Mom? Dad? Little Sister?
Mom? Dad? Little sister?
“So I wasn’t the only Korean? Well, damn! I never saw that coming! Hahaha!”
The moment it became clear that the people he’d thought of as mere novel characters—his family by setting alone—were in the same boat as him, the first to raise his voice was none other than Darian.
The handsome man who until seconds ago had been slicing meat with a cold, rigid expression now laughed boisterously and slammed the table, making it hard to believe he was the same person.
“No, seriously! Getting isekai’d for real after only ever seeing it in web novels had my heart racing like crazy!! Then I wake up and I’m some shady-looking guy—do you know how shocked I was?!”
Felix set down his fork and chimed in with a pout, nodding vigorously as if he felt every word.
“Wait… for real…? You’re all Korean…? So I’m not the only one who got transmigrated?”
Still struggling to process the situation, Rosaria offered an awkward smile and looked around at the family members who, until moments ago, had been stiffly cutting at their plates in awkward silence.
“Same here, you know? That first day I genuinely thought I was dreaming… but it wasn’t a dream! No matter how hard I pinched my cheeks, I wouldn’t wake up! And on top of that—I’m some early-arc extra who hits on the protagonist’s party and gets thoroughly schooled?! Not the protagonist, not even the protagonist’s friend! Just some random side character! The sheer ‘why me?!’ energy was off the charts!”
As if someone had flipped a switch, Felix launched into a torrent of half-incomprehensible ranting in response to Rosaria’s bewildered question.
His appearance screamed cunning, overthinking villain, yet here he was cheerfully spouting specialized knowledge…? with theatrical despair. The personality clashed wildly with the face.
“Uh… extra? Was there a character like that early on? I don’t even know who this kid is…”
Darian stared blankly at Felix and asked the question right back.
Just looking at the two of them made it crystal clear.
He wasn’t the only one who had been transmigrated into this story.
“Um… I’d like to ask how all of you ended up—”
“Everyone.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Um.”
Just as Rosaria tried to cut into the chaotic conversation between Darian and Felix, the one person who had barely spoken all meal—aside from agreeing with Rosaria’s kimchi comment—finally opened her mouth. Freya.
“First, let’s finish our meal and find a private place to talk. There are too many ears here.”
“Ah.”
Still smiling gently with her narrow, elegant eyes, Freya’s words made Rosaria and the other two glance around.
They realized they weren’t alone in the dining hall. Servants stood neatly behind them, watching.
The servants were simply waiting to attend the meal, but after three days of this family eating in near-total silence, the sudden shouting, table-slamming, and hearty laughter had drawn every eye.
Speaking or whispering during a noble meal was improper, so they kept their mouths tightly shut and waited for orders—yet even a glance showed how confused they were.
“The second-floor study. It would be the perfect place to talk after we finish eating.”
“R-right…”
“Y-yeah, that sounds good!”
“W-wow…”
Seeing the servants’ stares, Rosaria and the other two reined in their excitement. Freya had already decided where they would talk after the meal, and there was an inexplicable charisma about her that made the three of them simply nod and resume eating.
Her voice hadn’t even been particularly loud—soft and gentle, like jade beads rolling—yet somehow impossible to refuse.
But why does this feel so familiar…?
Once she had calmed down and was slicing her meat again, Rosaria felt a strange sense of dissonance.
Boisterous, laughing Darian. High-energy, chattering Felix. Freya, who didn’t stand out much yet projected an unshakable presence.
It all felt deeply familiar and warm, like something she had lived with for a long time.
Mom, Dad, little sister… I hope you’re all okay…
Suddenly Rosaria remembered the moments right before the accident.
Her mom cheering that they should buy expensive beef to celebrate his discharge. Her dad gently patting his shoulder and saying he’d worked hard. Her little sister still ruffling his short buzz cut and teasing him that the military brat had finally graduated.
Before the accident, she had been certain it would be a happy day. How had it come to this…?
“Kh—!”
Rosaria swallowed the surge of emotion and forced more meat into her mouth.
An accident on what should have been a joyful discharge day, followed by transmigration.
