chapter ~9( drama world)

Luna... Luna...

Someone was shouting her name loudly.

"Luna… Luna! Are you okay?"

Luna… Luna..."

Finally, Luna woke up.

Her eyes fluttered open as she slowly regained consciousness.

In a dazed voice, she murmured,

"Where am I? Who are you? Why are you here?"

Elira asked, pretending concern,

"Luna, are you okay?"

Still confused, she looked up and asked,

"Who are you?"

Elira smiled gently.

"I'm Elira, your friend. Are you alright?"

But the girl blinked blankly.

"Elira? I don't have any friends. I've been alone since childhood."

She paused, then said,

"And who is Luna? I'm Mina."

Elira raised a brow.

"I think you're not well after the car hit you. You're blabbering weird things. We should visit a doctor for a check-up."

She added softly,

"Maybe the shock made you forget everything. You're Luna, not Mina."

Mina frowned in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I'm Mina. And where even am I?"

She looked around nervously.

"I was on my way to the market to buy noodles and then…"

Suddenly, her memory started to return.

A Few Minutes Ago – Flashback

Mina's thoughts:

What does he think of himself, that editor?! That I write rubbish? That I'm dumb? His entire seven generations are dumber than me!

He might be ignoring me now, but one day—one day—he'll be dying to work with me! Just wait for your karma, mister editor!

She started laughing like someone possessed by an evil spirit.

"Ha… ha… HAHAHA!"

And then—

BAM!

A car hit her.

Back in the present...

she snapped into reality and began checking her body in a panic.

"Aaaaaaaaa!"

Her eyes went wide. Her voice came out in a rushed, breathless panic.

"Am I dead?! Did I come to Heaven? No—no, this can't be real. I don't want to die! I still want to live!"

She broke into a dramatic, whiny sob.

"I… sob… I don't want to die like this… I haven't even lived properly yet! I don't even have a handsome boyfriend!"

She began hitting her chest with both hands as tears streamed down her face.

On the other side, Elira watched her tantrum with a blank expression.

"Did she lose her mind... or is she possessed by something?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Should I call a doctor... or a priest? But wait, she can't go mental now. I haven't even taken my revenge yet."

People walking by stopped to stare.

Some whispered,

"Is that girl crazy?"

"Why's she crying in the middle of the road like that?"

Others gave her strange, judging looks.

Elira stepped closer.

"Are you okay?"

Mina, still sobbing, turned to her and asked,

"Who are you? Are you an angel from Heaven? Please send me back to Earth! I haven't even married a handsome boy yet!"

Elira, trying to calm her, replied softly,

"No, no… you're on Earth. Look, I'm your friend—Elira Monreo."

Elira gently held her hand, hoping to convince her she was alive and safe.

But when Elira said her name, Mina's eyes widened.

"What did you say your name was?"

Elira replied in the same soft tone,

"Elira Monreo."

Suddenly, Mina burst out laughing. Then, her face shifted instantly into a deadpan stare. Her voice turned cold.

"Are you joking with me right now? You must be one of my book fans. Or worse… a crazy follower."

Elira blinked in confusion.

"I think you're not okay. We need to go to the doctor. Ever since that car hit you, you're acting really strange."

Mina let out another dramatic laugh.

"Don't try to fool me! It's not even April Fool's Day today!"

But Elira's face didn't change at all. She stood still, expression unreadable.

Mina narrowed her eyes seriously.

"You're lying to me, aren't you?"

Elira, still calm, replied gently,

"We should go to the doctor."

Mina:

"This must be a dream… I need to wake up."

She pinched herself.

"Aaa… aaah!"

But the pain was real.

Elira:

"What happened to you, Luna?"

Mina (with cute, teary eyes):

"No… I'm not Luna. I'm Mina."

Elira:

"No, you're Luna. Look—"

Elira took out a mirror from her bag and held it in front of her.

Mina looked into it. Her voice trembled as she pointed at the reflection.

"W-Who is she?"

Elira:

"That's you. Luna."

