Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Life in Ruins
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Drip.
The IV fluid trickled down the narrow plastic tube.
An IV line stuck into my pallid hand, stiff hospital gown, and black hair swaying gently at my chest.
To cut to the chase, just like that day I got possessed, I'd suddenly returned to my original world.
I checked my face in the hand mirror on the hospital drawer. Instead of a delicate beauty with wavy silver hair and warm green eyes, there was a pale woman with black hair and sharp features staring back.
"...Ah, it's Kim Yu-jeong."
Before I could even process seeing my face after so long, the hospital room door slammed open with a bang.
A woman burst in, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I told you that jerk wasn't worth it!"
She grabbed my shoulders and shook me, ranting about how nothing was wrong with me, that she'd introduce someone better, and to please just stop.
Whoa, I'm gonna hurl.
Thinking we'd both regret this if it kept going, I hurriedly grabbed her arms.
"W-wait. Ah, stop!!"
"Wh-what?"
"Quit shaking me! My head's spinning enough already—I'm gonna puke. Look at me and breathe. One-two, one-two."
"Uh, okay? Huh? Hoo, ha. Hoo, ha."
"Good, you're calming down a bit. So, who are you?"
Dyed brown hair, pearl earrings, coral eye shadow, and a neatly tailored suit—she looked to be in her twenties.
No matter how I racked my brain, I didn't recognize her. Who was this?
As awkwardness showed on my face, she made a teary expression again.
"Why... why are you like this, Yu-jeong-ah...? Are you mad because I told you to break up with Ham Si-hyeok?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stammered on.
"But Yu-jeong-ah, that jerk Ham Si-hyeok promised never to see another woman again, and then he brings one home! You're not gonna forgive him again, right?!"
"Huh? Forgive?"
"You can't! I'll introduce you to someone. Yeah? I've got tons of guys in their early twenties. What's so bad about you that you need a guy like that!"
"Early twenties? That's young?"
At her words, I cautiously touched my face.
The reflection in the mirror moments ago had looked thinner and more mature than I remembered.
But it had been so long, my memory might be off. Or maybe I'd lost weight while comatose in that other world. I didn't think much of it.
Her words made me reconsider, though.
What if... it wasn't that? What if, while I lived seven years in that world, seven years had passed here too?
In that case...
"Yu-jeong-ah?"
Who had been moving my body for those seven years?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In most possession stories, when the protagonist returns to their original world, time there has either stopped or barely passed.
That's why I'd assumed everything would be the same.
"So... I dated this Ham Si-hyeok guy? And not just once—I took him back five times after he cheated, whenever he said sorry?"
"Uh-huh... More importantly, Yu-jeong-ah, you sure we don't need a doctor? What if there's something wrong with your head?"
"I'm fine, just keep talking. It's like I almost remember."
I rubbed my forehead and nodded.
Comparing her story to my past actions and Amelia's reputation from that world, it seemed like the real Amelia Campbell had been in my body for those seven years.
Just as I'd lived as Amelia for seven years, maybe she'd lived as Kim Yu-jeong. Body swaps were common tropes, after all...
'...Let's go with that.'
True or not, it was better for my sanity. Anything else was too creepy to imagine.
Anyway, Amelia (presumably) had tried to adapt to the changed environment, just like I had.
"But you've had episodes like this before."
Even this woman in front of me, looking like she might worry herself to death, was a connection Amelia had made.
"I heard you get memory lapses sometimes after that incident. We should get you checked out first, yeah?"
That incident—she must mean collapsing on the subway. Ah, she needed an excuse for the sudden personality change.
As I silently rummaged through old memories, she watched me anxiously.
Her name was Han Se-young. She worked at some Center and had taken a half-day off today because of me.
She said we'd gone to the same high school, but I didn't remember her, so they'd probably met after Amelia possessed my body.
What about Oh Mina, then? Had we lost touch? I suddenly wondered about my close high school friend.
"No, I'm fine. But is it okay to take a half-day for me?"
"Yeah. As a Guide, it's easier for us to take time off for health reasons than at regular companies. I fibbed and said I was sick."
Tourism industry made half-days easy? Unexpected.
"Ah, is our house still in the same spot from high school? Is my family healthy? At 24, did I graduate college...? Did I get a job? Or am I job-hunting? Wait, did I take a leave?"
I muttered nonstop. The longer I went on, the paler Han Se-young's face got, but I didn't have time to worry about that.
Think about it—seven years.
She might see me as crazy, but updating myself on the lost time mattered more than reassuring her.
Pretending to be Amelia, whom I'd never met, would've been pointless anyway.
"Y-Yu-jeong-ah..."
Han Se-young, pale as a ghost and rolling her eyes nervously, finally spoke with effort. Her next words made my face drain of color even more as I sucked in a breath.
".........What? I didn't even go to college?"
For starters, Kim Yu-jeong hadn't just failed to graduate—she hadn't even gotten in.
I hadn't expected Amelia to handle it like I might have.
In the same boat as me, she'd have had to learn the language from scratch; no way she could've prepped for entrance exams right away.
But our family believed everyone had to go to college, no matter what.
So I'd figured they'd sent me somewhere, even if it meant lowering standards or a retry year...
"Self-employed? Running a flower shop? Me?"
Me, who barely knew flower names, let alone their meanings, running a flower shop?
It shattered my life philosophy that if I were doing business, I'd be a cog in society's machine, earning a steady salary.
"And I lent money to my ex? Five million? Without even an IOU??"
At least I hadn't co-signed anything—small mercies.
Everything was shocking, but this topped it.
"My parents... moved to the countryside to farm?"
The house was gone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Returning to reality after seven years, the education I'd busted my ass for since childhood had gone down the drain.
Right after high school, I'd gotten a job but quit soon after.
Then bounced between part-time gigs before starting the flower shop—my work history was spotty at best.
Plus, I'd lent five million won to my trash ex without an IOU.
Now, my assets boiled down to debts to repay, a tiny flower shop bought with those loans, and a one-room apartment.
"This has to be a dream..."
A nightmare, for sure.
Once it exceeded what I could process, even anger faded. I just stared blankly at the floor, at a loss.
That's when the hospital door opened again, and a man walked in.
"Yu-jeong-ssi!"
"Ah, Hyun-woo-ssi. Things are rough right now, so let's handle discharge first and talk at Yu-jeong's place. I'll explain everything."
Han Se-young spoke first, as if she knew him.
The man relaxed upon seeing her, but his face fell when he looked at me.
"We can't do that. I'm not sure if I should say this now, but... Yu-jeong-ssi's house collapsed."
What?
"Huh? What do you mean, all of a sudden?"
Han Se-young asked in my stead. The man hesitated for a long moment.
He glanced at me warily, probably worried I'd faint again since I already looked so frail.
"It's fine—tell me."
Urged by my calm expression, he carefully parted his lips.
"Well... There was a rampage by a high-rank Esper near Yu-jeong-ssi's house, and the aftermath collapsed it."
Esper? What, like a typhoon name?
Unless an elephant had appeared in the street, why would a perfectly fine house collapse?
Hearing my already meager assets were gone, I quietly clutched the back of my neck.
And toppled backward.
"Yu-jeong-ah!!"