Before the Exam

Joon-won turned around and noticed the boss, Gim Da, walking out. He nodded and answered the question. "Yes, boss. The exam is tomorrow."

"Do your best. Are you going back home for the holidays after it?"

Joon-won shook his head, and Gim Da sighed in relief. He didn't want to have any more vacancies in shifts, especially since he had just hired Joon-won a week ago. He looked at Seonu and asked, "Seonu, how is your preparation for the national exam going? Which university are you going to apply to?"

Seonu's exams were also over, and he was out of high school. Every high schooler had to give a nationwide exam for entrance into a good university at the end of their third year. Seonu was one of the better-studying kids he knew, and he wanted to know what his future plans were. The exam was only a few weeks away, and they had to submit their preferred universities.

"I put Arios City University of Science as my first preference. I want to continue studying science while staying at home and hopefully becoming a scientist." His answer shocked Gim Da a little. Arios Science University wasn't the best for that subject, and there were a handful of better universities in the country. He just nodded and went back after wishing Joon-won good luck in his exams.

Joon-won talked with Seonu for a while before heading home. Entering the house, he kept the costume they gave him on his bed and started cooking some food. He was very hungry, having eaten nothing since lunch. Cooking himself a nice cut of meat, he enjoyed the tasty dinner before sitting on the couch.

His phone rang, and it was Kim Min-Seok. Picking up the phone, he heard his father on the other side asking if he should come over for the final exam. Joon-won quickly denied it. He was not ready to meet his 'father' and didn't want to make him travel for a small thing.

He said that he would send a video clip of his parts for them to see. He asked about Yun-hee, and the answer was the same. She was still coming back late from school, and the national exam was only a few weeks away. If she didn't start studying seriously, her results would be terrible.

Reassuring Min-Seok, Joon-won cut the call and threw the phone on the couch. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't talk to a teenager who didn't want to hear from him because of things done by the original Joon-won. After thinking for a while, he decided to ask Jung-hwa to keep an eye on his sister and see what she was up to.

He didn't want to ask but, as things were not becoming normal, he had to take an outsider's help. This summer was important, and he didn't want to go back early. He decided to ask her after she returned to town next week.

Deciding on the course of action, he went to his room and jumped on the bed. Setting an alarm for 6 in the morning for his daily jog, he went to sleep.

As the sunrise and sunlight fell on his face from the window, he stopped the noisy alarm and woke up. Going to the bathroom for a quick freshen-up and changing clothes, he wore headphones he found in a drawer. Connecting the wireless headphones to the phone, he searched for his favorite type of music. This was the first time after coming to this world that he was listening to music.

As he walked down the stairs, he finally decided on some pop music and started to jog through the streets. He liked the music and bobbed his head in rhythm, unconsciously. This type of music wasn't there back in the kingdom, and listening to something new and energetic was awesome, making him instantly fall in love.

He jogged longer with the music accompanying him as he enjoyed the slightly cold weather while his body generated heat from the exercise. He could feel his body slowly taking a better shape, and the daily workout was working out.

After a nice 45-minute jog, he came back home and did a quick 30-minute exercise to build some muscles. Completing his daily dose of jog and workout, he jumped into a hot bath to relax. His body was no longer in pain as it was at the beginning due to the workout.

After wearing some nice clothes, he went right into the kitchen and cooked himself a nice breakfast with the leftover meat from last night. After washing the dishes, he noticed it was only 8 AM and sat on the couch with his phone. Their exam would start at 10:30, and it was enough if he arrived by 9:30 or 10. He didn't forget to remove the clothes he hung up the day before and fold them into the closet.

Time flew by, and it was about time for him to start moving. He didn't want to change into a costume and walk to the university in a high school uniform like an idiot, so he packed the costume into a bag and walked out of the house toward the university.

He still had the headphones on, with music in his ears. He felt addicted to music, detached from the outside world. After reaching the university entrance, he texted Jung-hwa and got an immediate reply that she was already inside watching the Star Batch drama.

Not wanting to watch the drama, he simply asked her to text him when everyone was to meet backstage. After getting her approval, he sat on a nearby bench, enjoying the sun and music in peace, until he felt a tap on his shoulder.