For now, I casually blended in with my family and started gathering bits of information one by one. Before long, I came to the conclusion that I’d experienced something like time travel.
At first, I wondered whether something like this was even possible—or if something had gone wrong with my mind. But after watching things unfold over several days, there was no room left for doubt.
Since there wasn’t any solution anyway, I figured I might as well start by going to school. Fortunately—or unfortunately—I was a returning student who had already finished military service. So I decided to check out this place called Hanguk University first.
The school I was supposed to attend looked nothing like the one I had casually graduated from before. Its appearance screamed prestigious university. Tense under the overwhelming aura of the main campus, I began my college life.
At first, I kept thinking, Should I try to go back to my original world? But after the first week of lectures passed, my thoughts changed.
Unexpectedly, the classes didn’t feel that difficult.
As if someone were guiding me, all the knowledge I had accumulated over the years seemed neatly organized inside my head.
Aside from my relationships with classmates on campus, my personal connections weren’t much different from reality either. My family was safe, and even my parents’ jobs and workplaces remained the same.
I even checked online and confirmed that my old company was still running just fine. My high school friends were unchanged too. In other words, it was a ridiculous situation where only my age had gotten younger and my academic background had changed.
In the end, I decided to accept everything. If I had to put it simply, this felt like a life-reset jackpot.
“I was insane. I really lost my mind.”
Now, with time passed, I found myself resenting my past self. Well, even if I wanted to go back, I had no idea how to return anyway.
“Yo~ Cha Jung! You skipped all your morning classes? Huh? For someone who just overslept, your face looks gloomy as hell. Did you drink or something?”
“Drink my ass. Stuff just happened. I’m tired, so if you’re gonna be annoying, go away.”
When I entered the lecture hall during the break, Yoo In-ho—a classmate and a pretty close friend—welcomed me.
I dropped my bag at the seat I’d claimed as mine and let out a sigh, while he snickered and teased me endlessly.
He was someone I’d only gotten to know after coming here. Back when I’d just returned to school and didn’t know anything, Yoo In-ho had approached me with an I’m your friend now! kind of energy.
He was a bit loud and talkative, but when it came to helping me adjust to campus life, he was basically a benefactor.
“Looks like they just got here too? Hey! Kang Taeyoon! Go Heemin! Over here! Why’s everyone late today~? Man, do you guys really want to advertise that you’re returning students this badly?”
Ah, shit…. I take back the “benefactor” part. My expression stiffened as Yoo In-ho waved over the people who had just entered.
Those two were the very reason I’d regretted deciding to live in this world.
Kang Taeyoon and Go Heemin. They were classmates with oddly familiar names—people I’d grown close to early on after learning we were in the same returning-student cohort.
They’d always had a strangely sticky vibe between them, but I believed their story about being best friends since high school. That was my mistake.
Both of them were good-looking enough to be popular with girls, so the thought never crossed my mind.
One day, while adjusting to campus life, I happened to witness their intense kissing scene behind the back gate on my way home.
At first, I assumed it was just some secret lovers’ quarrel between two guys. But once I recognized their faces through the movement, a piece of information flashed through my mind like lightning.
No way… no way….
Those two I’d thought were ordinary classmates were actually the protagonists of this world.
Only then did I remember the novel my younger sister had been reading—something called Love Prequel or Love Prepass or whatever it was.
What I’d thought was simply regression or some special circumstance turned out to be a fusion with a novel.
That was when I seriously considered whether I could still apply for a leave of absence. If only I’d known from the start…. By then, I was already part of their friend group.
Now even my plan to naturally drift away had failed, leaving me stuck living as their friend—and, if this were truly a novel, probably just “Supporting Character #1.”
Having just guarded their intense morning kiss earlier today, this meetup felt incredibly awkward. For some reason, even looking at Go Heemin’s lips when he talked to me felt uncomfortable.
But I couldn’t show it. The fierce look in Kang Taeyoon’s eyes made it impossible for me to speak freely.
“What, Jungwoo, you just got here too?”
“Yeah. Uh… you guys are late too.”
“Yeah. Taeyoon said we should smoke first. It’s all your fault.”
“You think that kind of hitting would actually hurt?”
“What are you talking about? You need to get hit more.”
Right—not for smoking. Probably to stick your mouths together with Go Heemin. With his pale skin and pretty features, Go Heemin punched Kang Taeyoon’s shoulder.
Even though Go Heemin had a solid build like any guy, Kang Taeyoon just smiled despite the heavy blows.
Ugh…. Disgusting couple bastards. I just wanted to graduate already and disappear from their lives.
Unaware of the good deed I’d done for them that morning, Go Heemin and Kang Taeyoon sat down.
