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 same place.
I knew it instantly. The air smelled different. The bed was too soft. And the ceiling... I swear I'd never seen that pattern before.
I blinked several times.
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 me 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, slightly tousled hair. Light circles under his eyes. A thin mouth. And large, somewhat tired, but intense eyes.
It wasn't me.
It was Suhyeon Kim.
A chill ran down my spine.
I swallowed. I moved closer. The reflection did the same.
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 remembered.
Questism.
The webtoon.
It was one of my favorites. And that face in front of me... was the main character.
Suhyeon Kim.
A weak boy who one day wakes up with an RPG-style system. Daily missions, levels, statistics. He becomes strong. He becomes someone. All in the midst of a high school full of delinquents, gangs, fights, and meaningless 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 me. Literally floating.
A digital rectangle, with bright green letters.
Like something out of a video game:
[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 message appeared:
I thought quickly. In the webtoon, Suhyeon couldn't refuse all missions. Some were mandatory. Others, if failed, had serious consequences.
And as far as I remembered, 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 me several times.
[System]
A tutorial search is being created.
The message flashed a couple of times. 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 me minutes earlier. It hurt. So... it wasn't a dream.
Another floating box appeared, more stylized than the previous ones. This time 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 someone else's memory.
That's when I heard something.
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 something serious has happened... something 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 something up either. So I just looked down and nodded.
She exhaled. She didn't cry, but her expression changed. As if something heavy had been lifted from her chest.
"It's okay. Come when you're hungry. I made soup... there's still some left, your sister left you some."
I nodded again. She left, without closing the door completely. Not like someone who was walking away, but like someone who was willing to come 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 moment.
I didn't know who was more cowardly: Suhyeon, who exploded at his mother, or me, who had just apologized for something 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: 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 me a comment 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?
Important:
The publication frequency has not yet been defined, as I am currently also working on an original novel called "The Devourer's Frontier" —which is taking up a lot of my time— but I promise I will not abandon this project.
I'm learning as I go, so every piece of advice counts. Thank you for reading this far!