Taking It Slow
Huff, puff—
If he had it his way, he would have bought a treadmill, but that was out of the question in a Korean officetel.
Gasp!
He had settled for a stepper as the next best option, tackling it with a light heart.
Talk about letting one's guard down!
After a mere twenty minutes, his legs were shaking like jelly, and sweat was pouring down like rain.
Even though he felt a literal threat to his life, he couldn't stop.
He had to push through, if only for the sake of the comrade-in-arms whose body he now shared.
He steeled his resolve, telling himself that this was the only way he could look himself in the mirror.
'An older brother who's all talk is just pathetic, isn't he?'
The cause of his jumbled memories was also linked to this kid's final moments.
'Just how many did he collect...?'
Antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, antipsychotics, sleeping pills, and more.
It was clear he had hoarded them to end his life.
Illness was an illness for a reason.
The worsening disorders and insomnia must have slowly eaten away at his daily life, until eventually, everything collapsed.
He had seen too much of the world's cruelty from too young an age.
"Youth is meant to hurt." "Everyone else goes through it too."
'Bullshit!'
He hoped the boy would leave his pain-filled world behind and remain a Peter Pan forever.
Ed began to sing an impromptu song dedicated to the Saebyeok in his heart's Neverland.
The adults told me.
Happiness is close by.
The adults told me.
It's too dangerous outside.
The adults told me.
Don’t come out of Neverland. Peter Pan.
To them, I gathered my courage and said.
Neverland is always open.
Why am I all alone?
Do you not want to play with me?
You only need to take one step closer.
Can't you show me what happiness is?
Some with sad faces.
Some on the verge of tears.
Some in anger, they all spoke in unison.
We can never go back.
That is the rule of Neverland.
Please, at least you must remain our Peter Pan.
Don’t come out of Neverland. Peter Pan.
"I'm sorry we were such lying adults, Saebyeok."
With a voice thick with tears, he dedicated his very first tribute song to Saebyeok.
Ed, now occupying Saebyeok's body, was going through some incredibly difficult days.
Was it due to the residual memories, or was it the physical dependency his body remembered?
It was truly difficult for Ed to fully understand Saebyeok in an instant.
Were the tremors that plagued him every night the aftereffects of the car accident Ed remembered, or were they caused by Saebyeok's illness?
Was this life after death, or was it just a fleeting panorama before dying? A chaotic tangle of thoughts tormented him.
Most of all, a heavy sense of guilt toward Moon Saebyeok weighed on him.
And to say he had absolutely no lingering regrets about his past life would be a blatant lie.
Ed's end had been brutally sudden, leaving him no time to put his affairs in order, while Saebyeok's life had been nothing but agony until his very last breath.
The life of Saebyeok that Ed uncovered as he endured the pain was just as gray as the boy's eyes.
The fragmented memories that surfaced from time to time were sad, pitiful, and foolish.
It was too soon to dismiss it all as water under the bridge; he was still very much a stranger in this world.
A month passed in this manner.
"It has been a while, Young Master."
Kim Jehak, who visited one day, subtly scanned him with observant eyes.
"Yes. Thanks to your concern, I'm slowly getting better."
With a faint smile on his face, which had regained a healthy color, he certainly looked much better than before.
Jehak's gaze drifted to the tidy room and a strange structure set up inside.
"What is that space over there?"
"Ah, that? You could call it my music space. Well, it's..."
Listening to him speak in a somewhat excited tone, Kim Jehak felt quite bewildered.
He knew all too well the state Saebyeok had been in, suffering from severe depression and social anxiety.
His condition had been so terrible that it was a miracle he had even managed to graduate high school.
Rather than improving after graduation, his mental state had deteriorated to the point where Jehak had recommended hospitalization.
Although the matter was dropped due to Saebyeok's stubborn refusal, the doctor in charge had warned that he was in a state where he might harm himself at any moment.
Kim Jehak knew that the closer he got, the more Saebyeok's relatives would grow suspicious. Strictly speaking, he was a third party, so he had no choice but to watch from a distance.
He felt a wave of relief seeing Moon Saebyeok looking so bright.
"I am glad to see you looking well."
"You've been doing well too, Secretary Kim?"
"Haha... I have grown quite old now."
"Take care of your health. Looking back, none of it really matters anyway."
"Ah... pardon?"
"Ah! No, it's nothing. I just meant that's how it felt after being sick. Hehe."
"Thank you for your concern. Well then, I shall see you next time..."
Though he cared for him like a grandson at times, he could not afford to show more affection than necessary. With that, he bid his farewell.
"Oh, you're leaving already? Well, you're a busy man, so I'm grateful you even came. Um... and you can just call me from now on. You won't have to worry about me anymore."
"Did you... know?"
"How could I not?"
"Haha... Still, please make sure to visit the hospital. Only then will this old man be at ease."
"Whew... Alright, I will."
"I will be in touch."
"Yes, get home safely."
After seeing him out, a faint, knowing smile played on Ed's lips. Having spent a long time in show business, he had dealt with monsters who had swallowed a hundred sly foxes, and Kim Jehak carried a similar aura.
'Well, he's the General Secretary of a chaebol group, so of course he would.'
It seemed more like a sense of duty than genuine worry, but there was definitely no ill intent.
In fact, if not for him, there would have been no one to look after Saebyeok, so there was no need to be overly guarded.
"Hmm... the hospital."
Ed was already getting a headache from the persistent calls from Saebyeok's doctor.
From her perspective, she was probably terrified that her patient might commit suicide.
Unfortunately, that fear had already been realized.
Ever since becoming Saebyeok, Ed hadn't stepped a single foot outside the house.
While the comfort of his room played a part, it was mostly due to an instinctive aversion.
