The next day.

I finally went to school.

‘It’s been a while.’

Of course, if I actually counted, the period of hospitalization wasn’t that long. But so many things happened in that short time that it felt much longer.

‘Above all… I didn’t expect Ji Seung Hyun to be resolved like that.’

Yesterday, when I was discharged from the hospital, I asked the system about Ji Seung Hyun. I asked if it would be considered a happy ending if he was declared fully cured in the future. The answer was ‘YES’.

‘Great, that’s one issue resolved.’

Saving both Ji Seung Hyun and myself.

Thanks to that, I was fired up with motivation again. Right, there was a reason I was doing this. Let’s quickly resolve everything and return to the original world! I clenched my fist and made a resolution.

“You’re here?”

As soon as I entered the classroom, Yoo Hee Na was the first to greet me.

‘What’s with her coming to school early for a change?’

Yoo Hee Na wasn’t the type to be particularly enthusiastic about school life. Usually, forget about coming to school early, it was a relief if she wasn’t late. Did something happen?

That question was soon answered.

“Now, let’s choose the athletes for our sports festival.”

The class president standing in front of the teacher’s desk said.

That’s right. It was sports festival season now!

‘Of course.’

I shook my head as I looked at Yoo Hee Na, whose eyes were sparkling.

‘I was too naive to have briefly hoped that she had the will to study.’

But it wasn’t completely incomprehensible either. Yoo Hee Na had apparently lived only in the hospital until middle school, so she never participated in events like this. She probably had some fantasy about the sports festival.

‘Last time I saw her, she seemed to have high expectations too.’

Indeed, Yoo Hee Na participated in the meeting with tremendous enthusiasm.

“Me! Relay! I want to do the relay!”

Was Yoo Hee Na good at running? …I don’t think so.

‘I wonder if she’ll collapse while running.’

The class president must have thought the same thing, as he smiled awkwardly with a troubled face.

“Ah… we’ll decide the relay based on the 100m sprint records for now.”

At that, Yoo Hee Na pouted and sat back down.

After that, she tried a few more times but was blocked each time. Once she lost at rock-paper-scissors, and another time she drew a blank in a draw. At this point, was the heavens stopping her?

Finally, when she was eliminated from the baseball player selection as well, Yoo Hee Na cried out in despair.

“No way!”

I know, right?

I patted the back of the dejected Yoo Hee Na and comforted her.

‘By the way, the kids at this school are quite passionate about the sports festival.’

To the point of voluntarily stepping up like this.

Thanks to that, I was able to spend the sports festival comfortably without participating in any events.

“You’re not doing anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

It’s a hassle…

Although young on the outside, I was already a worn-out adult on the inside and didn’t have the energy to do anything.

‘Just sitting outside all day is tiring enough.’

Moreover, in this Inso world, you never know what might happen, so it’s best to save as much energy as possible.

Anyway, with the selection of athletes for each event over, we moved on to the next agenda.

What needed to be decided this time was the ‘class T-shirt’.

Yoo Hee Na’s eyes were once again burning with passion.

‘Class T-shirts are all the same anyway.’

Losing interest, I yawned and looked out the window.

It was a sunny day. A clear sky without a single cloud and a sun that was too harsh for spring. It felt like summer was not far away.

‘It’s already been two months since I possessed this body…’

The initial possession was around March. Now that it was May, it had indeed been that long.

‘It feels like it’s been over a year though.’

So many things had happened that it felt very long ago, but it had only been two months. No matter how I thought about it, time seemed to pass too slowly in this world.

‘I should be able to return to the original world before the end of this year, right?’

Then, when would that be? Before Christmas, perhaps?

I think I need to start considering my farewell to these kids.

Regardless of what the final goodbye is like, they won’t remember it anyway.

‘In the end, am I the only one who will remember all of this…?’

It felt a bit lonely.

For some reason, Seon Woo Jin’s face suddenly came to mind for a moment, but I immediately erased it.

While I was lost in thought like that, the decision on the class T-shirt had already ended.

“Oh, what? It’s over already?”

“Yup!”

Yoo Hee Na nodded.

Judging by that triumphant expression, it seems the class T-shirt was decided according to Yoo Hee Na’s wishes.

‘What did they decide on to make her so satisfied?’

Why do I feel uneasy whenever she’s pleased?

Still, considering when she dressed up Seol Yu Bin last time, Yoo Hee Na seemed to have some aesthetic sense… It shouldn’t be anything too weird.

Yeah, let’s not worry unnecessarily. Unexpectedly, something good might happen, right? Although it hasn’t been the case so far.

Anyway, I decided to think positively.

After deciding on the class T-shirt, the meeting ended.

