Chapter 42
Chapter 42
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Going Back (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I left the hospital and headed straight home.
There was a lot to think about.
"Student, where to?"
Feeling a small surge of gratitude for the taxi driver calling me "student," my phone buzzed with a text as I headed home.
An unfamiliar number, but the content was from someone I knew.
- Doctor: Ah, Legend. I have something to say, so I texted separately. Is that alright?
This doctor really only thinks about his patients.
Even after I'd left the hospital, seeing him still checking in filled me with gratitude.
Did getting up in the middle of the consultation bother him that much?
He didn't need to worry about it.
- Doctor: Have there been any major changes in your emotional state recently?
- Doctor: I forgot to ask about that too.
A major change in emotional state.
...I had some idea.
I exchanged a few texts with the doctor.
"We're here. You can get out."
"Ah, thanks. Here's the payment."
I handed my phone over to the driver.
To use the "Pay" function I'd learned from Myth not long ago.
Man, what an era—phones doubling as transit cards and debit cards.
"Still pretty cold out."
The house felt a bit chilly when I got back.
The trip home hadn't felt that cold.
Unusually chilly.
I'd never really felt the cold before, even when it was frigid.
"Is it because she's not here?"
Maybe it really was.
It felt strange.
I'd taken her presence so for granted that I hadn't noticed, but just a few hours without her left this aching emptiness.
Maybe it was because of what the doctor said—now I felt unnecessarily anxious.
I threw myself onto the bed without properly undressing or washing up.
Even as the soft mattress enveloped me, my mind wouldn't settle.
'Have there been any major changes in your emotional state recently?'
I recalled the doctor's words.
A change in emotional state.
There was only one thing like that.
I thought back to that Valentine's Day.
The sweetness of it still lingered on my tongue.
"Guess I need to muster some courage."
Words I wanted to say, things I wanted to do.
Was the reason I never said them all this time just anxiety?
I closed my eyes.
Sleep wouldn't come, but I forced myself to try.
To recharge for tomorrow's courage.
The next day after leaving the hospital.
"It's been a while."
I stood in front of a certain building.
A school—my alma mater.
The massive sign reading Seongji High welcomed me at the gate.
"Come to think of it, it's only been like three or four months, right?"
Yeah, thinking about it.
It'd been a while, but not that long.
After waking up, I'd kept saying I'd visit, but this was my first time actually coming.
"Hey! Pass! Pass it!"
"What? You're three-hair. No pass for you."
"Fuck you!"
"Get lost."
Even in the dead of winter, students were energetically playing soccer at school.
Their name tags showed they were high school seniors.
Makes sense—seniors don't get real breaks.
Probably relieving stress during lunch or free periods.
I headed into the school grounds.
Just as I was about to enter the building, someone called out to stop me.
"Hey, who are you?"
The security guard was just doing his job.
How should I explain myself?
Alumnus?
But I never got my diploma.
No better word for it, so I was honest.
"I'm an alum from the Class of XXX. Was passing by and got nostalgic, so I stopped in."
"Oh yeah? Class of XXX—that's seven years ago. You've got some school spirit. Alright then."
"Yes, thanks for your work."
The guard didn't press further.
I took off my shoes and put them in the teachers' shoe rack.
"Feels kinda weird."
Back in student days, you'd carry your shoes to the rack by your classroom.
Putting mine in the teachers' rack was a first.
In the seven years since waking up, I'd tried not to think about the past.
But now that I was here, it didn't feel bad at all.
Students running around, the scratch of pens on notebooks... didn't really hear any.
Kids these days study on tablets, huh? Guess it's true.
Click-clack.
The tapping of tablets instead of pen scratches felt oddly novel.
"Hasn't changed much."
My socked feet on the wooden floor brought a strange sensation.
There were visitor slippers, but I wanted to feel this.
Even after seven years, the building was the same.
Of course it was.
Liking the feel, I let my feet lead the way.
Before I knew it, I was in front of a certain class.
Senior Year Class 4.
My old class.
Seemed the room number hadn't changed.
Then someone called out to me.
"Hey, who are you?"
A face I'd never seen.
