Written by Ha Wol-yang.
If I opened my eyes one day and said it was a scene from my favorite novel, who would believe me? Seriously, I was in that situation right now. The night before, I'd finished everything I had to do, laid down on a pile of rags, sighed deeply, and taken out a book to read. When I woke up, I'd found myself possessed by the villain from the novel I'd been reading. Unlike my real self, my face and body were flawless, and I had an abundance of money, so I thought I'd be incredibly lucky. But the moment I opened my eyes and realized what was happening, my first worry and headache was: what had become of my real self?
I lived in an orphanage from birth until I was 16. After entering high school, I quickly found a part-time job with the money I had saved up and my extraordinary brain, and left the orphanage. I thought I would be happy after that, but the money that quickly ran out made me go back to the orphanage. The orphanage's maid left and I came back of my own accord, so there's no way the director would have liked it. The next day, they started to harass me viciously, claiming I ran away from home, and at school, they started to tease me, calling me a parentless orphan. As if the saying that those who live well live well and those who don't live poorly didn't, my life began to become miserable, and after more than a year of living a life worse than a dog, it was Christmas Eve at the age of 19.
I was possessed by this novel.
-
In fact, since I couldn't afford to buy more books and only read this one, I already mastered who the characters were and what kind of plot developments were happening by heart. Perhaps, when I woke up, the villainess had been harassing the female protagonist too much, and the male leads had beaten her, requiring five weeks of recovery. Since I seem to have woken up at that time, I was going to quietly stay in the hospital and use the money from the villainess's background to live a life of wealth and honor. Of course, I don't know what happened to me in reality, but I either died, collapsed, or someone else lived beside me. It would be one of these three, and since all three of those options are equally shitty, I have no choice but to just live well here and return when the time is right.
- Knock knock.
I was about to lean back on the bed, trying to close my eyes again, when the door to the relatively unobtrusive hospital room opened and an unexpected figure appeared.
"Did the universe wake up?"
The female protagonist of the novel I'm possessed by, and the seven chaebols who protect her. In fact, I started reading this novel because the male protagonists on the cover were so damn handsome, but now I'm seeing them in person. Should I say "this is a surprise" or "they're like dogs?" I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity. As I stared, motionless, the girl who resembled a puppy spoke first.
"Space, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
As he stared at me with his drowsy eyes and sobbed, I felt a strange sense of alienation. Was it because no one had ever looked at me like this since I was born, or was it because he was acting so dirty that it seemed fake? Of course, so what? My goal is to just kick them out and live well on my own. I can destroy anything for my goals, or create anything. That's the belief I've held in society all this time, but unless someone who's endured a harder life than me appears, it'll be difficult to prove that my way of living is wrong.
"What's going on?"
As I sharply spoke, the female lead smiled faintly and immediately straightened her face, while the seven others furrowed their brows slightly. Ah, this is interesting. To think they'd react this way to my single word. Perhaps life here is about to get quite interesting?
"That, that's right! I'm worried about you..."
Worried? Pfft, you're talking nonsense. The heroine's eyes, speaking for me, were trembling slightly, and she was becoming increasingly discouraged, like a puppy anxious about being caught lying. A person who plays the heroine of a novel shouldn't make such a rookie mistake. Just as the female protagonist was thinking that she was insignificant, she heard harsh, barbed words.
"Hey, let's go. It's a waste of time looking at him."
Jeon Jungkook glared at me with a rather cold gaze as he led Yeoju away. "Wait a minute, did he really want me to cover myself with a blanket and cry in fear? Or did he want me to stop harassing Haejoo, who was under his protection? Either way, it was probably both, but right now, everyone just seemed laughable to me. I've only been alive for 19 years, but the things I've done in those 19 years have been so arduous that even someone 30 would believe me. Their love triangle was completely outrageous. I've never learned to waste time on such things, and I've never learned to live a life of leisure.
"Don't worry, you won't have to waste your time on me anymore."
With those words, I collapsed onto the bed, and for some reason, the seven of them obediently left my room. Of course...
- Kwaaang!
Although the sound of the door closing was heard, representing Jeon Jungkook's feelings.
Is this a blessing in disguise, or a curse in disguise? Time had already flown by, and for a week now, I had been living comfortably in the ethereal world of the Possessed. My parents, who occasionally showed up, seemed incredibly busy with work. Yet, despite all that, their love for their daughter was unparalleled, as they brought me expensive luxury goods every time they visited. They even spent two or three hours chatting with me every time they visited, gleaning hints about me. So-woo's car accident trauma and lemon allergy, both of which weren't mentioned in the novel, and the fact that I was a cold daughter at home. I figured these things out. Well, even if I didn't try to find out, I knew So-woo was the only daughter of the M.K Group. The MK Group started out in the cosmetics and fashion industry, hit the jackpot, and since then, everyone has become a company that people say, "Oh, that place? That famous place?" Judging by So-woo's occasional splurges in the novel, I never thought she had much money. Apparently, So-woo wasn't the type to flaunt luxury and wealth. Of course, I don't care about that at all. When I need to show off my wealth, I will. So, vowing nothing but revenge, I headed to school.
As I burst through the classroom door and plopped down on a random seat, the noisy atmosphere in the classroom suddenly quieted down, and the kids started to look at me. Why? Did I have something on my face? I looked at the small hand mirror in my pocket and saw that my face was clean. Then why were you staring? I furrowed my brow slightly and lay down, using my arm as a pillow. But it seemed like no one wanted me to sleep, because the seven people who had entered the classroom and Hae-joo were surprised to see me. They probably didn't know I'd be here, so I tried to force a smile and drift off to dreamland.
