Opening his eyes, the vast blue sky filled Min-Jae's vision.
It was the same sky he had seen when he fell from the rooftop. Yet this time, it felt completely different.
Instead of looking down on him like it always had, distant and uncaring, it felt closer, as if its endless expanse was gently wrapping around him, quietly congratulating him on his new beginning.
That was the thought that surfaced as everything from earlier replayed in his mind, from the moment he had been dragged to the rooftop to the encounter with the higher being.
But as he slowly pushed himself up and clenched his fist, another thought followed.
Was it all a dream?
A desperate illusion his mind had created to escape reality?
The world around him hadn't changed. The ground felt the same, the air no different, his body—
For a moment, doubt settled in.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a teacher walking across the school grounds.
The thought came almost immediately.
A test to confirm it.
He focused.
[While walking, the teacher would suddenly trip.]
It was a small, harmless experiment. For one of the many who had stood by and watched while his life had been dragged through hell.
If he truly had that power — Reality Manipulation — then this should work. The certainty of it came instinctively, as if the idea itself already belonged to him.
Holding his breath, his gaze locked onto the man.
And then—
"Augh."
The teacher stumbled and fell, a pained groan escaping him as he hit the ground.
It could have been pure coincidence. There was no way to prove it was because of him. Yet Min-Jae's lips curved into a wide, uncontrollable smile.
At least for now, it seemed everything had been real.
Still smiling, he turned and began walking back toward his classroom, his steps steady, almost light, as if something unseen had loosened its grip on him.
It wasn't a long walk. But somewhere along the way, he noticed something else.
Something he had completely overlooked.
There was no pain. His steps didn't falter. His body didn't ache.
Checking himself, he realized every bruise, every cut, every injury from the earlier beating, and even the older ones, had completely vanished, as if they had never existed.
His knee, the one permanently damaged from the bullies' much earlier abuse, the one that used to ache whenever he ran, walked too much, or even when the air turned cold… now, even when he stomped hard against the ground, didn't hurt at all. It felt perfectly normal.
So… he didn't just fulfill my wish. He healed my body too.
The thought settled in his mind, followed by another. Gratitude… and something just as intense, but far darker… a quiet, growing urge to make the one responsible pay.
By the time he reached the classroom door, that feeling had already rooted itself deep inside him. After a light knock, Min-Jae stepped in.
It was a math class under his homeroom teacher, Shin Dong-Hyuk.
The one person he hated even more than Jae-Sung and the others.
A man who had stood by and watched everything happen to him, and at times even sided with them, adding his own words to their ridicule.
If it were up to him, he would have started his revenge right there. Paid it back on the spot. But he held himself back.
Understanding his power came first.
No one was going anywhere.
With that thought, he gave a slight bow and moved to head toward his seat.
But—
"Why are you so late, Min-Jae?"
He wasn't allowed to.
Anyone who looked at him, at the dried blood clinging to his skin, the dust smeared across his uniform, the faint traces left on his body, could easily tell what had happened.
His classmates certainly could.
"Did he get knocked out again?"
"What do you expect? That's what happens when you don't know your place."
"Yeah… who told him to score higher than Sujin?"
The whispers spread, low but sharp, carrying easily through the room. And more than a few didn't even bother hiding their amusement.
Baek Sujin, the one who ranked third, turned her head slightly, her gaze settling on Min-Jae with quiet scrutiny. Then, just as naturally, her eyes shifted toward Jae-Sung — the cause of it all.
What she saw seemed to satisfy her, if only partially.
Turning back to the front, she let out a faint hum under her breath, too soft for anyone to notice.
Different from the others, however, were three students who stared at Min-Jae with clear disbelief.
Surviving was one thing.
But standing there like nothing had happened?
Didn't he fall earlier? Had they seen it wrong?
Jae-Sung and the two beside him exchanged brief glances, a flicker of doubt creeping into their expressions, as if questioning their own memory.
Yet none of that mattered.
Under the contemptuous gaze of Shin Dong-Hyuk, Min-Jae still had to answer.
"I'm sorry. I'm late."
"Did I ask for an apology?" Dong-Hyuk's voice sharpened. "I asked for an explanation. What were you doing?"
Min-Jae simply kept his head bowed. He didn't explain, didn't offer anything more. Experience had already taught him what that would lead to.
Normally, that alone would have been enough. Just seeing him lower his head was usually satisfying for Dong-Hyuk.
But not today.
