# Chapter 126
Since it wasn’t a number that was originally saved, I assumed it must have been stored while I was away from here. But that made things even more confusing.
The fact that the number was saved meant that they had met, but why would Yoon Taeho, who had been in the hospital the whole time, have any reason to contact Yoo Wono? Moreover, originally they didn’t even know each other.
The only possible connection would be something related to Moon Seoheon, but thinking about it that way made things even more confusing.
My mind was in disarray, and I remained still, unable to answer, until the ringing that had continued for a while suddenly stopped. When I came to my senses, the tension released and my body went limp. After a moment, when the phone rang again, I straightened my posture, moving away from the backrest.
Seeing the three characters “Yoo Wono” on the screen, I cleared my throat unnecessarily and answered the phone.
“…Hello?”
After a slight pause, I called out to the other person, but no sound came from the other end. Puzzled, I took the phone away from my ear and checked the screen to find that the call was still connected.
“Hello? …Sunbae Yoo Wono?”
I called again, confirming the other person’s name, but still receiving no response, I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I thought someone might be playing a prank and was about to hang up. Just then, I heard the sound of someone exhaling deeply.
Quickly putting the phone back to my ear, I finally heard the other person’s voice come through.
—I really can feel it.
“Excuse me?”
—How can the way of speaking be so different even in the same body.
“……”
I was so shocked that I bit my tongue. Hearing the voice, I was certain it was Yoo Wono. It was surprising enough that he had called me, but his words, as if he knew all about me, made my lips seal tightly.
—Hmm… did the call drop?
When I couldn’t say anything, Yoo Wono called my name once more.
—Yoon Taeho? No… it was a different name, right?
He even seemed to know my name, pausing before listing several names. They were all wrong, but similar enough that I swallowed dryly and asked.
“How did you know?”
—Hm? Ah, you told me. I mean, Yoon Taeho did.
His casual tone as if it was nothing seemed so light. The faint laughter at the end sounded like he had discovered some amusing toy.
Of course, there was no reason why Yoon Taeho and Yoo Wono, who attended the same school, couldn’t meet, but I was so startled by the sudden turn of events without any mental preparation that I was beyond confusion and now even found it absurd.
I’ll overlook how Yoon Taeho somehow spilled the fact about the body-swapping to Yoo Wono, but I wondered why he had told him. Then I remembered the recent viewing history of “Class” on the laptop, and a sigh immediately escaped me.
If he saw that, Yoon Taeho’s perception of Yoo Wono might have changed. From just a weird senior at the same school to a crazy person obsessed with Moon Seoheon.
So did he contact Yoo Wono because of that? But what for exactly? I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again as my head throbbed.
“So what’s this about?”
—Ah, well. I thought you might have finally switched, so I called.
Finally? I wanted to question what he meant by that, but to hear everything to the end, I silently focused on his next words.
—Seoheon has become weird again, so I was wondering. …Hmm, not here. Is it here?
I was startled by the mention of Moon Seoheon’s name, but then I started to question the following content, and soon heard Yoo Wono’s voice counting one, two, three. I blinked my eyes.
“…What are you doing? Right now?”
—Not here either. I should have asked before coming.
I was wondering what the hell he was doing to be talking nonsense, but Yoo Wono, who had been speaking continuously without answering my question, briefly closed his mouth and then softly exclaimed.
—Ah, found it!
The hospital room door flung open, and my startled body jerked. Yoo Wono, in comfortable attire with his school uniform top completely unbuttoned, took one step through the doorway and put down his phone.
“Hi.”
“……”
It had been a while since I’d seen his face, and though it remained the same, the way he spoke with a smirk on his lips was almost irritating. In disbelief, I stroked my chest to calm my shoulders that kept rising.
Swallowing hard, I needlessly checked outside the hospital room, and Yoo Wono closed the door audibly and approached closer. Then, while fiddling with his chin, he looked me up and down as I sat on the sofa, and made a puzzling sound that might have been a hum.
“Hmm…”
Forgetting my confusion at his appraising gaze, I raised my eyebrows.
“…How did you come here?”
It was clearly a time when he should have been at school, but it wasn’t unusual for him not to attend classes properly, so it wasn’t that surprising. But for him to find my hospital room—no, “barge in” would be a better expression—what kind of business did he have with Yoon Taeho to come all the way here?
“Numba-won?”
“It’s Nam Bowon!”
I frowned at the name he kept mispronouncing, just as he had earlier. Yoo Wono responded with “Is that so?” and nodded indifferently.
“Hmm. This hospital room is spacious.”
“…Excuse me. What exactly did you and Yoon Taeho… no, why did you come here?”
Swallowing a sigh at his attitude of leisurely surveying the hospital room without revealing his purpose for visiting, I asked articulately. In response, Yoo Wono turned to me and opened his lips with a smile.
“How did you switch? Did you really take medicine?”
Medicine? Despite the abrupt question, I wasn’t surprised and smoothed my furrowed expression as a doubt suddenly occurred to me. Yoo Wono’s eyes sparkled at my now serious expression.
“Medicine? Did Yoon Taeho say that? That he took medicine, fell asleep, and his body switched?”