A string of terrible luck, maybe.
Or perhaps, before dying, some god she never knew existed had granted her a second life.
At least I’m not alone…
Chewing the chewy meat to clear her head, she lifted her gaze from her plate and looked around.
Everyone was still quiet, but their faces had softened considerably compared to yesterday’s stiff expressions as they continued the meal.
These people had also been suddenly thrown into this novel, just like her. That shared fate created a real sense of camaraderie.
Especially the knowledge that they were comrades from the same homeland—it was a tremendous comfort to Rosaria, who had felt completely alone in this world until now.
They must have families too…
They were all victims of unfortunate accidents who had been transmigrated. If they worked together, maybe they could make a decent life here.
Yeah! First I’ll get closer to these people and slowly learn about this world!
Rosaria clenched her fist in resolve.
“Um… my lady. Forgive the interruption, but are you truly certain about this?”
The servant guiding the group to the second-floor study was sweating profusely as he asked Freya, who walked at the front, in a trembling voice.
Normally the head of the marquisate, Darian, should have strode ahead with confidence. Yet somehow, after the breakfast incident, the three of them had naturally fallen in behind Freya as if she were the leader.
“The study hasn’t been cleaned properly yet… I-I assure you we haven’t been lazy! It’s simply a room that sees little use, so it inevitably receives less attention—”
“It’s fine. Just give us some privacy for a while. We have family matters to discuss.”
“Y-yes, ma’am! I’ll take my leave!!”
The study must have been in quite a state, because even after the servant tried once to dissuade her, Freya cut him off firmly and he fled the scene at once.
“Well then, shall we go in?”
Creeeak—
The moment the servant vanished, the study door groaned open.
And then—
“Cough—! Cough—!”
“Ugh… why is there so much dust…?”
“Achoo! Snff…! How long has it been since anyone cleaned?”
“Whoa… the floor’s completely white?”
The instant the door opened, a cloud of fine white dust billowed out, making Freya cough so hard she nearly staggered.
Despite the high-quality furniture and elegant ornaments filling the room, so little human attention had been paid that a thick layer of white dust coated everything, dulling their luster.
“…Cough. F-for now… let’s finish talking quickly, cough! and get out…!”
Even Freya looked a little flustered by the sheer amount of dust, but she strode purposefully into the study.
The other three hurried after her.
“Wow… there are so many books. What’s this?”
“Oh my, is this real gold? They’re practically swimming in money!”
Once inside, high-energy Felix and Darian wandered around the study with sparkling eyes.
Felix was drawn to the books stacked high in keeping with the room’s purpose, while Darian pressed his face close to a candelabra of melted gold studded with rubies.
That alone made their personalities obvious.
The way they’re acting is exactly like Mom and my little sister…
Watching them, Rosaria felt an uncanny resemblance to her modern-day family.
“Would everyone please come over here?”
Apparently more sensitive in the lungs than the others, Freya had already covered her mouth with a handkerchief she’d brought, lightly dusted off a sofa, and sat down.
The moment she spoke, the other two stopped what they were doing and strode over. Rosaria roughly brushed the dust off the seat of her own spot and plopped down as well.
“First of all, this is truly a series of astonishing events. At first I thought it was just a dream, but as the sense of reality grew, meeting people who came from the same hometown has been a real blessing.”
“You’re telling me. It doesn’t even make sense! A few days ago I was living in a world where smartphones were everyday life, and suddenly I’m some random noble?!”
“But does everyone know where we are? From what I remember, this is the family of an extra villain who appears in the novel I used to love, Starlight of Dawn.”
“I knew it! I’ve read that novel too, so I recognized it right away, but why of all places…?”
“Starlight of Dawn… yes. I’ve read it as well.”
“Starlight of… what? Hmm… I think I’ve read it, but I’m not big on books so I don’t remember well… Ah! I remember! The one with magic and all that stuff! Right?”
“Yes! In Starlight of Dawn, a commoner girl named ‘Hannah’ becomes a hero by the will of the Dawn and enters the academy. Hannah is the protagonist—she has light-blue hair and golden eyes! And also—”
From the conversation that followed, one solid fact emerged.
