IYBML 02

Chapter 02

My Child Can’t Possibly Be the Second Lead (2)

Chirp.

What was this strange, artificial-sounding birdsong?

My officetel was on a high floor in the middle of the city, so I never heard birds singing.

I opened my eyes wide and stared at the ceiling. Instead of the plain wallpaper the landlord had put up when I moved in, the ceiling was covered in wallpaper decorated with four-leaf clovers scattered here and there.

Thinking it might be a dream, I turned over again. The strangely narrow bed had become much wider, and I could even smell something delicious.

“Looks like you’re having a good dream.”

It was an ordinary morning routine that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

See? I told you, good things happen whenever I think about Eunho. I turned over, thinking I’d sleep just a little longer. When I pulled up the blanket, the scent of lavender wafted up.

This dream is incredibly realistic. I can even smell fabric softener.

“Moon Yerim! Aren’t you going to school? Dad’s leaving without you.”

Huh? What was that supposed to mean?

“Yerim, I told you. If you don’t come out, I’m leaving you behind!”

Before I could even figure out what was going on, the bedroom door flew open.

Yes, this was strange even for a dream. No, if this wasn’t a dream, it was even stranger.

My home was a studio apartment!

I turned my head toward the doorway and saw an unfamiliar woman sighing as she stood there wearing an apron. The middle-aged woman approached me and smacked me mercilessly on the butt.

“Ow!”

That hurt. If it hurt, then this wasn’t a dream. No, more importantly, who was this woman, and why was she hitting me?

Perhaps she noticed my bewildered expression, because she put her hands on her waist and looked down at me with pity.

“How old are you that you need to be woken up before you’ll get out of bed…? Aren’t you getting up? Today’s the first day of school!”

“No, wh-who are you to just hit me like this…?”

“Who? Ha, look at this girl. Right, you watched that movie about amnesia yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Ah! Why are you doing this?! Why are you hitting me?!”

“I’m your mother!”

Her merciless smacks continued from my butt to my back. I climbed down from the bed and crawled across the floor for my life.

Just as I was about to run outside, I spotted a neatly arranged school uniform in the wardrobe.

I stopped running and stared at the school emblem and yellow name tag prominently attached to the uniform vest.

「Moon Yerim」

Strange. That name was familiar somehow.

Was she a classmate? Or perhaps a coworker from a workplace I didn’t even want to think about? If not, then what was it?

Just as I stood there for a long time staring at the yellow name tag, the school emblem beneath it caught the light.

「Hanguk High School」

No way.

Seriously?

“Ahhh! Hanguk High School? Moon Yerim?”

“What’s wrong with you? Hurry up and wash and come out. You need to eat. I’m giving you thirty minutes. Otherwise, walk!”

The door closed again. I continued absentmindedly touching the school uniform vest in my hands.

If it was Hanguk High School, then this was the high school the kids in <Welcome! Summer Film> attended.

Then Moon Yerim was definitely…

[‘Follow me. I’m the head of this club.’]

She was the class president of Semin and Dogyeom’s class, as well as the president of Summer Film, the movie club that was central to <Welcome! Summer Film>.

Taking all the circumstances into account, I had definitely seen a bright light just before blacking out. And if this wasn’t a dream…

“Could this be… transmigration?”

I couldn’t believe that something I had only seen in novels, dramas, and movies had happened to me.

I stretched out my hand and stared at Moon Yerim’s hand, which was slightly different from mine. The texture and color of the skin, even the voice, were all different.

The person reflected in the mirror hanging beside the door wasn’t Oh-young.

It was Moon Yerim.

“This is crazy. I really transmigrated!”

Honestly, this was a good thing.

After quitting nursing, I had spent so much time hating myself. And now I had become an entirely new person—better yet, a character from my favorite novel!

There was only one thing I regretted.

I hadn’t transmigrated into Semin.

“If I were Semin, I’d immediately kiss Eunho and completely change the male lead!”

Since things had turned out this way, I had to see the beautiful Eunho, Semin, and Dogyeom with my own eyes.

I opened the bedroom door to go wash up, then stood there with my mouth hanging open as I looked around.

It was a two-story house that anyone would have to be quite wealthy to afford. Downstairs in the living room, Yerim’s mother—no, my mother—was preparing breakfast with a housekeeper when she looked up at me.

“Why did you come out? Are you going to wash outside? Aren’t you washing in your room?”

“Not washing in my room…?”

Come to think of it, the room was huge, and even the bathroom inside was lavish.

