“Seojin, if you were born again, what would you want to do?”
Even opening my eyes had become too much of a bother, so I kept them closed as my older sister asked.
“Hmm……. I think I’d just like to work at a solid company where I’m guaranteed a stable income.”
“What else?”
“It’d be even better if I could have a warm, cozy family.”
“Anything else?”
“A house of my own, and enough money that I’d never have to worry about making ends meet. Maybe around two billion won?”
Of course, I’d only said it as a joke. There was no way any of it would ever come true anyway.
‘How the hell did things end up like this?’
* * *
“Dad!”
A bright voice rang out right beside me. Something poked me repeatedly in the back.
“Dad, wake up!”
My heavily sunken consciousness did not return easily. But even while half asleep, there was one reason I had no choice but to come to my senses.
“Where am I……?”
When I opened my eyes, the first things I should have seen were a spotless white ceiling, recessed fluorescent lights installed at even intervals, and medical equipment fixed to the wall beside my bed.
Instead, what filled my vision was wallpaper with clouds and cute animals drawn against a blue background. Of course, even that was nothing compared to how bewildered I felt when I saw the person standing in front of me.
“Dad!”
“…What? Were you talking to me?”
She looked about five years old. Her shoulder-length hair was tousled as though she had only just woken up, and she stood there staring at me with huge, round eyes.
……For some reason, that face did not feel unfamiliar.
“Dad! What’s wrong? It’s me! Euni! Noh Eun!”
The little girl pointed firmly at her own chest with one tiny thumb. She was adorable. With her cheeks puffed up like that, I almost wanted to grab them with both hands and blow air into them.
“Dad, hurry up and get up. Euni has to go to daycare! Hurry! Hurry!”
The child grabbed my arm with her tiny hand and tugged at me with surprising determination. I stared blankly at the sight before hesitantly asking,
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Dad! Are you still not awake?”
The little head that had been relentlessly trying to drag me away tilted to one side.
“Euni has daycare! And Dad starts at his new company today! We’re late, hurry!”
Unable to wait any longer, the little girl began pulling my arm again.
“Uh… yeah.”
Before I knew it, I had been dragged out of the room, and a living room bathed in morning sunlight spread before me.
‘Am I still dreaming?’
Last night, before I closed my eyes, the last thing I remembered seeing was the hospital ceiling. The bitter, sharp smell of disinfectant. Beep― beeeep― the sound of the vital-sign monitor.
But what about now? Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a bright living room with plenty of sunlight, and even a kitchen. I could take in the entire layout of the house at a glance.
“Dad! Euni can wash up by herself!”
The five-year-old suddenly let go of my hand and shot off like an arrow. The way she bounced along made her look exactly like a little rabbit.
Her destination was the mint-colored bathroom door.
‘Even that’s the same.’
At this point, it really did feel like a dream.
“Dad! Euni’s washing her face!”
At the sound of her calling me, I walked over in a daze. The child was standing very properly in front of the sink, using a small chair as a step stool.
“Hurry! Hurry!”
At her urging, I approached the sink and naturally glanced at the mirror.
“Uh.”
The face reflected there was familiar.
Of course it was. It was mine.
Then, through the mirror, my eyes met those of the little lady struggling as she clumsily rolled up her sleeves.
“Daaad, are you still sleepy?”
At her clear voice, I shook my head from side to side and looked back at the mirror.
No matter how I looked at it, it was definitely me. Even the loose T-shirt and pants I was wearing were no different from what I usually wore.
So what the hell was this baffling situation unfolding in front of me?
“Euni can wash her own face!”
“Ah, no. I’ll do it for you.”
That snapped me back to my senses, and I stepped farther into the bathroom. My thoughts were still a complete mess, but I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows.
For now, I had to deal with whatever was right in front of me.
After washing the child’s face, I brushed her tangled hair and tied it into two pigtails.
My experience of taking care of my sister while she took care of me in the hospital turned out to be useful at times like this.
“Dad! Euni wants toast today!”
At that, I immediately opened the refrigerator.
Instead of the chaotic interior I expected, full of dairy products, drinks, and side-dish containers shoved in by someone else, a variety of ingredients and prepared side dishes were arranged neatly inside.
I took out butter, milk, and eggs and set a frying pan on the stove. While the little girl took a carton of milk and carefully poured it into a cup, I seasoned the beaten eggs, soaked slices of bread in them, and fried them.
A sweet, rich smell filled the kitchen.
“It smells delicious!”
When I saw the white milk mustache around her mouth, a chuckle escaped me without thinking. I gently wiped it away with my thumb and flipped the bread.
