Chapter 13

13. Something like fate

Ding.

Jinhyuk, who had just finished practicing, plopped down on the lobby sofa to rest for a moment. The translucent door of the academy opened, and the clear sound of the doorbell rang out.

“Huh?”

At the sound of a girl’s voice, Jinhyuk lifted his head to look.

She looked like a doll. A face that would catch anyone's eye, fitting the description perfectly. She was as radiant as a gem, sparkling brilliantly.

“Wow! Are you here to learn acting? Nice to meet you!”

The girl, who was very friendly, hopped over to Jinhyuk with a cheerful greeting.

“Squeak!”

She stumbled and fell.

“Ouch… I’m fine. I’m fine. You don’t have to help me. I can get up on my own.”

He didn’t really intend to help…

While Jinhyuk was stroking his chin, the girl, who had gotten up bravely, plopped down next to him on the sofa.

“How old are you?”

“… Seventeen.”

“Ah! Me too! We’re friends.”

The girl became friends with him exactly 34 seconds after they met.

“Hehe.”

The girl smiled widely, seemingly happy about something. As Jinhyuk looked at her, he thought,

‘She looks familiar…’

Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, Jinhyuk wondered if she was a student at the same school.

“I’m Yeon Se-rin. What about you?”

The girl was already speaking informally, but Jinhyuk was too stunned by the word that came out of her mouth to notice.

Yeon Se-rin?!

It was a name Jinhyuk knew. Without realizing it, he stared at the girl’s face.

It’s her. Oh my.

It was around the time he had left the mercenary training camp and been deployed to the battlefield.

‘Here. I brought some popular Korean songs these days. He’s a mysterious guy. He doesn’t care about the world, but he asked me to get Korean songs.’

James handed Jinhyuk an MP3 player filled with Korean songs.

At that time, when he was roaming the battlefield and almost cut off from the world, this was the only thread that reminded him he was still living in a world where peace existed.

That thread was music.

The MP3 player James brought contained random popular songs of the time.

Usually, Jinhyuk listened to the music without knowing the names of the singers or the titles of the songs.

But there were exceptions.

– Tracing the time I loved you…

It was when such a shocking vocal captured his ears. One of the names he confirmed among the singers was ‘Yeon Se-rin.’

Among the few singers Jinhyuk had confirmed, ‘Yeon Se-rin’ was the most special.

No one knew, but when Woo Jinhyuk was on a mission in an area with internet access, he searched for Yeon Se-rin’s name.

It was a rare occurrence. For Woo Jinhyuk to use the internet, let alone search for a celebrity’s name.

Before Yeon Se-rin, he had never even thought about it.

Even more shocking was… something James might not have known. Jinhyuk had printed out Yeon Se-rin’s photos and carried them around for years.

In other words,

Mercenary Woo Jinhyuk was a huge fan of Yeon Se-rin,

and even a mercenary had a nostalgic memory from his youth.

‘I didn’t recognize Yeon Se-rin right away.’

Of course, the face in front of him was much younger than the fully made-up singer he had seen in photos, but that wasn’t an excuse.

Jinhyuk was scolding himself for not recognizing his star right away.

“Hey, what’s your name—”

“Huh?”

“Your. Name. What. Is. It.”

Se-rin, who was staring at Jinhyuk, repeated the question slowly.

“Oh, Woo Jinhyuk.”

“Woo Jinhyuk.”

Yeon Se-rin nodded, muttering Jinhyuk’s name. Jinhyuk muttered to himself,

“Did you act before…?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“No, nothing.”

He had actually looked up news about Yeon Se-rin a few times, but he had never seen any news about acting.

He couldn’t track every detail of Yeon Se-rin’s activities, so he didn’t know if she had acted in his previous life.

But now,

“Do you… sing?”

“What?”

Yeon Se-rin’s big eyes widened even more. Soon, she shook her head vigorously and said,

“No, no. Who said I sing? I don’t sing.”

That was strange.

It was possible not to sing, but her reaction seemed unnatural to anyone who saw it.

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you sing?”

“Why…? I’m going to be an actor!”

“Can’t actors sing?”

“Huh?”

Se-rin’s eyes rolled.