Right before I fell into this world, the price I’d paid for listening to Cha Seung-ah chatter during our last meal together suddenly felt unbearably cruel.
What stopped me from simply distancing myself from this BL novel nonsense was none other than Kang Taeyoon, one of its protagonists.
“…So Taeyoon is actually crazy rich, you know? He’s the son of a pretty big corporation. Apparently he’s an illegitimate child and doesn’t get along with his father. But he still has power, so he secretly takes care of anyone who approaches Heemin, anyone Heemin dislikes, anyone who’s hostile toward him. He uses money or even underworld connections—like some ultimate worldbuilding boss~ Hehe, Oppa, you know what that is? An obsessive top. Obsessive top.”
“Obsessive… top? What does he obsess over?”
This was roughly how my sister had described Kang Taeyoon from Love Prequel.
Since childhood, Kang Taeyoon had grown emotionally closed off within a cold family. Then he met Go Heemin in high school, and Heemin became his only hope—his entire world.
He was described as the kind of man who pretended to wait for Go Heemin’s feelings while secretly clearing away everything around him.
To me, a hardened modern office worker, this guy—who had shaped his entire life around matching Heemin’s university and major—didn’t look like a legendary romantic. He looked like a complete lunatic.
Someone who could make people disappear without a trace? I didn’t know the exact details, but between his wealth, the character traits I’d heard from Cha Seunga, and the unhinged looks he sometimes gave Go Heemin, it was clear he was dangerous.
In the end, after learning all this, I decided to stay a naive, clueless classmate for the sake of my own safe life.
Though honestly, it felt like Kang Taeyoon—the so-called obsessive top of that ridiculous couple—had already half figured me out.
Yeah… if I’d been generous, I probably could’ve survived just fine up to this point.
They were the gay ones, not me. It shouldn’t have had anything to do with me.
“…Jungwoo.”
“…!”
“What, Min Siheon? Since when did you change seats?”
“I saw you coming.”
The man who spoke from behind met my eyes and smiled brightly.
His large frame and cold-looking features softened instantly with that single smile.
“…Hm, you smell like cigarettes.”
“Ugh.”
Goosebumps prickled down my skin. His breath brushed against the back of my neck where it showed above my sweatshirt, then pulled away. I tried to shake it off casually and lean back, but he looked at me with a hurt expression.
“Sorry. Did I startle you?”
I could feel cold sweat sliding down my back as I noticed other students glancing our way. Somehow, I felt like the bad guy here.
“What am I, a heater? If you’re cold, just wear this.”
Trying to smooth things over, I pulled a cardigan from my bag and tossed it to him. Even though I knew it wouldn’t fit him, he grabbed it with both hands like it was something precious.
“But sitting alone in the back feels kinda lonely. Jungwoo, could you come sit here instead?”
“Me? I’m already in an inside seat, so….”
“Did I make you uncomfortable?”
“…….”
When I tried to make an excuse because I didn’t want to go, he showed a hint of disappointment.
With no other choice, I shoved my books into my bag. I wanted to resist a bit longer, but I knew I’d end up sitting next to him anyway.
It seemed easier to just give in quietly.
The moment I gathered my things and sat beside him, Min Siheon spread my cardigan over his lap.
When I frowned and looked at him, he was smiling in clear satisfaction, like this was exactly what he wanted.
Even if I’d resisted, I probably would’ve been dragged over here eventually.
“You’re not a kid. Just sit through class on your own.”
“Sorry. It just feels too empty sitting alone.”
Annoying bastard. Persistent bastard. …A bastard whose face was too handsome, which somehow made it even more irritating.
Min Siheon, 23 years old. Among the characters here, he was someone I’d only discovered at the very end, right before I put the book back on Cha Seung-ah’s shelf.
He was the biggest obstacle to the main couple, Kang Taeyoon and Go Heemin, and one of the male leads—what Cha Seung-ah called the “sub-top.”
Out of the five of us, three were major characters in a BL novel. Even someone like me, who didn’t have prejudice against men loving men, couldn’t avoid the mental damage.
In short, the guy sitting next to me was the secondary male lead who would end up—of all things—falling in love with Go Heemin. And it was a messy love triangle at that.
As the lecture went on, I glanced sideways at Min Siheon. His profile, facing forward, was flawlessly neat.
His features looked cold when expressionless, but whenever he smiled, the atmosphere flipped completely. Was this some kind of protagonist buff from being in a novel?
Maybe it was because of everything that had happened that morning, but even after coming to class, I couldn’t focus on studying.
Since the day was already ruined anyway, I decided I might as well organize my thoughts instead.
