Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Regression
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"Ji-hoon! Ji-hoon! Ji-hoon Lee!"
"Ahh... Just a little longer...!"
"What do you mean 'just a little longer'? Get up already! Aren't you going to school today?!"
"What school all of a sudden...?"
I had no idea what this lady was spouting out of nowhere.
School? I'd already graduated from college ages ago. Now it was time to start job hunting... job hunting...
Huh? Why was Mom here?
"M-Mom?!"
I belatedly realized that Mom was in my tiny one-room apartment where I lived alone.
But instead of scolding me for the trashed state of the place or my pathetic day-to-day existence, she was talking about school. It was utterly absurd.
I wondered if I'd misheard her, but the surroundings were off too.
Mom's face, wrinkled and weathered by the storms of time in my memory, was smooth and clear as if I'd remembered wrong.
And now, instead of waking up in my narrow one-room dump that was basically a landfill, I was looking at my old room in our family home.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't remember coming back home.
"Now that you're up, go wash your face and eat. What's with looking around like that?"
"......"
She spoke in a voice laced with slight irritation and forcibly pulled me out of bed.
"Get up quick and go to school!"
She kept bringing up school, making me briefly wonder if Mom had lost her mind, but then my field of vision dropped significantly. It felt incredibly strange.
I hurriedly left the room and headed to the bathroom out of habit.
"What the...?"
Staring into the bathroom mirror, I touched my face in a daze.
Not only had I gotten shorter, but just like Mom's youthful face, mine had gotten younger too.
It was at a level where you could pass me off as an elementary schooler.
The absurdity of it all left me confused for a moment, but a thought hit me right away.
A dream... Yeah, this had to be a dream.
I held out my palm and pictured a yellow cabbage leaf on it.
Didn't work just by thinking, huh.
"Money."
I tried saying it out loud too, but nothing appeared on my empty palm.
Weird.
I'd heard lucid dreams granted whatever you wanted. Was that wrong?
"Money! Money! Women! Pretty women! Audi A8! Lamborghini!"
I shouted other things too, but it was pointless.
If this wasn't a dream, there was no explaining it. Since it was my first time, I had no clue how to escape or even enjoy it.
"Ji-hoon Lee! What are you doing in the bathroom instead of washing up? You're gonna be late for school! Do you want me to really lose my temper?!"
"A-Alright!"
Mom's yell from outside made me splash some water on my face haphazardly, and vivid sensations greeted me.
Guess lucid dreams came with realistic senses too.
Anyway, after leaving the bathroom, I headed straight to the kitchen.
There was a simple breakfast spread out.
"No time. Eat quick."
"Yes."
I sat in the chair, picked up my spoon, and scooped up the steaming rice and soup. Tears welled up.
Because of my selfish, worthless son, Mom and Dad had suffered so much. I didn't have the guts to face them, ignored their pleas to come home, and before I knew it, years had passed without seeing them.
Mom's home cooking after so long pierced my heart.
This wasn't why I'd left home to live alone.
I'd definitely vowed to succeed and let them live comfortably before leaving.
But now... what was I even doing?
I felt pathetic and sorrowful.
The nostalgic taste of spam, simply pan-fried yet somehow so much tastier, wrapped around my tongue.
My eyes grew moist, tears pooled, and then they started falling.
"Ji... Ji-hoon?"
Mom finally noticed me crying mid-meal. Gone was the nagging about school. Tears welled in her eyes too.
"Ji-hoon, I'm sorry. Did I nag you too much?"
She gently pulled my face to her chest.
I felt guilty, thinking I'd unfairly vented irritation at my young son.
"Lately, with all the bad stuff going on, I've been taking it out on you without realizing... I'm sorry. Mommy's sorry."
Ah... come to think of it. When I was young, Dad's business tanked, nearly destroying our family.
We hadn't moved to that cramped place for three people yet, so it wasn't that bad, but things must be shaky enough.
No wonder Mom, who rarely got mad, was on edge and snappy.
"No... Mom. I love you. And I'm sorry."
For some reason, it felt like even this was my fault, so I mumbled an apology after saying I loved her.
"Why's my kid acting like this first thing in the morning?"
She seemed not to catch the tail end, got mad at first, but softened at "I love you," a faint smile on her lips. She wasn't displeased.
"Mommy loves our Ji-hoon too."
She stroked my head gently and returned the words.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As expected, hugging Mom and crying made me late, of course.
If it were back then, maybe, but our family wasn't well-off now.
Dad had taken our only car to work early, and with time running out, I refused Mom's offer of a taxi and bolted out the door toward school.
"Huff... huff... haa... huff."
My pathetic stamina had me panting already after not much running.
This brought the thought again.
Made me doubt if this really was a dream.
Lucid dreams from the internet or TV weren't like this.
"School! Teleport! Instant transmission!"
