No, I'm Not Seon Woo-hyun
5 a.m.
I opened my eyes with the sound of my alarm.
The light streaming in from the window was still hazy.
Winter had only just ended, after all.
"Haaam."
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and forced them open.
...Sooop. I'd only gotten up this early when I was at the factory.
Honestly, I didn't want to get up.
I wanted to stay in bed just a little longer, but I couldn't.
Today was the day I promised myself I'd wake up early for a light jog.
I struggled against the oncoming flood of drowsiness, forcing my body upright.
I opened the door, splashed my face lightly with water, slipped on my shoes, and stepped outside.
Even though my parents hadn't woken up yet, going out alone made me feel oddly refreshed.
"This is the so-called 'new life' thing."
I'd never done anything like this in my entire life.
Morning exercise?
When I was in school I'd game until late at night after my part-time job to blow off steam.
When I worked at the factory I'd drink or watch web novels or internet streams until I fell asleep late.
Of course, I'd be too tired for the next day's school or factory shift.
Doing something as strange as waking up early for light exercise felt like a completely foreign concept to me.
'This life, I'm going to live it differently.'
But since I'd made that promise, I wanted to do it properly.
I started studying hard, and I even applied to the cluster group.
But that was only about academics.
I knew I also needed to take care of my health and exercise.
Especially with time on my hands—no job, young age, and a good physique in this life.
If I kept up with steady exercise, it would help me in the future.
I'd also end up with a body worth looking at.
'If your body's good, romance should be easier, right?'
Enjoying youth like this required both fitness and good looks.
Maybe the reason my past self had failed was right there.
'No matter how much I focused on work and paying off debts.'
Or at part-time jobs.
At work, too, there weren't many opportunities to meet girls.
I just didn't have the energy, physically or otherwise, to bother.
And by ignoring my appearance under the excuse of "not the time yet," maybe that was why opportunities never came.
Of course, even if I went back to being Kim Yun-su now, I didn't have the resolve to do that.
I knew it, but it wasn't something that could be done easily.
But right now, I was Seon Woo-hyun.
I was in a psychologically and physically much more comfortable environment than before.
If I didn't change even in this environment, I'd just be the useless guy I'd always been.
"Let's start with running. Slowly."
PT or something.
Or quit the gym right away.
As a student, I thought it was better to start light rather than take on expensive stuff that would burden me.
Build up the basics first. Once my stamina improved, I could move on to strength training.
Trying to do too much too soon would just lead to easy quitting.
Learning to take things one step at a time was wisdom from life itself.
"Hoo... hoo..."
I'd seen something like this somewhere before, so I continued with jumping while controlling my breathing.
After running for less than five minutes, my body knew from experience how effortlessly Seon Woo-hyun had lived his life.
...How is it even possible to die in under five minutes?
My breathing was ragged, and my heart was hammering like it might burst.
Sweat poured down, and painful muscle cramps surged through my legs and feet.
'This guy. His appearance is fine, but his soul is completely empty.'
On the surface he looked like he did a lot of exercise.
But seeing him pant after just five minutes of running told me how little he'd actually worked out.
That was probably less stamina than my past self.
'After all, all he did was game and fight at home all the time.'
And judging by how Seon Woo-hyun was described in the original story.
Seon Woo-hyun was just like those aimless Korean high school boys.
He didn't do much that helped his life—whether studying or exercising.
"...Huff... huff... You were exactly like me."
But that would change now.
After all, Seon Woo-hyun was me now.
I couldn't change everything in an instant, but I could take it one slow step at a time.
I had more time here than I did before.
As I moved my legs while catching my breath, I ran in one direction for a long time until I spotted a stream in the distance.
'Is that the Yeonseongcheon?'
In the city of Seon Woo-hyun lived one stream that cut through the neighborhood.
That was Yeonseongcheon.
It was also the place where Yoon Tae-jun took his heroines on dates, so I remembered it well.
