Mind Reader

*Crash*

* * *

"Kwan!!

Come on big boy, you're going to be late for school!"

Cha Kwan was the name of the reincarnated paper salesman.

Memories of his past life took 10 years to return. Started with images, sounds, and scents when he was 4 years old. More coherent recollections came later. At the age of 16, Cha Kwan wasn't sure if he had all his memories, but he was pretty certain that whatever that he didn't remember, was simply too unimportant.

All in all though, having memories of a previous life didn't matter! Because this alternate world was as mundane as it could get!

In the year of 2077, there were no wars, no looming calamities. Humanity was steadily working toward for the betterment of everyone. World War 3 never happened, Korea was never divided, the Great Purge wasn't even a thing! Everything was exceptionally peaceful.

Boring. Utterly boring!

And Cha Kwan absolutely loved that!

"Coming!!" He shouted while stuffing a novel in his bag. When the world was so breathtakingly dull, Cha Kwan relied on his old habit of reading fantasy novels to pass the time. This particular novel had a rather ruthless main character, which was a rarity in the current era.

'He's going to be hooked on this one…' Cha Kwan thought with a smirk. The few friends he had also shared the same hobbies as himself.

Twice now, he had become a nerd in his teenage years!

He grabbed his bag, said goodbye to his mother and father, then ran toward the elevator.

One thing that never ceased to amaze him in this world was the architecture. Due to massive population boom in the 2010s, Korea had prioritized building mega apartments. Cha Kwan and his family lived in one of these 200 floor behemoths.

He pressed the ground floor button, then prepared himself to blank out while looking outside the glass elevator chassis. Though the elevator was fast -sometimes frighteningly so-, there was still 196 floors to go through. Many people were bound to get on and get off mid-way.

At 165th floor, the elevator picked up an old lady, and she got off at the 169th floor. The middle-aged gentlemen that got picked up at 143rd floor got off at 111th. This was the usual morning routine, and Cha Kwan was barely aware what the elevator was doing.

Then the elevator went up, to the 127th floor. Two people entered, both female with one being high-school age. Cha Kwan glanced at her reflection by chance and saw the uniform of his school. This called for a casual greeting, so he looked at her face through the reflection.

'Well, sh*t.' He turned back and used a polite and distant tone. "Classmate Elizabeth, hello."

Elizabeth stared at Cha Kwan with her black pupils. "Greetings." She answered after a pause. "… This is my aunt; she lives at this complex." Her head pointed at the stunning woman beside her.

Like Elizabeth, her aunt also had blood red hair and pitch-black pupils. Cha Kwan wasn't sure if those were natural colors. In the year of 2077, one could change the color of their hair multiple times a day!

In any case, these two didn't matter, so Cha Kwan gave a polite nod and went back to admiring the view. The less he interacted with Elizabeth, the better!

But, unfortunately, as the elevator stopped at 99th floor, he noticed something odd. He could hear someone whispering!

He immediately looked around the elevator. It was obvious no one was talking, nor were anyone listening to some music or an audio book.

'It stopped?' Cha Kwan raised an eyebrow and looked outside once again. But the whispers returned!

|… if… … … su… … wish…|

Indistinct whispers started to become more recognizable. Now he could hear some words, but where that voice came from, he had no clue. From the reflection on the glass, he glanced at the people inside the elevator. Closest ones were Elizabeth and her aunt, both of them were looking at their phones.

|… villain… … y god… I'm… … resist…|

Cha Kwan froze. Because he realized the voice was actually Elizabeth's! While the person herself was calmly browsing through her phone, the whisperings became clearer by the second.

|…eep calm, Eliza… You can't… …ly mess with… …the plot.|

'Alright, this is it. I've finally gone crazy.' Cha Kwan silently thought.

What was the proper reaction when one started hear whispers? What if those whispers belonged to a classmate? What if that classmate was a famous idol?

'Yep. Crazy. Was it the waffles this morning? Did they finally push me over the edge?'

|… You can do this… You've waited for 16 years! You've endured kindergarten!|

Cha Kwan couldn't do anything but silently listen in on the never-ending voice of Elizabeth. The voice wasn't even a whisper now. It was as if she was talking right beside him!

|Just a month or two left… F*ck… F****ck!! F****CK!!!! Why did the villain have to be just my type?!?|

Sudden increase in volume almost made Cha Kwan flinch!

|F*ck! F*cking c*nt! Why did you not write any physical description of that character?! Did you base it on my preferences?! Are you f*cking kidding me?!|

