Then Ned, suddenly bursting with excitement, started pouring out words.
"Wow, seriously, this is insane, insane!"
"…What's insane?"
"No, no, this short story you wrote!"
The overly excited guy pointed at my laptop screen.
"This is written from Friar Laurence's perspective… as a letter, right?"
I just nodded.
In technical terms, it's an epistolary novel.
Not a form you see often in fiction.
But in the case of short stories, if used well, it can produce a really great effect.
"Wait a sec, this is probably for that assignment to write a *Romeo and Juliet* fanfic, isn't it?"
"Fanfic, huh, you could see it that way."
"Yeah, yeah. I read what that senior in the Comics Club wrote."
The senior from the Comics Club had written *Romeo and Juliet* as heroes from rival factions.
"Man, I couldn't even imagine twisting it like this. You changed the narrator of the story and created something entirely new, didn't you?"
As expected of Ned, who reads anything from comics to genre novels without discrimination, he nailed the core of it right away.
"Exactly. In that sense, Mr. Leonard gave us a good assignment."
Contrary to popular belief, writing a novel isn't about creating something out of nothing.
It's about the stories you've read, seen, and heard throughout your life.
The various experiences you've lived through…
It's about picking the perfect materials from that vast pool and weaving them together, like warp and weft, to create a finished piece.
In that regard, parody is a great genre for beginners to try.
*'Because it's a chance to freely move characters already crafted by an author within a fully functioning world.'*
Like Ned said, reimagining *Romeo and Juliet* in a superhero setting by changing the background or genre is a meaningful attempt.
"But it's possible with minimal changes too."
"Huh?"
"The narrator of the story."
In other words, just by changing the perspective from which the events unfold—
"The story gains a whole new life."
"…"
I glanced sideways, sensing a sudden quietness.
Ned was looking at me with a different kind of expression in his eyes.
"Eugene, can you see this?"
Then he abruptly showed me his arm.
"Look, I've got goosebumps all over here."
"…I don't think I said anything that impressive."
"No, it's that, but also…"
A wrinkle formed between Ned's pale brows.
"You're not the shy Eugene I know. Were you abducted by aliens or something? Replaced with Eugene-MK2—"
"What's going on, what's happening?"
The Billie Eilish song that had been playing like background music suddenly cut off.
Adele walked over to us.
"Look at this."
"…"
Adele's eyes widened as she stared blankly at my laptop screen.
"Wait a minute, this…"
She snatched the mouse from my hand and scrolled down frantically, reading the text.
"The rest of it."
"Huh?"
"The next part, where's the next part?"
"I haven't written it yet."
"Oh, right. No, wait, that's not what I mean…"
Adele shook her head, seemingly at a loss for words, then suddenly turned to Ned with a serious look.
"I hate to admit it, but Ned."
"Go ahead."
"I think I have to agree with your theory."
"See? I told you."
"…What's Ned's theory?"
I couldn't help but interject, exasperated, and Adele responded as if it were obvious.
"The neuron theory."
"…"
"No matter how I look at it, there's no way to explain this unless something massive happened in Eugene's brain."
"Right? I told you I was onto something."
"I still remember the writing assignment Eugene asked me to look at last week. Back then, it was full of sentences that didn't even make sense…"
Her words reminded me of the assignment I'd written before my regression, and I felt a bit embarrassed.
"See, I told you! Eugene's definitely awakened or something."
"Yeah, totally. Eugene the Awaken."
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh as the two passionately debated the "Eugene Awakening Theory."
*'They're really into this.'*
…To be precise, it's not an awakening but a regression, though.
*
The next morning.
A blue pickup truck cruised across a gentle hill.
Kate spoke to Eugene, who couldn't take his eyes off the green scenery outside the window.
"Eugene, you seem in a good mood again today."
Eugene turned to her and grinned.
"How could I not be? Being alive is a blessing in itself."
"…What?"
"The weather's nice, the sunlight's perfect."
Eugene continued, turning his gaze back to the window.
"Looking at this scenery, I just think, *'Ah, I'm really alive.'*"
"…"
Kate let out a small chuckle.
*'This kid.'*
Ever since he fell from that tree and woke up, he'd started acting like an old soul.
A little while later, when the pickup truck reached its destination, Eugene suddenly turned to Kate with a serious look.
"By the way, I have one favor to ask of you, Kate."
"Uh… a favor?"
Her sudden tension was met with an unexpected word.
"Coke."
Coke… why?
"Coke, I mean Coca-Cola. There's a whole box of it in the fridge."
"Oh, yeah?"
Eugene furrowed his brow.
"How about we switch to Diet Coke from now on? If we absolutely have to drink it."
"Oh, sure, sure. That's… not a problem."
"And if possible, let's drink mineral water or tea instead of Coke. You should cut back on beer too, Kate, got it?"
Why is he suddenly saying all this?
As Kate stood there flustered, Eugene flashed a grin, a dimple popping into his right cheek.
"Thanks for the ride, Kate. Starting tomorrow, I'll take the school bus."
"Uh… see you later."
*Thud—*
As Eugene shut the car door and walked off,
*'Is this his way of looking out for me?'*
Kate watched his retreating figure with a warm feeling for a while.
And then.
As Eugene stepped onto the school grounds, someone ran up to him excitedly.
"Hey, shy boy! Yoo-jeeeen—!"