...I thought Yeonseongcheon had a nice walking course.
The course was fully equipped with bike and walking tracks, so I recalled how locals always went out for walks.
Naturally, I turned my feet toward it.
Since I was going to run anyway, running with good air and scenery seemed better.
As I entered the Yeonseongcheon track marked in red, I spotted a few people walking or jogging up ahead.
And right in front of me, a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail was running.
"Hoo... hoo..."
I didn't know how long she'd been running.
But the girl ran at a steady pace without a single breath out of rhythm.
Her tight training clothes clung slightly to her black top.
Even if I hadn't wanted to look, the beautiful muscles underneath were visible.
Especially her hips and thighs, which had the perfect lines of a statue.
'She's really fast.'
She looked much shorter than me, but her running speed was almost the same.
Plus, her form was a bit different from a normal person's.
Even an amateur like me could tell her posture was special at a glance.
Her upright torso and head facing straight forward, perpendicular to the ground.
Each foot landing with smooth motion, like she was dancing.
It wasn't that my running looked awkward or hard compared to hers.
It was just too natural, like she'd been born to run.
Entranced by that sight, I kept running and even forgot that I was the one running.
"Uwaaaak!"
I stepped into a groove in the track and tumbled straight to the ground.
It was with a strangely loud scream.
Since I was giving it my all, my speed wasn't slow.
So I basically rolled on the floor, and naturally my legs and thighs throbbed with pain from scraping the track.
"Aaaah. It hurts."
I ended up lying on the track, staring at my bloody knee and scraped leg.
Suddenly a refreshing voice came from behind.
"...Over there."
It was the girl's voice.
If Han Si-a's voice was mesmerizing and beautiful, Nam Yu-ri's was graceful and clear.
And this girl's voice was... what could I say?
Quiet and straightforward, yet as clear as a bead rolling across the floor.
"Are you okay?"
The girl asked me with concern in her voice.
She must have stopped her run to check on me after seeing my big scream and tumble.
Of course, anyone would have been worried about such a big fall.
It wasn't a light trip like when someone falls behind while running.
It was a full-blown tumble.
I probably would have turned around too if I'd fallen like that.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Thank you for checking on me."
I turned my head to thank a kind-hearted woman.
Then the girl's face I'd missed because she was running ahead came into view.
Her silky hair cascading from under the cap.
And her delicate-looking face with a sharp jawline.
Her skin slightly tanned from long years of exercise.
And those signature dimples.
I knew right away who she was.
'Seo Da-eun?'
The last heroine of 'Our Romcom'.
The one who confessed to Yoon Tae-jun the latest.
No wonder she ran so well.
Seo Da-eun was a member of the school track team.
A track athlete since elementary school.
She was well known as the "track goddess" on social media and one of the famous faces at school.
Embarrassed by the fact that I'd fallen in front of a girl from the same class, I quickly turned my head.
"N-no, I'm fine now. You can go."
Please, don't look at my face.
She might remember my face, but we were still in the same class.
I hid my face, thinking it would be better if she hadn't seen it or couldn't remember.
But she actually looked a little surprised and glanced sideways at me, as if my hiding my face was strange.
"Um... hey."
Her tone switched to informal speech.
No way.
Feeling a bad premonition, I timidly lifted my head.
"You... are you Seon Woo-hyun from 2-6?"
As the saying went, whenever a bad feeling appeared, it was always right.
I hurriedly changed my voice to pretend I wasn't me.
"I'm not that guy."
Perfect.
It was the ugliest voice in the world, so the other person would definitely think it wasn't me.
Just as I sighed in relief, a "Pfft" laugh slipped out from her cold face.
"Pfft."
She really was prettier when she smiled.
A gentle smile curved from her new impression, making her whole expression look completely different.
"Um... I get that you're embarrassed, but do you have to hide like that?"
Swish.
How did she know?
My face burned red, and I couldn't lift my head in front of her for a while.