The Seat Swap
I’ve been thinking about something heavy all morning. You.
The guy who’d been wrestling with half-eaten spaghetti and his local accent turned to me and asked.
I snapped out of the thoughts spinning in my head and looked at him.
That soft, round-glassed face.
It’s seriously good-looking.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was always Yoon Tae-jun.
His gentle, almost too-sweet speech could melt the hearts of every girl around him.
Hearing it made my guy chest a little uncomfortable.
“What?”
“You’re acting weird. Ever since you showed up at the cafeteria and just ate with your mouth shut.”
“Then what am I, some kind of walking broadcaster who never stops yapping?”
“You used to always be like that. Blabbing nonsense all the time.”
I was transported into the novel.
At first I thought I was dreaming, but the moment I followed Yoon Tae-jun to the cafeteria and tasted real kimchi, I knew I wasn’t.
Kids’ loud voices drifting from the dining hall.
A warm, rich scent rolling off the guy in front of me.
The satisfying crunch of kimchi between my teeth.
These weren’t the kind of sensations you could dream up.
After ten minutes of mindless chewing, I had to admit it.
That I’d actually been reincarnated.
I don’t know how the system worked, but I was here—inside the world of the novel.
Maybe the god who granted my wish to go back to that time had made it happen.
The first thing I did after realizing I’d been possessed was check.
I had to verify what body I was now in.
And I didn’t even need to try.
The guy in front of me kept calling me by name.
Because Yoon Tae-jun had only one friend who sat next to him every single day.
That friend was Seon Woo-hyun.
A man has to be serious sometimes, Tae-jun-ah.
“…Yeah. You talk like that.”
This time it wasn’t nonsense. It was real.
Anyway, that was the personality of the Seon Woo-hyun character I’d become.
The so-called comedy relief.
You see it all the time in romcoms.
The sidekick who sits next to the protagonist every day, spouting dumb jokes.
He stirs up tension among the supporting cast, pulls pranks, and causes all kinds of chaos.
Seon Woo-hyun was the textbook definition.
He was friendly with everyone, boys and girls alike, and always ready for a fight.
Yet he was also the protagonist’s ride-or-die best friend, the guy who delivered endless laughs from the sidelines.
And he was the hidden supporter who secretly helped the main character.
Damn, why this guy?
If they were going to give me a body, why not the protagonist?
Why this unpopular Seon Woo-hyun?
Sitting next to him was funny, but the character lacked seriousness.
There was actually a reason, but on the surface he really was like that.
His charm was high, but he was the kind of guy who’d casually drop comments like “Hey, why were you so full today? Gaining weight?” to girls without a second thought.
He was missing that delicate, serious edge.
So he was stuck with the label of “too lighthearted and immature” for the heroines of 'Our Romcom', and he never even made it to rival position.
He wasn’t even in the top ten popularity polls, right?
He was the kind of character you felt sorry for when he was absent, but that didn’t mean he was popular or likable.
The one silver lining was that his build was pretty solid.
Not devastatingly handsome, but he had a handsome face that fit right next to the protagonist.
And he was at least an inch taller than Yoon Tae-jun.
Among same-age guys, he ranked on the taller side.
Even this part of me is the same.
I felt a weird sense of kinship toward Seon Woo-hyun.
No popularity, but a decent build—there was a lot of overlap.
“What’s with you being so worried about me all of a sudden, Tae-jun.”
“Huh?”
“Gay? You like me?”
“Pfft. Cough, cough! Cough, cough!”
I watched Tae-jun choke on his beef brisket soup with a face full of disbelief, and burst out laughing.
Yeah, that was Seon Woo-hyun for you.
Even though the body had changed, I knew exactly how he acted.
Because the memories in this body made it surprisingly easy to slip into character.
But I couldn’t let the act slip too obviously.
There was nothing to gain from suspicion anyway.
If I suddenly acted nothing like Seon Woo-hyun, the other students would get confused.
So I decided to stick with the Seon Woo-hyun personality.
It would be easier to blend into class this way too.
Hmph. Cough. Cough. This is the first weird joke I’ve heard in my life.
