Dream Breaker

Chapter 12

'Amazing.'

A miracle happened.

No matter how hard I tried, I never thought I could catch up with Song Seon-young. Swimming is not just about experience.

Physical ability is also crucial. There are even sports where natural body proportions are much more important than technique.

That's why,

'It doesn't make sense.'

It's a miracle that I caught up with Song Seon-young's record. There's no other way to explain it.

Physical training doesn't happen overnight.

However, even after investing several months in building my body, I'm back to square one due to regression?

It's the same principle that no matter how good a driver's skills are, they can't drive fast if the car engine's performance is poor.

But I accomplished the impossible.

Swooosh-

As the rematch began, I, who had fully recovered my stamina, swam diligently, moving my arms and legs.

My body always looks the same.

That's why my growth stopped.

No-

It should have stopped normally.

"Phew!"

"Pa!"

In the rematch after fully recovering my stamina through regression,

Thud!

Clap!

This time, too, it was difficult to determine the winner as we arrived simultaneously.

However,

"Who won?"

"I won, right?"

Since we asked the safety officer at the swimming pool for a fair judgment, there was no argument about who won.

So, who was the winner?

The safety officer, who had taken his eyes off the stopwatch, declared,

"In my eyes, the lady won by a very slight difference."

"Darn."

There was a miracle, but in the end, I tasted the bitterness of defeat again.

When I looked to the side,

"...A slight difference?"

Song Seon-young couldn't laugh and boast like before even though she won.

"Yes. To ordinary people like me, who are not swimming coaches or referees, the difference was so close that it couldn't be distinguished by the naked eye."

"......"

"Anyway, your records are really amazing. Are both of you swimming athletes by aptitude?"

At the question of the safety officer, who naturally introduced himself as a swimming coach, we each answered.

"I haven't taken an aptitude test yet."

"No."

Song Seon-young avoided answering even though she knew her aptitude, and I confidently said no.

Then the safety officer- the swimming coach looked at me with surprised eyes.

"Huh! So, even though the gentleman's aptitude isn't for swimming, you achieved such a record? Excuse me, if it's not rude, can I know what your aptitude is?"

"Shaman."

"Shaman? The one who... drives away ghosts?"

"Yes, that shaman."

Having realized my aptitude, I smiled calmly.

"Uh... well... I guess you need to be good at swimming to drive away water ghosts. I understand."

"Haha! Something like that."

I went along with the swimming coach and passed the situation off casually.

'What about Song Seon-young?'

Song Seon-young, who had planned to change her aptitude after losing to an ordinary person without talent in swimming.

Her expression was not bright.

"A slight difference..."

"Why?"

I was really curious and asked.

Didn't she want to win against me?

Song Seon-young's atmosphere was not welcoming my growth.

Her pride was hurt, like a wounded whale!

"Shaman, let's do it again."

“Now? You won. After I practice some more...”

“I barely won! It's almost like losing.”

"Oh! Then let's go take the aptitude test now!"

As promised, she would stop attempting suicide!

Song Seon-young frowned at my hopeful gaze.

"What? Listen to me till the end."

"......"

"From now on, I'll warm up and take it seriously."

"Seriously? Weren't you already serious? You said before the match that you would do your best."

"My body wasn't warmed up."

"What... fine. It's not like the record will change if we do it again."

I also didn't want to end it like this. I may have caught up, but I didn't win.

The ending was unsatisfying, should I say?

So I decided to go along with Song Seon-young's insistence.

* * *

Kang Moon-soo.

A model student who is loved by all the teachers in the school as if he were their own child, even though he is not overwhelmingly outstanding like the top student in the school.

But to me, he was a boy with a slightly different meaning.

'He's just like me.'

Kang Moon-soo, whose aptitude was a shaman, had a mysterious power to not lose his memory even when he went back to the past.

Thump.

My heart ached again as soon as I saw him running out of the classroom.

"Let's go quickly!"

His voice was full of enthusiasm since he caught up with me recently.

"Call me Seon-young."

"Seon-young! Let's go quickly!"

"Wait a moment."

"Why?"

"...We've worked hard so far. You've almost caught up with me, which was our goal. So let's take a little break."

