chapter 1
…wouldn’t I have avoided buying a car on installments?
Every office worker in the world, wouldn’t you agree?
Six in the evening. An artificial island near the capital.
An imperial villa.
A private social gathering attended only by a select few, including the Crown Prince.
Attendees: the Crown Prince. The heroine. The Grand Duke of the South. Supporting characters 1, 2, and 3. The villainess.
Plus numerous attendants and knight escorts.
A gathering for people tired of the noisy, complicated social scene who wanted to enjoy quiet conversation.
“Yeah, okay. Fine. Sounds great.”
But why am I here?
And why did I possess the villainess of all people?!
“I was just… just another office worker wandering around Yeouido!”
Did I seriously die?
Did that pig of a Manager Kim finally make my blood pressure explode because he kept spraying spit while blaming everyone else for his mistakes?
No, that couldn’t be it. I literally had a health checkup last month. They said I was perfectly fine.
I exercise regularly too.
How the hell did I end up here again?
“I definitely… skipped lunch because I was exhausted and went to sleep in a movie theater.”
It was an artsy film showing during weekday lunchtime, so I was the only audience member there. The seats reclined all the way back too. I was just getting comfortable and ready to nap when—
My phone suddenly vibrated.
I checked it.
[Imperial Security Bureau]
Possession Alert issued at 12:07 PM / Gate detected 8.5km south of the capital / Protect yourself from zombies, seek indoor shelter, beware of infection.
“What kind of bullshit is that… I’m tired as hell…”
And the moment I said that, I woke up here.
A high ceiling. Elegant interior decorations. Antique furniture.
Inside the zombie-thriller-survival-R19-redemption-romance mashup novel my friend had sent me this morning on the way to work, saying:
“Hey, this villainess literally has your name and looks exactly like you.”
And now I had possessed that villainess—the one with my exact name and face.
Q: How does it feel to wake up as a villainess?
A: What the actual fuck is this?!
“And she’s not even a cool villainess. She’s one of those pathetic nuisance-type villainesses who constantly screams ‘Why is everyone only mean to me?!’”
I quickly looked around.
In the spacious room, people were chatting among themselves or reading books.
And me?
I was sitting completely alone.
A woman across the room who made eye contact with me—Supporting Character 1, probably—openly frowned and turned away. Then she leaned toward another woman beside her—Supporting Character 2—and whispered loudly enough for me to hear.
“What is she planning this time, glaring like that…?”
“Excuse me, what did I do?”
I stared at her in disbelief, and an attendant awkwardly stepped between us.
“Is she starting again? I was wondering why she’d been so quiet today.”
And some guy nearby—Supporting Character 3—sighed deeply.
That alone told me everything I needed to know about the villainess I’d possessed.
Probably spoiled, stupid, and hated by everyone.
Whatever.
I didn’t care whether she was a villainess or a saintess. The real issue was—what happened to the real me?
Did I actually die?
Or was this a dream?
Honestly, either one would be preferable.
But if this was actual dimensional travel…
“…then what about work?!”
What if I suddenly woke up back in reality after being missing for days?
What if I got fired?!
Who’s supposed to pay off my car installments then?!
[Assistant Manager Yoo Sara]
Left workplace during break and failed to return.
Subsequently absent without notice.
Unable to contact and failed to appear at work; processed as resigned.
“No! My credit card bills…!”
In my head, I could already see the process of me getting fired unfolding step by step. I struggled against it, but it was already too late.
There was nothing I could do.
I covered my face with both hands in despair.
“If this was going to happen, I should’ve just slept in the company nap room! Why the hell did I drag myself all the way to a movie theater trying to live some luxurious life?!”
But I couldn’t sleep in the nap room!
Because someone from the neighboring team snored like a chainsaw!
And I didn’t want my coworkers seeing me sleeping with my mouth hanging open!
“Haa…”
I’d even booked tickets to New York for the month after next using my vacation days… and I splurged on business class…
And that was on installments too…
And next month my savings account auto-transfer is due, but if I can’t deposit enough money, I lose the preferential interest rate…
THIS IS INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“No, Sara. Calm down. This has to be a dream. I just need to wake up.”
In fifty minutes, your smartwatch will wake you up.
And if not, the theater employee will probably wake you in ninety-three minutes.
…And if this really is dimensional travel?
Mom will report me missing eventually.
For now, I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.
No one was going to talk to the villainess anyway.
I needed to calm down and assess the situation first.
Rule #1 of surviving office life as a third-year employee:
If you don’t know what’s going on, shut up and observe first.
An hour passed.
I was still possessing her.
During that time, I kept my eyes closed and tried to remember the novel’s plot.
But honestly…
“I only read it on the commute to work, so I barely remember anything.”
I vaguely remembered who these people were and their relationships with the villainess, but the details were fuzzy.
I hadn’t even finished the novel.
I skimmed through the parts featuring Yoo Sara, then stopped reading altogether once I got to the chapter where she died miserably.
I figured I’d rather spend that time watching French conversation shorts on YouTube.
“Who cares if some annoying villainess character happens to look like me? It’s probably a novel written by my junior coworker.”
The guy was the same age as me, but after arriving thirty minutes late to a client meeting a few days ago and getting chewed out by me, he’d been sulking and refusing to talk to me ever since. Psycho.
“When I get back, I’m definitely reporting him to the team leader.”
