Chapter 1 : Chapter 1

The pitiful scream that tore from my throat was so loud it made my eardrums buzz.

But I had no time to think about anything.

Why was I suddenly lying on a huge bed when I was clearly on a bus heading home from work?

Why was my voice coming out as a woman's?

Why was the young woman who came in upon hearing my scream dressed as a maid?

I had no time to worry about any of that.

Because my whole body hurts so much.

The dark room's lights turned on, and the maid shouted something.

I was suddenly lifted and moved by the people who rushed in.

When I regained consciousness, I was in a hospital.

The first thing I noticed when I came to my senses was that my throat hurt terribly.

I looked up at the white ceiling, then shifted my gaze to the IV connected to my left arm.

I stared at the medicine dripping down, trying to assess the situation as I attempted to sit up.

I tried to get up.

But even a small movement caused severe pain to shoot through my back and waist.

No, it wasn't just my back and waist.

My shoulders, elbows, hips, knees—every joint I used to get out of bed ached horribly.

It felt like my joints had stiffened from being immobile for a long time, and I was forcing them to move.

"Ugh."

Unable to bear it, I let out a groan.

The curtains around me were suddenly pulled back.

"Are you awake, patient?"

The person who came was a doctor in a white coat.

Maybe it was because I screamed my throat raw earlier, but my voice didn't come out properly.

Instead of answering, I groaned, and the doctor nodded as if he understood.

And then,

"We called the police, so you can relax."

He spoke in a very solemn voice.

The police?

…Why?

Still unable to grasp the situation, I looked up at the doctor in confusion, but the man, who seemed to have just entered middle age, looked at me with a pitiful expression and shook his head slightly.

No, I mean, could you please explain the reason?

Of course, what came out instead of words was a groan, "Ugh."

In any case, as the doctor said, it didn't take long for the police to arrive.

There were about four officers.

Two were in police uniforms, the kind you often see on the streets, but the other two were in plain clothes.

They wore leather jackets and comfortable-looking pants, so they seemed like detectives you'd see in crime dramas.

The police took the phone the doctor handed them and frowned as soon as they looked at it.

"Can she speak right now?"

"She's regained consciousness, but I don't think she can hold a normal conversation. Her voice isn't working…"

The doctor said with a sympathetic expression.

Meanwhile, I tried to turn my head and figure out the situation, but all I saw around me were other patients.

There was no sign of any family or friends.

…Was it a car accident?

My mind was in chaos.

I was definitely on my way home from work.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and I had been relieved, thinking I could finally sleep in and escape the tedious weekdays.

My last memory was of dozing off in the back seat of the bus with warm heater air blowing on me.

Then suddenly, I was in a dream where a maid appeared, I screamed my head off, and now I was here.

"Oh, if you're worried about the people you were with, don't be. They're far away."

Isn't it more unsettling if they're far away?

Forget family or friends—if someone could just explain what was going on, I'd feel more at ease.

Of course, if the bus had been in an accident or something, they might have gone home immediately.

How many people would stay at the hospital and wait for someone they didn't even know to wake up?

Oh, I see.

Did the bus crash, and that's why I'm in so much pain?

As my mind began to clear, I started to piece together the situation.

I must've been in a traffic accident while on my way home from work on the bus.

That's why my body hurts so much, and the police are here.

"Miss, you don't have to worry anymore."

The older plainclothes officer, who looked a bit intimidating but oddly handsome, spoke with a pitiful expression as he looked down at me.

He looked like a successful middle-aged actor playing a detective in a crime movie.

…I wasn't young enough to be called a 'miss' anymore, but I didn't feel like correcting him.

"Yes, just relax and answer our questions… Or you can just nod if that's easier."

The younger detective next to him, who didn't look much older than me, added.

The older officer handed the phone he had been holding back to the doctor, then walked over to me.

He bent down slightly toward me but soon realized there was still a big height difference, so he knelt down on one knee.

He then asked in a low voice, as if trying not to be overheard by the patients nearby,

"Have you ever been exposed to domestic violence?"

"…?"

What are you talking about?

I had thought I was finally getting a handle on the situation, but apparently not.

Is there a connection between a traffic accident and domestic violence?

Could it be that they suspect I was responsible for the accident or something?

I blinked a few times, staring at the detective's face, but his expression didn't suggest that he was suspecting me of anything.

In fact, he seemed to be trying to avoid scaring me, maintaining a certain distance while still looking me in the eye.

It seemed like he meant his question literally.

But domestic violence?

I have no experience with that.

I live alone.

There's no one else in my one-room apartment, so who would beat me?

And even when I lived with my family as a child, I never suffered from domestic violence.

When I shook my head, the detective spoke in a serious tone.

"We've already seen the bruises on your back. They're marks that can't be caused by anything but violence."

No, this guy already has his answer set.