“Oh, oh, that’s what you meant? I thought you were asking if I wanted to be a singer.”

“Why? Don’t you want to be a singer?”

“Of course not. Why would I be a singer?”

What was it? Could she not know her own talent yet?

That was also strange. It was a talent too brilliant to be unknown.

“Do you have a reason for not wanting to be a singer?”

“Well, I… can’t sing, that’s why.”

Ah, she can’t sing.

Indeed, a very, very strange situation.

What could be the story behind it?

He was a bit curious, but Jinhyuk decided not to ask. She must have had a story in her previous life, and she must have overcome it to debut as a singer.

“Singing could help with acting. I think you should try it.”

“…”

Jinhyuk smiled brightly.

A bright smile towards someone was one of the words that didn’t suit Woo Jinhyuk. A sneer or a bitter laugh might have been more fitting.

But Jinhyuk expressed it with that rare smile, a sign of gratitude to the vocalist who had given him a moment of rest in the hellish battlefield.

“What, what do you want to drink?”

Se-rin quickly ran to the fridge in the corner.

“Squeak!”

She stumbled and fell again.

“Ouch. I’m fine. I’m fine. You don’t have to help me. I can get up on my own.”

He… didn’t really intend to help…

At this point, it seemed like she was asking for help.

Yeon Se-rin, who quickly got up, took out two bottles of orange juice from the fridge.

Then, Se-rin approached Jinhyuk and extended one bottle of juice.

“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

“No problem.”

Se-rin finally returned a bright smile to Jinhyuk. Just then, Yeon Sung-hoon came out of the principal’s office into the lobby.

“Oh? Se-rin, you’re here?”

“Yeah, Dad. I just got here.”

Dad?

Ah… Yeon Sung-hoon, Yeon Se-rin. Right.

Jinhyuk nodded, understanding the situation.

“Have you already introduced yourselves?”

“Hehe.”

Se-rin smiled widely. Yeon Sung-hoon smiled and said to Se-rin,

“That’s good. Since you’ll be acting together from now on, Se-rin, take good care of him.”

“Dad, I don’t need to be told that. I’m a pro at taking care of people.”

“Ha ha. I know. But take extra good care of him.”

“Yes! I understand!”

Se-rin smiled brightly at Jinhyuk.

Se-rin’s smile.

For some reason, her warm smile gave Jinhyuk a familiar sense of peace.

In his past life, which no one knew about, Se-rin’s songs had given the mercenary Woo Jinhyuk the same kind of comfort.

***

Squeak. Squeak.

The exam room was silent, with only the sound of pencils moving.

Phew—

But if you listened closely, you could hear a different, foreign sound mixed in with the sound of the pencils.

Do Min-woo, who had fallen into a peaceful sleep 10 minutes after the exam started, was snoring softly.

Ding dong.

“Ugh—”

As the exam bell rang, the students’ sighs of relief filled the air. Do Min-woo, who recognized it as an alarm, stretched and got up.

“Hey, hey, quickly collect the exam papers and answer sheets.”

Once the exam proctor left, the classroom quickly became noisy.

“Hey, what’s the answer to question 3?”

“Wasn’t the subjective part too difficult?”

“Ah, really. I’m so frustrated. I got it right the first time, but I changed it and got it wrong.”

While everyone was discussing the exam, Do Min-woo was shouting in triumph.

“Ugh! Finally, I’m free!”

Jinhyuk was puzzled.

Why did a guy who didn’t study for the exam feel liberated?

Moreover, Min-woo had been very happy when exams ended early during the exam period.

“Jinhyuk, did you do well on the exam?”

Did well? Well, a few questions were a bit confusing in all subjects.

“More or less.”

“You’ve been working really hard lately. Your grades will definitely improve. Don’t worry.”

He didn’t have any particular worries, but if he had to worry about something, it would be this guy’s grades. Still, he was his closest friend.

“Jinhyuk, let’s go get a hamburger to celebrate the end of the exam.”

“I’m going to the festival play auditions.”

“Ah. Will it take long?”

“Probably.”

“Why did you choose to do it on the day the exam ends?”

So, why do you put so much meaning on the end of the exam? And,

“You’re also auditioning.”

Do Min-woo blinked and replied with a surprised look.

