"I hate swimming pools."
"Why?"
It wasn't some big secret, so I answered Song Seon-yeong's question right away.
"I'm not confident about my body."
It would've been nice if hauling boxes at the convenience store had naturally built up my muscles, but that was the price of skimping on food with instant ramen and frozen meals.
Muscles need plenty of protein and nutrients to grow!
My staples were carbs, saturated fats, cholesterol, and chemical seasonings. Throw in alcohol and nicotine, and I might kick the bucket before 30.
Anyway, "This is insane."
"Why?"
"I told you. All I can do is dog paddle."
"It's fine. I'll teach you."
"Ugh..."
Song Seon-yeong, with her swim bag slung over her shoulder, grinned mischievously as she spoke.
"Let me explain one more time. Aptitude is heavily influenced by confidence in what you're good at. So, all you have to do is beat me at swimming, shaman boy."
"You make it sound so easy."
"It is easy?"
"Let me ask again. You think that's possible?"
My aptitude is shaman. Meanwhile, the girl next to me, flaunting her sleek figure and long legs, has the aptitude of a swimmer! Aptitudes aren't given lightly. No matter how I sliced it, this was like grabbing wrinkles in front of a chrysalis or smashing rocks with eggs.
"We've got plenty of time."
"The Aptitude Test is right around the corner?"
"Regression."
"Ah..."
In theory, I had infinite time to learn and practice swimming before the Aptitude Test. I could see why she'd picked me specifically.
"You get it now, huh? You, the shaman who keeps your memories even after going back in time, can practice until you beat me."
"What about the body?"
My junk-food-ravaged body doesn't get preserved like the memories.
"I've never really taken care of mine either."
"......"
She hadn't bothered, and she looked like that? She was just born perfect.
"No complaints now, right? Our conditions are basically equal. You've got some advantages as a guy, too. Just beat me with pure skill."
"...Fine. Let's do it."
If talent could be overturned with effort, the Aptitude Test machine would've ignored it outright.
I know that, but...
No other ideas were coming to mind right now. If there had been, I, the shaman, would've tried it first.
"Wait inside."
"Got it."
Song Seon-yeong waved as she headed into the women's locker room.
"Oh! Kid, nice catch~"
"Pardon?"
Ability? Me?
An uncle who'd just come out of the men's locker room gave me a sly wink.
"Your girlfriend's a knockout."
"...Thanks."
Uncle, don't judge by appearances! She's the girl who killed herself 42 times because she hated her aptitude!
And she's not my girlfriend.
* * *
"It's a bit tight."
The swimsuit I'd last worn during middle school second-year summer break. Naturally, it didn't fit anymore since my body had grown.
Those were the days.
It felt like it symbolized the carefree, happy middle school days versus my drastically changed present—like this too-small swimsuit that just didn't fit.
"Shaman boy, where'd you get that kindergarten swimsuit?"
"What business is it of yours what I..."
Song Seon-yeong's voice floated lightly from behind me. I whipped around, ready to snap back at the "kindergarten" jab, but trailed off.
Guanyin Bodhisattva, om mani padme hum...
I'd known her proportions were great, but the swimsuit made them stand out even more. The fabric clung perfectly to her skin, suiting her figure beautifully. It wasn't even that revealing like a bikini, but I couldn't look away.
Especially, she could be a leg model...
I kept that thought locked away before it got me in irons, but it was sincere.
"What?"
"Uh... you look pretty."
"I hear that every time I go to a pool or the beach."
"......"
The uncle outside the men's locker room had said something similar. But wasn't it embarrassing for her to say it herself? She must've been born without shame, too.
"Shaman boy, just to be sure— you're not scared of water like a cat, are you?"
"Not at all."
This girl had been looking down on me ever since we got to the pool! Time to show her what for.
"Good. Next... Ah! I'll show you a demo."
"Okay."
To show her what for, I needed to gauge her swimming skills first. But before that,
"One, two, one, two..."
"One, two, three, four..."
Prep stretches were essential if I didn't want to drown! Creak, crack—joints I never used started screaming.
On the other hand, "...You're flexible."
Song Seon-yeong's limbs and waist bent at freakish angles.
"'Cause I'm a girl."
"Not every woman's joints are like yours."
"None of your business."
"Jeez..."
Song Seon-yeong finished her stretches first and dove into the pool.
Splash!
Even her diving form screams pro...
I was already anxious about showing her what for later.
"Shaman boy. Hold up! I said I'd demo. Watch from there."
"Got it."
"...Watch closely."
Splash!
Song Seon-yeong, goggles around her neck like a necklace, kicked off the pool edge and started swimming.
Whoa...
I wasn't timing her, but she looked fast just watching. A fish in human skin! She was proving her Aptitude Test result of "swimmer" wasn't just for fun.
And was that with room to spare?
Whoosh~!
Hitting the opposite wall, she flipped back—and leaped out of the water like a dolphin.
"Whoa..."
"Wow..."
Admiring gasps came from onlookers who'd caught the show.
...My feelings?
"I'm gonna puke."
A curse slipped out instead of awe.
