It was mid-December , winter break just around the corner. Roughly four months since I'd woken up trapped in this version of my past .
At Sangwon High, I was Kwon Min-jun: golden boy. Top of the class, easy smile, always ready to help. The mask was seamless, at least on the outside. Inside? Something else lived - quiet , hidden and nothing like the image I showed the world.
I think everyone feels the same way , there is a part of themselves that they just can't show to the whole world , so they keep it away , hidden , tucked away. They go on about their lives like machines and in the end , quietly regret and reflect on what could have gone wrong in their lives.
The shouting match with Mr. Choi , i still heard it sometimes in my head - a mix of regret and stubborn pride. He'd been a guide, even if his ideas felt too hopeful for the world I knew. This was life now ; You make choices, and you live with the consequences.
But the lessons he taught about discipline and real value stuck with me. And Yoo-jin… her disappointed face hurt more than I expected. Maybe one day I'd explain. Either way, I hadn't forgotten how strong she was.
Lunch break. Behind the rusted old incinerator, the usual script played out.
Park Dong-hoon, built like a poorly stacked fridge, and his sidekicks , Kim Min-soo (rat-like and always sneering) and Lee Tae-shik (muscle-head with no brains), had Ahn Jae-sung cornered. Jae-sung – quiet, skinny boy but i remember him as a prosecutor in the future , he was the one to take down corrupt people , righteous.
His textbooks were scattered on the ground.
"Wallet feels light today, Four-Eyes?" Dong-hoon rumbled, pushing Jae-sung hard against a brick wall. "Maybe we should check for ourselves."
"Yo, Dong-hoon," I called, walking over with hands in my blazer pockets, casually even though I was actually kinda scared, in the past also i was the type of student who didn't interfere much on these things .
"Shouldn't you be practicing your future career , flipping burgers instead of bullying other kids?"
Dong-hoon turned around, angry "Well, look who crawled out of the library. Here to give us a speech , Kwon? Gonna talk about being a good citizen ?"
"I'm just saying you should find a better hobby than acting like a leech," I said, stepping between him and Jae-sung like it was nothing "It's pathetic. Even for you."
Min-soo, the little weasel, tried to act tough. "Who the hell—" He threw a sloppy punchI saw it coming – stepped aside easily – but Dong-hoon took his chance.
He slammed into me like a truck. I hit the hard ground, all the air knocked out of me. My head smacked against the dirt , and i saw stars , the kind you see sometimes. Then a heavy boot slammed into my ribs. Pain shot through me. This isn't theoretical. It was a real fight.
"Min-jun!" i heard sora's voice, sharp with panic . A crowd had gathered, full of nervous faces.
"Get off him, you jerks!" someone shouted. "He's the top student! You'll get kicked out!"
Dong-hoon froze. His family was not so well off either. Getting expelled was serious.
"Lucky, pretty boy." he mumbled. Then they walked off, already looking for an easier target, those scumbags.
Jae-sung helped me up, brushing dirt off my torn blazer.
"Min-jun! Are you okay? Why did you do that? They could have..."
"Yeah i know," I winced, checking my hurting ribs. Each breath was a knife.
"Someone had to. You good?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you," he said, eyes wide. "I owe you. Seriously."
Sora quickly put a tissue on my cheek.
At that time i noticed . Her lips, usually curled in a gentle smile, were now pressed into a thin line of concern — still full, the kind you couldn't help but imagine kissing. They were nicely shaped, couldn't help but notice , even now.
"You're bleeding! We need to get you to the nurse! Honestly, Min-jun, sometimes you're just... reckless!"
Her voice shook, but her eyes showed worry and a little bit of respect.
I managed a weak grin and met her worried eyes. "Reckless? Or a little bit heroic?"
I joked, trying to charm her even through the pain.
"Besides," I added softly, " wouldn't want those pretty eyes worrying too much, would i ?" She blushed and looked away, then went back to cleaning my cut.
Another misunderstanding piled up , in the school , everyone thought Kwon Min-jun as : good student, kind person, Saint. But the mask felt heavier than before. The reason i rescued Jae-sung was for my own gain , nothing more , nothing less.
That night, lying on my thin mattress, the pain in my ribs taught me a hard lesson.
Money is power. Knowledge is power. But physical strength? That's also important. I need to be stronger.
Maybe I'd check out that MMA gym downtown or learn taekwondo. Learn how to fight for real, not just lift weights. It sounded like a good way to burn off this energy. I was already pretty fit, and this younger body wasn't a bad starting point.
In a small room in Seoul, filled with the noise of busy fans and green glow of CRT monitor, a teenager sat back in a strange looking chair.
Thin , wire-frame glasses on a sharp nose , he was watching numbers and data moving on the screens. He was tall and thin, wearing clean but worn clothes—like someone used to getting by with little.
Even with tired eyes, you could see he had good bone structure and a smart, focused look. When he wasn't bent over a screen, there was a quiet handsomeness about him, the kind that even hard times couldn't hide.
His hands were long and quick on the keyboard, clearly not used to physical work.
IP addresses popped up near internet cafes. Forum posts, timestamps matched perfectly. Small trades happened in cheap stock called NeoPharm. Everything fit together. A cold smile appeared on his lips.
"Clever little rat," he whispered , barely louder than the fan.
He pointed at the data - a hidden pattern in the noise. "Old tricks , but you left clues , it's getting harder and harder to recognize each time." He zoomed in. "Kwon Min-jun... Got you , you slippery little bastard."