The hallway of North Gangbuk High felt like a gauntlet. Every step I took was echoed by the sharp whispers of students who were far more interested in my social standing than their own education. I could feel the invisible line they drew as I walked—a mixture of fear because of the black sedans that had swarmed the school, and a perverse curiosity about the Kisser who had returned .
She was waiting exactly where I expected. Yeon Seohee stood by the door of Class 3, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The morning light from the hallway window hit her face, illuminating features that were undeniably striking. In the original series I had read, she was always shown as a beauty comparable to if not greater than Chaerin baek the female lead of Questism , and standing this close, I had to admit the artist hadn't exaggerated. She had a cold, crystalline perfection to her that made most girls in the building look like background sketches .
But as I looked at her, I didn't feel the flutter of a crush. I felt the irritation of a man who had inherited a mess he didn't create.
"Sorry," I said.
The word was flat, lacking any of the groveling or desperation the old Choyun might have offered . I just wanted to get to my seat and think about my future plans .
Seohee's eyes narrowed, her lips thinning into a hard line. "Go on," she demanded, her voice dripping with an arrogance that suggested she was expecting a thousand-word essay as an apology .
I didn't say anything else. I didn't even break my stride. I shifted my bag on my shoulder and moved to walk past her.
This bitch, I thought, my mind racing as I felt her gaze burning into my back. In the original story, her reaction to the kiss was valid—nobody wants to be grabbed like that. But she literally ordered Myeonghoo to kill him. She stood there and watched as a boy's heart stopped, and she didn't show a hint of hesitation.
I remembered the fragments of the original plot. Even Choyun's mom had ended up begging her for forgiveness, apologizing for her son's actions. But Seohee had remained unmoved, treating everyone like they were beneath her boots. She expected me to beg? To crawl? She had already killed the "old" Choyun by proxy; his mother had suffered, I had been thrust into this chaos, and yet she stood there looking like a queen waiting for a tribute. She was beautiful, sure, but the world was full of beautiful girls. I wasn't the type to worship a face, especially one watching me with that attitude.
A hand holds my sleeve, stopping me mid-step. I looked down at her fingers, then up at her face. Her anger was visible now, a flush rising in her cheeks.
"Where do you think you're going?" she hissed.
"You think a one-word apology covers what you did? You made me the joke of the entire school."
I shrugged her hand off with a sharp, deliberate motion. I didn't use force, just the efficient leverage I'd learned from my years of martial arts training . I turned fully and stared at her. The composure I'd spent a lifetime building in India settled over me like a shroud. It was a cold, predatory stillness that made her blink and take half a step back.
"You should be the one saying sorry to me," I said coldly .
Her mouth fell open. "What? Are you insane?"
"You told Myeonghoo to kill me," I said,
my voice low enough that only the closest students could hear, though the hallway had gone silent.
"Do you think that's a small thing? A kiss for a life? My mom already apologized to you. The 'old' me paid for this . Now it's your turn. Say it quickly; I have class."
The students around us were frozen. I could hear someone drop a pen three rows back. Seohee's hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. She looked like she wanted to scream, to call for Myeonghoo, to erase me from existence. But Myeonghoo wasn't there to save her ego.
"You... you..." she stuttered,
her face twisting with a mixture of rage and a sudden, flickering hesitation. She couldn't find the words. Without another look, she turned on her heel and stormed off down the hallway, her footsteps echoing like gunfire.
I watched her go for a second, my eyes narrowed thinking , For a moment, the thought crossed my mind.
' Should I kill her here? '
I exhaled slowly and dismissed it almost immediately.
' No—too easy. And pointless. I wasn't about to spend my new life rotting in prison. Not when I knew that cheap grandfather of mine could probably make the problem disappear anyway. But relying on him wasn't an option.
Nothing good comes from borrowing someone else's power.
I needed strength of my own.
A foundation.
An empire that belonged to me alone.
Only then would I be untouchable. '
Old Choyun's emotions are starting to affect me.
I used to be a normal kid. And yet, just moments ago, I caught myself thinking about killing someone—simply because of their attitude.
It surprised me.
But when I thought about it logically… it didn't feel entirely wrong.
People adapt to the world they're thrown into.
If I had been reincarnated into a peaceful world—something like Pokémon—I would've stayed kind. Gentle. Idealistic.
But this isn't that kind of world.
If I had been reborn in Naruto, I would've had to become ruthless just to survive. And this place isn't any different.
I can't afford to cling to who I used to be.
That version of me was bound by rules, by morality, by a society that rewarded obedience.
Here, strength is the only law.
And if you don't have the power to back yourself up, you don't get the luxury of staying kind.
So no… I can't remain the person I once was.
Not in this world.
With that thought, I steadied my breathing, forced my emotions back into place, and turned away into the classroom. I found my seat by the window and sat down, looking out at the grey rooftops of Gangbuk