Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Nucleus of Change (3)
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Each class naturally formed groups and headed toward the mountain entrance behind the dorm.
The mountain just before complete darkness settled in.
The student council must have prepared diligently while we ate dinner. Portable lights were set up at the entrance, and markers lined the path.
The course followed the back mountain up to the endpoint for a stamp, then back down.
I set off quickly with Jeong Suhyun.
"We'll head out first."
"Uh... yeah. Have a safe trip."
Seo Jaehyun nodded in a daze.
Finish fast and slip to the back. No need to linger unnecessarily.
We swiftly navigated the mountain path.
My guess that Jeong Suhyun wouldn't be scared of this was spot on.
Student council kids popped out in ghost costumes from behind trees or rocks midway, but neither she nor I flinched.
"..."
"..."
"Should we keep going?"
"...Yeah. Next time, at least pretend to be startled."
"Got it, sorry."
The endpoint came quicker than expected.
We stamped the ink on the table, got confirmation, and turned right back.
The descent was even faster than the climb.
In the meantime, it looked like Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu had started.
"What now?"
Jeong Suhyun tilted her head up slightly to look at me.
"Wanna hit the convenience store?"
"...Can we?"
"I'll buy."
"What, luring a kindergartener?"
"So, no?"
"...Why does it sound so obnoxious coming from you?"
I nudged Jeong Suhyun's back and we headed to the convenience store together.
After killing time there, we returned to the back mountain entrance, but it seemed trouble had already brewed.
"Someone from another class is missing?"
"Who?"
"You know, Lee Seol."
Seo Jaehyun, who had just come down the mountain, overheard and bolted right back up the path.
...She'll be fine, right?
"Whoa..."
Jeong Suhyun swallowed softly beside me. She'd probably heard the same from another group.
"Shouldn't we look for her too?"
"Let's wait till they decide and move together."
"Since when do you follow orders so well?"
"If we wander off and get lost, it'll just cause more problems."
Jeong Suhyun thought for a moment, then nodded. She glanced at the darkened path.
"But Seo Jaehyun just charged right in. What do we do...?"
"..."
The guts training ended abruptly.
Only teachers would search for Lee Seol; other students were to descend and wait near the entrance.
I stood at the entrance with Jeong Suhyun, Ji Hyunsu, and Woo Hana from another class.
Woo Hana was originally paired with Lee Seol to climb but felt ill right before starting and rested nearby. That's when she heard Lee Seol had vanished on the mountain.
Soon, even the police arrived.
As worry grew that this might turn into a real crisis, someone shouted.
"They found her!"
The murmurs converged in one direction, heads turning in unison.
Two figures emerged from the darkness.
Seo Jaehyun, with Lee Seol leaning on his shoulder as they descended.
Lee Seol was stepping gingerly on one foot, and Seo Jaehyun matched her pace, moving slowly.
Her partner, close with the student council, had stayed behind to chat after stamping, so Lee Seol went down alone first and twisted her ankle.
After a brief explanation to the teachers, the two headed our way.
"You okay?"
Woo Hana rushed over and draped her blanket over Lee Seol's shoulders.
Lee Seol shook her head, looking embarrassed.
"I'm fine. It's nothing."
"Nothing? You almost went missing on the mountain!"
"It wasn't that bad. Just sprained my ankle, rested, and could've come down alone."
Lee Seol insisted she was okay, looking awkward.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed. From tension, or embarrassment?
As if to help her out, Seo Jaehyun standing beside her spoke up.
"Guys, wanna hear something crazy?"
"What?"
Ji Hyunsu reacted.
"You gonna say it?"
"Why not? It's fun."
Lee Seol eyed him like she knew what was coming, but he brushed it off and continued.
"We knew each other as kids?"
"As kids?"
"Yeah, first grade elementary."
I sensed something off in Seo Jaehyun's words and turned.
"What's that out of nowhere?"
"Huh?"
Seo Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, surprised by my reaction, but soon continued casually.
"Seol said something similar happened before. Went somewhere with her parents as a kid, got lost, and played with a boy her age. Turns out, that was me."
As kids.
Lee Seol gets lost at an amusement park. Seo Jaehyun finds her and plays with her.
From the original story.
But that memory was supposed to have vanished because of me back then.
That's what I knew for sure.
Yet now... what was Seo Jaehyun talking about?
Not an amusement park, but...
Isn't this exactly like that lost memory?
Another similar incident?
No way.
In the original, it happened only once. No repeats of the same type.
That memory was the sole thread connecting them, making it special.
So what Seo Jaehyun's describing is...
"...Ah."
A tiny breath escaped.
That instant.