If only to destroy that little bastard, I had to break free of this possession and return.
Anyway, I’d only read the early part of this zombie-thriller-survival-R19-whatever novel.
“I mean, my social dignity wouldn’t survive reading an R19 romance novel on a packed Line 9 express train…”
The only reason I knew I was inside that novel was because of them.
Them.
The three currently creating a fresh, heart-fluttering love triangle atmosphere right in front of me.
Right on cue, Supporting Characters 1 and 2 whispered among themselves.
“His Highness the Crown Prince really seems interested in Lady Yoo Jein today. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“And His Grace the Grand Duke too.”
“If Lady Yoo Jein ended up dating one of them…”
“Do you think that’s possible? Even so, Lady Yoo Jein is still…”
“Shh. Lower your voice. She might hear you.”
“You’re speaking that loudly. Of course I can hear you.”
That’s right.
Those “them” were the protagonists.
Male Lead #1: Crown Prince Praha, a cold-looking black-haired handsome man.
Male Lead #2: Cyprus, the smiling blond Grand Duke of the South standing beside him.
And the one-and-only female lead: Yoo Jein, the cute pink-haired girl between them.
Their distinctive names, faces, and the title people used to address me—Lady Yoo Sara—were what made me realize this was the novel.
I’d never seen someone with naturally pink hair in my entire life. Fantasy worlds really were amazing.
“They all look even better in person than I imagined.”
True to an R19 romance novel, the heroine sparkled, and the male leads were tall, handsome, and built like models.
Even though this was still the early part of the story, affection practically dripped from the male leads’ eyes whenever they looked at Yoo Jein.
If I were the real villainess Yoo Sara, I’d probably be foaming at the mouth with jealousy.
“The stoic Crown Prince only hosted this gathering because he wanted to see Yoo Jein.”
Which was also why Yoo Jein—a commoner—was attending an ultra-exclusive aristocratic gathering like this.
Me?
I came here to bully the heroine.
“As the duke’s daughter, I had the status to force my way in if I insisted.”
In the novel, the Crown Prince disliked me. He just wasn’t the type to openly show it.
There was supposedly talk of an engagement between me—the duke’s eldest daughter—and the Crown Prince, but he strongly opposed it.
The villainess (= me), desperate to flaunt an engagement to the Crown Prince in front of the Southern Grand Duke, got her pride wounded by his rejection… but still kept clinging to him because she wanted him anyway.
That was probably why she attended today’s gathering too.
“Even though there was nothing good waiting for her here.”
The Crown Prince and Yoo Jein being together where I couldn’t see them? Absolutely unacceptable.
Even though the Crown Prince had zero interest in me.
“Your Highness, perhaps tomorrow—”
“I apologize, Lady. I’m unavailable.”
“But you haven’t even heard what I wanted to say yet!”
That was basically our relationship.
The Southern Grand Duke, who was currently smiling at me as if he liked me, wasn’t much different.
He was like a childhood friend who had been the only person kind to me back when everyone hated me.
Then I mistook that kindness for affection and confessed to him, only to be brutally rejected.
“You thought I liked you? Why would I?”
“Because you…!”
“I dislike you. Don’t confuse courtesy with love, my lady.”
And after that, the rest was obvious.
I hated the Grand Duke with a passion, while he couldn’t care less.
And the heroine Yoo Jein was afraid of me.
Because I bullied her out of jealousy for receiving the attention of both the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke.
“So painfully cliché…”
Normally, by now, I should’ve walked up to Yoo Jein and picked a fight.
“What is a commoner even doing here?”
“Lady Sara…”
“Quiet. Don’t answer back when your superior is speaking. Don’t you even know basic etiquette?”
“I invited her myself, my lady.”
“Your Highness!”
That sort of scene.
But I didn’t act like that.
Why?
Because unlike the real villainess, I had a brain.
“Shut up and observe first” was still in progress.
“I should stay quiet and watch how things unfold. I don’t even know what situation I’m in yet, so I can’t afford to act out.”
Rule #2 of surviving office life as a third-year employee:
Don’t stand out.
At that moment, the clock struck exactly seven.
Dong— Dong— Dong—
For some reason, the sound felt unusually ominous today.
And it really was ominous.
After the seventh chime faded away, people began murmuring lightly.
Because the Crown Prince’s head attendant—who should’ve arrived five minutes earlier to announce dinner—still hadn’t appeared.
Outside was unnaturally quiet.
“How silent…”
“You’re right. It feels especially quiet today. Is it because we’re on an island?”
“The head attendant is late too.”
“Come to think of it… where did all the attendants go?”
At those words, everyone looked around.
No attendants.
Not a single one.
Even the servant who had been refilling drinks and snacks earlier never came back after leaving.
Aside from the seven guests in the room, only two knights remained.
The silence was horrifying.
One of the imperial knights guarding the room stepped forward.
“I’ll go check outside.”
After receiving permission from the Crown Prince, he approached the door while everyone watched nervously.
The knight paused briefly with his ear pressed against the door, then opened it.
At that exact moment, someone lunged inside.
“Grrrrgh!”
Startled, the knight instinctively shoved the attacker away.
Blood splattered.
A severed head rolled across the floor toward us.
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
Supporting Character 1 screamed.
Ah.
So it begins.
[Imperial Villa – Second Floor Secret Room]