BMGSN 8

Let’s exclude the final sub-gong who has not appeared yet. Go Yeol and Baek Jaehee. Jinki wanted to help connect Joo Unyoung with one of those two guys.

Ever since he had possessed this body and started acting differently, hadn’t the story already begun to diverge from the original? Avoiding at least one of the three sub-gongs was possible. He knew it was a third-year student. So he just had to help Unyoung avoid meeting him. 

At the very least, it was the duty of someone who had transmigrated to keep the story from turning into a misery fest!

⟨Hey, Joo Unyoung. Just stay put. I am only going to take a look at Choi Jinki’s face and leave, okay?⟩

The voice of the third sub-gong, who appeared last—no, the villain—tickled his ears. That bastard kidnapped Joo Unyoung and used violence on him. He came from a family with power comparable to Choi Jinki’s, and on top of that, he was rotten to the core. He had drugged Joo Unyoung with sleeping pills and grabbed him by the hair, shaking him until his pretty blond hair was completely messed up.  

“No, that’s not necessary…”

“You! Have some confidence. There are tons of people who like you. You know that, right? I’ll help you end up with a good person. You can do it!”

Yeah, from now on, I need to treat Unyoung well. Instead of avoiding him, I should stay close as a good friend and find him a new partner.

His feelings for Choi Jinki wouldn’t disappear immediately. But once he met a new love, things would be different. People always seek something new. So Jinki decided to find the optimal match for Joo Unyoung and end this novel with a happy ending.

“And you. Be careful of those bullies and delinquents, okay?”

“Huh?”

“They think you’re an easy target. Because you’re pretty.”

“…That’s not true. I’m fine.”

“Be especially careful around third-year seniors. They are worse because they are seniors, you know? If they see someone pretty, they call them over right away.”

At the suddenly spoken words, Joo Unyoung simply smiled and nodded.

That third year was definitely the worst of the delinquents, the kind of delinquent who ruled the school. Thinking back on how he hid his face, coveted Joo Unyoung, and talked about ruining him to lure Choi Jinki out, it was obvious.  

That bastard’s plan was clearly to completely destroy Choi Jinki right in front of Joo Unyoung, then make Unyoung abandon all hope and trap him so he could never escape his arms.

The others are fine, so please, just don’t let him meet that bastard. Please.

Facing the moon rising in the darkening sky, Jinki muttered a prayer in his heart. When he tightly closed his eyes and opened them again, Joo Unyoung was looking at him.

“I don’t care how I look to other people. As long as I look pretty in your eyes, that’s enough.”

The blond hair swayed slightly as he tilted his head. His pale cheek and forehead were revealed, and his thin, long eyebrows caught the light of the streetlamp that had turned on at some point. Joo Unyoung lifted the corners of his lips and smiled sweetly. His high, sharp nose bridge and smiling lips carried a reddish hue.

For a moment, Jinki felt dazed, as if he had been bewitched by a fox, before snapping back to his senses. The body’s lingering memory of having fallen for that guy was a problem, Joo Unyoung himself was a problem, but the most dangerous thing of all was Joo Unyoung’s insanely beautiful face. F*ck.

“…Hey, but don’t you play soccer?”

“Me? I’m not playing because you’re not, Jinki.”

“You can meet good people there, too. Try going out and doing things. Love doesn’t come to you if you just wait. You have to move.”

A lifelong single for twenty-two years. That was Jinki in his past life. But he was unbelievably good at giving dating advice. He had even helped the assistant manager at work with his love life and set Kim Hyeyeon up with the younger guy she had her eye on. That was why he was confident. He knew the timing for when to step back and when to step in. He knew how to help. 

Jinki let go of Joo Unyoung’s hand and sprang to his feet. What had happened on the bus earlier had long since been erased from his mind.

Yeah, like this, Joo Unyoung could meet a good person, and I can look for something I want to do and try it. I still don’t know what that is, but I’m at an age where that’s okay. As long as he doesn’t meet the villain, everything will go smoothly. Smiling brightly, Jinki held out his hand to Joo Unyoung.

“The sun’s already set. Aren’t you hungry? If you haven’t eaten, want to go eat with me? Do you know the new snack place that opened in front of the school? They say it is good.”

Joo Unyoung sat there blankly, not moving. Watching him, thinking he must have been touched by his words, Jinki smiled with satisfaction. He felt so good he thought he might float away. When he asked again, as if urging him on, Joo Unyoung blinked a few times, then gently curved his eyelids and smiled.  

“Yeah, let’s do that. You’re paying, right? To commemorate getting dumped.”

“Uh, of course. Add extra eggs, add glass noodles too. Put in everything you want.”

“I eat a lot, though. Can you handle that?”

“Yeah! I’ve got lots of money!”

He had a good feeling. Only now had things finally settled into place. The awkward days of living inside someone else’s body were over. He had felt like he was floating alone, out of place, but that was no longer the case.  

A path had opened toward an ending where everyone could be happy.

Jinki walked ahead energetically, swinging the hand that held Joo Unyoung’s.

I’ll pick a good guy and pair you up, Unyoung-ah.

Just trust me!

