IRLPLBIO Chapter 2 Part 1

It was hard to believe he had suddenly returned to the past. But the sensations in his hands and feet repeatedly told Jae-gu that this was reality.

Moreover, the vivid memories that remained were not fake. The person who suffered the most because of Han Seong-cheol was not Jae-gu, but Park Kwang-cheol. Park Kwang-cheol was stripped of all the rights he should have possessed, all the power he should have enjoyed, and in the end, even lost his life.

Jae-gu, who had cleaned up after Han Seong-cheol, endured his temper, and scraped by for crumbs, only to be betrayed in the end, was quite far down the list of victims. At best, he would be fifth or sixth.

He had to meet Park Kwang-cheol. He felt he wouldn’t be at ease until he saw him unharmed, not bleeding and dying. Even though he thought Park Kwang-cheol would be living peacefully if this was truly the past, he still desperately wanted to confirm it.

The school and his home weren’t far. Jae-gu, his mind filled with the single thought “I have to go home,” began to run.

Compared to the past where he had fewer occasions to run, his current body felt very light and agile. He ran until the school fence was out of sight, leaping over uneven pavement blocks without his speed decreasing.

“Hyung?”

What stopped Jae-gu was a familiar voice.

Jae-gu’s running abruptly ceased. His legs, unable to stop immediately, carried him a few more steps, but in that time, the other person also approached.

“Hyung, why are you here?”

The familiar yet young voice was speaking an unfamiliar word.

“Hyung”—such a soft word was something Park Kwang-cheol used only when he was a middle school student. After they reunited, he always respectfully called him “Hyung-nim,” which created a sense of distance…

No, come to think of it, the current Park Kwang-cheol was indeed a middle school student!

Jae-gu, still panting from his run, looked back. Park Kwang-cheol, with his young face, was tilting his head. He was so glad to see him that tears welled up in his eyes.

“You, you…”

“Hyung, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Park Kwang-cheol bent his head to examine Jae-gu. …Yes, he bent his head.

Park Kwang-cheol, tall and broad-shouldered unlike a third-year middle school student, was already taller than Jae-gu. The 180 centimeters that Jae-gu, from the past, or rather, the future, had barely reached at age twenty-three through all sorts of exercise and supplements, Park Kwang-cheol, a mere third-year middle school student, had already easily surpassed. Only his face had become somewhat younger; his height and build, which were much larger than others, seemed unchanged, then and now.

Annoyance and longing mixed together. Instead of uttering words of welcome, gratitude, and apology, Jae-gu, who had been stammering, first threw a punch.

“You bastard, who told you to die on your own accord!”

Thwack, the emotionally charged punch landed on Park Kwang-cheol’s stomach. It must have hurt quite a bit, yet he didn’t even let out a whimper. Instead, Park Kwang-cheol wore a worried expression.

“Hyung, did you have a dream?”

Park Kwang-cheol spoke softly and gently, unlike a boy his age. The Seoul dialect, which would have drawn jeers as embarrassing if others spoke it, was fine coming from Park Kwang-cheol. Come to think of it, Park Kwang-cheol’s mother didn’t use a dialect either.

‘That’s right, she was the daughter Chairman Han Chang-hun searched for until his death,’ he realized.

Jae-gu, having just realized this, tilted his head in the next moment.

‘But she has a completely different image from the chaebol daughter portrayed in the media…?’

Jae-gu’s thoughts were quickly interrupted. Park Kwang-cheol, having touched Jae-gu’s bewildered forehead, spoke to him with continued concern.

“By the way, Hyung, shouldn’t you be at school?”

“Uh, uh… that is… hmm… What about you?”

Even when Jae-gu didn’t answer his question and instead immediately turned it back on him, Park Kwang-cheol merely offered a light laugh. He didn’t seem taken aback. Though only a middle school student, he already possessed a strangely mature air.

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I left school early.”

“What? Why?”

Jae-gu’s expression changed instantly. He pressed himself close to Park Kwang-cheol, touching his forehead, feeling his cheek, and even cupping the back of his neck. He was trying to check for a fever, but not knowing how warm it should be to indicate one, he failed.

Park Kwang-cheol’s cheeks, patiently enduring the aimless touching, flushed a little deeper.

“You have a fever, don’t you? Where does it hurt? This isn’t the time to worry about me!”

“Not a fever… they said I might be manifesting…” Park Kwang-cheol said shyly.

Park Kwang-cheol said shyly. The large boy slightly hunched his shoulders and cast his eyes down, as if he had said something embarrassing.

However, Jae-gu didn’t understand Park Kwang-cheol’s words.

“Man, what? What kind of illness is that? Should we go to the hospital?”

Park Kwang-cheol’s slightly flushed face instantly cooled. He was dumbfounded, but trying not to explicitly criticize Jae-gu, he pressed his lips together tightly.

Unaware of Park Kwang-cheol’s efforts, Jae-gu pressed on. He knew only a few illnesses, and since this wasn’t among them, he wondered if Park Kwang-cheol was very sick.

“No, this isn’t the time for this. First, let’s catch a taxi…”

“It’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“I said it’s fine. I’m not sick.”

“Why not? You said you left school early.”

Jae-gu was earnest. Park Kwang-cheol was not one to complain about being sick or tired.

It was no different when he was a middle school student. For such a diligent boy to leave school early, he must genuinely be sick.

Park Kwang-cheol took Jae-gu by the shoulder and deftly turned him around on the spot. He secretly swallowed a sigh.

“Hyung, go to school and attend your classes properly. Don’t skip.”

“Hey! What do you take me for? I don’t skip classes!”

“Then why don’t you know about manifestation…? It’s mandatory education…”

Park Kwang-cheol’s last words were too soft to be heard clearly.

In the end, Jae-gu returned to school. He couldn’t remember which class he was in, but his body seemed to know, and his legs moved on their own.

There were two problems. Jae-gu, having been away from school life for too long, had no idea when classes were and when breaks were, and the old, worn-out classroom door made a terribly loud noise every time it opened and closed.

Creak, Bang!

The sound was louder than expected, drawing all eyes in the classroom. No wonder the school had been quiet; he had made a noisy entrance during class.

The homeroom teacher, standing at the blackboard, instantly glared at him.