I Think The Genre Has Changed

Engraved (3)

“Oh my god!”

What’s going on?

As soon as our eyes met, the boy, who seemed more surprised than me, opened his eyes in a circle and covered his mouth. As I looked at him, wondering what kind of writer’s trick this was, the boy, who was muttering nonsense, pointed to me with his fingertips.

“Are you… me?”

“…I don’t think so.”

“…Wow.”

The boy, who uttered a pure exclamation, blinked. He became silent with his lips closed as if he were lost in thought. How much time did I spend? It was only a little later that the boy sat down and waved at Si-hyun, perhaps he had finished organizing his thoughts.

“Hello.”

In my own way…

To be exact, it was Kang Sihyun, but it was me who lived for a month.

Feeling reluctant to say hello to the person with the same face as me, I stared at the boy in front of me. The boy laughed. There was a sense of separation.

It’s not awkward. It’s just…

It felt like a boy was more natural than me.

That feeling made me realize that I wasn’t Kang Sihyun.

Unlike me, who frowned or felt pathetic, the change in expressions the boy made were small yet bright. I learned for the first time today that if I smiled with Kang Sihyun’s face, I looked like that.

“This is…”

“How’s my body?”

“…”

My thoughts stopped as I heard the question. As my brain paused, it felt like the world had also stopped.

When I widened my eyes at the unexpected words and looked at the boy, the boy, who smiled like the main character in the youth cartoon, showed his teeth. I could hear a silly laugh. It was a clean and cool smile that felt refreshing just by looking at it.

The main character in the youth cartoon…

I don’t think so.

I was appalled at the thought that came to mind. The boy’s question about my body hovered around my ears.

“You…”

The boy laughed as I spilled my words in surprise. It was positive.

“Oh….”

Speechless, my eyes wandered. I’d never thought that if I met the real Kang Sihyun, it would be like this, although I made assumptions about it.

“Is it a dream?”

All this made sense if it was a dream. As I expressed my thoughts out loud, the boy who looked at me meaningfully sat down in his seat cross-legged.

“Isn’t it dark? Will you come this way?”

The boy who tapped on the seat next to him smiled cheerfully and spoke. I hesitated because I wanted to be friendly, but when I walked away, the boy smiled contentedly and looked up as if he was worried. As I inadvertently raised my head, the ceiling came into view… though I’m not too sure if I should call it a ceiling or the sky. It was dark.

“Is it too sudden? Um… where should we start?”

Sitting down, I fixed my eyes on the boy, who was about to tell a story. In this world, where everything was unkind, the boy seemed kind enough to tell me something. I came to listen without realizing it.

“In fact, there are many kinds of dreams. Some dreams show an illusion, some show the past, and some show the future that may happen soon.”

“And so…”

When I calmly replied, the awkward boy scratched his cheek and smiled vaguely. Then, I moved my body a few times, maybe because I felt stuffy. The boy scratched his head. Each of the trivial actions did not seem to match Kang Sihyun’s face, but strangely matched. It was a contradictory situation.

“So what I want to say is…. Ah! I wanted to try and say something cool, but I can’t!”

“…”

I blinked in surprise at the boy who suddenly raised his voice. The boy, who looked at me, shook his head once and continued his story.

“I just mean, not every dream shows a lie. Even if what you’re seeing right now is a dream. I can’t say with certainty that what you’re going through is fake.”

It was nonsense. However, despite the boy’s unrealistic story, I couldn’t get my thoughts out. That’s right. He’s the one who’s lived an unreal life more than anyone else.

My head fell down with a tap. A colorless floor came into view.

Is this a dream or reality? Is the person I’m looking at the same person I thought they were?

I was itching to ask the question. The boy, who looked at me, frowned as if his mind became crowded with disorganized thoughts.

“…I’m sorry.”

Why are you sorry?

I raised my head at the unexpected apology. If either the boy or I had to apologize, it would have to be me, not the boy.

No, neither the boy nor I had any reason to apologize in the first place. If anyone had to apologize, it’d be someone else. Yeah, someone who sent me here should apologize, not the boy.

In that sense, when I saw the boy, he smiled quietly as he faced Si-hyun. The smile seemed somewhat sad to Si-hyun.

“It’s probably confusing and frustrating. I saw that you’re quite sensitive, so you must be struggling even now. But I think now is the best time.”

“…You act like you know, but isn’t this the first time we’re seeing each other? What are you talking about?”

“Well… there’s a limit to what I can tell you.”

“Limit?”

When I asked about the series of mysterious words, the boy put his index finger to his lips and laughed playfully. Men usually have a lot of secrets, and I find myself but the boy’s tendencies are the opposite. Maybe it was something I knew from the beginning.