Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: New School
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Na-young and I had finally started dating, but nothing really changed all that much.
Thanks to my memories from before the regression, I was no different from an adult, but since I had basically zero dating experience—or even much experience getting along well with girls—I had no clue how to close the distance further or keep up the physical contact.
More than that, both Na-young and I were in a position where aggressive skinship felt pretty off-putting, especially since my girlfriend was mentally much younger than me.
She didn't seem to be actively hoping for that kind of thing anyway.
So, things looked pretty much the same before and after we started dating.
Aside from Na-young, who spent her days floating on air.
Even while we were dating, I was still obsessed with growing my assets, and my routine of trying to work out as much as possible every day continued.
Time flew by like that, and the moment we graduated from school, we enrolled in our new one.
"Ji-hoon! Ji-hoon! How do I look? Does it suit me?!"
I'd woken up early as usual and was putting on my uniform to head to the new school when Na-young burst through the door.
In my eyes, the uniform looked tacky and plain, but seeing it on Na-young created some kind of optical illusion that made it look stylish and cute.
"You look pretty. It suits you."
She jumped into my arms, thrilled beyond measure by the compliment I always gave her without fail.
"Hee...! You too, Ji-hoon...! It suits you so well!"
The uniform suits me...? Honestly, I didn't think so at all.
Sure, consistent workouts had made me grow quite a bit taller and given me a solid build, but with my utterly average face, I couldn't feel any of that "suits you perfectly" vibe.
I just came off as a freshman who'd shed his baby fat and started exercising.
"Yeah...? Thanks."
"Tch... That's not just empty talk!"
I responded half-heartedly with no real excitement, and Na-young pouted her lips.
Her boyfriend—the man she loved more than anyone in the world—didn't see himself that way, so she shouted with a sulky face.
"You look like a prince!"
"......"
No matter how generously you looked at it, that wasn't true.
And to turn into a prince just because of a uniform? How thick was the love filter over her eyes?
"Yeah, yeah. I look like a prince. Even to me."
I agreed with Na-young's words soullessly.
"Hing... You really do look like a prince..."
No matter what you say, no one else is ever going to see me as a prince.
I gently pushed the slightly deflated Na-young out of my arms, straightened my uniform properly, and left the room.
"Ooooh! Na-young! You look amazing! It suits you so well!"
The moment I stepped out, Mom overreacted with a camera in hand.
"Hehe!"
Na-young grinned bashfully.
In contrast.
"Ji-hoon. It suits you too."
"Yeah. Thanks for that."
She spoke so formally to me that I returned it in kind.
Even so, Mom acted like nothing was wrong and captured Na-young's image perfectly in the camera.
She'd been itching to take photos when we first got the uniforms tailored, and apparently there were still shots left to take.
But she hadn't taken even a single photo of her own son in his uniform.
Sigh... It's enough to make me feel neglected.
"You gonna take more?"
"We're only halfway done."
"Only halfway?"
I swallowed my rising bewilderment and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"If we don't leave now, we'll be late for the entrance ceremony."
"It's fine. If I floor it, we'll make it on time."
"What kind of irresponsible..."
She had this absurd mindset that if they were running late, just hit the accelerator harder to make up time.
Realizing this wasn't going to work, I snatched the camera from her endlessly clicking shutter.
"Ah, aaa...!"
Mom stared blankly at the camera in my hand with a look like she'd lost the world.
"I'll give it back later, so hurry up. If we don't go now, we'll just take a taxi ourselves."
"Tch. They say raising a son is pointless... Is that what you say to your mom?"
"We're about to be late for the entrance ceremony, and you're...!"
Hearing that made me snap a bit.
"Just kidding~! Mom will get ready quick and come out!"
Mom bolted away immediately.
"Haa..."
Was she always this playful?
The Mom I remembered from before the regression wasn't like this.
Or... was she? Maybe I just never paid attention to her?
Either way, seeing her smile brightly and tease her son—even if a shadow sometimes crossed her face—was nice.
"Whoa...! There are so many people!"
After all the hassle, we finally arrived at school.
Na-young got out of the car and couldn't stop marveling at the huge, impressive school that dwarfed her old one.
Plus, we weren't late—the school grounds were packed with countless cars, uniformed kids, and what looked like their parents.
It made the already spacious school feel cramped.
"Na-young! Na-young! Can you stand over there for a bit?"
"Yes!"
Apparently finding a photogenic spot, Mom urgently called Na-young over.
Na-young obediently went and struck a pose, and the shutter immediately fired.
I got wanting to have the daughter she'd always dreamed of, and going full doting-mom mode because she was so pretty—but it was a little embarrassing.
With all these eyes around, and thinking we weren't kids she'd see just once, I wondered how I'd face people from now on. My face heated up.
"Ji-hoon! Let's take one together!"
Na-young hooked her arm in mine and pulled me over.
The moment I entered the camera lens, Mom's discomfort was obvious.
What? I'm your son.
