Chapter 1: The other world

"Every time we meet, I always see you carrying that book," Von pouted.

I laughed and pinched her cheek. "Jealous?"

"Ouch! Stop pinching my cheek, Teresita!"

I was still laughing because of her expression.

She sipped her drink. "Next time, don't bring that book."

"You know that it is my favorite book," I insisted.

"But we rarely see each other because we're both at work. Just give me a little time."

"Hey, I am not reading this in front of you. I just carry it," I said, then drank my coffee.

She frowned. "I don't know, but every time I see you carrying a book, I feel that something might happen to you."

"That dream again? I told you it's not true," I said.

"But what if it might come true?"

"Seriously, Von? How can I go to another world? I don't even have superpowers."

She was still frowning. "Just please don't carry it next time. I feel uncomfortable."

I surrendered. "Okay, okay, I promise. Next time I won't bring it with me."

"It's not that I am prohibiting you from reading novels. I'm just not comfortable with it. I can sense that something will happen."

I put the book in my bag. "After this, you wanna go shopping?"

Her mood changed. "That's what I call bonding!"

I smiled.

Von is my childhood best friend. We've been together for almost a decade.

She currently works as a public teacher, while I work in a publishing company as an editor.

True, we rarely see each other because we're both busy at work. But no matter how busy we are, we don't forget to chat or call each other every day to ask if we're both okay.

"What do you think of this dress?" Von asked while looking in the mirror with the dress on.

"You look prettier," I said.

She pouted. "You never fail to make my heart flutter."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being dramatic. I'm just saying what you want to hear."

"So it's not true?"

"I mean it. It suits you well."

She smiled. "Well, I want you to try the other design. Then the next time we meet, we'll wear it."

"Okay."

*****

"Wow, I enjoyed our day off. It was fun."

"Yeah, I can see in your eyes that you enjoyed it," I sarcastically said while looking at the paper bags she was holding.

"I deserve it, I think," she laughed.

I rolled my eyes. I knew that buying girly stuff made her happy.

"Gonna miss you," I said while at the car park.

"You sure you won't go with me in the car?"

"Nah. I have to go somewhere."

"It's already 8 p.m."

"Not afraid. You know that our place is safe from criminals."

"You won't tell me where you're going?"

"I forgot something at the office. I need to get it."

"We can go together."

"No. Just go home. I might go home late."

"I thought it was your day off today?"

"Yeah, but you know, sometimes my boss asks me to do this and that."

She sighed. "Just don't forget to call or chat me when you get home, huh?"

"Yes, sissy," I said, then kissed her cheek.

"Take care."

"Bye," I waved my hand.

I stood there for a while to see her car off.

CITY LIBRARY

I felt excited and happy when I entered the City Library. I'm lucky because this library is open 24/7.

"Good evening, miss," the librarian greeted me.

"Good evening," I replied.

I visited the City Library every day to borrow or read a novel. Every week, they have new sets of novels, which I'm happy about. I spent almost all my time here after work. Sometimes, I even forgot to eat my meals just because I was reading novels. I even brought my books to work. That's how crazy I was about reading. But I can't let Von know that I'm super obsessed—she would surely get mad at me.

"Debris in My Heart... hmmm, the title sounds interesting," I murmured.

I read the synopsis, and it caught my attention.

"Gotta read this." I looked around the library, and it seemed that I was the only one there.

I sat on the sofa and opened the book.

"Ahhh!" When I opened the book, a light came out. I couldn't even see my surroundings.

It lasted for five minutes, then the light was gone.

I stood up and approached the librarian.

"Did you see the light?"

"What light?"

"The light coming from there." I pointed to the area where I had been seated.

She shrugged. "No, and I didn't notice any light."

I was confused. I thought the light filled the whole library, but why did only I notice it?

I couldn't even ask anyone else because I was the only one there.

"Are you okay, miss?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah."

"Are you going to borrow that book?" the librarian asked, pointing to the book in my hand.

"Ah! No. I'll just read it here."

She nodded.

I went back to the sofa and stared at the cover of the book.

Am I dreaming?

I sighed heavily and decided to open it again.

When I opened the book, the light wasn't there anymore.

Huh? Am I hallucinating?

I laughed to myself. Maybe I was just daydreaming.

I started to flip through the pages of the book when I felt the energy coming from it.

And I don't know what happened anymore. I just passed out.