“That’s right. He said he thought he was dead, but when he opened his eyes, it wasn’t heaven but another world.”
Pointing upwards with his finger, Yoo Wono continued speaking, then widely opened his mouth as if it was funny, but soon closed it. Lowering his raised arm, he met my eyes and tilted his head to the side.
“He said he wasn’t the one who met me, and it seems he was right.”
“…You believe that?”
It’s funny to ask in this situation, but the fact that Yoo Wono accepted such an absurd story so nonchalantly was even more unbelievable. At my words, Yoo Wono’s lips twitched, and he came very close to me, spun around, and plopped down in the seat beside me.
“Weren’t you telling me to believe it?”
“…That was Yoon Taeho who said that.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“…Do you know why Yoon Taeho would tell you something like this?”
Yoo Wono, who had been looking around the chaotic hospital room, now tapped the wall. I was about to tell him to stay still at his childish behavior, but remembering the guy’s tendency to do unpredictable things if he snapped, I remained quiet.
“Oh. There’s a lot in the refrigerator.”
Now he even opened the refrigerator to look inside, then suddenly closed the door, jumped up, and waved his hands in all directions. At this behavior that made him look crazy, I lost my words and blankly watched what he was doing.
Let’s just send him back once he’s done doing whatever he wants. He doesn’t seem to want to have a proper conversation anyway.
Swallowing a sigh that was about to burst out, I leaned back comfortably on the sofa when Yoo Wono, standing upright, approached a corner.
“Oh, it really is here.”
At these puzzling words, I turned my head toward Yoo Wono, and he spun around again and then leaned against a wall as if pointing at it.
“What are you doing?”
“Covering the camera, what else?”
“What?”
Since it wasn’t a word that should come up in the current situation, I was startled and jumped to my feet. Due to my injured leg wobbling, I almost fell but managed to prevent it.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’m covering the camera.”
Judging by his straightforward gaze, he didn’t seem to be lying. I glanced at the area Yoo Wono was covering, but due to his tall height, I couldn’t see any camera.
“Step aside, please.”
“No way. Then we’ll be caught.”
I was momentarily dumbfounded by the sensible words coming from his mouth, but as the situation wasn’t clear, I stared at Yoo Wono, and seemingly realizing my intention, he began to explain.
“Yoon Taeho told me there are cameras installed here. So he told me not to come to the hospital room.”
But he came anyway? Absurd words flowed out, but realizing that I couldn’t understand his actions at all unless I could see inside his head, I sat down slowly on the sofa with an enlightened expression.
When I was talking with Moon Seoheon, I thought there was nothing left to surprise me, but somehow I feel like I’m getting more shocked as time goes on. My eyelids grew heavy with the fatigue washing over me, and I forced my eyes to stay open.
I decided that I would deal with figuring out whether there was a camera later, but for now, I would focus on sending Yoo Wono away.
“So you came to check if I had switched?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Why are you, of all people, Yoo Wono, confirming that Yoon Taeho and I have switched bodies? You’re someone who doesn’t show any interest in matters not related to Moon Seoheon. Could it be that this nonsensical situation was interesting enough even for him? Indeed, it’s a situation you’d only see on TV, so it might have piqued his curiosity.
Still, I needed to know why Yoon Taeho had contacted him, so I asked sincerely. This time, Yoo Wono gently frowned and said, responding to my expression that was asking for a proper answer.
“Seoheon has become strange.”
I had heard this before. I recalled Moon Seoheon’s darkened face as he left the hospital room this morning and opened my mouth.
“You came because of Seoheon? Because he’s having a hard time… because of me?”
Yoo Wono blinked his eyes a few times at my words and then smiled brightly. Unlike his smiling lips, his gaze was sharp, and for a moment, a chill ran down my body.
“So Seoheon knows it too. I thought his condition had worsened after he collapsed at the sports festival…”
‘It was all because of you.’ As his eyes seemed to say that, I took a deep breath and expanded my chest.
“Do you like Seoheon that much?”
“Hm? Yeah, sure. Because he’s interesting. But lately, he’s become boring.”
I wanted to snap back “What am I supposed to do about that?”, but I swallowed it. What a hedonist. I couldn’t help but show a disgusted expression, thinking about how much he must have bothered Moon Seoheon all this time.
“There must be plenty of people faster than Seoheon, so why are you so obsessed with him? When you become a pro athlete, you’ll meet many more amazing people.”
Since Yoo Wono showed interest in Moon Seoheon because of his outstanding athletic abilities, I thought his interest might wane if someone appeared who could run faster than him. Since I couldn’t criticize him for skipping school, I spoke indirectly, suggesting that if he was active in the track team, he should practice properly. But as if I was wrong, he shook his head.
“Moon Seoheon is the only one who has ever beaten me in running. The others in competitions are all nothing special.”
If that’s the case, I have nothing to say… I roughly estimated that he had come all the way here because it was related to Moon Seoheon, as expected.
After a moment of silence, I looked toward the hospital room door, implying that he should leave now that he had confirmed what he was curious about, but the guy who didn’t budge stared at me intently.
When I looked back at him, wondering if he had something else to say, he asked breezily.
“So when are you going back?”
“What?”
“I asked when you’re going back to your original world.”