I'd already more than fulfilled my duties as a son by making her win the lottery jackpot, yet her reaction was so lukewarm.
Click. Click. Click.
"That's good. Ji-hoon, you can step out now."
"......"
Ugh. She won't shoot because it's gross now.
Despite Na-young's protests, I left the spot.
Mom claimed it was a joke, but the way she aimed the lens back at Na-young and kept snapping away made me think it might not be.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Uh... Everyone is now... uh... proud students of our school... uh..."
Including me and Na-young, the freshmen gathered in the auditorium were enduring the principal's endlessly boring speech, his face wrinkled like a prune.
At least they provided chairs. Without them, complaints would've flooded in.
The problem was that kids were dozing off left and right, using the speech as a lullaby.
Nod... Nod...
Na-young was no exception.
She fought valiantly against her drooping eyelids, but it was futile.
With her eyes softly closed, her head bobbed forward with the waves of sleep.
"Just sleep. They don't even call out people for sleeping blatantly."
As freshmen, they wouldn't get singled out unless something extreme happened.
Even if they did, Na-young's stunning looks meant she'd draw attention from kids and teachers alike without trying.
And with that came annoyances.
She couldn't have a normal school life anyway, so why not make it as comfortable as possible?
"Mm..."
I rested Na-young's head on my shoulder.
She smiled contentedly at the small gesture, leaning her head comfortably against me.
Whispers followed immediately.
The girls made a fuss like they'd never seen a couple before, while the boys shot me jealous glares.
Whatever. If you're jealous, regress yourself and charm some pretty girls.
I was shameless.
Even with memories from the future and that cheat item, the future smartphone, I acted like all my achievements were pure effort, smug and mocking others.
But it wasn't a problem, so I just basked in the jealousy from kids who might even surpass me someday.
"Uh... Thank you..."
Finally, the long, tedious speech wrapped up.
The teachers seemed relieved too, clapping enthusiastically, but that had to be my imagination.
"Na-young. Na-young. We gotta go now."
"Mm... Yeah... Mmph."
I woke Na-young, who had dozed off on my shoulder, and met up again with Mom, who'd been watching us from the second-floor balcony of the auditorium.
Leaving Na-young—who was still half-asleep and fully leaning on me—I chatted briefly with Mom before parting ways.
With sleep still weighing her down, Na-young looked ready to collapse any second as we headed to check the class assignments.
All these freshmen had been divided into ten classes.
And among them.
"We're in the same class."
Na-young and I had been assigned together.
Na-young, who'd been stumbling along leaning on me without a thought, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
As if doubting my words, she quickly scanned for her name, then checked nearby for mine.
Realizing it was true.
"Ji-hoon! We're in the same class!"
She hugged me tighter than ever, thrilled.
Bouncing in my arms, she became a nuisance to the other kids arriving to check the lists.
"I know. Calm down now."
I soothed the overly excited Na-young and headed to our classroom.
"It's similar but a little different...!"
Entering the new school and new class, Na-young's eyes sparkled as she looked around.
Well, yeah. Schools are schools—how different could they be?
I felt nothing special and headed straight for the back row by the window.
No tough kids itching for a fight yet, since they were all still young, so the seat was empty.
Of course, Na-young followed right behind and sat next to me.
"Hey! Hey! What are you two? Like, together?!"
The moment we sat, girls who'd followed us into the class swarmed Na-young.
Unlike her old school's friends—who'd ignored her bullying out of guilt or whatever, keeping a subtle distance.
These girls knew nothing about it, so they approached her aggressively.
Na-young looked a bit flustered by the unfamiliar enthusiasm.
"You two... are you dating?"
"M-Me and Ji-hoon...? Hehe. Yeah! We are! We're dating!"
"Oh my! You look great together!"
Anyone could see Na-young and I were polar opposites—we didn't match at all.
So that was just polite talk.
I could ask if her confidence was rock-bottom, but no matter how hard she tried, that overwhelming beauty was impossible to keep up with.
"Hehe!"
Na-young smiled purely, oblivious to it.
"W-Wow..."
"For real..."
"I haven't seen anyone this pretty even on TV...!"
The girls were already captivated by Na-young's radiant smile.
Even pro makeup and filters couldn't compete with her.
She was just that unreal.
No wonder building confidence was so hard.
"Where'd you two meet?"
"W-We...?"
"Who confessed first?"
"C-Confessed...!"
"What's so great about him?!"
"Everything!"
They peppered her with questions.
It was annoying as hell.
Na-young mumbled evasively when she didn't want to answer or it was tough, but she shouted "Everything!" without hesitation at the last one.
"Alright, everyone back to your seats."
In the class buzzing with familiarity and awkwardness from kids who already knew each other or had quickly bonded, our homeroom teacher—a female one—entered.
She wrote her name and number on the board right away, giving a quick self-introduction.
"Now that we'll be classmates for a year, how about some self-introductions?"
The inevitable self-intro time that comes with starting at a new school had arrived.