I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 90
Jaewoo felt like he couldn’t breathe. Unconsciously, his hand clutched at his chest as tears began pouring down his face. Desperately, Jaewoo pleaded with Eunjoon.
“Then I’ll die. If I can’t be with him, I’d rather be dead!”
Still smiling, Eunjoon whispered gently.
“That’s okay. Even if you die, at least you’ll die by my side.”
Jaewoo was so shocked that for a moment all he could do was stare.
That vague sense of discomfort he’d felt during the novel had finally become concrete. The Eunjoon he knew had never behaved this way, so what had made him change?
Suddenly, Jaewoo realized that Eunjoon was reaching out to wipe his tears. He slapped his hand away, then turned and ran. Luckily, Eunjoon didn’t try to follow him.
There was only one hope remaining. Jaewoo called Eunah once more. This time, the call connected, as if she’d stopped blocking him.
─ What?
“H-Help, help me.”
─ My brother told you no, didn’t he? Then I won’t help you either.
“Eunah, you hate me, right?”
─ …I don’t like you, no.
“Then why don’t you take this opportunity to get rid of me, once and for all?”
There was something he’d realized after speaking with Eunjoon and Eunah – they both had the power to freely enter and exit the book, and could force others inside. Jaewoo didn’t know if it was something only they could do, or if they’d inherited that power from their family, but he was absolutely certain that they were both capable of it.
─ Wow, I can’t believe you figured it out. Sure, I could help you. The problem is I don’t know how my brother will respond if I do. You’ve seen him when he’s angry, right? And if I help you, he’s going to be very angry.
“Probably, yes.”
─ So you’re asking me to take that risk?
“Some things are worth the danger.”
─ Easy for you to say.
A long, drawn-out sigh came through the line.
─ Fine. Let’s talk about this. Come to my house.
Eunah gave him the address, then hung up.
Jaewoo rushed over to Eunah’s apartment. He was surprised to find that it was actually pretty ordinary-looking, in contrast to Eunjoon’s severe aesthetic. There was only one thing that they shared: both of them had a room completely filled with books.
“Haaaaaaaah, this is so troublesome.”
Eunah let out another deep sigh as Jaewoo sat down in front of her. Her forehead, which was normally clear and unwrinkled, was furrowed.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that? Spit it out.”
“You and Eunjoon… what are you?”
“What do you mean? We’re just people.”
“People who can transmigrate into books?”
“Alright, fair. In our family, there’s only two people who have that gift: Eunjoon, and myself. You’re a bit off, though. The book is just a medium. That world actually exists, and is just as real as this one.”
It seemed as though Eunah had no intention of hiding anything anymore.
“A real world…”
That went against what Eunjoon had been telling him, but between the two, Jaewoo trusted Eunah’s words more. Maybe it was just because she was saying what he wanted to hear.
“Right. But are you sure you want to go back there? Why? I only know a little bit about that world, but I know your life there wasn’t a particularly comfortable one.”
“The man I love is there.”
As soon as he said that, Eunah burst out laughing.
“Ahahah, you mean Eunjoon lost his chance1?”
A satisfied expression settled on Eunah’s face.
“So that’s why you want to go back, huh? Okay. There’s just one problem, though.”
“What is it?”
“If you travel there again, you’ll have to use your own body. And even if I bring you there, Eunjoon could always go and fetch you back again. His powers are stronger than mine.”
His own body? Jaewoo didn’t care about that. Even if Hyunjin didn’t recognize him, just being by his side was enough. The problem was the second part.
“Is there any way to keep Eunjoon from coming after me?”
“Sure. I had to experiment a bit to find this out, but one way is to just chuck the book down into the depths of the ocean. You need to wrap it up in something heavy first, so it can’t float. Even for Eunjoon, it’d be hard for him to find it again. At the very least, it’d buy you some time. The problem is that if you do that, you won’t be able to come back again.”
“That’s alright.”
“Have you made up your mind, then? Alright, when do you want to do this?”
“Let’s do it today. Can we go now?”
“What? We need to at least rent a boat first. You think this sort of thing can be done in just a day?”
“It has to be today. You know what Eunjoon’s like.”
At that, Eunah nodded.
“Eunjoon… If I were him, I would already have someone watching you. You’re right, we need to do this right away. Ah, also! I forgot to mention this, but you might not return to the same time you left. It’s a different world, and time can flow at a different rate there.”
“I’m still going.”
“Alright, then let’s get ready. I need to get our supplies, and find someone to distract Eunjoon for a couple of hours.”
Eunah made several phone calls. Then the two of them got into Eunah’s car, with Eunah behind the wheel. Although she looked composed on the outside, her driving was incredibly aggressive. Jaewoo clutched at the door handle desperately, trying not to vomit.
When they arrived at the pier, a boat was already waiting for them.
“Take us as far out as you can, please.”
The captain nodded at Eunah, and the ship began to move, cutting through the waves at full speed.
Whack!
Eunah slapped Jaewoo on the back as he collapsed to the deck, his nausea becoming even worse.
“So have you thought about how you’re going to survive once you get there?”
“I’ll definitely need to find a job, right?”
“A real job? Have you ever done anything except write?”