Was he really, positively going mad? While considering the possibility as calmly as possible, Cha Kwan inadvertently turned his head toward Elizabeth. Inexplicably, the voice stopped almost immediately. Unfortunately, silence only lasted for a couple of seconds.

|… Is he looking at me? Who was that guy again? Is he really in my class?|

Cha Kwan realized he was in fact staring at Elizabeth. His eyes darted around and landed on the only other person present. Elizabeth's aunt.

|… really is looking at m-…|

The voice became silent once more, and a moment later, whispers came back. The progression from whisperings to audible words came much faster this time.

|… be tha… she's interested in that boy?|

The voice almost sounded like a more mature and deeper version of Elizabeth. Thinking that it was her aunt, Cha Kwan hurriedly went back to intently admiring the view once more!

|She never mentioned anyone before. But whenever she meets him, her heartbeat goes off the roof! The boy gets excited too, but that isn't surprising…|

'This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening.'

|Should I kill him?|

Something took Cha Kwan's breath away. Beads of cold sweat started trickling down his back. Suddenly his mouth became dry, and his muscles started to ache.

|Hmm… I guess that's not needed. Actually, this might be a good thing for Elizabeth. The boy looks easy enough, she could have fun without anyone knowing. God knows she needs it, poor girl.|

The elevator stopped at 20th floor and a young couple got on. Cha Kwan tried to act as unsuspiciously as he could and glanced at the man a couple of times.

|… I really shouldn't have left that woman alive that yea-…| The voice suddenly changed. |… thin… Maybe she… the hair. Yes, I cleaned up everything, there's no way she could find anything!|

Just as Cha Kwan feared, a glance was enough to change the voice! The young, male, and rather frantic voice he was hearing most likely belonged to the young man.

|I shouldn't have f*cked her in the apartment. What was I thinking?! It doesn't matter how good she's at bl*wjobs! Yeah, no more blondes! I'll be faithful to my Arya from now on!|

'Ok… Elizabeth is one thing… But a random two timer guy? Seriously?' Cha Kwan couldn't believe at the unoriginality of his subconscious mind!

Through listening to the young man's inner voice, an idea appeared in Cha Kwan's mind. What if… Just what if, he really was hearing another person's thoughts?...!

The idea was completely out of this world. It belonged to a novel, not reality!

But…

Cha Kwan himself was reincarnated! Even if the world didn't have any magical elements, the fact that he had his memories remained!

While trying to figure out how to prove if he had gone crazy or somehow had gained a superpower/cheat 16 years after his reincarnation, the elevator finally arrived at the ground floor.

Everyone got off and started walking their way. If Cha Kwan didn't do anything, the golden opportunity would disappear!

"Um, big brother!" He raised his voice slightly to attract the attention of the young couple. "The other day your lady friend said she forgot something in your apartment!"

|…as he talking to me? Wait, what? WHAT?!|

"You know, a beautiful blonde lady? Sorry, I didn't catch her name. She said you'd know. Anyway, apparently you can throw whatever she left behind." Cha Kwan tried to give a sense of urgency to his voice. "I have to go to school, have a nice day!" He walked away without looking back.

|This f*cker! That f*cking b*tch?! I know you left your underwear you f*cking moron! Oh sh*t. F*ck! Was she suspecting? N-no there's no way…|

"I don't know what he's talking about honey. HEY KID, YOU GOT THE WRONG GUY! Honey, honey where are you going? Look the kid made a mistake! Arya! Arya!"

Cha Kwan tried to walk as normally as possible, but he couldn't win against his desire to look back. The young man was chasing her (ex-)girlfriend as she ran away. At this distance he couldn't hear neither the audible voice, nor the inner voice.

"What a pickle." Someone spoke from behind. Cha Kwan immediately recognized the voice as Elizabeth's aunt. Could he ignore her and run away? Absolutely no. Not only that would arouse suspicion, but it would also be incredibly rude in the off chance of this being a fabric of his imagination!

Therefore, he turned back, and looked straight at the eyes of Elizabeth's aunt. "Yes, it seems to be a hairy situation." He commented while nodding. This was enough small talk for a public spectacle, so Cha Kwan moved on after shaking his head in direction of the two-timer.

|… Interesting, looks like this boy did that on purpose…|

Once Cha Kwan was a dozen step steps away the voice abruptly cut off. As he walked to the bus stop, Cha Kwan's thought became increasingly erratic.

'After all this time. After ALL THIS F*CKING TIME!! No no no no no. Nooo no no no no. My life is mundane, boring, uneventful, boring, and mundane. That's my life! Dull, tedious, ordinary, and monotonous. F*ck!!'