"Okay."

Kang Moon-soo obediently agreed as he jumped over the school fence.

After that, I also-

Startled.

I lifted my leg to jump over the fence but stopped.

"Moon-soo."

"What now?"

"Turn your head."

"Huh?"

"Look somewhere else. You can see my underwear."

"Don't worry. I wasn't looking..."

"Hurry up!"

"Okay."

"......"

I don't know why I suddenly started to care.

I had jumped over the school fence hundreds of times, but I had never worried about my school uniform skirt.

I carefully jumped over the fence, making sure no one was around.

"It's okay now. You can look."

"Where do you want to go?"

Thump.

As soon as I was asked by Kang Moon-soo, my heart sent another strange signal.

"...What about you?"

"A good restaurant. We haven't eaten since we couldn't feel the need to, right?"

"Ah!"

I committed suicide around the time the swimming pool at the Physical Education College closed. That way, I could use it again right away.

There was a flaw in this plan.

"I'm not hungry now, but..."

I couldn't even think of eating something because I couldn't feel hungry.

Neither Moon-soo nor I.

In other words,

"It was dull."

I shared memories and spent time together with a boy of the same age. But we hadn't even had a sip of water together.

Swimming! Swimming! More swimming!

'It's a bit shocking.'

We temporarily postponed the plan to go see a movie and visit the aquarium together.

"Moon-soo, let's go to a restaurant you like."

"Then, shall we go to the convenience store where I work? With employee privileges, I can get it cheap-"

"Hey!"

"You scared me! Why are you suddenly yelling?"

"You're going to take a nice girl like me to a shabby convenience store?"

Although I said that, I also like to use convenience stores.

But I'm just angry right now!

"Don't underestimate convenience stores. These days, they also have healthy food-"

"Follow me. Don't even mention convenience stores from now on."

"......"

"I'll respect your taste, though. What kind of food do you like?"

"Ramen."

"I told you not to talk about convenience stores!"

“Convenience stores aren't the only places that sell ramen, you know?”

"Think before you speak. Do you want to eat cheap ramen with a girl like me?"

"Calm down."

"Think quickly!"

I don't even know why I'm getting excited.

* * *

We went to the world-famous high-end restaurant 'Barnaroo'.

Barnaroo.

The head chef here is a master in the culinary industry, not compromising on price for the best taste and aroma.

Perhaps because of that? We sat by the window overlooking the river, surrounded by well-dressed guests who seemed to have thick wallets.

"Is it okay for us to be here...?"

I felt out of place in this unfamiliar setting.

"It's fine."

Song Seon-young, sitting arrogantly with her legs crossed as if she were the daughter of a wealthy family, smiled while looking at the menu.

"Well then..."

I had seen it on TV or passing by, but I never thought I would actually come in and taste it...

"Would you like to order, sir?"

Intoxicated by Barnaroo's reputation and luxurious atmosphere, I fell into an illusion that even the staff looked top-notch.

'Did they pick all the staff here based on their aptitude...?'

I was having an absurd thought that I would like to work part-time here.

"We'll order. Please give us everything from here to here."

"...Ma’am, that seems like too much for two people to eat-"

"Didn't I say we were ordering?"

The smile disappeared from Song Seon-young's face just a moment ago, and her tone turned cold.

"I'm sorry."

The employee, who apologized with a bow, hurried away.

“...He was just giving advice, wasn't that too cold?”

As someone working in a similar service industry, I couldn't let it go.

"Don't worry about it. He'll forget everything when you regress."

"Well... that's true."

There was nothing to change even if I apologized to that employee.

“Try everything here. It's all good.”

"It seems like there will be a lot left..."

I didn't count them one by one, but I thought it would be enough for at least 20 people.

"I know. I ordered a lot, thinking we'd leave some from the start."

"It's such a waste... both money and food."

For me, who has been scraping the bottom of the barrel since my life became difficult, this extravagance was unimaginable.

"Then eat until your stomach bursts. If you get sick, you'll be fine after regressing."

"Geez..."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

I wanted to give her a light jab for acting like a haughty rich person, but everything she said was true.

And I'm not so tactless as to throw cold water on this nice atmosphere.

Click, click, click, click...