Behind a student in gym clothes staring blankly at me were a few more.
Ah, yeah, they exist.
The action-first-think-later types who jump in whenever something happens.
Every class has at least one.
Guess a suspicious guy wandering the senior floor caught their attention—they were investigating.
What if I was suspicious? Brave kids.
"A senior. A pretty old one."
"Oh, an alum?"
"Didn't graduate, but... close enough."
"Ah... circumstances?"
Chatting up a stranger like this.
Good social skills.
Felt strange.
Just months ago, I was one of them living here, but realizing seven years had passed made these kids look like actual children.
"Hey! Why are you yapping in the hall? Didn't you hear the bell?!"
"Whoa?! Teacher, it's not fair! There was a suspicious guy, so we came out!"
Someone yelled from behind me.
A familiar voice, but not one of the teachers.
...Where do I know it from? Can't quite remember.
"Suspicious guy? Now that you mention it, you're not in uniform. Who are you?"
"Well, I'm—"
Can't let these kids get chewed out unfairly.
I turned to face the teacher.
"Huh."
"Ah...?"
We both froze.
A familiar face greeted me.
My high school friend from back then, Kim Dojun, was standing there. He hadn't aged much in seven years.
He'd said he was becoming a teacher, and damn, he actually did.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart started trembling. Racing. Pounding.
What if he doesn't recognize me?
What if he asks why I'm showing up now?
Logically, I knew he wouldn't say that, but my mind flooded with crazy anxiety anyway.
Damn.
I was more on edge than I thought.
Forcing my eyes away, I realized anew how Myth's presence had kept me steady until now.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
No confidence to see his next move.
"Uh, you..."
It didn't take long to realize my worries and delusions were baseless.
"Y-you... Leg-Leg-Legend...?"
Thud, clatter.
The attendance book hit the floor and rolled.
Ignoring it completely, he charged at me.
"Dude, you—you're real?!"
"Legend's a pretty unique name."
"Dude! Dude dude dude!!!!! Dude!!!!"
His reaction was so perfect, a joke slipped out before I knew it.
Whether I said it or not, Dojun started patting me all over.
"You—you're real, right?! Not a ghost or something?!"
"Sophomore year, on that school trip, you downed a can of Horoyoi in Japan before confessing—"
"Waaah! I believe you, I believe!"
He freaked out and threw me into a headlock.
It hurt like seven years ago, scrapping in the hallway, but it felt just like back then, and I ended up laughing without realizing.
"Wh-what. You didn't wake up and turn that way, did you?"
"Shut up. Kids are watching."
"Oh, right."
Dojun finally noticed all the seniors crowded in the hall, spectating as the teacher and mystery man laughed and tussled. He hurriedly let go.
"Dude, let's head to the staff room first."
"What about the kids? Do your job, man."
"Whatever. It's winter break self-study anyway. Hey! All of you back inside! Class rep, if anyone's talking, write 'em down—I'll buy ice cream for every one I catch!"
"Ooh, sounding like a teacher now."
"Save my face, man. C'mon, let's go."
We headed to the staff room.
Of course, kids this age don't listen to teachers.
Valuing curiosity over empty ice cream promises, they swarmed, blocking our path.
"Shoo shoo. You lot gonna self-study or not?"
"What's up, teacher? A friend?"
"Bestie. Been seven years since I last saw him—circumstances."
"Ooooh! Teacher has friends too."
"Brats—self-study or I call the department head?"
Screech! Waaah!
Scared teachers are terrifying in any era, huh?
The kids panicked and fled back to class.
"Pfft!"
"Why're you laughing?"
"Reminded me of our high school days."
"Nah? I was the model student back then."
"...Wanna spill some high school stories right here in the hall."
"Heh, no can do, jerk. Hurry up."
We chatted idly, chilled air blowing in through the open hallway windows.
This moment felt just like being students again, and my lips curved up without me noticing.
Poke—I jabbed his side.
"Why hit me, dude."
"Just... happy."
"...Dude, that's not my thing."
"What. Not mine either—buzz off."
Even this banal banter was fun; my smile had no intention of fading.