He randomly glanced at an old woman. |I wonder if my little angel is alright at school…|

…

While entering the bus his eyes accidentally met with the driver's. |So many cuties today. God, why did I marry so early?|

…

A person asked whether the seat was reserved, then sat next to him. |What am I going to do if I get fired?|

…

The driver suddenly hit the brakes and the girl in front of him nearly fell down. |If I take a few more shifts every week then maybe I can buy that couch before new years.|

…

As he left the bus, he saw a classmate crossing the street. |Huh, what's with this guy? Is he going to pass out?|

…

His friend who was waiting for the book greeted him at the entrance. |Whoa, he's not looking good.|

"Dude, are you OK?" Victor asked with a frown.

Under the barrage of random people's inner voices, Cha Kwan's peace of mind had been eroded. "I'm fine, just need to catch my breath."

|Catch your breath? Didn't you take the bus you f*cking idiot?|

"Really, I'm fine!" Cha Kwan continued. "I brought the book by the way."

"Later, later. Let's get inside." |Did he confess to someone and got rejected? F*ck! Kjeld didn't come to school for a week when he got rejected!|

Cha Kwan watched his friend Victor's face go through variety of emotions. Starting from genuine concern and ending with pity! The urge to smack the guy was strong, but Cha Kwan knew he couldn't act on other people's thoughts. Probably.

"Let's go…" He said with a sigh. Contrary to his expectation, listening to Victor's increasingly unrealistic scenarios lifted his mood. Until Victor tried to make an unfortunate conjecture.

|No way he could've confessed to Elizabeth… He always stayed away from her-| Victor audibly gasped. |F*ck! How didn't I notice this before?!|

'Sh*t…'

Thankfully, thoughts by their very nature, tended to shift quickly, as Cha Kwan found out. Within seconds, Victor was enamored by a passing female student.

|I wanna squeeze those huge boobs! And she has amazing ass too, damn…|

Cha Kwan sighed once more as they entered the class. As he inevitably came into contact with his classmates, all their thoughts were laid bare.

The green haired girl with freckles smiled as usual. |Will Song Donghai be absent today? Gosh, what am I thinking?|

The boy sitting behind Cha Kwan's desk was talking with his neighbor. |This guy's going to repeat a year, f*cking idiot.|

The mentioned boy sheepishly smiled without saying anything. |Lisa…|

Cha Kwan sat down and unconsciously looked for Lisa, the delinquent girl of the class. Though she really looked like the stereotypical girl with a bad attitude, she was in fact, the 5th best scorer of the entire school. Academically speaking.

Lisa seemed to be studying on her seat next to the window. |Carry the 8?... Doesn't sound right. Wait, if I calculate the tangent first…|

Cha Kwan took the novel out of his bag and threw it to Victor.

|Right, now I can carry the 8. I knew it, math is best done after breaking legs!| |… ovel he mentioned? With this sh*tty cover art?|

"Alright sit down everyone!"

The teacher had arrived, but Cha Kwan thought he heard something extremely serious from Lisa! Breaking legs?!

'… Probably a video game reference, right? Yeah, most likely…'

"Today's lesson will be… Oh, Elizabeth. Sit down." |What an honor for you to join us princes! Goddamn why did I become a high-school teacher…|

"I'm sorry, teacher." Elizabeth bowed and hurriedly sat down on her seat. |He's looking at me again! He's watching me! Aiya!!!|

Cha Kwan's eyes lost focus after hearing the loud scream, then his gaze landed on the teacher in his early 30s.

|Finally…| "As I was saying, today's lesson will be about the fall of the Great Persian Empire. This subject will be quite long, but it is very important!" Some students nodded slightly and everyone else looked as if they were listening intently. |Haaa, at least the A-class is paying attention… I should probably add 2 more questions about the Persian empire…|

The lesson started, and Cha Kwan listened while being aware of the teacher's inner commentary. He made a special note on his notebook.

- Maybe 1-2 Persian empire questions on the exams? -

While listening, he couldn't help but glance at Elizabeth a few times, though he didn't hear her thoughts until his gaze lingered for a full second.

|Timur was an aura user! This history is so wrong! I shouldn't have come early to the history lesson; what was I thinking! Now I'm going to remember the wrong version. Sh*t. I'll just not listen to this to crap. Sorry teacher! I know it's not your fault!|

Cha Kwan immediately switched his gaze the teacher.

'What did I just hear?!'

|Great, the great idol princess is dozing off again...|

Once the class was over and the teacher was out, Cha Kwan buried his head to the desk. Silence came after a few seconds. Of course, other classmates were talking all around, and the noise of the entire school was present. But this, was clearly silence, a blissful silence compared to listening to someone's unending thoughts!

