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# Chapter 2. I Became a Genius International Student
August 2020.
Hyunsoo was seventeen again.
‘This feels so strange.’
Anyone who had experienced regression would understand.
When you suddenly become thirty years younger overnight, no matter how much it is your own body, it feels as though
you've entered someone else's body entirely.
Especially for Hyunsoo, who had spent years living in the darkness of complete paralysis, unable to feel anything, the
difference was even greater after regaining the vigorous(?) body of a seventeen-year-old.
‘Still, humans really do adapt.’
Even so, Hyunsoo adapted quickly.
First, he indulged in all the things he had been unable to do because of his physical limitations.
“Son! I told you to put the toilet seat up before you pee!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
He went to the bathroom without anyone's help.
“Son! Come eat.”
“Huh? There's no meat—agh!”
“Complaining about the side dishes? Maybe if I starve you for three days, you'll learn some manners.”
“Wow, it's fit for a king. I am deeply honored by your grace.”
He ate his meals with his own hands.
“But why have you been exercising so much lately? Is there a sports team you're thinking about joining?”
He exercised every day until he was drenched in sweat.
It felt as though he were finally casting away all the regrets of his previous life.
“W-What are you doing? That's embarrassing.”
“Hahaha. Still, I can't say I dislike it.”
And once a day, Hyunsoo made sure to hug his parents.
‘Thank you.’
They were the two people who had devoted themselves to caring for their hopeless son, who was nearing fifty.
Hadn't they once said that their greatest wish was to die just one day after their son?
‘Thank you.’
Every night, Hyunsoo shed tears of gratitude that he had been given the chance to return to the past.
There was no longer any sadness lingering in his parents' eyes.
The ordinary family life he had longed for.
There was only one thing he regretted...
‘No matter how much I search through my phone, I don't have a single girl's number.’
There was something he had really wanted to try once he recovered his health...
Since he had remained single until the very last day of his life, things were no different even at seventeen.
“Phew.”
---
Hyunsoo's family had immigrated to America roughly a year before the present day.
‘Back then, I was young, so I was simply excited about going abroad to study. But looking back now, what my parents
sacrificed was enormous.’
Ever since he was young, Hyunsoo had been a talented and versatile student who was good at both studying and sports and
had excellent dexterity.
Until elementary school, he attended various academies and showed off his many talents, but as he advanced through
school, he was increasingly forced to choose and focus.
“Your child is really intelligent. How about having him study hard and prepare for academic competitions?”
Hyunsoo also enjoyed studying, so he stood out in international competitions and was scheduled to attend the prestigious
Minjok Leadership Academy.
But through a connection with a sponsor, a good opportunity arose in America as well.
“There is a high school that is extremely popular among America's upper class. It's a public school, but it's located in
the most expensive school district in the world, so every student comes from a wealthy family. Among them, the top one
percent, the scholarship students known as ‘elites,’ receive the best individualized curriculum. You don't have to give
up either academics or sports and the arts.”
An offer for a scholarship admission to Johannes High School.
‘I had no choice but to drop out after the accident, but looking back now, it really was an excellent school.’
The large number of enrolled students meant that high school sports were highly developed, while the quality of
education was maintained at a world-class level.
It was possible because the school received astronomical amounts of funding, even more than some prestigious
universities.
“Son. Minjok Leadership Academy is also a good choice, but this opportunity to study in America seems a little more
suitable for you. The various experiences you have while you're young will become a great asset throughout your life. If
you think it over carefully and make your decision, I'll support you no matter what you choose.”
At the time, Korea had drawn a clear line between different fields. If you were interested in sports and the arts, you
focused on that. If you were interested in academics, you focused on studying.
But Johannes High School boasted a world-class, balanced education system across every field.
Of course, Hyunsoo was already excited by the possibility of studying abroad.
“Yes! I want to go. I'll work hard.”
Naturally, he chose to attend Johannes High School, and Hyunsoo's family began preparing to immigrate.
‘Didn't Dad say that families should live together?’
Hyunsoo could have gone abroad to study alone, but because of his father's strong insistence, the entire family
immigrated together.
His father even gave up his executive position at a sizable company and used the money he had saved as their settlement
funds.
‘I had only heard people say it was expensive, but I never imagined it would be this expensive.’
When he was seventeen, he hadn't had much of a concept of money, so he hadn't understood. But looking at it now, Silicon
Valley had been just as expensive in the past as it was in the future.
First of all, America's basic residential unit was a house. Even to Hyunsoo's family, who were accustomed to apartments,
a small and old house cost the equivalent of two billion won.
On top of that, health insurance, car insurance, utilities, and various living expenses were among the most expensive in
the world.
‘My parents gave up everything for my education.’
Hyunsoo had lived almost as long as his parents had, so he understood the weight of that sacrifice.
Immigrating to America in your fifties, where the language and culture were completely different?
Giving up a comfortable middle-to-upper-class life in Korea to do so?
Of course, his father had seen potential in a business he was working on with several partners, but everything came to a
sudden halt when Hyunsoo got into the accident.