Silence stretched as Min-Jae stood there, his hands clenched at his sides, his thoughts turning. A single idea surfaced, whether he should use his power here and end this farce immediately.
But that hesitation lingered just a moment too long.
"What are you standing there for?" Dong-Hyuk's voice rose, irritation clear. "Do you plan to disrupt my class with this kind of behavior?"
A brief pause, then the verdict came.
"Go outside. Stand in the hallway."
That was the last straw.
Min-Jae didn't move.
Instead, his thoughts did.
[Shin Dong-Hyuk will reconsider the situation, realize he was too harsh, and apologize before allowing me to enter.]
The effect was immediate.
Dong-Hyuk paused mid-motion, his expression stiffening for a fraction of a second before he abruptly spoke.
"Wait."
His voice had changed — quieter, almost uncertain.
"I… was too harsh earlier. An outstanding student like you wouldn't be late without a good reason. I apologize."
He gestured toward the desks with an awkward motion.
"Go to your seat. Let's continue with the lesson."
Min-Jae's lips curved slightly.
Around him, the classroom fell into a stunned silence.
What had once been disbelief in only three pairs of eyes now spread to every student. No one could believe what they had just heard.
Mr. Shin Dong-Hyuk… apologizing? To Min-Jae?
No one could process it.
Even Shin Dong-Hyuk himself seemed confused by his own words. He turned back to the blackboard, brows furrowed, clearly unable to understand why he had just done that.
But there was no taking it back now.
He couldn't slap his own face again, so in the end, he simply continued the lesson as if nothing had happened.
No one commented on the bizarre turn of events. Not openly.
Yet the tension lingered until the class finally ended.
The moment the final bell rang, Dong-Hyuk gathered his things and left the classroom almost immediately, his steps quicker than usual, as if eager to put distance between himself and the strange events that had just unfolded.
Only then did the classroom truly erupt.
"Did you see that?"
"What the hell was that?"
"Since when does he apologize?"
"Does Min-Jae have someone backing him now?"
"Or… did that bastard suddenly grow a conscience?"
The overlapping whispers were chaotic and restless, all circling the same two questions: What changed? And why?
Min-Jae paid none of it any attention.
He quietly packed his bag, calm and unhurried, then slung it over his shoulder. School was finally over. Now he could have some time alone to think carefully about his next steps.
But peace was never that easy.
The other students might have let him be, but Jae-Sung and his two lackeys clearly had no such intention.
They surrounded him from three sides in the familiar formation. Min-Jae stared at the setup. His body tensed on instinct — and that alone irritated him.
Had it gone that far?
Had fear already rooted itself so deeply that his body reacted before his mind could?
The thought lingered for only a moment before Jae-Sung stepped forward, his glare sharp.
"What's going on?" he demanded. "How are you unscathed?"
Unscathed?
The word didn't just reach Min-Jae — it rippled through the room, and for a brief moment, the class fell quiet.
Min-Jae met his gaze, his expression turning faintly puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Jae-Sung's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you fall from the rooftop earlier? So how are you walking around like nothing happened?"
The silence deepened.
"They pushed him off the rooftop?"
"Shh! What do you mean 'pushed'? He probably stumbled and fell on his own!"
"Even if that's not what happened… that's how it's going to be."
The whispers exploded again, louder and more intense this time. Min-Jae narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as he listened.
Then, without hesitation, he focused his will and thought:
[We never met earlier. It's only Park Jae-Sung, Choi Min-Seok, and Lee Kang-Hyun's misunderstanding that I was on the rooftop with them.]
His gaze moved between the three, as he smiled.
"Rooftop?" he said lightly. "Fell? What are you talking about?"
Confusion flashed across Jae-Sung's face, quickly mirrored by the other two. Slowly, their expressions shifted as if they were trying to recall something that no longer quite fit.
They had been on the rooftop.
Alone.
That much felt certain.
But then… why had they gone there? And why had they left Min-Jae behind when they had clearly intended to deal with him?
Jae-Sung clicked his tongue, shaking off the strange thoughts and glared harder.
"Whatever," he muttered. "Come outside. We're not done talking."
Min-Jae held his gaze for a moment.
'I didn't come to you, yet you insist on delivering yourself to me?'
A faint gleam passed through his eyes.
Still, he didn't resist. With a calm expression, he followed the three bullies out of the classroom.
Behind them, the remaining students were left in uneasy silence, caught between confusion and curiosity, as one strange event followed another, refusing to make sense.