Cha Kwan tried to collect his thoughts after a while.

'Possibility #1. I'm going Crazy. Not normal crazy, but capitalized Crazy!

Possibility #2. I can read people's thoughts. They just need to be near me, and I just need to stare at them for a full second or so.'

Either one was possible depending how one would look at the situation. Cha Kwan had memories from his previous life! Were they real, or were they just a previous manifestation of his insanity?

'… We get comprehensive physical evaluation every year. If I was crazy, they should've found something in regular scans, right?'

Medical science was much more advanced in this alternate world. Cancer was a thing of the past, and anti-aging research was going full steam ahead. World's oldest person was 180-something years old and still going strong! Average Life expectancy had already climbed to mid-100s!

'Yeah, they definitely would've noticed a chemical imbalance in my brain or something. Then they would either put me on meds, or just outright fixed me!'

In Cha Kwan's mind, the idea of him being crazy was getting less and less likely. And that left him with two scenarios.

'Scenario #1. Both Elizabeth and Lisa are suffering from Chuuni disease.

Scenario #2. This world isn't as simple as I thought.'

Chuuni disease was unfortunately undetectable by the modern science! There was no known cure! Most people could gradually recover, but not everyone would regain full faculties!

Could Elizabeth, Lisa, and even Elizabeth's aunt, be suffering from the same condition?

'Ok, Elizabeth's aunt… She probably wasn't actually thinking about killing the guy Elizabeth was interested in. It's normal to have weird thoughts, right? I can think about killing some guy if I get pissed off enough, but that's just… just representation of my anger, not something I would even think of doing… I mean, I would think of doing it, just that I wouldn't think of really doing it… Yeah…'

In the same vein, Cha Kwan realized the thoughts about physical violence may not indicate intent! In fact, many people would have stray, intrusive thoughts!

'F*ck, this is dangerous. I don't want to hear people's thoughts! I even more don't want to hear their stray thoughts!'

"What's going on with you?" Someone tapped on his desk. Cha Kwan recognized the voice, Gerry Richards, an American boy with a thin frame.

"Couldn't get enough sleep last night." Cha Kwan lied as he lifted his head. Thoughts started appearing after a second.

|…regretting the confession?| "Oooh… Really…" Gerry rolled his eyes, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Who was the lucky gal?" |Don't say Lisa. If you say Lisa you piece of sh*t I swear to god almighty that I'll rip the your f*cking throat.|

Cha Kwan couldn't help but shudder. Watching a violent movie was one thing, but hearing threats of violence, up close, from his friends, in a context that made sense to his daily life… This was something completely different! Not at all something that he could've prepared for in a few minutes!

|F*ck! Did you really confess to Lisa? Why the f*ck would someone like her accept the confession of a trash like you! F*cking human trash! F*ck!!|

"… I… really couldn't sleep." Cha Kwan answered mostly to end the barrage of inner insults. Were a person's thoughts really that fickle? Or did Gerry always have thoughts like this? "I…" Cha Kwan looked around the class and lowered his voice. "I wanted to confess to Elizabeth… but she's so famous, and so beautiful, you know…"

At the moment of crisis, Cha Kwan could only think of one person that everyone would want to confess to. The idol Elizabeth. No matter what inner thoughts she had about Aura, or Villains, or Authors, she was the first person that came to his mind.

Gerry smiled almost immediately while Cha Kwan hurriedly made a "shh" gesture. "Don't tell anyone, alright? It was just a passing thought! A passing thought!" He tried to reinforce in panic, not knowing whether he did the right thing.

Of course, he had no desire to confess to an idol. Not in a million years! But between the pressure of getting threatened, all he could do was to give Gerry a plausible explanation so he could send him away!

|… F*ck! This idiot really has big appetite! Damn, I can't even imagine them together. It's just physically impossible!| "Alright alright, I won't tell anyone." Gerry stood up. |Poor kid… Should I introduce him to someone?... I do know some human girls…|

Cha Kwan put his elbows on the desk and covered his eyes. A moment of silence ensued, making him think that Gerry went far away. But he heard his friend's thoughts once more.

|… Only a Blue Wolf is worthy of Lisa…|

Though he had eliminated the possibility of himself being Crazy, the same could not be said for others! Cha Kwan started to have serious doubts about the mental wellbeing of Gerry!

Thoughts of that level, could they be considered normal?

At the same time, Cha Kwan couldn't help but be curious about Lisa's thought on this. He tried to secretly look at her to switch the target of his mind reading ability. Unexpectedly, he saw Lisa was also looking at him!

|… Is he eyeing me? No, why would he do that? Did that trash say something? … Those dogs should really not be allowed near people. What was the council thinking?|

Lisa shook her head, Cha Kwan saw from the corner of his eye. Then she went back to solving math problems.

