My name is Park Jiheon.
This name wasn't strange to me… it was terrifying.
Because it wasn't my name in my previous life.
Only recently did all my memories return—memories of another life, another world, another name I thought was buried forever. That's when I realized the harsh truth:
I was no longer in my own world.
I had been transported into a school violence and gang novel… a story I knew very well.
But the worst part?
I wasn't the protagonist.
I was now in the body of a young man named Park Jihwan, a barely mentioned side character, just a student who sat in the same class as the real main character… Kim Suho.
At first, I lived my life normally. I ignored the strange sensation and pretended everything was fine.
Until I turned seventeen.
At that age, memories exploded in my head all at once, like a dam breaking.
The events of the story, the fates of the characters, their endings… everything became clear.
And now, I was about to transfer to the same high school where Kim Suho studied.
The high school where chaos would soon begin.
But my current reality was no less harsh.
"Hey! Brat! Get up and move! Stop pretending to be dead!"
The voice pierced my ears violently.
A hoarse, broken man's voice, reeking of alcohol even before I opened my eyes.
"Go get some money, and stop playing dead, you lazy kid!"
I opened my eyes slowly, and the first thing I saw was my cracked ceiling.
I sighed silently.
"…Alright."
This man wasn't my real father.
My real family abandoned me when I was three. I don't even remember their faces.
The man who raised me since then wasn't kind, nor loving… just someone who needed a child to exploit.
I left the room thinking bitterly and realistically:
I need to find a job… but how?
It was past ten at night.
The streets were almost empty, and the cold seeped into my frail body.
I was wandering aimlessly when…
"Help me… please…!"
My feet froze.
It was a girl's voice.
I turned immediately and saw her coming from the opposite side.
Long black hair draped over her shoulders, wide blue eyes full of fear.
Her body was slender, her features pale.
But she wasn't alone.
Behind her was a man…
Fat, filthy-looking, with a disgusting gaze.
He was following her with heavy steps, like a hungry pig.
Before I could think, I stepped in front of her.
She hid behind me instantly, clutching my clothes trembling.
"What do you want from her?" I said firmly, though my heart was pounding violently.
The man stopped and glared at me with disdain.
"And who are you to interfere?"
I glanced at the girl for a moment, seeing the confusion and fear in her eyes… then I heard her speak quickly:
"He… he's my boyfriend."
She clutched my arm tightly.
The man's expression changed.
"What? Impossible."
I raised my head and looked at him coldly, a look I didn't even know I could give.
I said nothing, just held his gaze.
After a heavy silence, he spat on the ground.
"Damn it."
He turned and started walking away, muttering vague threats, until the sound of his footsteps disappeared completely.
The girl finally exhaled.
"Thank you, sir… if it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to me."
"It's fine…"
I asked calmly, "Who was that?"
She frowned and tightened her coat around herself.
"It was someone chasing me… I really don't know who he is."
I noticed her hands were still trembling.
"Come with me," I said suddenly.
"I'll buy you some snacks… it might help you calm down."
"No need, really—"
I didn't give her a chance to refuse.
We walked together to a nearby shop.
After she finished eating, her complexion looked a little better.
She smiled shyly.
"Thank you, sir… I want to repay this debt. Give me your number."
"No, no need," I hesitated, then added, "I was just passing by."
She looked at me insistently.
"Please."
I sighed.
"…Alright."
After that, she left, leaving the night quieter than before.
I stood in place for a moment.
Alright… I guess I should head home.
It was very late.
It was foolish of me to think I could find a job at this hour.
Ten at night… who would hire a seventeen-year-old?
I sighed bitterly as I walked through the almost empty street.
How humiliating…
If only I had money…
Maybe—no, definitely—my life would have been different.
Why am I like this?
Why was I born in this body? In these circumstances?
If only I had been born into a rich family…
Maybe I would have stayed away from all the events of this story.
Maybe I wouldn't have been just a crushed side character.
But reality doesn't know the word "if."
Anyway…
I'm sure I'll get scolded.
Not just because I didn't find a job, but also because I spent all the money I had.
I laughed a short, hollow laugh.
Do I really have to go back?
What a cursed day.
Yet despite everything…
Tomorrow I will go to school.
The thought alone was terrifying… but at the same time, something else crept into my chest.
Excitement.
Curiosity.
I would meet characters I had only seen in the manhwa.
People I had watched from behind a screen, from drawn pages.
Imagine…
How strange it would be.
How thrilling.
I was eager… despite everything.
And as I was lost in my thoughts, my feet suddenly stopped.
In front of me…
A dilapidated building.
Its walls crumbling, paint peeling, windows like dead eyes staring into nothingness.
This is the place I call "home."
I entered the building slowly, my footsteps echoing down the narrow hallway.
As I approached my apartment door…
I froze.
A woman's shoe?
I stared at it for a few seconds.
Would he do it again?
That vile man…
The one who was supposed to raise me.
Was he still doing this? Had he not grown tired?
I felt a tightness in my chest but said nothing.
I opened the door and went straight into my room.
My room was… green.
Completely green.
The walls painted a pale green, cracked as if untouched for years.
Long cracks stretched like old wounds.
And in the corners… rats.
I had gotten used to their presence.
They had become part of the scene, like dust, like dampness, like loneliness.
I sat on the bed and carefully took out what I had hidden.
Wait… my savings.
A small amount of money, but enough.
I had collected enough to—if things went well—rent a small apartment.
With a steady income from a job…
I could cover the cost.
A simple dream.
Very small.
But reality was harsh.
Why were all the apartments so expensive?
I had searched before, again and again.
Prices showed no mercy, as if the world conspired against those born at the bottom.
If only they lowered the price a little…
It would have been nice.
I sighed and set the money aside.
Let me not think about it too much.
Strangely… I felt at ease now.
Despite the exhaustion, despite the disappointment, despite everything.
Perhaps because tomorrow held something new.
All I had to do now… was sleep.