“Then my jokes are just too damn good and you were too scared to let me drop them? That was your one and only joy in life, Tae-jun.”
“Please, Woo-hyun.”
“That’s not it. I had no other reason to joke around. I know everything, bro. How long have I been friends with you?”
“Just a year.”
“A year is enough for dynasties to rise and fall. You don’t know?”
“Ten years, then.”
When I dropped back into my original tempo, Tae-jun’s shoulders relaxed like a weight had been lifted.
Not that he was the protagonist or anything.
I knew Yoon Tae-jun better than anyone because he was the one character I’d always rooted for as a reader.
And there was no mistaking it—he’d been genuinely worried about me.
He was the kind of guy who treasured his friends.
“Don’t worry. I was just thinking about it.”
“What about?”
“I was wondering what kind of game to play when I get home. Something with a real story? Or a fun action?”
“Ugh. You’re right.”
“There’s no more productive way to worry than that.”
I smiled at him as he sighed, and he smiled back.
Looking at that face, I could almost fall in love.
No, wait. What the hell was I even thinking?
Even if Yoon Tae-jun looked feminine, that didn’t make me gay.
I wasn’t into guys.
“You do worry sometimes.”
“Of course I do. Do you think I live without a single thought?”
“You do.”
“Try dying.”
I shoved a handful of Vienna sausage into my mouth.
A small, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
It wasn’t bad at all.
For a guy like Seon Woo-hyun, this was practically a lucky break. Not a villain, not even an extra.
He might not become super popular like Yoon Tae-jun, but this life felt like it could be way better than the last one.
If I studied hard and worked at it from now on.
Most of all, I could finally enjoy the youth I’d never had before.
Who knows, maybe I could even get a girlfriend.
…I felt that thought sneak up on me without permission.
#
[Breaking News - Choi Je-gnam’s Girlfriend: Two?! All Fans in Shock!]
I walked down the hallway, scrolling through my phone news feed.
Oh, right, this was a thing too.
As I skimmed the article, the world of 'Our Romcom' came back to me.
'Our Romcom' wasn’t that different from a normal Korean web novel.
The only real deviation was that the story took the severe population decline and introduced legal polygamy and polyandry.
The idea was simple: if you could just get married and have kids, why cling to the old one-spouse system?
The policy probably came about because of Yoon Tae-jun.
The so-called author’s convenient setting.
Without him, one of those heroines sitting next to him would’ve been left out.
Of course, not everyone accepted the new system.
Some people used it, but most citizens still preferred the old rules.
Many still felt uneasy about having multiple wives or husbands.
The policy only made it legally possible.
In any case, multiple marriage required mutual consent, so it was believable in the novel.
Still, I’d always thought it was a well-crafted setting.
Creak.
Second-year, Class 6.
I pushed open the back door of our classroom and stepped inside.
When I scanned the seats, I spotted Yoon Tae-jun surrounded by two girls.
Jealous.
The world was clearly built around the protagonist.
Right now he was sandwiched between the two girls, laughing and talking like that.
And he’d probably win everyone’s consent—whether it was polygamy or something else.
I made my way to my seat, still thinking that.
Unfortunately, my seat was next to Yoon Tae-jun.
So I was forced to squeeze in between the girls by default.
“Eh, it’s Seon Woo-hyun.”
“Yeah. It’s me. First time seeing you, pig?”
“Aah! I’m not fat! It’s my chest! I’ve told you a thousand times!”
“You’re talking like a pig.”
“Seriously, Seon Woo-hyun, are you trying to die?”
I answered the girl who was pretending to know me.
I didn’t like it, but right now this was the right dynamic between me and Han Si-a.
We were friends, but the moment we had a chance we’d bicker like old enemies.
If I suddenly went sweet on her, she’d puke.
The blonde girl with bright brown circle lenses glared at me.
That girl was Han Si-a.
A gold earring dangled from her earlobe and a ring glinted on her right ring finger.
She wore the school uniform with an oversized blazer, but her chest was so large it strained the fabric.
The ultimate symbol of flashiness.
She had the perfect idol-trainee vibe.
