# Chapter 146
For a moment, my mind went blank as if I’d been hit hard on the head. It was because the word that came out of Jeon Seohan’s mouth seemed inappropriate for the current situation.
Just as I’d become conscious of my own healthy body state after realizing that the High Class person Yoo Wono mentioned was Jeon Seohan, my mind struggled to process his answer, which made it sound like he had become very close with Yoon Taeho.
“Um… Mr. Jeon Seohan…”
I wanted to ask what exactly had happened with Yoon Taeho, but my voice kept trembling. While I was just biting my lip, a small commotion could be heard in the quiet hallway.
As I glanced over, I saw one of the staff pulling a cleaning cart. While I was slightly taken aback, Jeon Seohan, who had been looking in the same direction, grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. The moment we entered the room, there was a click as the door locked, and silence fell.
As the noise from outside was no longer audible, my distant mind gradually began to clear. Looking at Jeon Seohan, I saw him casually going further inside and picking up a cup placed on the table. After taking a small sip, he placed it down on the coaster without making a sound, reminding me of when he had offered wine.
“Did you put drugs in the wine at that time?”
At my question, Jeon Seohan rubbed his face with his hands. There was sleepiness in his eyes as he stared at me for a moment. Inside the cup he had brought to his lips was a dark brown liquid swirling around. He seemed to have either just woken up or stayed up all night.
“Yes.”
At his simple confirmation, I pressed my eyes firmly. Even though it was Jeon Seohan who looked sleepy, I felt like lying down myself. After swallowing a sigh that was about to escape, I asked somewhat irritably.
“What would you have done if something had gone wrong?”
“I only put in a small amount, not enough to threaten your life. And if it seemed dangerous, I had everything prepared to move you to a hospital right away.”
I deliberately chose not to nitpick at his matter-of-fact explanation that sounded like an excuse. Rather than digging up the past, there were more things I needed to know. Besides, when I thought about it, what he had tried to do was something I had considered myself, so I wasn’t in a position to be angry…
As my thoughts continued, I began to worry about the people who would remain at the hospital after I collapsed like that. Remembering my promise to return, I knew there was no time to hesitate.
“If Mr. Jeon Seohan was a person who lived there, then this current body isn’t your original one, right?”
“…That’s right. It was someone who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been hospitalized for a long time.”
“What? …Are you okay now?”
I hesitantly asked, feeling solemn at this sudden revelation, and Jeon Seohan nodded with a small smile.
“Of course. Can’t you tell by seeing me walking around perfectly fine now?”
“…That’s a relief, then. So the ‘Class’ animation was created based on your direct experiences?”
“Well… that’s right.”
Judging by his grimace, it seemed like he didn’t want to talk much about that work. I somewhat understood, remembering how he had said during our last meeting that he had written it a long time ago. It seemed like he considered it an embarrassing part of his past.
“Then when did you come here? Is taking drugs, like when I drank that wine, the only way to go back?”
Thinking the conversation would be lengthy, Jeon Seohan plopped down on the sofa after hearing my rapid-fire questions. He gestured for me to sit across from him. Having no reason to refuse, I obediently sat down and placed my hands on my knees.
“To be clear, rather than taking drugs, the condition required is to harm the body to the point of near death.”
“What? Didn’t you just say you put in a small amount of drugs, not enough to threaten my life?”
Honestly, I had expected something like this, but hearing it directly made everything go dark before my eyes. Since it wasn’t something to be done recklessly, I wondered if it could really be accomplished properly.
“So honestly, I didn’t know if it would work. I felt it was successful when I confirmed that you didn’t recognize me as soon as you woke up.”
This time I glared at Jeon Seohan, truly bewildered. It sounded like he had experimented on me, which made me upset. Perhaps because of this, my words came out sharper than I intended.
“Why didn’t you try it yourself?”
At my sarcastic tone, Jeon Seohan ran his tongue over his dry lips. After taking another sip from his cup to moisten his mouth, he spoke as if it was somewhat difficult to say.
“I can’t. I can’t go back to a body that’s already buried in the ground.”
“……”
My furrowed eyebrows suddenly smoothed out. If I understood correctly, he was saying his real body was already dead. Did that mean he died during the body-switching process? At this shocking revelation, I felt my strength drain away and my shoulders slump.
Seeing my reaction, Jeon Seohan waved his hand dismissively.
“If you think my body died at the moment of switching, that’s a misunderstanding. My body had been given a terminal diagnosis and was on its last legs. While undergoing a life-risking surgery… well, that’s what happened.”
I swallowed hard as if to moisten my dry throat as he shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“I heard from Yoo Wono that you committed suicide.”
“…Did he say that? Well, that might be how the rumor spread around school.”
“I acted like I had no will to live,” he added quietly. I stared blankly at the glass in front of me. Noticing where my gaze was directed, Jeon Seohan asked if I wanted some water, and I said yes.
He got up, took out a new water glass, and poured water for me. I thanked him with a nod and gulped it down. With all these new facts coming at me one after another, I couldn’t sit still.
After carefully putting down the half-empty water glass, Jeon Seohan crossed his legs and assumed a comfortable position.
“I feel grateful and sorry to this person. I had no intention of getting surgery, but he kept recommending it. So we decided to undergo surgery together, but he suggested doing it after switching bodies…”
Jeon Seohan moved his lips as if to continue but stopped. He just fidgeted with the cup in front of him without drinking from it. His black eyes, lowered as if reminiscing about the past, had grown darker.