Ah, shy boy.
That's definitely what they called him in high school.
When Eugene turned around, he saw a Hispanic boy with curly hair tied back by a headband.
What was his name again?
"…Aiden, right? Aiden?"
"What's with that reaction? Are we meeting after ten years or something?"
Aiden grumbled, pointing his phone, attached to a selfie stick, at Eugene.
*'Not ten years, more like twenty.'*
Aiden Soler was known for filming vlogs at every opportunity, and that persistence eventually paid off when he became a famous YouTuber.
*'He's kind of impressive, huh.'*
Eugene smiled and faced the camera head-on.
"Filming today's vlog?"
"Yeah, yeah, you know it. But dude, what's up with you today? You used to bolt the second I pointed a camera at you."
"Did I?"
Now that he thought about it, that sounded right.
It wasn't so much the camera he disliked, but rather the fear of his poor English being exposed.
"Even with all that running, didn't you still get a fanbase?"
"…Fans?"
"With K-pop fans growing these days, I keep getting comments asking when the 'Korean cute boy' is gonna show up, begging me to feature you."
Well, that's a little embarrassing.
"So, Eugene, just introduce yourself. If it's awkward, a simple 'Hi' is fine."
The camera didn't really faze him.
After publishing *Forgotten Saints*, he'd done plenty of interviews.
Even before that, as an editor, he'd been on camera quite a bit.
"How about I say more than one word?"
"Huh? Yeah, of course! That'd be awesome!"
Eugene faced the camera with a bright smile.
"Hey, everyone, nice to meet you! Thanks for subscribing to Aiden's vlog—"
"YoAiden!"
"Right, the YoAiden channel. I'm Eugene, Eugene Kwon."
Back when he first arrived here,
Eugene smiled at Aiden, who'd dragged him around introducing him to everyone.
"Even though this guy looks like a slacker, he's super serious about his channel, you know?"
"Wait, I look like a slacker? Huh?"
"He's so passionate he'd risk detention just to film. So everyone, please hit subscribe, like, and turn on notifications."
With that, Eugene stepped back smoothly, leaving Aiden looking like he might cry from gratitude.
"Wow, Yoo-jeeeen… I'm so touched!"
"Touched, huh. I'm heading out."
As Eugene walked off with a wave, Aiden muttered to himself,
*'But… was Eugene always *that* good at English?'*
*
While Aiden was marveling at Eugene's transformation,
Eugene was also the topic of conversation in the teachers' lounge.
"I'm telling you, I was shocked! That Eugene kid, who never opened his mouth once in class…"
Eugene Kwon, infamous for being a passive student who didn't participate in lessons.
Not only did he raise his hand multiple times to ask questions and contribute,
"But after class, he came up to me and said he liked this and that part of the lecture, thanked me… Can you believe it?"
"Man, you see all sorts of things in life."
"Right? They say kids can grow up in an instant, but still."
As the teachers chatted excitedly, Mr. Leonard, the literature teacher, sat on the lounge sofa listening.
He had no idea what kind of wind had blown through over the weekend,
*'I was so worried about that Eugene kid, so this is a relief.'*
In this Midwest school where white students made up the majority,
At Hillcrest High, where there were only a handful of Asian students, Eugene was the sole Korean.
*'Thanks to Ned and… Adele, was it? He seemed to adjust to school life well enough.'*
Maybe it was the language barrier.
It was painfully obvious that he was losing interest and motivation in his studies.
Since it wasn't something a teacher could easily fix, it had been all the more frustrating.
*'Hearing he's changed makes me so happy.'*
As the corners of his mouth curled up, his smartphone buzzed—*bzzzt*.
*'New email… probably a late assignment.'*
He opened his inbox without much thought.
But the moment he saw the sender's name, his eyes widened.
[Eugene Kwon | Submitting English Literature Assignment]
The task was to write a parody of *Romeo and Juliet*.
They'd agreed to pick the best one and review it together in class this week.
*'I'd already chosen one and printed handouts for the students.'*
To add a bit more context,
Leonard was a former creative writing instructor at a university and a writer who contributed to local literary magazines.
Perhaps because of that, the creative writing club he advised at this high school was popular among students hoping to major in it.
There were so many applicants they even held an entrance test.
The AP English Literature class, too, was filled with aspiring creative writers, so the level was quite high…
*'Especially this assignment—it was tough even for native students.'*
He hadn't expected Eugene to submit anything in the first place.
Though the deadline had passed, Leonard felt proud that he'd made the effort and opened the attachment right away.
[*The Confession of Friar Laurence*
To the Esteemed Prince Escalus,
I am Friar Laurence, in charge of the Verona parish.
Concerning the incident that, just last week, brought great shock to the good citizens of our Verona…]
A short, six-page epistolary novel that began with that introduction.
While reading it, Leonard couldn't even breathe.
"…"
Like a thirsty man finding a well,
He devoured sentence after sentence, unable to stop—
"…Leonard."
A voice snapped him out of it.
"Mr. Leonard, what are you looking at on your phone so intently?"
Even at his colleague's question, all he could muster was an "Uh…" and a dazed sound.
"What's got you so distracted you didn't even hear me calling—"
"The handouts."
"Huh?"
Leonard shot up from the sofa.
"The handouts—I need to redo them."
Muttering to himself, he stormed out of the lounge, leaving his baffled colleague staring after him.