'… Do these people have some sort of shared fetish?!'

Suddenly that thought made a lot of sense! All of this could be explained by role playing!

Probably.

|This, plus 2, then if I apply the product rule…|

Compared to Gerry's intense thought patterns, listening to Lisa's dry math thoughts was much less overwhelming. It was just a sequence of idle commentary that filled in the blanks of a math problem that Cha Kwan couldn't see.

'… I guess I don't comment on how I'm solving a math problem while solving it. I just do it, there are no conscious thoughts…?'

The limitations of his ability had become a bit more obvious. He could hear the articulated thoughts, but anything deeper wasn't possible. At least not yet.

'Thankfully, I can't feel what they're feeling. They're so noisy and intense, I don't think I could endure their emotions on top of that…'

The next period started a few minutes later.

Laura Greenleaf, a woman in his late 20s, was one of the star teachers at the school. Coincidentally, she was also the biology teacher of the first-year students. As she entered the class Cha Kwan didn't need to read other male student's minds to know what they were thinking.

However, since he could read minds, he decided to check a few.

He looked at Victor on his right. |…|

'… Wait, why can't I hear his thoughts?'

Cha Kwan glanced again, for two seconds this time, just to be sure.

|… If only I can marry her…|

After hearing his friend's thoughts, Cha Kwan couldn't help but do a double take. Then he switched to someone near the wall side, a student that was in the basketball team. |I wish I could c*m inside of her all day long…|

'Holy sh*t…'

Thoughts were thoughts! Though that boy wasn't known to be a pervert, no one could know what kind of thoughts a person would have on the inside!

Well, no one except Cha Kwan, at least.

Probably.

After experiencing immediate regret, Cha Kwan focused on Laura Greenleaf. The green haired, voluptuous beauty with dreamy emerald eyes. Some students found out the hard way that her lethargic appearance was misleading. In one word, this woman was sharp! There was nothing in the class that she wasn't aware of.

Naturally, Cha Kwan was curious about her thoughts! Since he couldn't get through the class without hearing someone's inner voice, listening to the teacher's made perfect sense!

'Sh*t, this is creepy. But what can I do? Close my eyes for the whole class?'

"Open page 254." |The wolf kid is out of the question. Yuck!| "Noctgranum Foricatlazul, has anyone ever seen this plant in the wild?" Laura waited a few seconds for a response. "No? No one saw this double blue grass? Ever?" |Who's that boy?|

Laura's thoughts surprisingly became withdrawn as she described the weird plant.

'Is this concentration? Once she starts, she's fully absorbed? No stray or needless thoughts?' Cha Kwan continued to listen. 'Who's the boy she mentioned though? And why is she aware of the wolf role-play stuff?!'

Ultimately, these were private matters of the people involved. Which made the situation simply too vexing! Would Cha Kwan like if someone kept reading his thoughts? Absolutely not! But here he was, listening to the inner voices of people nonstop!

"… You can see the changes brought by the cosmic radiation in pages 262 and 274. These plants may look different, but their origin is the same. Noctgranum Foricatlazul. Otherwise known as Night's Miracle. Take a second to compare." |His looks are average, but what was that with the gaze? I almost feel naked… This…|

Cha Kwan tried to maintain his composure while looking at the biology book. Could it be that she sensed his mind reading ability somehow? If Cha Kwan, a reincarnator with the memories of his previous life had an extraordinary ability, perhaps… other people could too!

|The sensation is completely gone when he isn't looking. Let's see, that seat should be… Cha Kwan?|

'F*ck. F*ck. F*ck…' For a moment he couldn't hear any thoughts from Laura.

|He's not a bad candidate… now that I think about it.| "Alright, can anyone tell me the defining characteristic of Night's Miracle?"

A few hands rose, but Laura shook her head. "Cha Kwan, why don't you answer it?"

'Oh sh*t…'

He stood up and tried his best to keep his voice from trembling! "Just like its name, Night's Miracle only grows at night."

"Only?" Laura asked laura, crossing her arms.

"Yes," answered Cha Kwan, "even if the environment around it is pitch black, as long as sun is up, this plant won't grow. It also won't grow if it is too deep underground."

"And why is that?" Laura asked. |I doubt you'd know…|

Cha Kwan shook his head with a smile. "No one knows. The plant wasn't named Night's Miracle for nothing."