And if I have bruises on my back, they're obviously from the accident, not violence.

I've never been hit, not even on the street, so what is he talking about?

When I shook my head again, the detective's brow furrowed.

"But miss—"

"That's enough."

Just as the detective was about to persuade me again, a sharp female voice cut in.

I looked toward the voice to see a young woman standing at the entrance of the emergency room, wearing a black coat that reached her ankles.

She had a sharp face and short, neatly cut hair, and although she was beautiful, she looked stern.

…Wait, I think I've seen her face before.

I'm pretty sure she was in that dream I had earlier.

"The young lady said no."

'Young lady'?

Before I could even question that expression, several men in black suits started filing into the emergency room.

"Excuse me, you can't do this in a hospital…!"

The doctor shouted as the men entered, but the woman didn't even glance in his direction.

"Hey, you can't cause a disturbance like this in a hospital."

The detective who had been questioning me frowned and stood up.

"Why don't you answer the phone first?"

The young woman responded with a rather abrupt remark.

"The phone? What do you mean—"

The detective's face stiffened as his words were cut off by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket.

"…."

He pulled out his phone, glanced at the screen, and shot a sharp look at the young woman before answering it.

"Yes, Chief."

The call didn't last long.

"Yes, yes, understood. I'm sorry."

After a few short replies, he hung up.

The detective looked at me once, then at the young woman, sighed deeply, and scratched the back of his head roughly.

Then, looking at his fellow officers, he said,

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

The younger detective looked puzzled.

"But—"

"For now."

The older detective cut him off mid-sentence and started walking.

The younger officers, still bewildered, could only follow after him.

"…Miss."

After taking a few steps, the older detective turned around and spoke to me as if he had just remembered something.

"If anything happens, contact the police immediately."

"There will be no need for that."

The young woman spoke firmly, but the detective continued to look at me.

When I nodded, he sighed deeply again and turned away.

The young woman, who had been watching the police leave the emergency room, then turned toward the doctor who had brought them.

"She's discharging now."

"Pardon?"

The doctor looked incredulous.

"But the patient's recovery isn't—"

"This hospital."

The young woman interrupted him mid-sentence.

"How much do you think Eugene Group donates to this hospital?"

"...."

The doctor's mouth hung open.

…Isn't it a bit strange for a company to get involved just to discharge me?

Could some company have been involved in the bus accident?

No, more importantly, I've never heard of a group called Eugene Group.

Samsung or LG, sure, but is there really a company that could get away with acting like this in a hospital?

I glanced around.

By now, the area around my bed was filled with men in black suits standing with their backs to me.

There must have been about ten of them, all broad-shouldered and looking like they'd command attention at any gym.

With so many of them standing around, it felt like a dark aura was rising from above their heads.

"Discharge her."

The young woman repeated the word 'discharge' once more, and the doctor could only nod.

The woman turned and walked toward me.

The black suits surrounding my bed immediately stepped aside, allowing her a direct view of me.

Standing before me, she raised her hands politely over her stomach, then bent at the waist in a perfect 90-degree bow.

"I'm sorry for making you wait, young lady."

…..

It was only then that I remembered she had called me 'young lady' earlier too.

…Young lady?

*

"Young lady, how are you feeling?"

There was nothing I could say in response to the question asked in the car after they had prepared everything and moved me without even asking.

Besides, I still couldn't speak properly.

More than anything, I still couldn't fully grasp the situation.

I had felt around my body as much as I could during the ride, and it was clear this body wasn't mine.

I hadn't checked any embarrassing parts, but whether this body was young or underdeveloped, I couldn't tell.

What was clear was that it didn't have a figure that would make anyone gasp in admiration.

Being carried in a princess hold by one of the large men in black suits had been quite embarrassing, but I wasn't in a state where I could walk on my own.

So, I decided to go along with whatever they were doing for now.

If I really had ended up in someone else's body, I needed to at least assess the situation.

So, I nodded slightly to the young woman.

She took off her coat, revealing her maid outfit, and bowed politely before stepping backward and leaving the room.

Only after the large double doors closed smoothly without a sound was I finally able to gather my thoughts in the silence.

So, the situation is…

All the light novels and web novels I had read so far flashed through my mind.

Stories I had thought were impossibly unrealistic.

Tales of falling into a novel's world, entering a game, or becoming a character from within those worlds.

The rational part of my brain rejected the idea.

Honestly, it seemed far more likely that I had suffered a serious head injury and gone mad.

But even so, another part of my mind wondered if something so outlandish had actually happened.

After all, everything happening before my eyes was just like those stories.

I tried lifting my arm but gave up.

It still hurts too much.

It was better than earlier when I had screamed and twisted my body, but the pain hadn't gone away.

At the very least, I couldn't explore this spacious room just yet.

I turned my head to look around the room, but there was no useful information.