Mina:

"No… no. This must be a dream. It has to be a dream!"

She began repeating the words over and over.

"It must be a dream. It must be a dream. It must be a dream…"

Then she lay down right in the middle of the road, trying to fall asleep.

"If I sleep, I'll wake up in the real world."

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep.

Elira (yelling):

"What are you doing, Luna?!"

Mina:

"No... no, this can't be true!"

Suddenly, she jumped up and stepped back from Elira in panic.

Mina (with a shaking voice):

"You must be joking… or this must be some prank show or hidden camera!"

Elira:

"No, Luna. I'm not joking."

Mina (suddenly yelling):

"No! You can't be real! You're just a character I created… someone from the stories I write!"

She kept stepping back nervously…

And just then—

A car came speeding toward her.

It was about to hit her again—

But time froze.

Mina covered her head with her arms, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for impact.

Mina:

"Why... why hasn't the car hit me yet?"

She peeked with one eye… and was completely shocked.

Everything around her had stopped.

The car. The people. The animals. Even the leaves falling from a tree—

All frozen in time.

Mina:

"What's happening to me? What kind of dream feels this real?"

Suddenly, from above, a deep voice echoed:

"You're not dreaming."

Mina flinched.

Mina (with a fearful, trembling voice):

"Who are you?! Are you… a ghost or something?"

The Voice:

"I'm the System."

Mina:

"System??" Like.. Software.

The Voice:

"Yes, Like that.

The system of this drama."

Mina:

"Drama…?"

The Voice:

"Yes. You're inside a drama now."

Mina:

"What do you mean I'm inside a drama?"

The Voice:

"Somehow, from your real world, you've been teleported into this story. If you want to return to your world, you must survive until the end of the drama."

Mina suddenly started laughing, then stared blankly.

Mina (deadpan):

"You must be joking, mysterious voice. But I'm really not in the mood."

The Voice (now yelling):

"You think I'm joking, you foolish girl?!

Then explain how time just froze. Does that happen in real life?!"

Mina (thinking):

"Hmm… okay, your logic actually makes sense."

"Then tell me what I need to do—quickly. I have a lot of work back in my world. My fans are probably waiting for me too."

The Voice:

"The rules are simple. Stay alive till the end of the novel… and you'll be granted one wish."

Mina:

"That's easy for me! So, which novel is this?"

The Voice:

"WrongCue."

Mina ( with excitement): Oo this is my drama.

Mina:

"Which phase of the story?"

The Voice:

"Second phase."

Mina (excited):

"Great! Then I must be the female lead!"

The Voice:

"...No."

Mina (confused):

"Then who am I?"

The Voice (with a smirk):

"In this drama… your name is Luna Hart."

Mina (eyes going wide, then screaming):

"WHAT?!"

The Voice:

"Yes."

Mina:

"Are you MAD?! If I'm Luna, then I'll die at the hands of the female lead!

How am I supposed to survive till the end?!"

The Voice:

"What can I do? You wrote this kind of story."

Mina (shouting):

"What do you mean 'you can't do anything'?!"

The Voice:

"My shift is over. Time to go. Bye now."

Mina (yelling):

"Hey—HEY! You foolish thing, STOP!"

Time resumed.

The car that was about to hit her blared its horn. Mina jumped out of the way just in time.

She kept shouting and cursing at the system.

Elira ran over and pulled her aside.

Elira (to the driver):

"Sorry! Sorry for the trouble!"

Then to Mina:

"Mina, what is wrong with you?"

Mina slowly came back to her senses. She looked up at Elira…

And smiled. A weird, creepy, almost possessed smile.

Mina:

"Nothing, nothing! I'm totally fine!"

Elira (suspiciously):

"Are you sure you're fine? You don't look fine at all."

Mina (with a mad grin):

"I'm okay!"

She suddenly began doing jumping jacks in the middle of the road.

Mina:

"Look! I'm fit and fine!"

Then she burst into maniacal laughter—like someone possessed.

Elira stared at her with wide, confused eyes.

To be continue...