“I’m a good cook, too.”
“I know that.”
After hesitating for a moment, Eunah took a ring from her hand and placed it in Jaewoo’s, then took her wallet out and threw it at him.
“It’s a valuable ring.”
Why was she giving him this? Jaewoo thought that she hated him. When he looked over at her in confusion, Eunah said in a rough voice.
“Think of it as a final parting gift.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“Ugh.”
Eunah rubbed her arms, as if Jaewoo thanking her had given her goosebumps. In the meantime, the ship continued to press on.
Eventually, the blue sea began to turn dark, and the lights on the ship turned on. Eunah approached Jaewoo once more, standing right in front of him. She watched him silently as Jaewoo’s hand tightened on the book.
Then her hand reached out, and Jaewoo’s eyes closed. His mind emptied, and he found himself unable to focus. Still, a part of him knew: he was going to the world where Hyunjin was.
Jaewoo smiled to himself happily.
“Wow, I’m in big trouble.”
Alone on the boat, Eunah stared down at the black ocean, her hands shaking. She could barely see the shape of the green book sinking below the waves before it vanished out of sight. As it did, a light became visible on the horizon, approaching their position rapidly.
“He already caught up.”
But it was too late. Jaewoo had vanished from this world, and the book was resting on the bottom of the ocean, nearly impossible to find. Eunah slowly sat down on the deck, humming to herself.
Most people thought that Eunah liked Eunjoon and tried to follow in his footsteps, but they were wrong. What Eunah really wanted was Eunjoon’s position. She had stayed close to him, hoping to take advantage of his weaknesses, but she hadn’t been successful.
Then Jaewoo had appeared, the first close friend that Eunjoon had made.
“Turned out Eunjoon wanted to be more than friends, though.”
This was great. How would Eunjoon react when he found out that Jaewoo had disappeared, never to return? Eunah was looking forward to that.
Would he continue on like he had before? Would he collapse? It would be better for her if he broke down, so she was hoping for that one. Eunah smiled, looking over at the light that had finally reached their position.
When Jaewoo opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that the season had changed. It had been summer back in the real world, but in this world it was winter2. Snowflakes were falling from the sky like flowers, and everyone was wearing thick jackets and winter boots. Jaewoo was the only one without a coat.
He was back. He really was back. Jaewoo smiled brightly, unable to hold back his joy. He spun around, catching sight of his reflection in the window of a nearby store. Sure enough, his appearance was different than it had been before.
‘It’s my actual face.’
Jaewoo rubbed at his cheeks. Although he looked a little bit like Seo Jaewoo, the aspiring idol, there were definite differences. Would Hyunjin even recognize him? When he considered that, his mood sank.
Someone bumped into Jaewoo, even though he was standing away from the curb. The man that hit him grumbled to himself and walked away looking annoyed. It looked like Jaewoo needed to get moving.
Jaewoo slowly made his way down the snowy street until he found a clothing store. Entering, he quickly bought himself a puffy winter jacket.
Luckily Eunah’s wallet had a lot of cash in it. As his body warmed up, moving became easier. Jaewoo walked and walked, until finally his surroundings started to become familiar.
‘Ullim Mart.’
It was the market that Jaewoo used to shop at all the time. He walked straight past the stores and stood in front of the hill that led to his house. He was out of shape after not climbing it in so long, but he was able to power through because he knew what was waiting for him at the end.
Ahead of him, Jaewoo saw a blue gate. The old, creaky gate looked like it hadn’t changed at all. Maybe only a few days had passed in this world as well? Feeling hopeful, Jaewoo looked through a crack in the gate.
There seemed to be someone out in the yard, but Jaewoo couldn’t see them clearly. Should he just go inside anyway? Jaewoo hesitated, his hand hovering over the latch, but just then the gate opened and a tiny head popped out.
“Who are you?”
It was Woohee, but he seemed to have grown quite a bit since Jaewoo had last seen him.
“What year is it?”
Woohee counted on his fingers and finally responded.
“It’s 2021.”
It was more than a few days. More than a year had passed in this world since he’d died.
“So who are you?”
Woohee asked again.
‘Don’t you recognize me?’
Jaewoo swallowed back those words before they could escape.
“Woohee! What are you doing?”
Hyeonu’s voice rang out from behind Woohee, before he made his way over in person, looking warily at Jaewoo. He tugged at Woohee’s arm.
“You shouldn’t talk to strangers.”
‘Strangers.’ Jaewoo had become a stranger to the two boys.
Footnotes
“아하하, 은준 오빠 물먹었네?” – “Ahaha, eunjun oppa mulmeog-eossne?” – “Ahahah, so Eunjoon-oppa drank water?” Had to do some googling, but it looks like ‘drinking water’ in this slang for disappointing someone, standing them up, etc. Slang Wiki
눈을 뜨니 계절이 바뀌어 있었다. 사라질 때도 겨울이었는데, 지금도 겨울이다. – When I opened my eyes, the season had changed. It was winter when it disappeared, and it is still winter now. – Earlier in the book, it mentioned that it was summer in the real world. Since saying the season had changed from winter to winter didn’t make sense, I chose to change it to summer to winter.
Chapter 90