The room, decorated with a modern minimalist style, looked like something out of a drama featuring a super-rich heiress, but I had never seen such a background before.

Honestly, since I usually read web novels far more than comics, it wasn't easy to picture something I had never seen, even if it was described in detail.

No matter how detailed the description, what the reader imagines varies from person to person.

…Maybe I should just sleep for now.

Earlier, when I was brought out of the hospital… or rather, when I was taken in what seemed to be an ambulance owned by this family, the sky outside had been pitch-black.

It was time to sleep.

In fact, the clock hanging on the far wall pointed to 1 a.m.

I must have screamed and woken up in the middle of sleeping.

My whole body still aches, and my throat was sore.

I lay still for a moment, blinking, then sighed deeply.

Alright, let's sleep.

Let's think after I sleep.

If this is really a dream or just my delusion, everything will be over when I wake up.

If the absurd situation I'm imagining has really happened… I'll need to recover first to figure out what's going on and whose body I'm in.

I closed my eyes to sleep, then opened them again.

No big reason for it, though.

…How do I turn off the lights?

*

In the end, last night… no, early this morning, I just lay there with my eyes squeezed shut under the bright lights.

I had pulled the blanket over my head and forced myself to sleep.

"Young lady…?"

I woke to a slightly flustered voice and peeked out from under the blanket I had pulled over my head.

It was the young woman I saw yesterday, the one in the maid outfit.

She wore the exact same expression of bewilderment that her voice conveyed.

She looked completely different from when she had threatened the police and doctor with a blank face.

She glanced between the blanket pulled over my head and the lights still on overhead, then slowly walked over to the bedside table and picked up a small remote.

Beep.

When she pressed the button, the lights immediately went out with a small sound.

…So that's how you turn them off.

I had never lived in a place with such modern amenities, so it hadn't even occurred to me.

Now that I thought about it, my friend's apartment had a similar feature.

Blushing in embarrassment, I felt her cool hand touch my forehead as she checked my temperature.

Her hand was cold, or maybe I was just hot.

In fact, it wasn't a cold or a fever—I was just blushing from embarrassment.

"You still have a bit of a fever. It's probably best to cancel today's schedule."

I didn't know what today's schedule was, but it was a relief to hear.

I didn't remember anything anyway.

No, saying I didn't remember isn't quite right.

To be precise, the information had never entered my brain in the first place.

After all, I wasn't originally some rich young lady.

"Just rest in bed for now. You can move once you've recovered."

I nodded obediently.

The maid smiled softly at me, bowed politely, and said,

"I'll prepare breakfast shortly."

Then, she stepped backward out of the room and quietly closed the door.

After counting to ten, I sat up.

"Ugh…"

My back and waist still throbbed, and my limbs felt shaky, but it was much better than yesterday when I couldn't move at all.

I brought my hand up to my face.

It was much smaller and more delicate than the hand I used to have.

A hand that perfectly suited the title of 'young lady.'

A hand that had never worked hard.

My fingers still ached, but I could make a fist and open it.

"Ah, ah."

I opened my mouth and tried making a sound.

Instead of my somewhat low voice, a higher, younger girl's voice came out.

As soon as I heard it, cold sweat ran down my back.

It felt much more real than when I had felt my body or seen my hands.

"…One, two, three."

Like I was testing a microphone, I mumbled a few words, but the voice that came from my mouth was still that of a pitiful young girl.

It was slightly hoarse from screaming yesterday, but objectively speaking, it was the kind of voice people might say was 'pretty.'

"Haa…"

I ran my hand down my face.

My bangs were much longer than they had been when I was definitely a man.

When I reached behind my head, I could feel my hair cascading down my back.

It was incredibly well-maintained hair.

"…Alright."

I sat in a daze for a while, then nodded to myself.

First things first, I needed to assess the situation.

What kind of world had I ended up in?

Whose body was I in?

Was this a character I was familiar with from a story?

I had to figure that out.

I had a flash of inspiration.

Usually, when someone crosses into another world, they gain at least one convenient ability.

It might not be a superpower, but there was a technique authors often used to clearly show the character's abilities to the readers.

I should test that first.

I didn't know if it would work, but if it did, it would be a huge help.

I took a deep breath, gathered my resolve, and spoke in a clear voice.

"Status window."

Nothing happened.

"Uh… Status?"

Still, nothing appeared.

"…"

Was my pronunciation off?

Maybe my throat was hoarse.

"Ahem, ahem."

I cleared my throat, placed my hand on my neck, and tried again with a clearer voice.

"Status window!"

"Young lady?"

"…"

I froze as I suddenly heard someone calling me.

I slowly turned my head and saw the maid standing there, holding an elegant brass tray.

On it was a bowl of white porridge.

Oh, right, she said she was going to prepare breakfast.

"…"

I slowly raised my hand to cover my face.

Why didn't I hear the door open?!