His father had no choice but to urgently take over a failing laundromat. He needed a way to make money immediately while
minimizing the chances of failure.
Fortunately, the laundromat, which introduced a Korean-style service system, did fairly well. But as the medical bills
piled up rapidly, his father worked late into the night without even taking weekends off.
That was why, later on, Hyunsoo barely saw his father until his company became established. After that, Hyunsoo himself
became too busy to spend time with his family.
‘What had I been in such a hurry for?’
He had always been grateful, but he felt that he had been poor at expressing it.
He had pushed himself relentlessly, telling himself that he had to heal his body for his family.
But had he overlooked something more important all that time?
‘A second life that came like a miracle. This time, things have to be different.’
For several weeks, Hyunsoo looked back on his past and deeply contemplated how he would live from now on.
If the events of the future unfolded exactly as he remembered them, he wouldn't have to worry about money.
If he wanted, he was confident he could become the greatest conglomerate leader the world had ever seen, one who would
never appear again.
He even made some plans for a moment, but...
The biggest problem was that his heart wasn't in it.
In his previous life, he had accumulated tens of trillions of won in wealth and even gained worldwide honor by receiving
the Nobel Prize.
Achievements he had spent his entire life burning himself out to accomplish.
All of it had vanished the moment he regressed, but...
He didn't feel even the slightest regret.
If anything, he was happier now.
He had regained a healthy body and recovered the time he had lost.
“If I hadn't been in that accident that day, what kind of life would I have lived?”
It was a question that had tormented him relentlessly for his entire life.
For Hyunsoo, nightmares were actually dreams in which his body was perfectly healthy. Dreams that were so happy he never
wanted to wake up.
Then why were they nightmares?
No matter how vivid the dream was, the moment would eventually come when he woke up.
And the emptiness he felt at that moment was so overwhelming that it was enough to drive him toward mental illness.
Because reality was a cesspool.
No matter how much money and fame he gained...
He still wasn't free in his own body.
‘Let's forget the past now.’
Hyunsoo's 고민 was long, but the conclusion was simple.
“Let's live an ordinary life now, too.”
Be a good son to his parents and take better care of himself.
Go to school like an ordinary seventeen-year-old and experience dating at least once.
What did I like?
What was I good at?
Instead of living fiercely as though something were constantly chasing him, like he had in his previous life, this time
he would simply let himself follow the natural flow of things.
‘I'm entitled to that now, aren't I?’
An ordinary, simple life.
Hyunsoo decided that this time, he would properly overwrite the painful memories created by the accident.
---
“Huh?”
Jessie, whose appearance was beautiful enough to resemble a doll, let out a sigh as she looked at her iPad.
“What happened?”
“I got another student assigned to me. My schedule is already completely hellish this semester!”
A student's profile appeared on Jessie's screen.
Kyle, who was lying on his bed playing a game, glanced at it once before quickly losing interest.
“He's Asian.”
“Is that all you have to say? He's a scholarship student who almost got demoted to an ordinary student last year.”
“Cackle, cackle. Really? Looks like becoming student president got you stepping in shit right from the beginning of your
term.”
Only then did he show some interest and add,
“Didn't your previous student almost drag down your GPA because he screwed up too?”
“That damn shit! Is there anything in your head besides shit? Ah, seriously, why does our school have to evaluate
leadership, too, and make people's lives miserable?”
“What kind of guy is he this time?”
“That's the worst part. He's a typical Asian international student. A bookworm who's spent his entire life studying like
crazy. Apparently, his pronunciation is terrible and his conversational English is an absolute mess. What good is being
great at math or science? It says here in red letters that whenever he has to give a presentation or participate in a
discussion, he's barely good enough to avoid failing.”
“Ahhh. His name was Hyun, right? I remember him. He's a sophomore this year, isn't he? I think he was the class clown
during PE because he had terrible athletic ability.”
The two of them carefully examined Hyunsoo's photograph.
“He looks perfectly normal. Why did someone like him even come to America? I mean, I get that he must have been good
enough in his own country to receive a scholarship, but why would he come here to make things harder for himself?”
“So what's your role?”
“That's the most ridiculous part. First, I have to improve his English. Since he's a freshman and it was his first year
as an immigrant, they went easy on him last year. But if he doesn't demonstrate scholarship-level ability by this year,
he's being demoted unconditionally. Worst case, they'll expel him.”
“Cackle, cackle. Then your leadership grade will drop by one level.”
“Shut up. The second condition is even worse. They want me to get him registered on a sports team. Any sport will do.
Are they insane?”
“A sports team? With an Asian physique? Pfft, hahahaha!”
Kyle burst out laughing, rolling around on the bed.
“You're laughing? You think this is funny?”
“If you were in my position, would you be able to keep a straight face? Pfft, hahaha. This is basically an assassination
attempt. You can forget about graduating with a perfect GPA, too.”
“Ah, damn it.”
Jessie roughly messed up her blonde hair. Seeing that, Kyle wiped away his tears and desperately tried to suppress his
laughter.
“Don't worry too much. They aren't asking you to make him a starter. He's not particularly short for an Asian, so if you
just put him through some basic physical training, some less popular sport will probably take him. If nothing works,
send him to our football team. We're always short on players.”
