The Mysterious Woman Who Woke Me Up
My head was spinning like I’d taken a kick to the brain. What the hell was this woman even doing here?
No, scratch that. Something was seriously wrong. Really, really wrong.
My body felt completely different. No numbness, no heavy exhaustion from sleepless nights and dragging myself out of bed. I woke up from her voice and suddenly felt strong everywhere.
Even my legs…
“Legs…?”
I pushed myself up from the creaky bed and checked.
“Eh…?”
They were normal.
The crippled leg that had tormented me for so long was gone. What I saw was nothing but a pair of shorts stretched tight over thick, powerful thighs.
“W-what…?”
“Excuse me, Mr. Kim Sunghyun. Are you still half-asleep? I’ll wake you properly.”
“Yes… yes?”
Slap!
?!
It felt like my cheek was on fire.
Did this bitch just slap me?
“Snap out of it. This isn’t some easy place like Samjung’s main house.”
More pissed than this crazy situation was, I focused on analyzing the details. My brain spun at full speed.
Senses activated. Time perception slowed. Everything fractured.
Frrrrrt—
My eyelids trembled like a broken clock as information flooded in.
My only talent had awakened.
She said “Samjung.” So this was inside Samjung Group’s mansion. I had no idea whose servant I was, but my tag showed I was a new hire. Lately recruited.
Honestly, I still wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or awake, but pinching my cheek was pointless after she’d already slapped me.
This was reality.
The real problem was figuring out what I should do now…
While I stared silently, Cha Seyeon flinched slightly.
“What are you staring at?”
Our heights differed by two heads. Judging by the door behind her, she was probably the small one. I was the giant.
No matter how tough she tried, a woman is a woman. Seeing a man her size stare straight back without a word made her bottom lip twitch.
But Cha Seyeon forced her chest out again.
“Listen. That thing hanging from your neck… did you forget already? I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt since it’s your first day.”
Neck?
Clink-clink.
I touched the metal collar and felt it locked tight.
What the—
“So… what is this?”
“What is this…? You really have no idea, huh. Let me teach you the hard way.”
Click!
Szzzzzzt!
A crackling electric shock surged from my neck straight into my brain!
Click!
“Ugh… hah… hah…”
“If you’re still groggy, go rinse your face in cold water first. Then report to the laundry room for shift handover and start work.”
Bang!
Cha Seyeon left without another word, glaring at me coldly.
That bitch…
Not now. I needed to sort the situation first.
Creak!
I opened the only door in the room and stepped inside.
Sure enough, a bathroom.
A shower stall, sink, mirror.
I walked up to the sink and stared at my reflection.
“…”
My body wasn’t mine.
The face looked almost identical to the old one, but the height was over 190 cm. Muscles and frame made my weight easily 90 kg.
The senses and proportions I’d been used to had switched. The private detective’s eye could still pick up the slight mismatch, though.
“I’m cursed.”
The body had changed. Absurd.
I lifted my shirt and checked the stomach where the knife had stabbed. No wound. No scar. Just six-pack abs.
And around my neck was that same round metal collar.
This thing must be what fried my brain just now.
“Shock Bind…? A restraint collar for criminals. I’ve met the president of the company that makes these.”
Not only that, but the Samjung bastards were putting electric shock collars on their own servants? Even cold-blooded chaebols wouldn’t do something this insane.
The Shock Bind was designed for criminals. The manager could trigger it to full blast if they wanted.
Even in any human workplace, fear and unease built up when you faced the same people every day. But these monsters had slapped the same inhuman collar on their own mansion workers.
They did it to stop any internal information from leaking. Just like Chairman Lee Jun-gu had killed me, convinced someone from the family had spilled secrets.
“Big problem…”
I realized I was wearing something that could snap my head off. Cold sweat poured down my back.
First, how to remove this collar.
To disable a Shock Bind, the manager had to use a special device. I could probably yank it off by force, but then I’d have to deal with the consequences.
If I killed Cha Seyeon, the family would hunt me down for sure. Even if I got away, the chaebols would investigate every servant after a head maid’s death. Either way, I’d have to run.
Disabling the collar would probably trigger a pursuit order from the Samjung family anyway. The best plan was to persuade Cha Seyeon to take it off…
How the hell was I supposed to do that?
The lewd fantasy post from earlier flashed in my mind as a potential weakness, but—
“Tsk…”
I shook my head, brushing the idea away.
Being reborn in an insane new body was already unbelievable enough. Even in the absurd, there were limits.
Someone else’s public masturbation and rape fantasy account in cyberspace being my superhuman ability?
The probability of that happening in real life was low. The more reasonable explanation was that the shock of my death had caused me to hallucinate.
Either way, being reborn or possessed as a dog in Lee Jun-gu’s family felt like bullshit. But it wasn’t entirely bad.
Death had given me a second life. Starting as an insider in the target’s own household was a massive advantage.
I’d follow orders and gather information.
“Hah…”
I headed to the laundry room as instructed. Ignoring her would just fry my brain again.
Squeak.
I stepped out of the bathroom and into the corridor.
Clean, well-finished walls. The perfect temperature and humidity that felt good on human skin.
At the end of the hall, a window with fluorescent lights glowed.
Knock knock.
“Ye-yes… e-enter.”
I pushed open the door.
A maid in uniform was sorting laundry into baskets.
“Nice to meet you.”
Same name tag as before.
[Ishihara Haruka]
Japanese territory, from the Empire’s Japan. A pure Japanese maid working for a major family on the mainland. Interesting case.
“Annyeonghaseyo!!”
She bowed politely while sorting clothes.
“Ah, I’m the new servant. Sorry I’m late.”
I bowed back. She startled and stood straight, waving her hands frantically.
“N-no!! It’s okay!!”
She was energetic.
With a slight Japanese accent, but she spoke clearly.
“I heard from the head maid that I should report for shift handover and start work. What do I need to do?”
“Laundry is already done… um… Miss Choi is going to have tea with the young master from another family. I’ll handle that for you…”
Choi. Two daughters at Samjung Group, right?
Still, it beat doing laundry.
Whatever the task was, I could manage it. I’d done catering at company events back when I was doing manual labor before the office job. But something appeared above Haruka’s head.
[Field Agent Owl 1]
Owl 1 from the Inspection Department. Failed to secure evidence of Samjung Group’s secret “Angel Dust.” Core data inaccessible. Request to increase Inspection Department personnel.
(Send failed)
“Eh…?”
Inspection Department…?
What the hell was that?
The head maid’s head showed a lewd account post. Now this maid’s head had an Inspection Department report?
Haruka smiled shyly the same way as before, but there was a difference.
I pulled up Analytical Eye again.
Whoosh!
Airflow slowed. Vision expanded.
Subject: Haruka. I devoured her pupil dilation, sweat on her skin, goosebumps, and the soft pink of her lips.
Her voice was tense, but her pupils showed no contraction or expansion.
No sweat.
Eyes steady.
“She’s acting.”
---
[Field Agent Owl 1]
├─ Tier 1:Basic micro-expression analysis ✓
├─ Tier 2:Environmental detail detection ✓
└─ Tier 3:Full reality overlay (System UI) ★
Core material access failed. Angel Dust evidence not secured at Samjung Group “Lee” family facility.
Recommendation: Increase Inspection Department personnel immediately.
“Owl 1, status report.”
“Core data inaccessible.”
⟨ FIELD AGENT OWL 1 ⟩