* * *
From basic water-splashing techniques with the human dolphin Song Seon-yeong, I learned step by step.
"Don't bend your knees. Keep them straight."
"Why?"
"It's the most common mistake for beginners. They only flick their knees instead of using all their leg joints. Like your dog paddle."
"Aha!"
"So knees are off-limits until it becomes habit. Use the other joints even if it feels awkward. Got it?"
"Got it."
Logically, I was being forced to learn swimming, but it was intriguing and fun.
When's the last time I felt this?
Time outside school had always been part-time jobs and rest. I was always rushed, so having the leisure to learn something new felt fresh.
"Grab the wall and splash again."
"Okay."
Splash-splash~ I gripped the pool edge as instructed and swung my legs back and forth.
"No bending the knees."
"Easier said than done!"
"...And buy a new swimsuit. It's hard to watch."
"What?"
Sudden beef?
"Shaman boy, think about others' eyes too? It's wedged up your butt."
"......"
Infuriatingly, I couldn't argue.
"Breathe as shortly as possible. Exhale through your nose in the water, inhale through your mouth when you surface."
"...Cough cough!"
Water up my nose!
"Hahaha! That's hilarious! Are you a fish? You did it backwards!"
Song Seon-yeong clutched her navel, bending backward laughing.
Was my suffering that funny?
"Damn—cough cough!"
I'll show her what for later.
* * *
"Kang Moon-soo, come up and solve problem 3 on page 338."
"Yes."
As expected, skipping class to splash in the pool wasn't normal.
Didn't think they'd call the cops!
Our homeroom teacher, knowing I had no parents to scold me, lectured twice as hard.
A few hours later, as I was getting grilled, the occult kicked in.
Scribble, scribble—
"Uh... Kang Moon-soo?"
"Yes."
"Did you solve this yourself?"
"Yes."
I was confident this was the best solution in the galaxy.
"Incredible! That's all I can say! It's so perfect, even I could learn from it!"
"Thank you."
Honestly, I just wanted to stop solving problems. Even amid the teacher's rave reviews, I felt no joy as class finally ended...
Slide!
"Hey! Shaman—Kang Moon-soo!"
Song Seon-yeong burst through the classroom door, calling me in a sharp tone.
"...What?"
"I waited forever 'cause you didn't come out!"
"You waited? For me? Why? Don't you have class too?"
"I ditched right away."
"Aha!"
Having just endured a mental re-education from our homeroom teacher, her escape blew my mind.
"Huh? It's Song Seon-yeong."
"Kang Moon-soo! Drop dead!"
"What?! What's going on?!"
"No way they're dating?!"
My classmates spouting nonsense with incredulous faces weren't all there either.
"This class is full of headaches."
"Your fault!"
Song Seon-yeong barging into someone else's classroom uninvited was the issue.
"What? You started it?"
"Oh, right."
Whoosh~ We hopped the school fence like petty thieves and slipped out.
"Whoa! You've gotten bolder."
"I've done it once now."
First time, I'd kept looking back anxiously. But by the second, guilt and hesitation were gone.
Yeah, that's how it goes.
A lingering question popped up, so I called out to Song Seon-yeong, who was leading the way.
"Coach."
"Call me by name."
"Seon-yeong."
"What?"
"We went to the pool together, but how'd you just hop the fence?"
"Not my first time. My parents and homeroom teacher gave up on me ages ago."
"Aha!"
Crystal clear answer.
"From now on, ditch class right away too. I hate waiting."
"Jeez..."
Skipping school mid-class, not even during break? Without the occult, I couldn't have imagined it.
"...Mom and Dad don't care what I do or where."
"I see~"
With no parents myself, I had nothing to say. Not all parents were great, but there had to be more good ones than bad, right?
Song Seon-yeong said, "What about you? No contact from your parents either, right?"
"Pretty much."
No phone lines or broadband in the afterlife, after all.
* * *
After grabbing my swimsuit from home, we entered the pool just a 15-minute walk from school.
Splash!
But Song Seon-yeong, looking down at me after changing first, didn't look pleased.
"Don't stare like that. I showered and did stretches."
"No, I told you not to wear that swimsuit."
"It's all I have at home."
"Buy a new one."
"No money."
"I'll buy it. My eyes are precious."
"Oh! For real?"
"It's money that resets if you die. Spend freely."
"Oh, right."
Even if I blew through it and thinned my wallet, it'd refill on regression.
She's smart.
A method I'd never have dreamed of, thrifty as I was.
"Never lift your head when breathing. You'll lose balance and submerge your upper body, making it harder to breathe."
"Then what?"
"Roll your body."
"I'm not a genius? Can't figure it out from that."
"Use your hips."
"Aha!"
The world repeated flawlessly like a hamster wheel, but my swimming improved each time.
One day, two days, five days, half a month... Her tail, once endlessly distant, came into view.
Little by little, very little by little... As I got faster, the gap between us shrank.
"Wait, hold up!"
Song Seon-yeong, who'd finished first and waited, startled and backed away.
"Why?"
"You're too close!"
"......"
It wasn't just my swimming that had changed.