Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Extra's Change
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Choi Dongrak stepped out of the classroom door side by side with Lee Minwoo.
No one would say it outright, but the pair definitely looked unfamiliar to those around them.
Choi Dongrak felt the glances brushing past from all directions.
'It wasn't like this before.'
It wasn't as if there hadn't been signs since middle school. Lee Minwoo had already stood out in their class back then.
But it hadn't been to the point where just walking down the hallway drew everyone's eyes like he was some celebrity.
Choi Dongrak glanced sideways.
'He's even more handsome now.'
It wasn't just that he'd grown taller.
His jawline had sharpened, and his eyes—indifferent yet sharply defined—hung there with striking clarity.
At this point, he had to know it himself.
His attitude toward people around him didn't seem to have changed much.
For Choi Dongrak, that was a relief, maybe.
"You hear about them coming to Korea this time?"
Lee Minwoo's words suddenly cut through his thoughts.
Choi Dongrak shook his head lightly to clear his mind. Yeah, why fuss so much over a guy's looks?
"Ah, that's what you wanted to talk about."
He grinned.
"I already heard."
"Not till next year at the earliest, right?"
"It's planned for next year from the start, I think? Saw something on the forum. They usually hit Japan first anyway. And they're dropping an album this year with the live version from last time."
"For real?"
At those words, Lee Minwoo's expression changed noticeably.
His previously indifferent gaze sharpened in an instant.
This guy was always like that. He only showed his real emotions when talking about something he truly loved.
The problem was that there was just one such topic.
Even Choi Dongrak, who'd been hanging out with him since middle school, had never seen Lee Minwoo light up like that about anything but the band.
That was actually why they'd become friends in the first place—over liking that band.
Choi Dongrak had wondered what else Lee Minwoo might like besides the band. He was pretty good at observing people keenly, after all.
But he'd never found anything.
'Maybe he'll become a singer someday.'
With those looks, if his voice was decent, it could happen.
Of course, he'd asked once already. Minwoo had flat-out said he'd never become a singer.
Well, I like the band too, but that doesn't mean I want to be a singer.
"Made any friends yet?"
At Choi Dongrak's question, Minwoo paused for a moment before answering.
"...No."
Choi Dongrak smirked.
"You totally have."
"No, what friends already?"
"Besides you and me. There were people talking to you, right?"
"Yeah, there were. You?"
"Not yet. But if I start now, it feels like something annoying might come up."
"What annoying thing?"
"...Never mind."
Just then, the bell signaling the end of break rang out.
"Oh, bell's ringing. I'll come by at lunch."
"Sure."
Lee Minwoo gave a casual wave and headed to his class.
Choi Dongrak turned back to his own classroom as well. As he opened the door and stepped in, the stares felt even sharper than before.
The moment he sat down, his prediction came true.
The presence of someone approaching his desk. It was the girl who'd been sitting across from him.
"Hey, um... your friend. What's his name?"
Just as expected...
Choi Dongrak swallowed a dry laugh inwardly.
'Usually, you'd ask my name first out of courtesy, right?'
Choi Dongrak pushed up his glasses with a sharp flick once more.
I couldn't hold out against Seo Jaehyun's onslaught in the end. Or maybe it was a battle I was never going to win from the start.
I'd thought that in relationships, if you stayed passive and defensive, people would just leave you alone.
That's how I handled Seo Jaehyun and his crew.
But Seo Jaehyun's personality had a side that set him apart from others.
Maybe it was a trait unique to a protagonist who drives the story forward, but right now, it was just too much for me.
I had no defense against his exceptional charisma.
And of all things, he was sitting right next to me...
"Minwoo, how'd you get so tall? I'm amazed every time."
"...I'm curious about that too."
"Ah, no fun."
I really was that curious.
How did this even happen?
Taking winter break of middle school as the turning point, I'd changed like I'd slipped into someone else's skin.
"Not no fun—you're just messing with him."
The usual voice chiming in. It was Ji Hyunsu.
I shook my head.
"Not what I meant."
"You just wanted to mess with him."
"...Ah, no fun."
"Cut the crap."
Rough words flew back and forth, but the classroom air felt oddly light.
Afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows, the smell of chalk dust, laughter bursting here and there.
Somehow, amid it all, I felt like I was standing alone in a different season.
It was true that I wanted to keep my distance.
It wasn't discomfort from not fitting in with their laughter and chatter. There was a more fundamental reason.
I'd committed far too great a sin.
At my mental age of late twenties, I couldn't brush it off as a childhood mistake.
Out of my greed, the protagonist Seo Jaehyun had lost a precious memory he was supposed to build with the female lead.
I knew exactly how significant that was. Because I was the only one who remembered this world's flow, the original plot.
Maybe that's why.
Every time Seo Jaehyun called my name with that casual smile, every time I faced him head-on, something slithered up from deep in my chest.
Like invisible bugs gnawing at my body, a formless guilt crept slowly upward.
Even now.
"I don't enjoy guys staring at me."
"Just analyzing. How are we even the same species?"
"That's a bit harsh."
"Harsh is... nah. That's it."
"You gonna finish that and die?"
There are moments you can't avoid, no matter how hard you try.
Especially in high school, same class, next desk over.
You end up spending most of the day breathing the same air.
But thinking about it, the 'Lee Minwoo' in the novel had some acquaintance with the protagonist's group originally.