****

My head hurts and my body aches. I could hear murmurs here and there.

"What should we do with her?"

"Should we tell the king?"

"Where did she come from?"

"How did she appear?"

"What is she wearing?"

"She looks different from us."

"Ugh..." I'm in pain right now. Why are my neighbors so noisy early in the morning?

I tried to reach for my pillow, but I couldn't find it. I even felt the hardness of my bed. Did my bed change? Why is it hard and rough?

I could still hear the murmurs of my neighbors. This time, they became louder—like they would damage my eardrums.

Even though my head hurts and my body aches, I tried to open my eyes to see my noisy neighbors. I was about to shout at them when I saw... other people.

My eyes grew wide. I immediately got up and looked around. The people were staring at me—and I didn't know them. I looked at my body and noticed that I wasn't on my bed but lying on a dirty floor.

"Where am I?" I started panicking.

I stood up, still looking around. The people were still following me with their eyes like they were seeing something rare.

"What's this commotion?" I heard a loud shout.

I turned around and saw a tall, handsome man in white riding a horse. The people bowed their heads as he approached.

I didn't even notice that I was the only one left in the center.

I saw the man frowning. He got off the horse and walked toward me.

"Who are you?" I could hear the authority in his voice.

My body was shaking. I couldn't even think properly.

The man looked at me from head to toe.

"What are you wearing?"

I looked down at my white dress. That's when I realized what had happened.

I gasped and covered my mouth. The man was intently staring at me.

"I'm inside the book," I whispered.

"What?" the man asked.

I looked at him and the people. I looked different. The way they dressed was far from the present. Both men and women wore hanbok.

"Your dress is too vulgar. The men are staring at you," the man said.

I looked at my dress. It wasn't vulgar to me, but I remembered how conservative they were when it came to clothing.

"Please help me," I came back to my senses. From what I had seen, this guy looked like a soldier.

I could hear the whispers of the people around us.

Their looks could kill me—as if I were an alien.

"Come with me," the soldier said as he held my wrist and we left the crowd.

We went to a place that looked like a forest. It was quiet, and no one was around.

"What is your name?" he asked.

I stopped and stared at him. I was hesitant to tell my real name.

"Where are you from?"

What should I do? Do I need to tell him that I'm inside a book?

I bit my lower lip, and sweat was running down my cheeks.

If I told him the truth, he might think I was crazy. If I didn't, who would help me here?

"I don't know."

Maybe I should pretend that I'm not okay—that I forgot everything?

"It seems like you don't know yourself."

"What will happen to me here?"

"The people will surely talk about you. Many of them saw you."

"Can you help me? I don't know who I am or where I came from."

He examined my face. I tried to look directly into his eyes to pretend I was telling the truth.

He sighed. "I have never encountered this problem. I don't even know how to help you."

Me neither. I don't know what to do. I don't even know the story of this book. I don't even know the characters. Even when I read the synopsis, it didn't mention the characters.

I felt anxious. I was scared.

There was a deafening silence between us. We were staring at each other, waiting for the next move.

Luckily, a guard entered the scene. My eyes widened when I saw my bag.

"Is this yours?" the guard asked.

I nodded. I grabbed my bag and checked my things.

I was shocked when I saw the book I was about to read in the city library.

I checked the book—front and back. Then I opened it.

What? Why is it empty? I flipped through the pages but didn't see anything. Only the title and synopsis were written in the book.

What is happening?

"Is this a book?" the soldier asked as he took it.

"It is empty," he said. "Is it a book or just empty sheets?"

Huh?

"Is this yours?"

I wanted to tell him that I got it from the city library, but that would create confusion.

"It is mine."

"At first glance, I thought it was a book, but I didn't see anything in here."

"Even the front and back?"

"Yes."

I took it back and examined it again. Why can I see the title and synopsis? Why can't the soldier see the words?

Am I the only one who can read this?

I looked at the guard and asked him if he saw anything. But his answer was still no.

"You act strange," the soldier said.

"Can you read something there?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to confuse him. I just had to go with the flow. I shouldn't make any mistakes—one mistake might cost me my life.

"Ji Han, kindly escort this woman to my house. Since she can't remember anything, she needs to stay with me."

"Yes, sir," he said with a bow and took my bag.

"This is new to me. I've never seen this bag before," Lee Ji Han said.

"We will talk later," the soldier told me.

I nodded and said thank you to him.