Looking at the clock, it was almost time for class to start.

Yoo Hee Na had already returned to her unmotivated state as if she had never enthusiastically participated in the meeting.

‘Well, it would be more surprising if she diligently listened to the lesson.’

What student in the world would prefer studying over playing? Of course, there are occasionally kids like that, but they are exceptions.

“Ah, I hate this. I wish the sports festival would come quickly.”

Yoo Hee Na sighed deeply and slumped over her desk.

I patted Yoo Hee Na to make her sit up and had her listen to the lesson.

Time passed like that, and soon it was lunchtime.

‘But… something feels strange today.’

I suddenly thought while eating rice in the cafeteria.

Since becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it had become more frequent for people to glance at me, but today it was worse than usual.

I thought it might be my self-consciousness, but I kept making eye contact with passing kids, so something was definitely happening.

‘Did something happen while I was absent from school?’

However, no matter how much I wracked my brain, I couldn’t think of anything.

‘…It’s probably nothing serious, right?’

I tried to shake off the uneasiness and laughed and chatted with Yoo Hee Na.

I found out the answer not long after.

It was break time. Feeling the need to relieve myself, I left the classroom and dashed straight to the restroom.

As I entered one of the stalls…

“Hey, did you hear about that?”

“What?”

“About Lee Ju Eun from Class 3.”

…As soon as I went in, some girls outside started talking about me.

‘What’s with this situation?’

I was momentarily flustered, not knowing how to react.

‘Didn’t they see me come in here earlier?’

Surely they weren’t talking so blatantly for me to hear, right?

This was the first time I encountered such a situation, so my response was delayed. I was prepared to be the talk of the town after becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but I never thought I would hear gossip about myself live in real-time.

‘So this is why the saying “walls have ears” exists.’

Indeed, not a single word from our ancestors is wrong. I learned a lesson. From now on, I should also be careful with my words.

‘Alright, let’s hear what they have to say.’

Instead of going out and directly revealing my presence, I chose to secretly eavesdrop.

I put my ear against the door and waited for the girls to speak. A high-pitched voice said,

“I heard she was hospitalized for the past few days when she didn’t come to school.”

“Hospitalized? Why? Was she sick?”

“No? Actually…”

I couldn’t hear the rest. They seemed to be whispering.

‘Why are they suddenly whispering when they were talking openly anyway?’

But the very next moment, I could figure out what they were talking about.

“What? Kidnapped?”

“Shh! Your voice is too loud!”

What’s the point of keeping it down now? I’m already listening to everything.

Anyway, I roughly understood. It seemed the Haseong High School kidnapping incident had also spread widely among the students.

Well, it’s understandable for rumors to spread after causing such a commotion. I wasn’t particularly surprised.

“But why was she kidnapped?”

I know, right…

Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

‘Damn snowball.’

If I had known it would escalate to this extent, I would have never lied to Han Ye Won in the first place.

I gritted my teeth, feeling a sense of self-loathing.

“I heard this from someone in another class, but…”

Heard it?

The very next moment. A bomb dropped.

“Actually, Lee Ju Eun is Ice Boy’s girlfriend!”

What!

I opened my mouth wide in shock.

‘That false rumor has spread here too?’

That’s right. The snowball was still rolling.

“What, really?”

“Yeah! My friend’s boyfriend attends Haseong High School, and the students there already know about it!”

No!

I pulled my hair and writhed in agony.

Unaware of my suffering, the girls outside chatted excitedly.

“Oh my gosh, they were close, so they were actually in that kind of relationship.”

“Then what about Han Ye Won?”

“It’s just over, what else?”

Their giggling voices sounded spiteful.

‘Should I go out now?’

I had a strong urge to correct the rumor.

However, what I heard next made me hesitate.

“But you know what?”

What?

“This is something only people in the know are aware of…”

I swallowed nervously.

“Lee Ju Eun… might actually be World Rank 0!”

At this point, I didn’t even have the energy to be surprised anymore.

‘Me… World Rank 0?’

Amid my confusion, I heard the girls’ voices.

“What? Then could it be that rumored person?”

“Yes! There was a rumor that person was at our school! It was actually her all along.”

After a momentary silence, a voice filled with realization was heard.

“No wonder…!”

No wonder what!

I felt like screaming. I grabbed my head and cursed inwardly.

“Then we should be careful from now on, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We can’t get on the bad side of World Rank 0.”

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the break.

“Ah, the bell rang. Let’s go.”

The sound of the girls leaving was heard.

The restroom became quiet as if it had never been noisy.

‘I’m doomed… My life is over…’

In that stillness, I, left alone, was in despair.