She was the most popular fashion icon in the class.
Honestly, teasing her about being fat was a bit mean because of her figure.
But as an idol trainee, her reaction to “gaining weight” was perfect. There was no better target for teasing.
“You guys, knock it off. You two fight every time you meet.”
“Yeah, but Yu-ri, he started it…”
“Behave. Our good Si-a, be good. Got it?”
“Yeah… I’ll behave. Because Yu-ri said so.”
Han Si-a shot me a sharp glare, then huffed and turned away.
Han Si-a was one of the heroines I liked in 'Our Romcom', so it stung a little.
If we were fighting, the peacemaker had two choices.
One was obviously Yoon Tae-jun.
The other was the girl who looked ready to punch a polar bear—Nam Yu-ri.
Elegant black hair, slender figure.
Not as explosive as Si-a’s, but she entered the room and left it with perfect grace.
She was the classic Korean beauty.
Modest, pure, flawless student council president.
“Good. Si-a is behaving well.”
Grrrr.
Even now Si-a was growling like a puppy, and Yu-ri was the one holding her in check.
The two of them were that close.
Almost as close as Yoon Tae-jun and me.
“Student council meeting is in the student council room. I’m going to sleep.”
“It’s urgent, Woo-hyun. Just cut me some slack.”
I bowed my head like Seon Woo-hyun always did and rested it on the desk.
Nam Yu-ri spoke to me with her gentle tone.
As expected, Yoon Tae-jun was connected to every heroine because he was the romcom protagonist.
He was Si-a’s childhood friend and Yu-ri’s student council vice-president.
That was why meetings often happened right here in the classroom.
Si-a was probably the secretary.
“Hey, Seon Woo-hyun.”
“Yeah?”
The two of them were busy with meeting talk, so Si-a turned to the extra sitting next to her—me.
I looked up and gave her a blunt stare.
She’s seriously pretty.
In real life I wouldn’t have been able to talk to her at all.
I would’ve just stared at her like an idiot.
Maybe becoming Seon Woo-hyun was actually a lucky break.
“Our lunch break ends and the homeroom teacher’s class starts.”
“So?”
“Then they’re moving seats.”
“Oh, really?”
“Why are you so cold? You don’t care about seat swaps? Or is it because you’re worried about some girl?”
Of course she’s the popular type.
She seemed to love dramatic gossip.
And this was a golden opportunity for her.
“It sounds like there’s some guy you want to sit with.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that? Suddenly? There’s no basis and you’re speculating?”
That trembling in your eyes right now is proof.
Early in second-year semester.
At this point Si-a had a pretty big crush on her childhood friend Yoon Tae-jun.
She hadn’t admitted it was love yet, but she definitely felt something.
She was probably secretly hoping to sit next to him right now.
And she probably would.
That was how the original story went, and that was how romcoms worked.
“You two are having so much fun talking.”
“Ugh, you startled me. Stop creeping up like that.”
Yoon Tae-jun suddenly leaned over from beside me.
When I saw his face so close, I jumped.
Watching me react, he chuckled.
Si-a leaned back a little and muttered, like it was nothing.
“It’s nothing.”
“Si-a said she’s interested in seat swaps. Is there a guy you like?”
“What? No way~”
She blushed as she said it.
I studied her reaction and looked at Tae-jun’s face.
“Really? Who? Tell me too.”
His innocent face gave nothing away.
As the romcom protagonist, the way he acted like he already knew made me sigh internally.
You. You. You idiot.
“Why are you acting like that, Tae-jun? It’s not like that. Yu-ri, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Yeah. Want to come with?”
“Umm.”
Feeling embarrassed, he dragged Yu-ri along and bolted.
I watched Si-a’s retreating back and spoke to Tae-jun.
“Hey, I’m thirsty. Want to go get something at the vending machine?”
“Deal.”
I tossed out the random suggestion without thinking.
I had no idea how simply inviting Tae-jun to the vending machine during lunch would change our entire situation.
…
“So you’re saying my seat is right next to you now?”
Eh…
What the hell?
He should be sitting with Tae-jun.
Why is Si-a sitting next to me?