“Oh! Right. I applied too!”

You didn’t even think about it. You said you trusted me and all that.

Woo Jinhyuk shook his head.

“Okay. Then let’s go to the auditions!”

“Have you practiced?”

“Hahaha. Kid, this acting genius doesn’t need practice!”

While Do Min-woo was boasting, Lee Young-joon, Kim Min-young, and Min Seo-yeon approached one by one.

“Oh— President, did you do well on the exam?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“More or less means first place again. Amazing. Haha!”

With Do Min-woo’s joke, the group headed towards the music room.

***

“Min Seo-yeon.”

As they approached the music room, someone called out to Seo-yeon.

The owner of the arrogant voice was Kang Do-hoon, who was said to be a former child actor.

Hands in his pockets, face tilted slightly to the right, a smile that tried to exude confidence. In his own mind, he was the coolest guy ever.

Seo-yeon only shifted her gaze and didn’t respond to the greeting.

Kang Do-hoon approached slowly, careful not to ruin his cool act.

“Surprised. I didn’t know you were really going to audition, Seo-yeon.”

“What’s it to you?”

Before Kang Do-hoon could answer, the faces of the students following him twisted.

“What’s up with her.”

“Yeah. She’s so rude.”

Just as Seo-yeon’s eyebrows twitched, Kang Do-hoon spoke.

“You’re still the same. Seo-yeon… I didn’t mean anything by it, but I thought it would be worth it to act with you as the lead.”

Kang Do-hoon shrugged, taking his hands out of his pockets.

“I only came because the teacher made a fuss. Actually, I was a bit annoyed. Acting with kids in a school play.”

Seo-yeon frowned.

“I’m a bit annoyed too.”

“Of course, you were forced by the teacher too…”

“Talking to you like this.”

A cold wind blew, and Seo-yeon walked into the music room.

“Huh. Is this… some kind of fate?”

Kang Do-hoon’s line, which didn’t fit the atmosphere, and his gaze, which seemed to hint at its meaning, were fixed on Min Seo-yeon.

Jinhyuk moved to block his gaze.

“Excuse me.”

“Whoa! Watch it, man.”

Kang Do-hoon flinched as he bumped shoulders with Jinhyuk.

“Excuse me.”

“Me too.”

“Ugh!”

As Do Min-woo and Lee Young-joon passed by one after another,

“What’s up with those guys!”

Kang Do-hoon grumbled, glaring at Jinhyuk’s group, and turned his gaze away.

Kim Min-young, who met Kang Do-hoon’s eyes, smiled. Just as Kang Do-hoon was about to flash a cocky smile, Min-young said with a frown,

“Move.”

***

“Wow. How can they all… sitting there makes it feel like a real actor audition.”

“Right? It’s amazing even when you see it again.”

Just like the first meeting, all the attention was on Class 3.

Woo Jinhyuk, of course, and Min Seo-yeon, whose appearance would catch anyone's eye wherever she went.

They were so outstanding, but even Do Min-woo and Kim Min-young had faces that wouldn’t lose in any setting.

Except for one person who felt left out.

‘Ah, damn. If I was just 10 centimeters taller.’

Lee Young-joon, who couldn’t admit that it wasn’t just his height, even though there wasn’t much difference in seated height.

In fact, Young-joon was good-looking even by normal standards. He just felt like a squid because he was sitting between Woo Jinhyuk and Do Min-woo.

‘I used to hear more that I was cute than Min Seo-yeon when I was younger.’

The problem was that he still heard that he was cute. Now, Young-joon hated hearing that he was cute more than anything.

‘It’s the height. It’s the height.’

While Young-joon was blaming his height, another person felt left out in a different way.

Kang Do-hoon, who had been in a bad mood since entering the music room.

Last time, he was the last to arrive, so he didn’t have a chance to feel this atmosphere.

Seo-yeon was a girl, so it was hard to compare her appearance with his, and he had some confidence that Do Min-woo was below him.

But that guy.

Woo Jinhyuk, for example.

He had seen him for the first time at the last meeting. He didn’t even know such a guy was at their school.

All the kids’ attention was on that guy.

Damn.

This way, it almost seemed like the main character of today’s audition was that guy.