In the early morning, the dim room was filled with steady breathing.
A handsome-looking boy was lying on his side, fast asleep. He looked exhausted.
The room was a complete mess, seemingly untouched for a long time.
The red alarm clock on the bedside table quietly ticked away, the second hand moving bit by bit.
At 6:40, the preset alarm went off.
A strange ringtone echoed in the small room.
Smack!
A big hand suddenly slapped down on the clock.
After fumbling around to turn it off, the room returned to silence.
"Get up…"
A few minutes later, a boy with messy hair stood in front of the sink, brushing his teeth with sleepy eyes.
His school uniform was worn crookedly. If a disciplinary committee member saw him, he'd never make it into school.
He spit out the water and wiped his face casually with a damp towel before walking out.
Face wash? Skincare?
Nah.
Just soap is fine, only ugly people need such things.
"Student ID, student ID, where did I put it?"
The cluttered chair was piled with junk.
Rather than cleaning a storage room, he preferred dumping everything on this lounge chair he almost never sat on.
Clothes for the morning, his bag, books, random objects.
Putting everything here made it easier to find — or so he thought.
But judging from how much effort he was spending searching for his student ID, that idea was obviously wrong.
"Found it."
After rummaging for a while, the boy finally found his student ID in a place he himself couldn't explain.
"Why did it end up inside the cabinet?"
The morning sun landed perfectly on the name written on the Sobu High School student card: Rojin.
Putting it into his bag, Rojin checked his belongings.
"Right, there's also this."
As if remembering something, he stepped back from the doorway.
Grabbing the belt from the bedside table, he stuffed it behind his waist. Even with such a big object hidden, his back showed no bulge at all.
It made one wonder where on earth he was storing it.
"And lastly, this."
He shoved a tablet with a burning torch-like emblem into his bag and nodded with satisfaction.
Now everything was ready.
"I'm heading out."
Even though he lived alone, Rojin still called out habitually before leaving.
Maybe he was just getting used to local customs.
Stepping outside, the morning sunlight was a little harsh, making him squint.
"Youth sure is nice."
Watching the students walking to school in small groups, Rojin smiled pleasantly.
This kind of peaceful life was truly wonderful.
Even though he had a transformation device, he had no intention of becoming a great hero.
He believed he was just an ordinary person who got his power by luck — no noble ideals, no grand ambitions.
He wasn't qualified to be a world-saving hero or a terrifying villain.
Be a hero?
He didn't think he had that kind of pure soul.
His willpower wasn't strong either.
He couldn't even get up early properly — how could he possibly save the world?
Be a villain?
He wasn't smart enough. He'd just end up being someone else's pawn.
If anything, Rojin hoped he could just find someone reliable to cling to.
Someone dependable.
Ko"Good morning, Aki."
While Rojin was lost in random thoughts, the door next to his opened.
A boy with black-framed glasses stepped out, rubbing his messy hair. His expression was exhausted, just like an internet-addicted teen after staying up all night gaming.
Hearing Rojin greet him, he didn't respond immediately.
He stared blankly at the sun hanging in the sky before finally realizing someone was talking to him.
"Oh, good morning. You are…"
Halfway through speaking, Aki Tomoya froze.
He suddenly couldn't remember this classmate's name.
Strange.
He clearly remembered it yesterday, on the first day of school.
Wait—school started yesterday?
Did it?
He felt like he had forgotten something very important.
But what?
Tomoya sank into thought.
No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't remember what happened yesterday.
Every time he reached a certain point, his memory cut off.
"My name is Rojin."
"Please call me by my full name. Do not add -kun. Rojin-kun, and Jin-kun are all incorrect."
"I hope you understand."
Seeing Tomoya looking dazed, Rojin introduced himself with a smile.
There wasn't a hint of impatience in his tone.
"Oh, alright, Rojin."
Tomoya slapped his cheeks and forced a smile.
For some reason, he subconsciously wanted to stay away from this guy.
It felt like this classmate might suddenly punch him at any moment.
Impossible. He was clearly a good person.
Self-mocking, Tomoya wondered if he was developing paranoia.
"I have something to do, so I'll go ahead. See you, Aki."
Noticing Tomoya's uneasiness, Rojin excused himself.
Watching Rojin's retreating back, Tomoya absentmindedly touched the back of his head.
"What a strange guy… though he seems nice."
"Ouch… that hurts."
This morning, Tomoya had woken up with the back of his head swollen, like he had bumped into something.
But he had no memory of it whatsoever.
Out of Tomoya's sight, Rojin took out the tablet from his bag.
He opened a special interface, entered a password, confirmed fingerprint and retinal scan.
Then began editing a report.
"The target displayed signs of mental confusion the day after being exposed to the newly developed memory-erasing spray."
"And the erased range appears to exceed expectations."
'The target seems to have forgotten everything from the morning after using it the night before at 9:00 pm.'
Since it wasn't a formal report, Rojin didn't bother with strict terminology.
After sending the file, Rojin put the tablet back into his bag.
"Time for school."
With light steps, Rojin walked out of the dim corridor.
Students on the road were still laughing and chatting.
Walking alone, Rojin blended naturally into the crowd, looking like any ordinary student.