A massive stone dropped somewhere in my mind.
Into the still lake.
Splash.
Ripples spread.
And they swept through my head as an unnaturally powerful wave.
I realized.
My actions didn't matter at all.
No matter how major the event impacting an episode.
In the end, the flow...
Returns to its original path.
Even if I ruined the protagonists' memory, the same thing happens again.
So all my worries were pointless.
I wasn't as huge a presence in this story as I thought. No massive influence.
The moment I grasped that, something swept through my chest.
Relief.
Like long-stifled breath clearing, my insides lightened, vision brightened.
So... I can just live my life, regardless of these people.
"You okay?"
Seo Jaehyun's voice pulled me back.
I'd been standing there blankly. He tilted his head, looking at me.
"...Nah."
Guilt had risen to my chin.
Yeah, guilt. That's what it was.
That heavy sensation vanished completely now.
And inexplicably, bubbly laughter bubbled from deep in my chest.
I couldn't hold it back and said,
"Good thing..."
"What?"
Your memory I erased is safe.
But I couldn't say that.
I snapped back to reality and covered.
"Glad you came back safe."
"Oh..."
Seo Jaehyun looked at me awkwardly for some reason.
Not just him—Lee Seol, Ji Hyunsu, Woo Hana, Jeong Suhyun. Everyone around stared at me strangely.
Jeong Suhyun spoke first.
"First time seeing you smile so brightly."
"Yeah. Just become an idol already. Wasting that face."
Ji Hyunsu followed, then Seo Jaehyun awkwardly added,
"Appreciate the joy, but... that much?"
Sensing the weird vibe, he joked,
"But can you tone down the smile? Makes me feel dark inside. Like being demoted from protagonist to extra."
I shook my head immediately.
"No way. You're the only one who bolted up the mountain the second you heard about Seol, without looking back. Not just anyone could do that."
"True, but... weird. Why so smiley? Hyunsu, tell him. Am I crazy?"
"Nah, it's weird."
If even Ji Hyunsu said it, I must look totally off to everyone.
Still, I couldn't control this mood.
Who knows.
My heart feels light.
Unnaturally light. Like a feather.
Like gazing at a clear sky after endless rain, no clouds in sight.
This feeling's new... or with past life memories, long overdue.
Since realizing my actions can't alter the original flow, I've been like this.
Not that it's a huge change, of course.
Just a shift in my inner current.
"Minwoo, no booze?"
"Nah, passing."
"What, back to normal already."
Seo Jaehyun waved his hand in my face, grinning.
"Where'd that softly smiling Lee Minwoo go? Nearly made my heart skip, dude."
Well, them drinking still has that fantasy allure, so nothing odd.
But with my past life memories, booze I'd drunk to death held no illusion.
No point suffering tomorrow.
"I'll crash in Jeong Woo's room."
Jeong Woo shared a different room with Seo Jaehyun.
A model student type, quiet guy. Like Jeong Suhyun but male, if anything.
Drinkers to Seo Jaehyun's room, others to Jeong Woo's.
"Don't overdo it celebrating. Rough day tomorrow."
"Huh? Wha... no, why you scaring me like that."
I left Seo Jaehyun with his nonsense and moved rooms.
No worry of teachers catching them drinking. In the original, they nearly got busted but didn't.
"Oh? Minwoo."
Jeong Woo looked up as I opened the door. Eyes widened behind glasses. Didn't expect me.
...This room's so quiet.
Everyone silently on phones or prepping for bed.
Bound to be.
"Spot free?"
"What spot?"
"Gonna sleep here."
"Jaehyun and Hyunsu?"
"They'll do their thing."
Jeong Woo nodded, pointing to a corner. I went over quietly and sat. Floor warmer than expected.
"Lights out?"
The vibe said yes.
Lights off, everyone washed up, and I slipped under the covers.
Should sleep quick... but sleep wouldn't come.
Honestly, beyond sleepless—excited.
Dunno why.
Like leftover adrenaline buzzing, I stared at the dark ceiling with bright eyes, passing time.
Still no sleep after ages.
Fine. Short walk.
Teachers probably guarding first floor like sentries, but I knew better.
They'd be resting or chatting themselves.
If caught, oh well.
With that, I slipped out.
In the hall, voices echoed from the opposite room, lively chatter.
Pretty late, still partying with drinks.
I tried slipping past quietly when the door burst open.
Out rushed Lee Seol, flushed cheeks standing out scarlet.
Face red too—drunk, probably.
Why's she rushing at me desperately?
I blanked, staring, and she reached me, gripping my shoulder.
Then the sound.
"Urk..."
...No way.
Right?
"Urp."