TSESHR 03

Chapter : 03

A low, quiet voice read the words written on my screen.

“I want you. Jae.”

I slowly lifted my eyes, following the big hand holding my phone.

Lightly tanned skin. A neat school uniform that didn’t match his punk-like vibe. Wide, striking eyes and pretty lips—the kind that would make older girls go nuts chasing him.

“…Jung Eunsung?”

It was Jung Eunsung.

The last person I saw before I fell off the rooftop in my previous life.

A guy who, after every member quit and after countless scandals and disasters, became one of Korea’s top actors eleven years later.

But right now—

He was just an eighteen-year-old boy, still a trainee at a major agency.

The new transfer who appeared in our class at the start of the semester. The center of every rumor.

Together with Seo Jaegyeom, the reason girls from other classes kept showing up with excuses like “Can I borrow a PE uniform?” or “I forgot my textbook.”

He caused so much commotion that after two days, our homeroom teacher blew up and taped a huge sign on the door: NO ENTRY FOR OTHER CLASSES!!!!

And he was the only classmate whose future I already knew.

“Oh, hey, it’s Jung Eunsung.”

“Hi, Eunsung!”

“Eunsung, you remember me?”

Even while we stood facing off in the hallway, girls flitted by, giggling and waving at him.

“Jung. Eunsung…”

I looked at him—eleven years younger—with a weird, emotional swelling in my chest.

He glanced back at me, my tears still not fully wiped, and made a sour face.

“Jung Eunsung, you…”

“Kang Dahye, you…”

“So you were short in high school?”

“…Why are you crying?”

“…”

“…”

Gasp.

I was supposed to think that, not say it.

Eunsung’s face scrunched.

“Short?”

He looked up at the ceiling like he couldn’t believe me, let out a dry laugh, and straightened his back.
It didn’t make him any taller.

Staring at his Adam’s apple right in front of my face, I mumbled,

“I mean, you’re really small though…”

Maybe he wasn’t objectively short, but anyone would feel the same if someone they used to crane their neck to look up at suddenly shrank by like ten centimeters in an instant.

For reference, adult Eunsung was listed as 187cm in profiles—rumor was he was taller.

And now?

Maybe 179cm.

I’m pretty sure he was over 180 at debut… do guys really shoot up that fast in a year?

Now that I think about it, I vaguely remember him grumbling in senior year about needing a new uniform because he’d grown…

“It’s okay. You’ll grow soon,” I comforted weakly.

He ignored me.

Instead, he lowered his gaze to my phone in his hand.

His thumb flicked the screen downwards.

Anyone watching would think it was his phone.

Even touching a close friend’s phone like that is pretty rude—

“Wait?”

Come to think of it—

At this point, he’d barely been here a week. We shouldn’t be anywhere close to comfortable with each other.

So why did he talk so casually?
Why so natural?

…No way.

“…Eunsung, by any chance, do you remem—”

“Maybe loving alone gets boring,
Even if I try to find your awful habits—”

“…Huh?”

He cut me off right as I was about to ask Do you remember too? Did you regress?

Still staring down arrogantly at my phone, he began reciting the lyrics I had highlighted in my playlist.

In the most bored voice ever.

“At least one day, I pray the girl by your side is me…”

“…”

“Even if your love’s changed, I hope you’ll still come back~ fall asleep in my arms—wooOOOAH~~~”

“STOP! Stop!!”

You lunatic!

“Give it back!”

I snatched the phone.

Even though he’d been gripping it like he’d never let go, he handed it over without resistance.

Facing my burning-red face, Eunsung smirked crookedly.

“You bookmarked a lot of lyrics.”

“None of your business…”

“Must be a pretty epic one-sided love.”

“…”

“Who’s Jae?”

“SHUT UP.”

That Jae is literally in our class!
I clapped my hand over his mouth.

He just glanced down at my hand pressing on his lips, then moved his head back like it didn’t even tickle.

“Why were you reading that?!”