Same class in first and second year—no way they wouldn't know each other.
...This much should be fine, right?
The excuse I gave myself. I knew it was closer to rationalization, but I leaned on it anyway.
I couldn't tear myself away while hurting them. That would be another sin.
A month had passed.
People are creatures of adaptation, they say. The visits from kids in other classes during breaks, eyeing my face, had dwindled sharply.
Not that it was a replacement, but I'd grown oddly close to Seo Jaehyun and his friend Ji Hyunsu.
A bit too close for my passive stance.
And then that day arrived.
On a morning when the air was still chilly.
The classroom buzzed with the clamor of just-arrived students.
Before homeroom started, Ji Hyunsu tapped Seo Jaehyun's back with an indifferent expression.
"How'd it go yesterday?"
"I talked to her. But..."
Seo Jaehyun cleared his throat awkwardly.
"See? Told you it wouldn't work."
"No, we talked."
"Number?"
"Didn't get the number... but get this."
"What?"
"She's from our school."
"No way?"
Overhearing their conversation without a subject, I knew instantly what they meant.
'It's starting now.'
The story of Seo Jaehyun and Lee Seol.
Suddenly, a long-ago scene flashed in my mind.
A clear sky with soap bubbles floating lazily. The noise of an amusement park. Lee Seol looking up at her kindergarten teacher. And far behind her, young Seo Jaehyun smiling brightly.
"...Hey. Lee Minwoo!"
"...Huh? What?"
"What're you thinking about? Your face looks so serious."
"Nothing."
"Didn't eat breakfast? Wanna hit the vending machine after first period?"
"Nah, not hungry."
"Man, you're extra blunt today."
"He never eats much anyway. How's he so tall?"
"Enough about height."
The talk drifted back to silly banter.
Was that a small mercy?
I clenched and unclenched my fingertips idly.
......What happened next from here?
Seo Jaehyun searches for Lee Seol in school, and that's when he starts pursuing her in earnest. It takes a while before they date.
Around now, Lee Seol probably has her own Ji Hyunsu equivalent. Her name's Woo Hana.
That's when the four of them get properly tangled, and the novel progresses.
For some reason, I didn't think I'd be uninvolved in the fallout.
......Gotta be careful.
No.
If I can't avoid it?
What if I help instead?
One precious episode between them vanished because of me—maybe it's only right to help now.
One missing event wouldn't ruin them completely, but...
'Ah.'
I wanted to run.
I wanted to vomit out this tangled mess in my head.
If I just heard later that they ended up together, my heart might settle.
But that felt too irresponsible.
It was probably a task left to my younger self, who acted out back then.
No one to blame but myself.
To Lee Minwoo, Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu were burdensome existences.
Those two were... no, in this world, they were the supporting cast.
They had no choice but to burden him, who tried his hardest not to influence anything.
But he couldn't go through school life every day with that stuffy feeling, could he?
There were a few people Lee Minwoo dealt with relatively at ease. Those who didn't affect the novel's main flow.
Among them was Jeong Suhyun, class president of Class 7, his homeroom.
She wore glasses, her hair always neatly tied back. Her uniform was impeccably pressed, skirt hem exactly to regulation length.
She might seem plain, but if you said it to her face, Jeong Suhyun would definitely frown.
She hated cringey stuff, especially if it targeted her.
Such a girl had business with Lee Minwoo. Or rather, she'd just gotten some.
Jeong Suhyun mulled over what she'd overheard outside the classroom and headed straight to the back.
His seat. Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu chattering noisily.
And next to them, a guy propping his chin, gazing out the window like he was in another world.
Jeong Suhyun eyed his face for a moment.
...Couldn't be helped.
His face half-lit by sunlight. Light pouring from the window traced his profile.
A straight nose casting a long shadow, sharp features unbroken by the intense impression of his eyes.
Not love or butterflies—just pure admiration.
Why isn't he an actual celebrity?
He had the looks to snag casting cards on any Seoul street corner. And without even trying.
Then Jeong Suhyun realized she'd been staring too long and started walking again.
"Lee Minwoo. Someone wants you outside."
Lee Minwoo, who'd been staring out the window, turned.
"Again?"
"...Wow, unlucky."
At Jeong Suhyun's absentminded mutter, Lee Minwoo shrugged.
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize."
"I mean, because of me, other kids keep bothering you."
"Oh, that? Can't be helped. You can't just gather the whole school in the auditorium and tell them not to confess to you."
"What?"
It was a decent joke—Lee Minwoo let out a small laugh.
Jeong Suhyun glanced away awkwardly. Her ear tips tingled oddly.
"Anyway, better go quick."
"Yeah, feels like my back's getting pierced already."
At her words, Lee Minwoo leaned to peek toward the door.
Then he sighed softly and stood.
"Be right back."
......Why tell me?
As Jeong Suhyun grumbled inwardly, Seo Jaehyun and Ji Hyunsu, who'd been watching, spoke up.
"Whoa, again?"
"I wanna live that life once... Nah, I've got Seol."
"Ugh. That line for real? Nearly barfed."
"But can we watch?"
"No."
As if it would happen, Lee Minwoo replied firmly without turning and left the classroom.
Jeong Suhyun's gaze lingered on his empty seat.
Somehow close but not quite— that weird vibe.
Well... they hung out every day, so probably friends.
Maybe it just seemed that way because Seo Jaehyun and Lee Minwoo's personalities were total opposites.