Even without hearing more, I felt like I could sense his feelings with my whole body. As I just sipped water in the heavy atmosphere, Jeon Seohan raised his gaze as if coming to his senses and asked in a low voice.
“So it seems you want to go back there? Judging by your questions about the method, it seems so, or am I mistaken?”
I took a deep breath for a moment to choose my words, then nodded.
“That’s right. I promised to go back. Before that, I wanted to meet with you, Mr. Jeon Seohan, to hear the facts about what happened, and also to sort things out here.”
“…Although I wrote that animation, I can’t send someone to another world. I didn’t even know that someone like me might appear again.”
“Then will Mr. Jeon Seohan continue living here? There’s still the possibility of switching again or, well… a way to return to that body.”
My cautious implication was that since this had happened once, he could switch with someone else’s body again, or even though the body was dead, the soul could still be exchanged. Although I spoke carefully, I checked to see if I had offended him, since my words essentially suggested he return to a dead body.
Jeon Seohan seemed unbothered, casually sipping his coffee.
“That won’t happen. My story is already over. I realized my body there was dead because I knew I wasn’t switching anymore. When I deliberately took too many pills or jumped into a river, only this body got injured, so I gave up. That’s how the news was cut off too.”
Although the speaker himself seemed unfazed, just hearing about it made me feel like he had been through a lot.
“When I asked Taeho, he said he heard I had really died. He said there was even a funeral, and that’s when I felt it was truly over.”
I blinked at his tone, which sounded affectionate when mentioning Yoon Taeho’s name.
“Did you really become close with Yoon Taeho? I mean, in terms of that deep friendship…”
Jeon Seohan just smirked at my vaguely ended statement. His sharp eyes watching me as he stroked his chin made me feel exposed. When I covered my chest with my hand as if I were completely revealed, he turned his gaze to look at his cup.
“Well… would it be shocking if I said it wasn’t that different from your relationship with Moon Seoheon?”
Of course that’s shocking! I was flooded with all kinds of emotions, wondering how on earth they had become so close, what they had done with my body, and curious about how that Yoon Taeho had come to his senses, but none of these thoughts actually came out of my mouth.
“I see you’re misunderstanding something, but I didn’t do anything. Even if the body is an adult, the person inside is a minor, and I’m not that unscrupulous.”
“…Who said anything?”
“Your gaze is like you’re looking at a pervert. …Well, come to think of it, it’s not exactly true that I didn’t do anything at all.”
My heart sank at his added remark. Raising his eyebrows at my anxious gaze, Jeon Seohan chided me.
“It seems like you haven’t done nothing with Taeho’s body either.”
My body flinched as I suddenly remembered the incident in the bathroom and the kissing scene. How did he know to ask about that? Since it happened before the body switch, I looked at him with a surprised expression, but then relaxed and drank water after his explanation.
“You damaged the body so much it couldn’t even walk properly. …And relieved your urges in the bathroom instead.”
“Kup! *cough* *cough*”
As I coughed from choking on the water, Jeon Seohan looked at me somewhat pitifully. Setting aside how unfair this was, I stared at him intently, wondering how on earth he knew this, and he shrugged his shoulders irritatingly.
“I heard it from Taeho. He said you two had become very close, and that even though he saw it in a dream, he couldn’t open his eyes and kept them tightly shut.”
I stayed blankly with a completely uncomprehending face before remembering a similar experience I had had, and I gathered my scattered thoughts.
I had once seen the past when I was in Yoon Taeho’s plump body. As I remembered how Yoon Taeho had fought with Moon Seoheon and tried to take his life the day I returned to my original body, my eyebrows gently furrowed. It seemed Yoon Taeho had gone through the same thing as me.
But I had seen Yoon Taeho’s past; I had never seen Yoon Taeho living in my body.
“Anyway, Taeho asked me to tell you he’s sorry. He said he also misused your body. Here, a note as well.”
Jeon Seohan turned around and handed me a small box that had been sitting there all along. I opened the box with a questioning face to find a piece of paper neatly folded in the shape of a talisman. It felt strange because it looked just like the lucky letter that used to circulate at school and had the same shape as the note in my desk drawer.
I was surprised by the fact that this note was written by Yoon Taeho and that he had done the same things I had. I unfolded the note while suppressing my pounding heart. Inside was the familiar handwriting that had been densely written in the notebook I had opened for studying.
[Hard to get through the hot summer, isn’t it? As someone experiencing the same problem, I’m leaving this note to make a request. First, I’m truly sorry for harming your body and not going to work.
At first, I thought I’d gone to hell, but then I realized my body had switched, and I lost all motivation. Then when I went back, everyone’s attitudes had completely changed, and I caused trouble because I hated you so much. Moon Seoheon told me that if I was acting out of hatred for him, to please stop.
It was the first time I, who had always been the subordinate in any relationship, received such a request. So I hated you for changing that, but then I saw you in my dream. How you had lived. You’re different from me. I’m envious. Everyone here likes you too. So I decided to try a little harder.
Seohan hyung said he would help me, and the manager keeps taking care of me, so I’m going to try to do well. So, could you please allow me to stay here? I’ll try not to burden you.]
The content, including the greeting, stirred strange emotions in me. The feelings conveyed through this unexpected note were not much different from what I had wanted, leaving me confused about whether I should be moved or dumbfounded.
In any case, it was good news. I laughed hollowly, skimmed through the note again, and then folded it neatly. Somehow, I felt refreshed inside, and a smile formed naturally.
Jeon Seohan stared at my face for a moment before bluntly asking.
“So, are you going back?”
“…I suppose I should.”
