“Gasp!”
What kind of situation is this?
The moment their eyes met, the boy—who seemed even more startled than Sihyeon—widened his eyes and covered his mouth. Wondering what kind of trick the author was pulling this time, Sihyeon simply stared at him. Muttering that it made no sense, the boy pointed at Sihyeon with his fingertip.
“You… are me?”
“…I don’t think so.”
“…Whoa.”
The boy blinked, letting out a pure exclamation of admiration. His lips pressed tightly together as if lost in thought, and Sihyeon found himself falling silent as well. How much time passed like that? Only after a while did the boy seem to finish organizing his thoughts, and from where he sat, he waved at Sihyeon.
“Hi?”
In Sihyeon’s appearance.
No—more precisely, it was Kang Sihyeon’s appearance, but the version Sihyeon himself had lived in for the past month.
Faced with a greeting delivered by someone with the exact same face as his, Sihyeon stared at the boy with an uneasy feeling. The boy grinned. There was a strange sense of dissonance.
Rather than awkward…it simply felt like the boy suited that face more naturally than Sihyeon did.
That feeling made Sihyeon keenly realize once again that he was not Kang Sihyeon.
Unlike himself, whose only expressions were frowning or looking disdainful, the boy smiled brightly, even if only slightly. That was exactly how it felt—natural and beautiful. Today was the first time Sihyeon realized that if Kang Sihyeon smiled, it would look like that.
“This is….”
“How’s my body?”
“……”
At the question, Sihyeon’s thoughts came to a halt. As his constantly churning mind stopped, it felt as though the entire world had frozen.
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Sihyeon widened his eyes and looked at the boy. Smiling like the protagonist of a youth comic, the boy revealed his neat teeth. A light, carefree laugh followed—clean and refreshing, a smile that felt cool just by looking at it.
The protagonist of a youth comic.
…No way.
At the thought that surfaced, Sihyeon felt a jolt of shock. The boy’s words—asking how his body felt—echoed in his ears.
“You….”
As he trailed off in shock, the boy smiled. It was an affirmation.
“Ah….”
At a loss for words, Sihyeon’s gaze drifted. He had once imagined that if he ever met the real Kang Sihyeon—but he had never thought it would happen like this.
“Is this… a dream….”
If all of this were a dream, it would make sense. As he voiced the thought, the boy—who had been looking at him meaningfully—plopped down and sat cross-legged.
“Isn’t it dark? Want to come over here?”
Tap, tap. Patting the spot beside him, the boy spoke cheerfully with a grin. Thinking he seemed quite friendly, Sihyeon hesitated before walking over. The boy smiled in satisfaction, then looked up as if pondering something. Without thinking, Sihyeon followed his gaze. What he saw above was something that was neither quite a ceiling nor quite a sky. It was dim.
“It’s sudden, right? Hmm… where should I start?”
Now seated, Sihyeon fixed his gaze on the boy who was about to speak. In this world where everything had been so unfriendly, the boy alone seemed willing to explain something kindly. Without realizing it, Sihyeon found himself listening intently.
“You know, there are all kinds of dreams. Some dreams show you 100% illusions, some show the past, and others show a future that might happen soon.”
“So?”
At the flat response, the boy scratched his cheek awkwardly and gave an uncertain smile. Then, as if frustrated, he shifted his body a few times before roughly ruffling his hair. Each small action didn’t seem to match Kang Sihyeon’s face, yet somehow fit in a strange way. It was contradictory.
“What I’m trying to say is… ahh! I was trying to sound profound, but now I can’t get the words out!”
“……”
Startled by the boy suddenly raising his voice, Sihyeon blinked. The boy kneaded the back of his neck once and continued.
“What I mean is, not every dream shows falsehoods. Even if what you’re seeing right now is a dream, you can’t definitively say that what you’re experiencing is false.”
It sounded like nonsense. Yet despite the boy’s unrealistic words, Sihyeon couldn’t bring himself to dismiss them. After all, he himself was living a more unrealistic life than anyone.
Thud—his head dropped. A colorless floor entered his view.
Was this a dream, or reality? Was the person in front of him really who he thought he was?
Questions led to more questions. His thoughts tangled into chaos, and as he frowned, the boy watching him wore a faintly wistful expression.
“…I feel sorry.”
Why would you?
At the unexpected apology, Sihyeon lifted his head. If anyone between them should apologize, it wasn’t the boy—it should be him.
No—on second thought, neither of them had any reason to apologize. If someone had to, it would be neither him nor the boy, but someone else. Yes—the one who had sent him here.
That was what Sihyeon thought as he looked at the boy. Meeting his gaze, the boy smiled faintly. For some reason, that smile seemed sorrowful.
“You’re probably confused and frustrated. The you I saw was very sensitive. So you must be having a hard time even now. I’m really… incredibly simple, so back then I thought that was the best option.”
“…You’re talking like you knew me. Didn’t we just meet today? What are you even saying?”
“Well… I’m restricted from telling you everything.”
“Restricted?”
As incomprehensible words continued, Sihyeon questioned him. The boy brought a finger to his lips with a playful smile.
“Shh. A man’s supposed to have secrets.”
At that moment, Sihyeon realized that he and the boy were complete opposites in personality. Perhaps he had known it from the start.