The dishes we ordered began to come out one after another, like a train.

"Wow!"

The dishes placed on the luxurious silver plates like works of art were too precious to touch, but the smell wafting from them stimulated my salivary glands, and I couldn't resist.

Even so,

Snap-!

I decided to take pictures with my smartphone before digging into the plates.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't you see? I'm taking a picture of the food."

"I'm not asking because I don't know that. Why bother taking pictures when they'll disappear soon?"

"Ah..."

At Song Seon-young's reprimand, I gently put down my smartphone.

'It was a waste of effort.'

Even if I wanted to take commemorative photos and keep them as memories, they would all disappear when I regress.

The only way is to store them faintly in my memory, which doesn't disappear even when I go back to the past.

"Let's eat quickly."

"Bon appétit!"

Barnaroo restaurant.

I was satisfied with everything except the price.

* * *

After a satisfying meal, Song Seon-young naturally went to the aquarium located in the basement of the same building.

Having nothing else to do, I followed her hesitantly...

"Do fish have aptitudes too?"

“The P aptitude test machine is for humans only, so it doesn't work for other creatures.”

"You could modify it."

"Although every country has successfully mass-produced aptitude test machines, they have failed to modify them to their liking."

"You know a lot."

"There's a science magazine that comes to the convenience store where I work part-time. It's left there for the customers to read, but no one touches it, so I read it instead."

"Do you find science interesting, Moon-soo?"

"Yeah. It's fascinating."

The more you know about science, the more you realize that there are many things we misunderstand or have misconceptions about.

And it's even better because I can often use the scientific knowledge I gained here in my daily life.

However, the occult cannot be explained by science, so it causes more confusion than help.

"I don't like science."

"Respect my hobby."

"What other hobbies do you have?"

"Hmm..."

'Do I have any other hobbies?'

While others enjoy their hobbies, I work part-time.

When the convenience store is empty and I'm bored, looking up science-related articles on my smartphone is my only pleasure.

I've been mainly reading fantasy novels lately.

'Recently...'

It's recent in terms of dates, but due to regressing too often, it feels like a very long time ago.

"My throat is a bit dry from talking so much while walking..."

Saying that, Song Seon-young looked at the snack bar inside the aquarium.

As someone who wasn't completely tactless, I naturally suggested.

"...Do you want something to drink?"

"Yes!"

“I'll buy this time.”

"Alright."

If I were the old me, I would never buy a soft drink at 100 times the cost, but I decided to make a big expense trusting regression like Song Seon-young.

'It's money that will come back soon!'

I knew that in my head, but my right hand holding the debit card to pay was trembling slightly.

"Here, two drinks you ordered."

"Thank you."

I handed the soft drink I bought with my hard-earned salary to Song Seon-young.

"Thanks. Even though it's free."

"Haha..."

The clerk made a puzzled expression at the mention of the drink being free, but I just laughed it off.

"Let's drink while we walk."

"Sounds good."

We began to seriously observe the fish in the aquarium.

"Oh!"

"Wow!"

Sharks and stingrays swam overhead...

"It's amazing."

"Isn't it?"

We saw self-luminous jellyfish and transparent tropical fish...

"So cute."

"Really?"

Our opinions differed on the not-so-cute penguins and otters...

「Please don't give snacks to our fish friends!」

「Don't put your hands in the water! You might get bitten!」

There were warning signs for curious children as well.

"These guys are lucky. They can swim around comfortably without any worries."

“That's not always the case.”

"What do you mean?"

"Look at their snouts. See how the color is only faded there? It's because they've rubbed against the walls too much. They've lost their freedom and become human spectacles- Huh?"

As I was showing off my crude knowledge to Song Seon-young, my eyes widened.

"I don't like it."

Squish!

She was pouring the soft drink she was drinking into the fish tank!

"What are you doing?!"

"Why?"

"What will happen if you pour the soft drink in! The fish might die-"

"It doesn't really matter, does it? They'll come back to life even if they die."

"Well, that's true..."

Fortunately, it seemed that no one else saw it. But that didn't mean it was okay to do it.

"It's not fun anymore. Let's go."

"...Alright."

I felt like I had lost something important.

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