“No, when am I supposed to have time for that? I don't have time to tutor him in English, and I don't have time to train
him physically either. I'm a senior. They could at least show me some consideration instead of dumping this landmine on
me.”
She continued complaining for quite some time.
Whenever she did, Kyle teased her appropriately, and the two of them bickered back and forth for a long while.
“Who knows? Maybe he worked hard during the vacation and completely changed. Maybe his English is good now and he's
athletic, too. So don't worry about it in advance.”
“...You need to get hit.”
Jessie eventually couldn't stand Kyle spouting such cliché nonsense straight out of a movie and proceeded to beat him
thoroughly.
---
Jessie was plagued by nightmares until the very first day of the new semester.
Her chronic perfectionism was the culprit.
It gave her the drive to accomplish anything through sheer determination, but at the same time, if something was
destined to fail, it made her want to avoid it even if it meant dying.
“Jessie. Failure is simply a process you go through in life. What's important is how you get back up after experiencing
failure. Whether you refuse to give up until you succeed despite everything.”
She calmed herself by recalling her father's words, but she still couldn't feel any better.
‘This disgusting feeling... No matter how much experience I have, I never get used to it.’
With a heavy heart, she held her first mentor meeting with her assigned student.
“Hyun? I'm Jessie.”
Her first impression of Hyunsoo was good, at least.
‘He looks better than I expected.’
He looked better in person than in the photograph. His facial features were exceptionally attractive, yet his overall
appearance was masculine.
He was also six feet one inch tall, or 185 centimeters, which was quite tall for an Asian.
‘And surprisingly confident, too.’
She decided to start by giving Hyunsoo a simple English test.
She had read his profile, but she needed to determine firsthand just how far below standard his English really was.
But then something very strange happened.
“This is the first time we've actually talked, right? I was really busy last year...”
Jessie casually started the conversation, but the moment Hyunsoo saw her, he asked with an expression full of suspicion,
“Vice President Jessie L. Goldstein?”
Only after seeing Jessie's puzzled gaze did Hyunsoo regain his senses and awkwardly smile.
“Ah... Sorry, sorry. I'm a foreigner, so my English is a little lacking. You're not the Vice President, but the Student
President, right?”
“...”
For someone who had supposedly made a mistake, his English while making the excuse was far too fluent.
Jessie stared at Hyunsoo with even deeper suspicion.
“But how did you know my middle name? I've never revealed it to anyone around here. Were you stalking me?”
“Huh?”
The current student president and a remarkable woman who would one day become the Vice President of the United States.
Jessie Goldstein and Hyunsoo's second(?) first meeting seemed to have gotten off to a bad start.
---
Hyunsoo noticed several strange things after regressing.
Of course, the very premise that he had regressed was strange enough...
But during his regression, he had somehow gained an extraordinary memory.
‘I was pretty shocked myself.’
Humans are creatures of forgetfulness.
If it's a memory you don't normally recall, you won't remember it after a year, let alone yesterday.
But Hyunsoo had gone back thirty years, yet he knew exactly where his current home was. Even without using an app, he
could accurately find his way through complicated streets.
Not only that, he remembered the password to the phone he had used in 2020, what he had done yesterday, and every single
conversation he had with his parents, without missing a single word.
No.
Rather than saying he remembered, it would be more accurate to say he simply knew.
The information surfaced naturally without him having to rummage through his memories.
‘Is this even possible?’
At first, he had tried to rationalize it by assuming that because he had returned to the body of his seventeen-year-old
self, the memories of the present had also been restored intact.
But after meeting Jessie Goldstein again, he became even more certain.
‘Born July 7, 2004. Has one male sibling, a fraternal twin. Graduated valedictorian from Johannes High School in 2022.
Went to Stanford, then entered politics and made a series of unconventional moves before eventually becoming the Vice
President of the United States... She was also one of the angel investors who first invested in my company.’
The moment he saw her, every conversation they had shared in the past—or rather, would share in the future because he
had regressed—came flooding back.
He vividly remembered the path Jessie would take in the future, as well as exactly when each event would happen, down to
the date and time.
‘Is this what perfect memory is?’
Hyunsoo himself was startled, and without realizing it, he called her by her future position.
Vice President.
Fortunately, “Vice President” wasn't used solely to mean the vice president of a country. It was also commonly used to
refer to a vice chairman, so he wasn't treated as some incredibly strange person.
“Your middle name? It was in the school's monthly magazine. I saw it in a column with a brief Q&A interview with you.”
This time, he didn't make a mistake.
‘The October 2019 issue. Colin saw the interview and asked Jessie what her middle name was and who had given it to her.
She didn't want to reveal it, so she only answered with the initial L. It was exactly on the bottom right section of the
third page.’
Related information surfaced automatically.
Perfect memory.
Jessie silently nodded.
“Your English is pretty good, huh?”
For some reason, she seemed particularly interested in Hyunsoo's English ability.
“So, shall we go to the testing center now? You know there's a level test on the first day, right?”