Once it was nicely browned, I moved it onto a plate. Then I met the child’s eyes.
“Want me to spread jam on it too? Or whipped cream?”
“Hmm… I want both!”
“Okay.”
I spread jam over it first, then added whipped cream on top.
I wondered if I should cut it into bite-sized pieces for her, but when I saw how skillfully she pinned the toast in place with a fork and cut it with a plastic knife, it did not seem necessary.
Only after watching her finish breakfast and get dressed all by herself did I finally let out a breath.
“Dad, hurry up and get ready for work too!”
The little lady efficiently took care of even the father who still had not adjusted to any of this.
Thanks to her, I found myself back in the bedroom, opening the wardrobe.
I picked out clothes similar to my usual taste, changed, and looked around.
Then I spotted a phone sitting neatly beside the bed.
I touched the screen and opened the photo app. It was full of pictures I had taken with the little lady, along with photos of her by herself.
Still bewildered, I kept scrolling through the thumbnails until one strange picture caught my eye and made me freeze.
Three documents had been placed side by side and photographed together.
A Family Relations Certificate, a Confirmation of Adoption Report, and an Adoption Decision.
“Ah.”
A sigh escaped me on its own.
The name written under biological mother was ‘Shin Eunyoung.’
My finger stopped moving.
The screen gradually dimmed, but that name alone remained vividly burned into my vision.
She was someone I could never forget.
She had not been my real family by blood, but our bond had been stronger and tighter than any blood relation.
That was also why the child’s face had looked familiar.
“Don’t tell me this is really what I think it is?”
Flustered, I hurriedly opened the messenger app.
I skimmed the conversations at the top until one chat room caught my eye.
「Manager Kim, Righteous Information Office」
With my heart pounding, I clicked it and read the messages.
「Manager Kim, Righteous Information Office: Mr. Noh Seojin ^^ Thanks for coming in for the interview today. Let’s work well together starting tomorrow. You’ll definitely come in, right?^^
Me: Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Manager Kim, Righteous Information Office: Good. All right ^^ I put in a decent interview payment too, so make sure I see you tomorrow. Get some good rest ^^
Me: What? Interview payment? Is that a thing? You really don’t have to give me anything.
Manager Kim, Righteous Information Office: No, no. I’m grateful you agreed to start right away ^^ See you tomorrow ^^」
Once I finished reading the messages, complete with every single outdated emoticon, reality came crashing down on me all at once.
“Seriously? I transmigrated? And into a novel my sister wrote?”
If someone asked how I could be so certain I had transmigrated based on only a few clues, the answer was simple.
Because I had practically written that novel together with my sister!
‘How the hell did things end up like this?’
It had only been a joking conversation between my sister and me.
Where we wanted to go first if we ever got discharged from the hospital, what we wanted to eat, what we wanted to do before anything else.
What else was there for people who had been trapped in a hospital for years to talk about?
“Dad! The daycare van is here!”
At the sound of her urging me from the entryway, I no longer had time to think.
I shoved my phone into my pocket, got Euni ready, and hurried down to the first floor with her, where a yellow van was waiting.
“Hello, teacher!”
“Hi, Euni! Hello, Euni’s father.”
“Yes, hello.”
After greeting the supervising teacher and making sure Euni got into the van, I opened the map app.
It was a twenty-minute walk to the company.
Every time the situation changed, piece by piece, the reality of my circumstances sank in more firmly.
And once it did, I could already imagine what was waiting for me next.
* * *
I arrived at the gleaming building, took the elevator, and got off on the eighth floor.
My steps trembled terribly as I walked down the spacious hallway.
When I reached the sign for <Righteous Information Office>, a sigh escaped me automatically.
“An information office……. No matter how I look at it, this is basically an errand agency, isn’t it?”
We find anything. Honest prices, guaranteed service! We will complete your request quickly, accurately, and safely!
The advertisement brazenly displayed at the entrance practically screamed that exact thing to anyone who saw it.
‘Should I turn around while I still can?’
I hesitated for a moment.
And then, with the absurd timing of something that had to happen in every story, the door suddenly flew open.
“Gasp!”
I sucked in a startled breath and looked up.
A terrifyingly handsome man stood there with a frown on his face, so tall he looked as though his head might touch the ceiling.
I knew this man.
Yoon Haegang.
The sub yandere top who loved the main bottom so much that he would try to kidnap and imprison him, fail, and then disappear.
And I was Noh Seojin, the villainous secretary who would be written out of the story right alongside him.
The moment my suspicions became certainty, my mind went blank.