It wasn't a normal awakening.
It wasn't a dream, either.
It was more like... a leap. As if my mind had disconnected from the world for a second, like when you blink... but when you open your eyes again, you're no longer in the sa place.
I knew it instantly. The air slled different. The bed was too soft. And the ceiling... I swear I'd never seen that pattern before.
I blinked several tis.
I didn't react as one would expect. I didn't scream. I didn't sit up suddenly. I just... observed.
A fan was spinning slowly above my head, casting broken shadows across the room. To the right, a shelf with sports trophies. To the left, a half-open window with gray curtains. The noise of cars and students walking outside told it was morning.
I sat up.
The sheets fell down my chest. I looked at my hands.
They weren't my hands.
Thinner. The knuckles were prominent. The nails were manicured. The veins... Why were they so visible?
I jumped up, almost tripping over my own feet, and ran to the mirror hanging on the closet wall. What I saw took my breath away.
It was the face of a Korean boy. Dark hair, slightly tousled. Light dark circles under his eyes. A thin mouth. And slanted eyes, sowhat tired, but... intense.
It wasn't .
It was Suhyeon Kim.
A chill ran down my spine.
I swallowed. I moved closer. The reflection did the sa.
I brought a hand to my cheek. So did he.
"No, no, no..." I murmured. That voice... wasn't mine either. It sounded younger. Softer. With an accent.
Am I going crazy?
I craned my neck, looked at the walls, the desk, the school uniform folded on the chair.
Then I rembered.
Questism.
The webtoon.
It was one of my favorites. And that face in front of ... was the main character.
Suhyeon Kim.
A weak boy who one day wakes up with an RPG-style system. Daily missions, levels, statistics. He becos strong. He becos soone. All in the midst of a high school full of delinquents, gangs, fights, and aningless rules.
What kind of twisted joke is this?
Am I dreaming? Coma induced? An isekai? Did I die?
I sat up in bed again, my heart pounding like a drum.
And then I saw it.
A floating window in front of . Literally floating.
A digital rectangle, with bright green letters.
Like sothing out of a video ga:
[System]
Would you like to start the search?
[Yes] / [No]
"What the hell...?" I took a step back. The window remained floating, as if waiting for a response.
This isn't possible. It can't be real.
I tried to touch it. My finger passed through the screen without touching anything, but as if it understood my attempt, a second ssage appeared:
I thought quickly. In the webtoon, Suhyeon couldn't refuse all missions. So were mandatory. Others, if failed, had serious consequences.
And as far as I rembered, this mission was one of the first. A kind of initiation.
[System]
Starting the search system.
You will receive [Letters] upon completing the search.
—Letters... This isn't a dream! —slapping several tis.
[System]
A tutorial search is being created.
The ssage flashed a couple of tis. A small digital sound, like a hollow click, followed. My breathing was still uncontrolled, and I could still feel the sting of the two slaps she had given minutes earlier. It hurt. So... it wasn't a dream.
Another floating box appeared, more stylized than the previous ones. This ti the text was clear, and it was written in an ironically friendly tone:
[System]
Apologize to Mom [0/1]
Reward: 1 gold card.
"Apologize... to Mom?" I thought.
What the hell happened before I got here?
My head was spinning. The mirror still showed the unfamiliar face that was now mine, and the room still felt borrowed. As if I were walking inside soone else's mory.
That's when I heard sothing.
Soft footsteps. Shaky breathing behind the door.
She didn't need to speak. I could feel it. That kind of tension in the air that only happens when sothing serious has happened... sothing that leaves emotions in disarray, burning senselessly.
The door opened slightly, just enough for her voice to slip through the crack.
"Suhyeon..." she whispered, almost as if she were afraid of being rejected again. "Are you going to be like this all day?"
I turned around.
I couldn't see her clearly, only her shadow cast by the light from the hallway. But that was enough to sense the sadness.
"I'm sorry," I said, without thinking. Almost like a reflex.
Silence.
The kind of silence that isn't empty... but full of doubt.
"What did you say?" she asked.
I walked over to the door and opened it. On the other side was a woman with a tired face, smudged makeup, and hands wrinkled from washing dishes. But it wasn't physical pain she was carrying. It was the other kind. The kind that leaves you with contempt, weariness, guilt.
"I'm sorry, Mom. About earlier," I said, looking her in the eyes. "I had no right to talk to you like that."
She blinked. Surprised.
It was clear: she hadn't expected that. Maybe she had never heard it before.
"Suhyeon... are you okay?"
I didn't know what to say.
I didn't know if I should make sothing up either. So I just looked down and nodded.
She exhaled. She didn't cry, but her expression changed. As if sothing heavy had been lifted from her chest.
"It's okay. Co when you're hungry. I made soup... there's still so left, your sister left you so."
I nodded again. She left, without closing the door completely. Not like soone who was walking away, but like soone who was willing to co back.
As soon as her footsteps faded, the window reappeared:
[System]
You have completed the tutorial quest.
[System]
You receive 1 gold card as a special reward for completing the tutorial quest.
I stood still for a mont. I didn't know who was more cowardly: Suhyeon, who exploded at his mother, or , who had just apologized for sothing I didn't even do.
But one thing was certain:
This story didn't begin with glory.
It began with an apology.
And maybe, with that... it was already different.
---
Author: And so ends the first chapter of "Questism and Lookism: Am I Suhyeon Kim?"!
This is my first fanfic, and I'm really excited (and a little nervous) to share it.
If you liked the story, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a comnt with suggestions, criticism, or ideas for the next chapters.
Would you like the protagonist to try to change the original story? Should he hide his identity or confess what happened to him? What would you like to see?
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