If Lisa was the 5th across the same year, Cha Kwan was the 8th! After experiencing death once, studying, was surprisingly easy!

|Not bad.| "Good answer." Laura Greenleaf finally released Cha Kwan from her lethargic gaze. "There are still many phenomena that science can't explain. Night's Miracle is one of them." |Should I feed him a Night's Miracle?…|

Cha Kwan's vigilance increased by a few factors on the spot! Immediately, he tried to remember if Night's Miracle had some sort of narcotic use!

At this point the odds of the teacher being aware of his… "power" seemed uncomfortably high!

'… Sh*t, was she looking at the students to find one with extraordinary powers?'

Hundreds of scenarios popped in Cha Kwan's head! All those web novels he read in both lives suddenly felt real! Plots about mutants, extermination of the supernatural, hidden organizations, secret wars, magical societies, unknown worlds… Panic, somehow made them all feel plausible!

While he was covered in cold sweat, the bell rang, and the class was finally over.

Cha Kwan glanced at the teacher for a few more seconds, just to make sure that he was listening to her thoughts. Then, he took out his phone, and started Looging around for Night's Miracle.

|His gaze really makes me feel like I'm naked… This isn't good; I'm getting excited…|

The teacher went out of range, and silence returned to Cha Kwan's mind.

'… She is getting excited?' He shook his head as if he was shaking the thought away. 'Let's see, Night's Miracle… Effects and perception in folklore… Huh, folklore?'

Apparently, the plant itself was quite popular in the ancient the world, and served as MacGuffin for many stories. Some named it God's Gift, others called it Devil's Whisper. From Inca's, to Babylonian's, to ancient Chinese. Practically everyone knew it.

'Ok, this is just…' Combined with his sudden awakening to a rather perverted power, the Wiki article had started to crumble Cha Kwan's world view. 'No, no, no. There must be a better explanation. Yeah. I refuse to believe something that's so fantastical and so cliché…'

A flower, that only bloomed at night. Though wasn't popular in modern media, had a sizable mythos around it.

And the most common mythical element of it, was to awaken dormant powers.

'… Achilles was dunked into a lake full of blooming Night's Miracle?! The F*ck?!'

History of this Earth had slight differences. A few times Cha Kwan was even caught off guard and scored lower in an exam. All because he thought Napoleon was a man!

The sudden disappointment over Achilles' changed circumstances made Cha Kwan raise his head and absentmindedly look around.

A profound mistake, he realized a few seconds later.

|… side character too? I wonder…| The voice seemed to belong to Elizabeth. Cha Kwan didn't even realize she was walking in front of him. |F*ck. Why did Donghai had to be so hot… F*ck. F*ck. F*CK!!! I really should F*ck him. F****ck… What am I thinking…|

'… Seriously, what the F*ck are you thinking…' Cha Kwan realized he wouldn't be able to handle the abrupt screams of the (delusional) idol, so he switched channels.

|… omeone's looking at me again… Is it… Cha Kwan?| The target this time was Lisa. The delinquent who was studying hard even during recess. Rather than listening to intrusive thoughts of others, hearing math solving commentary was far more preferable. At least that's what Cha Kwan thought.

He didn't expect Lisa to catch him on the act without even looking back!

|Why does unnie seem to like him so much? Isn't he just a normal human?|

While typing Achilles' Heel on Loogle, Cha Kwan's hand froze. 'Unnie?'

|Does she have a normal human fetish? Or does she just like younger boys?| Cha Kwan couldn't help but glance at Lisa's figure. She was still looking at the math practice book, but her pencil wasn't moving. |Was she serious when she said she wanted to have his babies?...|

'…'

|… As long as it's not a wolf, I guess… Where was I, oh right, I solved 65…|

*BAM* "EVERYONE!! Siddaaawn!!!"

Half of the class jumped on their seat with the entrance of the English teacher, a balding man in his 50s.

|Hehe… Got almost 10 this time! Nice!| Though he was Korean, the teacher's thoughts seemed to be in English. "Siddawn… Siddaawn…." |God I love being a teacher!!|

Cha Kwan listened to the teacher's excited and enthusiastic inner commentary throughout the class.

The next period, 3D Geometry, also went by without accidents. It was also the most boring one, with the teacher's thoughts being perfectly in sync with the subject matter.

Though, all the while, Cha Kwan couldn't stop thinking about Lisa's "Unnie."

'No, it must be some sort of private joke. The phrasing probably has some other meaning. Yeah, that's the most logical conclusion…

… Actually, now that I think about it… Maybe "her Unnie" doesn't want to have "my" babies. Maybe Lisa suddenly switched thoughts. Maybe I reminded her of someone else…'

That seemed a lot more plausible! Thoughts could jump around; context could change moment to moment!