Was Moon Yerim’s bedroom about the same size as my entire officetel studio?

Once I reached that conclusion, I naturally had only one thought.

“It’s such a relief that I transmigrated into Yerim. Thank you, God!”

“What is wrong with you first thing in the morning?! Your father says he’s leaving you behind!”

If I was going to transmigrate, it was definitely better to transmigrate as a rich person!

“He looked like a total daughter-obsessed dad, but he’s ruthless.”

Just as my mother had said, Dad ruthlessly left me behind and went to work.

As I ate breakfast and pieced together the context of the conversation, it seemed that Moon Yerim normally went to school in her father’s car.

I carefully asked how to take the bus to school without arousing suspicion.

My mother, who I still felt awkward calling Mom, irritably put down her chopsticks.

“You were always complaining about not wanting to take public transportation, and now you’ve forgotten everything. You really forgot everything. Wait at the back gate after school. The driver will come.”

There was no sign of familiarity from my mother as she resumed eating.

I was the only one shocked.

Seriously, she was an extra. How was she this rich?

I’m happy.

As expected, the author doesn’t waste even a single character.

I hurriedly stuffed the remaining toast into my mouth and grabbed my bag. Now that I was certain I had transmigrated, I had to see the kids with my own eyes.

“You’re not eating anymore?”

“Yes. No, I mean—yeah. I’ll be off to school!”

It was still difficult to stay outside for long, but if I thought of this as being inside a novel, there was nothing I couldn’t do.

And how long had it been since I last went to school?

To be honest, I was a little excited.

“Get off!”

“Ahh! I’m getting off too!”

Once I got on the bus, I understood why Moon Yerim normally went to school in her father’s car.

People squeezed their bodies into every available space.

So many people got on that the bus actually slowed down as it wound its way up the hill.

I was trapped among the crowd, nervously watching what was happening around me. When the students in school uniforms began pressing the stop button, I hurriedly got off the bus.

“Wow, I almost died.”

As soon as I got off, I let out the breath I had been holding.

Tomorrow, I was absolutely going to wake up early and take Dad’s car to school.

Absolutely.

“Hey, hey, keep your head down.”

“Isn’t that Bae Eunho?”

“Wow, he actually came to school. I thought he wouldn’t.”

“Don’t make eye contact. You’ll get picked on for no reason.”

I slowly exhaled and looked around.

Several students began whispering among themselves while staring in a certain direction.

Wait a second.

Bae Eunho?

Could it really be that Bae Eunho?

I hurriedly raised my head and followed the students’ gazes.

Long legs and broad shoulders. Naturally wavy black hair, a scar over one eyebrow, a sharp nose, sparkling eyes, and full lips.

He was a handsome man who looked exactly like the novel’s description.

My favorite.

My male lead.

My lifesaver.

Bae Eunho.

“Holy crap, Bae Eunho!”

I shouldn’t have said that.

But the words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.

At my shout, the students who had been whispering turned their attention toward me.

And apparently, they weren’t the only ones who heard me.

Standing in front of the school gate, Bae Eunho looked at me with a crooked posture.

As I became nervous, I could hear myself swallowing loudly.

Eunho slowly began walking toward me.

“What? Do you know me?”

Even the sports-brand jacket pulled up to his chin looked completely different on Eunho.

Cursing someone you’d just met?

That was a bit much for something I’d muttered to myself.

Wanting to make sure Eunho wouldn’t be offended, I naturally clasped my hands together and spoke.

“A-ah, hi? I mean… I’m a really, really longtime fan of yours…. It just slipped out before I knew it.”

“…Fan?”

“Yeah! You’re my favorite! So…”

“Hey, hey! Watch your head!”

“Student, move!”

Before I could explain myself to Eunho, something heavy and elongated fell onto my head.

It wasn’t a towel or paper. I reached out and touched the rough-textured object that had fallen onto my body.

When the view that had been blocked finally became clear again, Eunho was staring down at me with an expression even more displeased than when he had heard me curse earlier.

I lowered my head.

The thing that had just fallen on my head was a banner standing high above the school gate.

Right.

I hadn’t even checked what point in the story this was.

And I’d forgotten because it had been so long.

If my ominous premonition was correct, this banner was…

“Oh dear, Mr. Kim! I told you to hold onto it properly. It fell on the student!”

“I’m sorry. Student, I apologize.”

“Are you hurt?”

“If you’re okay, could you give that to us?”

「Congratulations, Bae Eunho of Class 2, for winning the gold medal at the National Judo Tournament!」

This was Eunho’s final judo banner.