***
Seoul at 11 PM was a city painted in shadows, its brilliance muted under the oppressive shroud of night. A man sat in the last car of an empty subway train, his face devoid of expression. The world outside the window blurred into streaks of artificial light and darkness, matching the void in his chest.
At midnight, he found himself on the roof of a tall building. The cold wind bit at his skin as he stood at the edge, gazing at the labyrinth of neon lights below. His mind replayed moments of his life like a broken reel of film. Regrets. Pain. Loneliness. They swirled together in a cacophony that drowned out all reason.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and leaned forward. Gravity pulled him into the void, a fleeting whisper of freedom before the inevitable. Yet, when he opened his eyes, there was no impact, no final release.
Instead, a cacophony of voices surrounded him.
He blinked. The vibrant chaos of a high school classroom unfolded around him. The walls were lined with colorful posters, the desks crowded with students. Laughter and chatter filled the air. Confused and disoriented, he asked himself, "Where am I? Did I already die?"
"Are you alright, Min Soo?"
He turned sharply. A girl stood before him, her worried expression framed by soft brown hair. Her name tag read "Hanni."
The name sent a jolt through him. He stared at her face, uncomprehending. She looked exactly like Hanni, a famous K-pop idol he'd occasionally seen in media. Though he wasn't a fan, her image had been hard to miss.
"This must be a dream," he thought. "Why is she here? Did I go crazy?"
Panicked, he pinched his cheek hard. The sting was sharp and real.
"Min Soo, are you sure you're okay?" Hanni's voice was laced with concern.
"Min Soo? Who is that? That's not my name." The thought rang in his mind as he stumbled to his feet. Ignoring the confused stares of his classmates, he rushed out of the classroom.
Hanni watched him leave, a flicker of worry crossing her face.
In the hallway, his footsteps echoed as he frantically searched for the restroom. Finding it, he darted inside and braced himself against the sink. His heart hammered in his chest. Slowly, he raised his head to the mirror.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
The face staring back at him wasn't his. The reflection belonged to someone else—someone younger, someone he didn't recognize.
He grabbed at his face, pulling at his skin as if it were a mask. It wasn't. The realization crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Somehow, he had been transported to the past, inhabiting the body of this "Min Soo."
***