“Why can’t I?”

“Because!”

“Why?”

“Because it’s personal!”

“That song is personal? A song that swept the charts decades ago?”

“It wasn’t decades ago! And classics don’t age!”

“True. Classics don’t age. And like you said, it’s famous. Which means it’s definitely not your personal business.”

“I mean the PHONE! My phone is private!”

“Ohhh, Lady Kang Dahye’s Secret Crush Playlist? Yeah, I suppose that’s private—”

“HEY!”

“You’re turning red.”

“…”

Out of pure humiliation, okay?

Why the hell was I so sentimental eleven years ago?!

Eunsung tilted his head, amused.

“What, are you embarrassed about your love for Jae? Even though you saved… ninety-eight songs?”

He leaned forward as he said ninety-eight, peeking again.

“Mind your own business.”

I jabbed at the screen furiously.

Delete this playlist RIGHT NOW. DELETE DELETE DELETE!

“Why delete it? It’s a classic banger party.”

“The party’s OVER.”

“Why? You get dumped?”

“…”

This bastard has no memories. One hundred percent.

If he remembered anything, he couldn’t say that.

I glared at him.

His boyish—not yet fully grown—face stared right back.

No scar on his cheek yet—the one fans would later lament.

If his face eleven years later was complete, then now it felt like… a preview of greatness.

I was too distracted marveling to respond when he called my name.

“Kang Dahye.”

“…Yeah?”

“If you yell your heart out behind someone and they pretend they don’t hear you?
The love’s already dead.”

“…”

“Give up and find someone else.”

“…”

“Oh, and before you delete anything, don’t forget to share the playlist.”

“You insane—!”

“Hehehe…”

“HEY! You two! What are you doing in the hall?!”

A teacher from the next class marched toward us, slapping a pointer stick against the wall.

“Get inside!”

Just you wait.

I shot Eunsung a death glare.

He snorted and walked in first.

I moved to follow—

SLAM.

The door shut right in front of my nose.

“…”

Through the small window, Eunsung smiled with his eyes.

This jerk.

* *

Was Jung Eunsung always like this?

[What I know about Jung Eunsung]

• Before transferring here, he’d already appeared in multiple commercials and music videos.
• If you searched his name online, you’d get his picture, age, and current high school (ours).
• Before my regression, fans even came to the school sometimes.

So was he always like this?
No idea! I don’t remember!

“Dahye, you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You were crying before.”

“Oh. I’m fine now.”

I whispered to the friend sitting next to me (the one who told me where to sit).

In the music room, we sat in an S-shape from the front by student number.
Seo Jaegyeom, at the back, was flirting lightly with the teacher’s jokes.

Eunsung’s side was quiet.

‘I really don’t remember what he was like…’
We only got close later through club activities.
At the beginning of the semester, we barely talked—just classmates existing in the same room.

Which is why I was thrown that post-regression he was suddenly like that.

“Okay, guys, you all know your performance assessments are singing tests, right?”

The music teacher at the piano cut off my thoughts.

“You don’t study for music anyway—says it won’t matter for college.
So from this year, it’s going to weigh more.
First semester: singing.
Second: composition.”

“Composition?!”

“Is plagiarism allowed?”

“Quiet. For the singing test, you pick your own songs.
What do you want to sing?”

“The national anthem?”

“You know all the lyrics to verses 1 through 4?”

“No.”

“Rejected.”

“…”

“No suggestions?”

“…”

“No suggestions means we sing the school anthem.”

No. Not the anthem.

Our school anthem has rap in it.

Someone please suggest SOMETHING.

I turned to look around—and my eyes met Eunsung’s, chin resting on his hand.

He blinked slowly.

I gave him a cheerful ^_^ㅗ.

And suddenly, he shot his hand up.

“Teacher.”

“Oh? Yes, Eunsung, you have a suggestion?”

“Kang Dahye knows a LOT of great songs.”

“…”

…This freaking guy????????????