Chapter 2
“Tell me more in detail.”
Joo-hee barely held herself together and asked the dust ball.
The dust ball flew around her, chattering excitedly.
“This is the Florel Empire! Your name is Eiril and you don’t have parents. You grew up in an orphanage and just came here recently!”
“Where am I?”
“This is the Melina Forest!”
“A forest…?”
Joo-hee frowned.
Florel Empire and Melina Forest.
It sounded familiar, like something she had heard before, but she needed more information.
“Is there anything else?”
“Something else? Ask me anything you’re curious about, Eiril!”
“Sigh…”
The dust ball wasn’t very helpful.
Joo-hee sat on the bed, lost in thought.
“Florel Empire… Florel Empire…”
Then, suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind.
It was a fantasy romance novel she had borrowed from Ji-hye’s house.
By coincidence, the book took place in the Florel Empire, and it also described the Melina Forest, known as the Forest of Death.
She hadn’t read it closely, but she remembered the general setting and plot.
Just to be sure, Joo-hee asked the dust ball.
“Is the crown prince’s name Lowengrin de Alexio by any chance?”
“Hmm? There’s no crown prince in the empire yet! That’s the name of the First Prince!”
Joo-hee’s mind went blank.
If her guess was right, she had somehow entered the world of that book.
And the real story hadn’t even started yet, since the male lead wasn’t a crown prince yet.
She had read stories about people entering books, but she never thought it would happen to her.
She had an accident and lost consciousness—and when she woke up, she was inside a novel. It was confusing.
“Then what happened to me? Did I die?”
She wondered if she had taken over someone else’s body, like in the stories, and walked over to the mirror on the wall.
But her appearance hadn’t changed.
When she thought about it, the name “Eiril” hadn’t appeared in the book at all.
Since the character didn’t even have a description, she must have possessed the body without changing looks.
Her sharp, cat-like eyes and pitch-black hair were still the same.
“Eiril’s black hair looks like the night sky! Eiril, can I sprinkle some stars on it?”
“No.”
“Eiril, you’ve changed…”
The dust ball mumbled sadly but didn’t leave her side.
Joo-hee asked again.
“What are you, exactly?”
“I don’t have a name! Eiril was supposed to give me one, but then you fainted!”
“I mean, what are you?”
“I’m the guardian spirit of the Melina Forest!”
A guardian spirit, huh.
Joo-hee examined the creature again, but it still looked like a clump of dust.
Then she finally said what had been bothering her.
“My name isn’t Eiril. It’s Kim Joo-hee.”
“It is Eiril! You’re Eiril!”
Joo-hee frowned.
“If you keep calling me Eiril, leave. If you call me Joo-hee, you can stay.”
Her voice turned firm as she spoke.
The dust ball hesitated, then said in a sad voice:
“Okay… but don’t kick me out!”
“Alright.”
Honestly, Joo-hee didn’t care if it stayed or not.
It just annoyed her that it kept calling her Eiril.
“Eiril—ah, I mean Joo-hee! You seem different since you fainted.”
“Hmm…”
It seemed like the Eiril that dust ball knew was gone now.
“You fainted all of a sudden! Was it because your heart hurt? Are you okay now?”
She was more than okay—almost too healthy.
“I had heart disease?”
“Yup!”
Things were starting to make a little more sense now.
From the looks of it, Joo-hee’s soul had entered Eiril’s body after Eiril collapsed from heart disease.
It was just a guess, but maybe Eiril’s real soul had left, and Joo-hee’s soul had taken over the empty body.
“I never thought the world inside a book could actually exist.”
Was it like a parallel universe?
Joo-hee sat on the bed and tried to recall the story of the book.
If she remembered correctly, the female lead travels from another world, becomes a saint, and falls in love with the crown prince—eventually becoming empress.
Most of the story took place in the palace and the temple, and this place looked very far from both.
She was glad she wasn’t the main character.
But then, she suddenly thought of Ji-hye.
“At least Ji-hye survived. That’s all that matters.”
Ji-hye might still be crying after the accident.
But she was a strong girl, so Joo-hee believed she’d be okay soon.
Dying at eighteen in a car crash… it was too young.
Maybe that’s why some god took pity on her and sent her here.
She never believed in gods, but just this once, she felt thankful.
Starting a new life was a little scary, but it helped that she already knew the story.
She couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.
Now that she had a second chance at life, she was determined to live peacefully.
Thankfully, she wasn’t the heroine, so she wouldn’t have to go through a dramatic life.
She just needed to stay away from the main characters and live quietly.
With that strong resolve, Joo-hee stepped outside.
The dust ball followed her, spinning around her as it spoke.
“Joo-hee! Give me a name! A name!”
“So annoying.”
“Name! Name! Name!”
If she didn’t give it one, it looked like it would shout “name” all night.
So Joo-hee thought for a moment.
It didn’t take long.
“…Mel.”
“Mel?”
“Yeah. Your name is Mel.”
“Yay! I have a name now!”
Right after Mel said that, its body began to glow brightly.
The light was so strong that Joo-hee had to close her eyes.