In life, Saebyeok's condition had been so severe that even going outside was a monumental struggle, and that trauma seemed to linger in his subconscious.
But he couldn't stay cooped up in his room forever. It was about time he took action.
"I need to get my hair cut first."
His hair, which had grown past a simple shaggy cut to almost completely cover his eyes, had been tied back with a hairband.
As he looked in the mirror, what surprised him—aside from the unique color of his eyes—was his facial features.
Of course, he was still skin and bones, making him look rather gaunt, but the potential for growth was immense.
"Is this what they call 'sickly beauty'? He's not quite at my level in my past life, but this is... hmm."
Ed's past appearance had been so peerless that his nickname was "Face Genius," which made him a harsh judge.
The environment also contributed to Saebyeok's own lack of self-awareness.
Perhaps due to the skewed gender ratio, co-ed schools simply did not exist in this world.
Saebyeok had attended all-boys schools from kindergarten all the way through high school.
He probably would have only experienced a co-ed environment once he entered university.
Since Saebyeok's original memories were of no help, Ed had turned to the internet.
The celebrities here were attractive enough to make him nod in approval, just like in his original world, but perhaps because it was a gender-reversed world, they covered up excessively.
It was a world where a man merely rolling up his sleeves was considered scandalous.
On the other hand, women could walk around practically half-naked without anyone batting an eye.
He had to count his blessings that women weren't walking around wearing nothing but nipple patches. It was going to take some time to adapt.
Even by his standards, if Saebyeok groomed himself a bit, he easily had the looks of an idol group's center.
Saebyeok likely hadn't realized his own value because of his extremely low self-esteem and the fact that he had never interacted with women.
And when you factored in this crazy world's dynamics...
"It means even if I just slacked off at home, women would be lining up just begging me to live with them."
He wondered what kind of crazy author had written this world. The sexual values were completely warped.
Women earning the money, giving birth, and handling childcare as "super moms" was the baseline standard.
With such a skewed gender ratio, normal marriage was naturally impossible, and it was shocking to learn that men sometimes existed solely to provide sperm.
If a woman managed to give birth to a son, the state showered her with all kinds of benefits. Gender discrimination was simply a given.
'It's not like the birth rate is dropping, but almost every baby born is a girl! Hey, Mr. Author, is this genetic modification?'
Men, constantly put on a pedestal like royalty, had their noses high in the sky. Apparently, any random guy could date whatever woman he wanted.
The problem was that a significant number of men actively avoided women.
To think they actually detested sex...
And a man who could handle dating multiple women was treated like a natural monument...!
It was a paradise not just for an Alpha Male, but even for a Beta Male.
His mind was reeling.
"I should probably head to the clinic before the doctor comes looking for me, right?"
Dressed in all-black from head to toe and wearing a black cap, he stepped out the door.
The world outside looked no different from his original Earth.
Was this really a parallel universe? Was he still dreaming?
He pinched his forearm again, but it only stung.
Letting out an involuntary sigh, Ed started walking.
Since the clinic wasn't far, he planned to walk for some light exercise.
Perhaps because he had forced himself to eat despite gagging, he didn't stumble.
He just ground his teeth at the memory of the sheer hell he had endured over the past month.
'It should take about fifteen minutes on foot, right?'
Just as he was thinking how fortunate it was that his only issue was his body instinctively tensing up, he felt eyes on him from all directions.
Lifting his head slightly, he noticed women passing by stealing glances at him.
Rummaging through his memories, he recalled that Saebyeok had only ever traveled to the clinic by calling a taxi right to his doorstep.
This was the first time in a long while that he was exposed to the streets completely unprotected, and it happened to be rush hour.
Deciding he couldn't live cowering forever, he squared his shoulders and looked up.
At his gaze, the passing women startled and quickly looked down.
'Why? Why are they avoiding my gaze?'
Just as he was starting to feel slightly annoyed, he heard whispering from behind.
"Wow... he's so handsome."
"Is he a foreigner? He's so tall, too."
"Should I... should I talk to him?"
"Are you crazy? What if he reports you!"
"It's not like I have a face that screams 'call the cops,' right?"
"You crazy bitch... look in a mirror."
"Hey!"
Ed almost burst out laughing at the conversation. Looking back, his past life hadn't been normal either, which made this experience feel even fresher.
As a global superstar, walking down a street normally had been out of the question, and even when he did go out, he was always surrounded by bodyguards.
'I used to be like this before my debut. It brings back memories.'
The gentle smile spreading across his face drew even more attention from the passing women.
Thanks to his sharp hearing, he could make out the murmuring voices. It was a pleasant stimulation that boosted his confidence.
Some women fidgeted with their phones, debating whether to approach him, while others stood frozen in place with their mouths agape.
Just as he was thinking how strange it was to see nothing but women, a heavily dressed-up man appeared.
He was decked out in luxury brands, but it was the epitome of casting pearls before swine.
Setting aside his protruding belly and short limbs, his skin-tight leather pants were an eyesore. Beside him stood a woman who looked utterly anxious.
"Hey! Didn't I tell you not to follow me?"
"Honey... I'm sorry."
An ugly man and a beautiful woman!
They seemed to be a couple.
He felt tempted to just stop and watch the spectacle.
Whatever she had done wrong, the woman kept begging for forgiveness while the man repeatedly snorted in disdain.
Letting out a dry chuckle, Ed tried to pass them by, only to lock eyes with the apologizing woman.
"Uh... Uh..."
Speechless, she stammered as if her brain had short-circuited. Her partner, annoyed, turned to look at Ed and grew even more irritated.
"I...! I don't even want to look at you!"
"Ah, no! Honey! Honey!"
Had he suddenly become a homewrecker?
Ed shook his head.
"This world is seriously crazy..."