_ Kudangtaang!
Oh, shit. What kind of kid is that?I swore and looked for the person who had kicked my chair and desk. Ah, it was you. Kim Taehyung, standing two or three steps ahead of the other seven.
"Why didn't you just turn around?"
I guess it's a rule at this school to give kicks to patients just discharged from the hospital? If that's the case, I guess I should follow that rule too.
_Thud, boom -
"There's a saying that goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?"
I grinned and kicked Kim Taehyung's stomach hard with my foot. Kim Taehyung's face was visibly flustered, and he just stared at me, dumbfounded, as if he hadn't expected me to do this. No matter how pretty I am, if you keep staring at me like that...
"It's worn out, you bastard."
I might have continued on, but to Kim Taehyung, it'll sound like I'm the crazy one, not him. Of course, so what? I'm the one who finds it refreshing. I've always pursued my own fortune and happiness over others'. That's what's helped me the most in life. So my values will never change, even in this shitty situation. That's what I meant.
✐✎✐✎
As I was leisurely walking out of the classroom and strolling down the hallway, a woman dressed like a teacher noticed me and hurriedly walked towards me.
"Lady, from your head..."
" ? Oh, blood."
I hadn't noticed it before because I was so flustered, but Kim Taehyung had slammed the corner of my desk against my forehead. I touched it lightly and saw red blood streaming down my face, and I felt incredibly calm as I watched. After living like a dog for a few years, blood becomes a daily occurrence. You can't cut yourself unless you get used to it. Anyway, after a series of twists and turns, I gave my teacher a leave of absence and took a taxi home. Normally, a private driver would have picked me up, but since I'd just gotten off school the moment it happened, the presence of a driver seemed even more unusual. Finally, I arrived home. My parents were at work, so it was incredibly quiet. The kitchen clattered with the sound of a woman cooking. It was a stark contrast to my life, spent chilling on the floor. I desperately wanted to escape this uncomfortable place and find a place that suited me. After much deliberation, the only answer I could come up with was living alone. Since last time, it seemed like my parents really cared for Sowoo, so I changed my mind from the moment I started thinking about living alone. I had never studied before, so I had to prove it by coming back as top student in the entire school. After all, Sowoo was genetically gifted and always the best student in the school. And since I was locked up in the hospital until a few days ago, I steeled myself and prepared myself for the real challenge of living alone, knowing it wouldn't be easy, if anything, difficult. But...
"Okay, if you want, do it."
The sight of Sowoo's mother, with her kind smile and unconditional permission, was unfamiliar. No, if she was going to be this cool, she shouldn't have hesitated earlier. It was a waste of time. Feeling as if she'd been hit in the head, I smiled awkwardly and tried to confirm it again.
"Can I really live alone?"
No matter how many times I asked, she always answered yes, offering to help me find a place to live. Then, slightly excited, I came up to my room. A sudden wave of nausea and dizziness knocked me out of my senses, and I stumbled for a moment before collapsing onto the bed. My eyelids fluttered shut, and I could hear nothing, as if my entire body had been turned off. All I could hear was a persistent, unpleasant ringing in my ears, as if something was seriously broken, and my vision gradually blurred. I was sweating so much that I could feel my white T-shirt soaking wet. Despite the comfort of the soft bed, I groaned in sweat. Then, the power suddenly went out, extinguishing every cell in my body, even my eyes. Oh, this can't be...
The place I arrived at was utterly unpleasant. A musty smell, a place entirely enveloped in black mucus, and the sounds of giggling laughter echoed here and there. I wanted to run away from this place, but the further I walked with that thought, the farther the passage seemed to stretch. I realized this was a dream. I collapsed to the ground and waited patiently for myself to wake up. Knowing it was absurd, I knew it was a dream, but what could I dare do in a dream that I knew was a dream? And if anything, I could die in this novel. I needed to protect my own body, and I didn't want to inflict unnecessary suffering by exploiting a weakness, so I wanted to live as quietly as possible. To do that, I had to study first, and I had more than enough money to do whatever I wanted. Now, I would slowly take the novel's leash and strangle it. To become Queen, I needed an ally. A loyal dog who, even if I didn't trust him, would gladly lay down his life for me. That was all I needed right now. A relationship built on money can be betrayed at any moment, so I needed to approach it with some planning. First, let's start with Park Jimin. In the novel, Park Jimin was a truly loyal knight to Hae-joo. The more blindly you love Hae-joo, the more easily you'll be swayed. Park Jimin's weakness is the female protagonist. And...
It was me, maybe?
I was Park Jimin's first love and his first weakness. Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook were my best friends since childhood, and as the only girl, I was their first love. Well, we were stuck together from the age of 10 to 17, so it's even stranger that I never felt like a girl in those seven years. Does that mean I liked them too? Perhaps. But those were the feelings of a microcosm, the support that helped me become queen. And I still don't hate them. What they hurt was the microcosm of the past, not the version of myself I possessed. Since they haven't directly harmed me yet, they had a chance. The chance to become the queen's knights. How glorious that would be. Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, and Kim Namjoon have nothing to worry about. Anyway, Kim Seok-jin and Min Yoon-gi were practically spies I planted, and Jung Ho-seok and Kim Nam-joon were just leaning towards Hae-joo these days, so I could easily lure them in with just a blink of an eye.