Could that be the same for the remaining Chuuni thoughts though?

Cha Kwan wanted to answer yes. The need was desperate, almost primal.

But… he wasn't the kind of person that would ignore something that was staring at him dead in the eye.

Rather than joining others for lunch, Cha Kwan bought an Italian style sandwich and headed for a secluded place. He really needed some peace and quiet after listening to others' thoughts for hours!

At the roof gardens, the most deserted place was the side overlooking the mega-apartments. From a native's perspective, Cha Kwan could understand why. Those humongous concrete monsters weren't particularly inspiring to look at!

Still, from an Earth 1.0 resident's perspective, the sight could never get old for him. Even the most mundane things would remind him that he was living in the future! An alternate future, but future nonetheless!

"Why are you here?"

Sudden voice made Cha Kwan almost drop his sandwich. The voice belonged to Song Donghai, but out of instinct, Cha Kwan still looked behind in a hurry.

A dark hair, dark eyes, slim build but not too thin, Song Donghai had the typical build of a Chinese male model.

'Yeah, I can see why Elizabeth thinks he's so hot-' |…is a normal human. Strange that he came here today…|

Cha Kwan realized the mistake he had made.

|…|

"Classmate Song!" Cha Kwan smiled. "I was just getting some fresh air. How about you?"

|…|

As much as the constant thought bombardment was creepy and disturbing, Cha Kwan realized, the opposite was also true.

|…|

No, standing still, with absolutely no thoughts whatsoever… Cha Kwan found that to be profoundly disturbing, and downright frightening even.

*Cough* "D-Don't mind me. I was just… Walking around. While eating… Yeah…"

Cha Kwan didn't even look behind as he walked away. Did his newfound power suddenly disappear? Was such a thing even possible?

Just as Cha Kwan was entertaining the idea, he heard a crisp voice inside his head.

|What a creepy boy…|

That almost made Cha Kwan stop and look back!

'… You're the f*cking creepy one! No wonder that idiot idol calls you the villain!'

Without stopping, Cha Kwan increased the distance. Silence reigned, though he could not help but shudder after remembering Song Donghai's empty stare. It wasn't an exaggeration; the guy's brain was literally empty while staring at Cha Kwan!

'Ok, let's go back to the beginning. Let's assume… All of it is real, and not just some chuuni nonsense.'

Despite the strong evidence for hearing others' thoughts, Cha Kwan was reluctant to accept the possibility. Who would've thought he would reconsider his entire world view after a brief staring contest with Song Donghai?

'Elizabeth thinks… that she transmigrated/reincarnated into the world of a novel. That's… pretty typical web novel stuff.'

During his early years, Cha Kwan himself thought he had reincarnated into an obscure novel/game world. Suddenly living again with all his memories intact had a peculiar effect on one's psyche!

But years passing slowly taught him that wasn't the case. The world was adequately boring. Or so he thought!

'… She thinks Song Donghai is the villain, and that he's super-hot. Yeah, fair enough on that last part. But what does that make her? Is she the heroine? She couldn't be a villainess of sorts, but I guess you never know these things.

Then again, she could be a mob that took advantage of the memories of her previous life, and became an idol like that?...'

Cha Kwan once thought about becoming famous himself. But on the off chance that there was something being wrong with the world, he refrained himself from being too outstanding!

By the time he was 10 years old though, the allure of a slow life had already won him ten times over. All thoughts of becoming famous or influential, got labeled as "troublesome" affairs!

He was lazy and apathetic, but a reincarnated person with enough drive could realistically become a world famous idol. He could admit that.

'Alright, what about her aunt? She talked about killing a boy, which I'm assuming is Song Donghai. Did she mean it, or was she just joking?'

If he were to accept Elizabeth's thoughts as the truth, he would also accept the other (possibly chuuni) students' too.

'So Gerry is a blue wolf, which Lisa hates. There is a council of sorts, somewhere. The plant called Night's Miracle actually awakens people… to something? Yeah, this is a pretty generic isekai setup, isn't it?'

Was it a story that he never read, or a memory that he lost along the way? Either could be the case. With so many novels, who could read or remember everything?

After a deep sigh, Cha Kwan jammed the last piece of sandwich in his mouth and continued chewing away without any joy. 'There's still the possibility of me being crazy too.' He glanced at the faraway students from lower grades. 'A tiny… possibility…'

After absentmindedly watching his surroundings for a while, Cha Kwan shook his head. 'The danger is too great to assume that there's a possibility of all of this being a figment of my imagination. I died. I reincarnated. I got a cheat, after all these years. Maybe. Yeah, this is definitely a deferred cheat of sorts. Probably.' He sighed and rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. 'How I got the cheat isn't important. What is important is that I got it. And there is no off switch.'

