Prologue 6

Ⅰ.
Dokgo Young
01 Easy Easy Family 10
02 26 bound by the word "we"
03 Pain Sensitivity Top 1 Percent 42
04 I will not turn down the opportunity 55
05 I am you.
I Am New 79
06 This is me 91

Ⅱ.
Seonjiyu
01 Accidental Orbital Change 102
02 Wrong Encounter 112
03 Self-imposed Whale 126
04 I will not turn down the opportunity 134
05 No Love, No Love 146
06 This is me 166

Epilogue 176
Author's Note 182

“How great would it be if I were that child.”
A special opportunity for two girls with different needs
"I Want to Be You Too" is a coming-of-age novel about the story of Dokgo Young-eun, who has a gorgeous appearance but is always lonely at heart, and Seon Ji-yu, who has grown up receiving love from her parents but suffers from an appearance complex, as their bodies change.
‘I wish I were as pretty as that kid’, ‘I wish I studied hard like that kid…’, ‘How great would it be if my family was as rich as theirs?’
Everyone has probably dreamed of someone else's life at least once.
People often admire someone who lives a different life than their current one, a life that seems better.
However, comparing yourself to others like that ends up making you negative and destroying your self-esteem.
Is what you see on the outside really what's "real"? People often try to show only their shining moments, their cool, happy selves.
But even if we appear perfect on the outside, everyone lives with small and big deficiencies in their hearts.


The same goes for Young-eun and Ji-yu.
Yeong-eun envies Ji-yu, who receives a lot of love from her parents, and Ji-yu envies Yeong-eun, who has a pretty appearance.
Then one day, a mysterious being named 'Dinatotita' (Greek for opportunity or possibility) appears before the two and offers them a chance to live each other's lives.
And the two people accept the opportunity without hesitation.


“I won’t turn down the opportunity!”
An immersive fantasy novel that explores the real-life struggles of teenagers in an engaging way.
"I Want to Be You Too" uses fantasy elements like body swapping and time slip to interestingly portray the real-life concerns of teenagers, such as appearance complexes, family relationships, conflicts with friends, problems with the opposite sex, and career concerns.


As the two people's bodies switch, time also goes back two months.
In the past, Yeong-eun was misunderstood at an amusement park and became estranged from her friends, but after Ji-yu becomes Yeong-eun, she becomes closer to her friends despite going through the same incident.
Also, in the past, Jiyu had her dreams and unrequited love stolen by her senior and suffered from an appearance complex, but after Yeong-eun became Jiyu, she confidently made all of that her own.

The body change setting alone could have been the realization of the 'desire to live someone else's life'.
However, with the addition of a time-rewind setting (time slip), the message is also added that the same incident can have completely different outcomes depending on who makes what choices.
This kind of unpredictable and exciting development increases the reader's appeal and immersion.


“If I become you and you become me, can we be happy?”
A coming-of-age novel about a journey to find one's true self.
The ending of body change and time slip stories is usually a 'happy ending where people return to their original lives'.
But this novel chooses a different ending.
Yeong-eun and Ji-yu accept their changed lives and decide to live harder than anyone else to take responsibility for their choices.


Through this unique ending, the author sends a warm message of comfort to teenagers who are losing themselves in comparison and deprivation, saying, "You are okay now," and encouraging them to have the courage to accept themselves as they are.

“Even people who seem perfectly happy have desperate imbalances in their lives, big and small.

So, I hope that everyone who has ever wanted to escape from themselves, even for a moment, will find the essence of their ‘true self.’”
- Song Ju-young, from “Author’s Note”

True happiness does not begin with comparing yourself to others, but with accepting yourself as you are.
"I Want to Be You Too" shows the realistic concerns of teenagers, such as competition, appearance complex, and academic stress, through the changes and choices of two girls.
And through that process, it shows the possibility of overcoming and healing.
For readers who have ever longed for another life, or who wish to find their true selves, this novel will surely deliver deep empathy and warm comfort.