“Anyway, it might sound like an excuse, but I really thought it was the best choice back then. I wasn’t considerate enough to think about your personality. I’m sorry. I asked, but they said I couldn’t just pretend it never happened. Not that I want to.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Faced with a barrage of incomprehensible words, Sihyeon’s neatly set brow furrowed. Seeing his clear dissatisfaction, the boy burst into laughter and shrugged, as if to say he couldn’t explain in detail.
Then he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.
He had only confused him by speaking vaguely, claiming that this was the limit and the rest was a secret. No matter how much Sihyeon racked his brain, he couldn’t figure anything out. Letting out a sigh, he stared at the boy—who looked exactly like him—as if looking at a stranger. As his confusion settled, his question became clear.
“…Are you the person I think you are? I assume you can at least tell me that.”
“Well, what do you think?”
The boy smiled slyly, offering no clear answer. Sihyeon scrunched his nose slightly and voiced what he had been thinking.
“You feel like something I made up.”
“Gasp!”
At his words, the boy flinched in shock. Watching him silently, the boy scratched his head awkwardly when there was no response, then tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
“Hmm… alright. I think I can tell you this much. I am the person you think I am. I’m not your imagination. You didn’t create me either. To be precise, you entered my space—so honestly, I’m the one who wants to ask if what I’m seeing is real.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
At the boy’s words, Sihyeon fell into thought. His mind was already complicated, and new information kept piling on, making it feel like his head was overheating.
“Ugh…”
As he let out a strained sound, feeling like he was holding mismatched puzzle pieces, the boy—who had been observing him curiously—laughed.
“Haha, it’s natural you don’t understand. From what I can see, you need to think more simply. You keep trying to understand things you’re not supposed to, so you make it harder on yourself. They say people who are too complicated struggle more with simple things. Seeing you, I think that’s true.”
In a situation like this, wouldn’t anyone become complicated? Sihyeon couldn’t agree with the boy’s cheerful remark.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, the boy clapped his hands, straightened his tilted head, and stood up.
“Wow, listen to me. This isn’t the time for this.”
“……?”
“Hmm, I don’t know how much longer you’ll be here, but I should still have enough time to teach you, right?”
“Teach me what?”
“From what I can tell, it seems like you were sent here so I could teach you.”
“…Teach me what?”
What was there to teach, and what did he mean by being sent here?
Am I even actually talking to a person right now?
The boy had been muttering things only he understood, making Sihyeon feel strangely isolated—even though it was just the two of them. As Sihyeon frowned, the boy lightly tapped his neck.
“Isn’t there something you need to know?”
“…Ah.”
There was.
Almost unconsciously, Sihyeon raised his hand to the back of his neck and nodded. He had heard that he needed to realize it himself, but he hadn’t expected the boy to be the one to tell him.
“Do other people realize it like this too?”
“Probably not. Other people figure it out on their own. We’re a bit of a special case. Your ability includes mine too, so I have to tell you. I figured I’d get a chance like this someday, so I’ve been practicing every day.”
“Practicing?”
Tilting his head in confusion, Sihyeon watched as the boy grinned and clapped.
“Seeing is believing.”
Clap!
As soon as he clapped, the space behind the boy lit up as if a light had been switched on.
Snap.
When the boy snapped his fingers, a human-shaped figure appeared in the bright space. Startled, Sihyeon looked at him, but the boy pointed at the figure as if telling him to watch and clapped like a magician.
At the sound, the figure stretched out its hand.
Fwoosh!
Flames burst from its hand—a sudden fire show.
“Your ability is fire?”
“If it were just something like that, would I show it off this dramatically? It’s not over yet.”
Responding as if it were obvious, the boy snapped his fingers again. The figure began to fade away.
Feeling like he was watching a magic show, Sihyeon stared, entranced. The boy lifted his chin proudly and snapped again. The figure reappeared and—
Crack!
Lightning struck.
Then it healed an injured person, and afterward dropped something that melted an object. It was impressive, but there was no consistency.
“I have no idea what kind of ability this is…”
As if using a hint, Sihyeon looked at the boy. Stroking his chin, the boy muttered, “This should be enough…” before turning and grinning confidently.
“Do you remember the first ability I showed you?”
“Fire?”
“Yeah. More precisely, it’s one of the skills from a Flame Attribute class. Now watch.”
Fwoosh!
As he spoke, the boy stretched out his hand, and the same flames as before burst out. Startled by the heat, Sihyeon stepped back, staring at the fire with an uncertain expression.
“Still not getting it?”
At the question, Sihyeon shook his head. This time, the boy began to disappear right in front of him.
“…!”
At the sudden disappearance, Sihyeon’s eyes widened as he looked around, wondering if the dream was ending—
“Snicker.”
A playful laugh came from behind him.
Turning around, Sihyeon saw the boy slowly reappear as if nothing had happened, spreading his palms with a self-made “ta-da.”
“Well? Getting it now?”
“…No way.”
His narrowed eyes widened a few seconds later. It couldn’t be—but there was nothing else it could be.
The boy grinned brightly and snapped his fingers.
“Bingo.”
Flash!
Lightning struck—the same one Sihyeon had seen before.
This is insane.
Barely swallowing the curse that nearly slipped out, Sihyeon stared at the boy with a hollow expression.
All he had wanted was something like an ability that would keep him from tripping.
“Copy. That’s the name of my class.”
‘Kang Sihyeon’ did not abandon the pride expected of a sub male lead.