Yeah, this probably wasn't a dream.
Sensations worked perfectly, and none of my lucid dream wishes came true. The hypothesis that it wasn't a dream was becoming fact.
Being late to school felt kinda bad now.
Imagine them hearing I was late right after our tearful hug.
I'd be the ultimate unfilial son.
"Huff... huff... snoop... haa... ha."
I somehow made it to school.
Already late, so I caught my breath leisurely.
"Uh......"
But arriving at school brought a problem.
It'd been nearly ten years.
"What class am I in?"
I couldn't remember my class.
Would've been weirder if I did.
I racked my brain for a way out.
The solution: Set down my backpack, rummage inside.
At this age, everything had class, number, and name written on it without fail.
No way I'd rebelled against the teacher's orders back then and skipped labeling.
Luckily, it had my class and number. I went to my shoe locker, changed to indoor shoes, and headed to class.
At the classroom, I cautiously slid open the back door.
"Ji-hoon, you're here?"
A young teacher whose name I couldn't recall despite digging through memories looked at me.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Everyone's late sometimes."
Kid-me must not have been a chronic latecomer, since the teacher just told me to sit without fuss.
"Kukuku! Late 'cause you were pooping?"
"Uwuk! Poopy pants! Poopy pants!"
"Eww! Stinky~!"
As I scanned for an empty seat, the boys' childish teasing continued.
They giggled mockingly, finding it hilarious.
Kid Ji-hoon would've burst out denying it in rage, but though my body was young, my mind was an adult different from these kids.
Still, playing along.
"How'd you know?"
I affirmed it.
"Eh, ehh...? F-For real?"
"You were late from pooping?"
Wasn't it? Panic bloomed on their faces.
Just innocent kids full of mischief.
I passed them and reached the empty seat—my spot.
But I couldn't sit.
Next to it sat a girl much bigger than the average boy, her face grotesquely covered in what looked like pimples.
Her long bangs hid her ugly face, but fat cheeks peeked through.
I knew her name.
Despite forgetting every other classmate's.
Her name was none other than.
"Na-young Han...?"
Flinch!
I'd blurted out her name without thinking.
Her massive body twitched, flesh rippling like waves.
"What're you doing? Sit already! Kickick!"
"Sit next to the virus quick!"
"Ji-hoon's gonna get virused!"
Poor Na-young Han, nicknamed Virus for the face stuff, stayed silent despite the familiar insults.
Kid Ji-hoon might've yelled at them to stop even mid-class.
No, he definitely would've.
But now, I was thrilled.
I vaguely recalled the chaos when seats were drawn by lots and I ended up next to Na-young Han.
I might've done something awful to her too, but didn't remember details.
"Hi?"
"......"
I greeted her, but her eyes feared me.
Guess I'd already done it.
"Quiet! Quiet!"
The teacher quelled the rowdy class and glared at me.
"Ji-hoon, something wrong?"
Noticing the kids' eyes on me, she asked. I brushed it off with a calm smile.
Something wrong? Of course.
How could there not be?
I could finally do what I'd always wanted.
"She turns super pretty later."
Her name boldly appeared on a famous magazine's list of world's beauties chosen by people worldwide. She gets insanely pretty.
Did these boys mocking me endlessly from next to her even know?
Hope they don't regret it pounding the ground later.
Damn, did I mutter again?
"Pretty? Na-young Han maybe?"
"Puhahaha! Pretty! Says she's pretty! Hahaha!"
"Teacher! Ji-hoon must have a headache!"
Lately, old friends were busy with work, no job meant crumbling social life.
Didn't know my muttering habit would bite like this.
It wasn't a lie, so no big deal for me, but Na-young Han next to me sniffled hard.
I needed to mend things, not make it worse.
"Quiet, quiet! Settle down! Ji-hoon, you really okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
"Really sick? You seem unusually polite?"
Teacher tilted her head but shook it off, busy calming the still-laughing kids.
Time passed, and she resumed class with the settled students.
"Hic... sob."
But Na-young Han kept stifling sobs.
The crying from next to me nagged at me.
Not like I was too dumb for simple problems, but anyway.
Hmm. How to comfort her.
Apologizing right away for what I did might not be accepted.
"Sigh......"
I let out a deep breath.
I hadn't realized as a kid, but teasing her as a joke made her secretly wipe tears mid-class.
It hurt more seeing it wasn't her first or second time.
Especially knowing she'd become a stunning beauty if just groomed right. I wanted to apologize ASAP.
Problem was, as a lifelong singleton, could I even apologize properly?
Felt like I'd make her cry more and ruin things irreparably. Words stuck.
But I couldn't just sit idle.
I pondered ways for her to sense my sincerity.
Considering her age, what kids this age like—nothing came to mind.
Even as next period came, then lunch, same thing.