* * *

His steps toward school were so light that he felt like he could fly.

Before heading to school, Jinki spent about five extra minutes in front of the mirror than usual. Just looking at his toned, long limbs and handsome face made his chest feel tight with satisfaction. So he gave himself five more minutes of self-love before leaving the house.

It’s a sinful face, seriously.

“I might get street-cast. That’s scary.”

Muttering that to himself, he broke into a sheepish grin, amused by his own words. Even in his past life, with that scrawny body, he had been stopped on the street a few times. With how he looked now, he probably wouldn’t even make it one step.

Jinki said “Thank you!” to the people who prepared his breakfast and cleaned his bowl completely. He even drank fresh strawberry juice for dessert.

Humming to himself as he left the house and walked down the slope, he spotted the back of Go Yeol’s head. Grinning broadly, Jinki hurried over and lightly smacked the back of Go Yeol, who was dressed in his training clothes.

“Good morning!”

“…Yeah.”

After saying it, Jinki wondered if that greeting was too different from his usual personality, but he thought, whatever, and slowed his pace slightly to match Go Yeol’s steps.

“You in a good mood?”

“Yeah. Amaaaazing. Really good.”

“That’s good.”

Go Yeol silently nodded and patted Jinki’s head a couple of times. It was a familiar gesture. Jinki hummed and tilted his head side to side. After everything had worked out yesterday, thanks to Joo Unyoung, his heart felt much lighter.

Every road ahead of him looked like a path of flowers. Soon, the two arrived at school. Since it was still early, the disciplinary committee was not out yet. Jinki waved his hand casually at Go Yeol, who was heading toward the gym, to say goodbye.

Go Yeol, who somehow looked concerned, watched Jinki quietly, then stopped.

“What?”

“Just… You seem different these days.”

“Well, people change as they live, you know.”

When he asked, “Isn’t that right?” Go Yeol gave a small nod.

“You look good.”

At the brief reply, Jinki’s eyes curved as he beamed brightly, then he gave Go Yeol a solid smack on the back.

“I’m going!”

“Yeah.”

With his worries gone, even the classroom looked different. Jinki dragged out his chair, sat down, and let out a long sigh. When he threw his head back, a white ceiling came into view.

High school. It’s really high school. I’m really an eighteen-year-old high schooler.

“Seriously, where else would I find a jackpot like this?”

Once again, the feeling hit him anew. What were the odds that a broke, penniless bastard at twenty-two would transmigrate into the body of a brilliant second-generation chaebol? No, setting that aside, the very idea of transmigration made no sense to begin with.

As he stared at the ceiling like that, drowsiness crept in. On the first day, his eyes had snapped open even at five in the morning, but now they were half-closed. It almost felt like he had returned to his past life, where he always narrowly avoided being late because he slept so much in the mornings.

In that state, Jinki closed his eyes, shifted his body, and stretched his legs out long to find a more comfortable position. He completely relaxed his neck and scooted his hips back until his head rested against the back of the chair, and sleep soon followed.

While he was sleeping in that rather foolish-looking pose, there was a clatter beside him as someone sat down. Jinki jerked his head up with half-lidded eyes.

“Did I wake you?”

“Hi.”

“Yeah. You came early.”

The one who smiled faintly as he set his bag down was Joo Unyoung. Jinki rubbed his eyes, then saw the homeroom teacher come in and yawned wide as he checked the timetable.

Ah, math. Choi Jinki’s best subject.

He straightened his posture and twisted his stiff body with a crack, bending his waist.

He wanted to brag about this. To say that he woke up and suddenly became ridiculously handsome and rich. If he had someone to tell, he would have bragged until their ears fell off. Jinki slapped his own cheeks a few times and tried to harden his expression like usual, but it quickly melted away.

Whatever, I don’t care. I’ll just do whatever I want. So what if I get caught? What are they going to do, exorcise me?

“Jinki-ya, you look really happy today.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Really happy?”

“Yeah. Really happy.”

He nodded obediently as he answered. Resting his chin on his hand, Jinki met Joo Unyoung’s gaze. Joo Unyoung was looking at him in the same pose.

“Do you like me?”

“Yeah, I li…!”

He clamped his mouth shut as he almost answered by reflex, and Joo Unyoung, chin still propped on his hand, burst out laughing softly. His eyes curved beautifully, and the way the corners of his lips lifted as he smiled made Jinki’s heart drop with a thud before he even realized it.

F*ck, this insanely beautiful bastard. Seriously.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Why are you freezing up like that?”

“No, it’s just… Ah, I-I should do some preview studying.”

The back of his neck burned hot. So this was why people got plastic surgery. He was so pretty that just looking at him felt good…

When he took out his textbook and opened it, formulas he had never memorized filled his head. The fact that he could recall them as if they were engraved there, even without reviewing, meant Choi Jinki was definitely a genius. 

With a brain like this, couldn’t he plan Joo Unyoung’s love life in a way that would put most romance novels to shame? Jinki pictured Go Yeol and Baek Jaehee in his mind, then placed Joo Unyoung between them. No matter where he put him, it made a perfect picture.

Man, this is a real dilemma.