All of his thoughts culminated into one point. How was he going to deal with this power?

'… Joining or catching the attention of that Council thingamajig is out of the question. I can only read minds, and there are plenty of limitations. I'd end up getting locked up and used as a mind reader until the end of time - if I get lucky. I might also end up as an experimental subject.'

If he had awakened to some sort of protective ability, or at least something that could act as a deterrence, maybe he wouldn't need to mind the Council, the Wolves, the Villain, and various miscellaneous fantasy elements. But he didn't. He was as squishy as any old regular human being.

'I guess I just need to keep my head down, huh.' When the world was normal, being normal felt fitting. Now that the veil has been lifted, and he had a brush with the supernatural, the hit of disappointment was silent and sudden.

But so was his recovery.

'Well, I'll just have to act like they don't exist. If keep things subtle, I could use this ability to my advantage somehow.'

As long as he got used to listening to violent intrusive thoughts of those around, non stop, every day, for the rest of his life, everything was golden!

"Hey, what are you doing standing around? Come on, the break is over!" A man shouted at him even though he was only only a few meters away. Startled, Cha Kwan made the mistake of glancing at the person. Not a moment later he tired to look away, but, he was already too late.

|..this f*cker.| "Move!" Cha Kwan hurried to the roof exit while keeping his head down just in case. |… At least he's cute while running.|

That last thought almost made Cha Kwan stumble on perfectly flat ground. He decided to keep an eye on that teacher. Not for his own sake, but for others' too!

Could it be that the guy meant it in a jovial way? It was possible of course, but since Cha Kwan was on the receiving end of those thoughts, he simply couldn't give someone the benefit of the doubt!

'F*ck, this is f*cking with my head…' On the way, he ended up looking at a few later stragglers like himself.

One hurrying student blocked his way by accident, and Cha Kwan ended up looking at the boy's body to orient himself. |-mom is going to kill me. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead…|

Someone crashed into a wall while running at full speed. It was so sudden that Cha Kwan forgot where he was going. |… ugh, my… my teeth?! It's loose?!|

Once he remembered to rush to the classroom, he walked into another bystander. |If this was a romcom, and this dude was a girl, would I be able to seduce her?… I guess it depends on whether I want her in my harem…|

The thoughts of the previous person seemed so genuine, Cha Kwan looked away with second hand embarrassment, and made eye contact with one of the monsters of the school. |… Please don't confess. Just move away. Don't come after me…|

Others would call them school belles, but Cha Kwan called them monsters. Primarily because almost a quarter of all males in the school were obsessed with them. Each had their super-secret fan club that any boy could join, as long as they were never affiliated with one of the other super-secret clubs. If anyone not authorized by their joint committee tried to get close to those monsters, there would be a hell to pay.

Not that the fan clubs beat people or anything; they were simply petty, incredibly persistent, and petty. Cha Kwan simply could not afford to have his ordinary life interrupted by horny teenagers!

'Yes, it's all fine. This will all blow over soon.' He thought, as he entered the classroom.

Not wanting to hear the thoughts of his classmates, Cha Kwan acted as if he had a lot on his mind and kept looking at his phone. Unfortunately, upon reaching his seat, he realized someone was sitting on it. "Could you move?" He asked, without lifting his head. Even an accidental glance that lingered too long could make him hear others' thoughts. Utmost attention had to placed on his phone to prevent that! But the person on his seat did not move away, nor did they made any other sound. After an awkward amount of time later, Cha Kwan finally lifted his head and looked.

'F*ck.' It was Song Donghai.

The two stared at each other without a word. The noise of the class went away in the background. Due to slight panic, and slight annoyance, Cha Kwan spoke first. "That is my seat." He quickly glanced around to confirm; it clearly was his seat.

|No wonder she likes him.| Song Donghai stood up without a word. |I wonder what he'll awaken to.|

"…" Cha Kwan's mouth dropped as he watched Song Donghai go away. His inexplicable thoughts were only interrupted by the teacher's entrance.

"Quiz time!" The cheerful sociology teacher exclaimed. "Kwan, come on distribute these sheets since you're already standing!"

|This will be he last quiz before the big news. Maybe I should include these in performance grades…| "Hmm? Come on, don't just stand there!" The teacher smiled and made a shoo gesture to Cha Kwan.

'… I can get all straight A's.' He thought. At first. As he distributed the papers. 'Wait, it might be impossible for me not to get A's at this point…'