This transmigration was no mere coincidence. Only people who had read the novel that formed the foundation of this world—Starlight of Dawn—had been transmigrated.
“By the way, how did everyone find out about this novel? I’ve always loved this genre, so I was binge-reading similar ones when I stumbled across it by chance! It was sooo good!”
As the talk continued, Felix suddenly looked at them with sparkling eyes and asked the question.
“Me… my little sister told me about it. She said I’d have nothing to do during military service and mailed me a whole stack…”
Rosaria answered, remembering the unexpected package stuffed full of novels and the letter from her sister that basically said “It’s a masterpiece, just shut up and read it.”
Then—
“…Huh?”
Felix’s words cut off abruptly. His pupils visibly dilated.
“Uh… same here. My daughter kept pestering me to read it, so I did… but it wasn’t really my taste. The protagonist should be some reliable, cool guy, but he looked so scrawny…”
“I was also introduced to it by my daughter, who said it was fun. I remember reading it all the way through because it was quite enjoyable.”
“W-wait… hold on…?”
After hearing Darian and Freya’s answers about how they had come to read Starlight of Dawn, Felix’s pupils began trembling so hard they looked ready to shake free of his head.
“Huh? What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you okay?”
Startled by Felix’s strange behavior, Rosaria reached out to tap his shoulder—
“No way… Oppa?”
“…Oppa…?”
His wavering gaze suddenly locked onto Rosaria as he spoke in a dazed voice.
Oppa?
“Wait… for real? No… come on… what kind of coincidence…”
“Excuse me? Oppa? What are you—”
“Hyunsoo oppa. Is your name Kim Hyunsoo?”
“…Huh?”
At Felix’s next question, Rosaria froze solid, her expression going blank.
Kim Hyunsoo.
Twenty-two years old this year. A proud son of Korea who had finished only his first year of university before taking a leave of absence, enlisted, and completed his full term as an army sergeant.
And the name she had carried before becoming Rosaria Evergarden.
“H-how do you know my name…?”
Deeply unsettled that a fellow Korean somehow knew her real name, Rosaria stammered the question back.
“…Hey.”
“Yes?”
“It’s me! Hanhee! Kim Hanhee! Your little sister!”
“…Hanhee? Did you just say Hanhee?!”
Another jaw-dropping revelation burst from Felix’s mouth.
Kim Hanhee.
Hyunsoo’s little sister, who had turned twenty this year and had been the one to strongly recommend Starlight of Dawn.
And right now she was Felix Evergarden—Rosaria’s younger brother.
The absurd situation of older brother transmigrated into a little sister and little sister transmigrated into an older brother left Rosaria’s mouth hanging open with no sign of closing.
But it didn’t end there.
“W-wait… so you two are Hanhee and Hyunsoo?”
“Son…? Daughter…?”
“…Hold on… then that means…?”
“Could the two of you also be…?”
The other two, who had been listening, shot to their feet and pointed at Rosaria and Felix in utter disbelief.
“Could you be… Mom… Dad?”
“What? Mom and Dad?!”
Having pieced together the flow of the conversation, Rosaria also stood and looked back and forth between them. Felix rose with her, staring with trembling eyes.
Then—
“That’s right! Me! I’m your mom! Han Yunhwa! Wow… you kids are alive!”
“It’s me, kids… Dad… Hyunseok, Kim Hyunseok…! You’re all safe…! Sniff…!”
Darian pounded his chest and declared himself their mother, while Freya’s eyes reddened as she covered her nose with her hand and claimed to be their father.
Their actions had already felt familiar despite the appearances, but the words coming out of their mouths still refused to match up properly.
Yet—
“Ah, yeah. That’s Mom.”
“Yeah. That’s Dad too. Faces and bodies are completely different, but still.”
The siblings who had been raised by those two from birth found themselves nodding without even realizing it.
And so the family that had been driving home together after the eldest son’s discharge ceremony, only to meet with an accident, was reunited once more.
In a way none of them had ever wanted or wished for.