When she opened them again, she saw—not a dust ball—but a tiny person standing in front of her.
With wings on its back, it looked just like a fairy from a children’s story.
“Thanks for giving me a name! Now that I have one, I got a real body!”
Mel giggled and flew around Joo-hee in circles.
Joo-hee ignored her and stepped outside.
It seemed like it was noon because the sun was shining brightly.
Just as she thought it was too bright, clouds came in and blocked the sunlight.
A cool breeze blew gently across Joo-hee’s cheeks.
Would it be crazy to think even the wind was being kind to her?
But soon, Joo-hee realized it wasn’t just her imagination.
* * *
“Joo-hee! There’s more over here!”
According to Mel, Eiril would collect herbs and go down to the village once a week to sell them.
Mel chattered that the Melina Forest had lots of rare herbs—but also many monsters.
“But don’t worry! Monsters will never come near you, Joo-hee!”
Mel was right.
Joo-hee wandered around the forest with Mel guiding her, but she never saw a single monster.
While picking herbs, she asked Mel,
“Why can’t they come near me?”
“Because the forest loves you! The forest really loves you!”
Mel grinned proudly and plopped down on a small rock nearby.
Whenever Mel flapped her wings, sparkling dust would fall, which looked really magical.
Joo-hee worked hard with something that looked like a hoe.
She didn’t know its name, but since it looked similar, she decided to just call it a hoe.
She was clumsy at first, but she learned quickly and got used to it soon.
While she was busy digging herbs, she noticed it had suddenly gotten darker.
“Mel, I think it’s time to go.”
She stretched her knees and spoke, but Mel didn’t answer.
“…Mel?”
She looked around quickly, but Mel was nowhere to be seen.
Joo-hee felt troubled.
She had followed Mel into the forest and didn’t know exactly where she was.
She figured if she had come straight in, she should go the opposite way to find the house.
So she turned around and began walking without thinking too much.
Mel would probably find her on her own.
After walking for a while, Joo-hee tilted her head.
“Is this not the way?”
She thought she had walked straight in, but she was very wrong.
“Haa…”
She let out a sigh without meaning to.
Now, the forest around her was completely dark.
But then fireflies appeared and floated around her, lighting the way.
“Fireflies don’t usually come near people.”
Joo-hee hesitated but held out her hand.
One of the fireflies landed gently on her hand like it had been waiting.
Taking a chance, Joo-hee spoke to the firefly.
“Can you show me the way? I think I’m lost.”
As soon as she said that, all the fireflies started moving in one direction.
Joo-hee was surprised.
She didn’t expect them to actually help her.
Now she was really curious about who the real Eiril was.
Was she not just a background character? Then why wasn’t her name mentioned in the book?
While thinking all this, Joo-hee slowly followed the fireflies.
She didn’t walk far before the exit of the forest appeared.
“Thanks. See you again next time.”
A firefly touched Joo-hee’s cheek and then flew away.
“Joo-hee!!!”
Mel came flying out of the forest, looking panicked and about to cry.
“I’m sorry, Joo-hee. I got distracted playing with a squirrel…”
Mel looked upset and apologized, but Joo-hee didn’t mind since she had made it out safely.
“It’s fine. The fireflies showed me the way.”
“Really? That’s a relief! Everything in the forest will help you, no matter what you ask!”
“Everything?”
“Yup! Even the clouds and the wind!”
“…Who exactly am I?”
Joo-hee asked, and Mel opened her eyes wide, then smiled brightly.
“You’re a child loved by the forest!”
Joo-hee felt confused.
She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
She touched her ears, wondering if she might be an elf, but they were round like a normal human’s.
So she was human—but still, everything felt strange.
Joo-hee looked at the basket full of herbs.
“Let’s go home, Mel.”
“Okay!”
Mel led the way, and Joo-hee followed behind.
Somewhere, she could hear the soft sound of bugs chirping.
Her complicated thoughts began to feel a little calmer.
When she entered the house, she instinctively reached for the wall to turn on the light.
But the wall was empty.
Of course, there were no fluorescent lights like in Korea.
She looked around and saw some candles placed here and there.
She took out some matches and lit the candles.
The dark house became a little brighter.
“Joo-hee, aren’t you hungry? Aren’t you going to eat dinner?”
Maybe because she was nervous, she didn’t feel hungry.
She just felt tired.
Joo-hee shook her head and said,
“I’ll just sleep tonight. I’m tired.”
“Okay, Joo-hee! Don’t forget we’re going to the village tomorrow to sell herbs! You know the wolf is coming to pick you up in the morning, right?”
“…Yeah.”
She didn’t, but she said she did anyway.
So she was going to ride a wolf to the village?
While thinking about that, Joo-hee curled up and fell asleep, pulled down by heavy drowsiness.
* * *
The next morning, Joo-hee woke up to Mel’s loud voice.
“Joo-hee! It’s morning! Hurry and get ready—we’re going to the village!”
“….”
Joo-hee blinked slowly with a dazed expression.
Once again, she realized this place wasn’t a dream.
She stepped outside, splashed water on her face, and changed clothes.
From far away, she saw something running toward her.
