Chapter 66
Han Seyul.
Seo Yujin.
Names that now sounded so unfamiliar—almost like a foreign language.
But those six letters were being pieced together into familiar sounds from the lips of a man I had never seen before.
“Seyul… I really recognized you right away.”
“Who are you?”
How could I believe this? A man I’d never met suddenly shouted out my real name.
It must be the god’s trick, trying to torment me—
“I know you can’t believe it when I look like this. But I’m Seo Yujin—the guy who brought a bouquet made of lollipops instead of flowers to your high school entrance ceremony.”
“…”
“The idiot who slept on a park bench on the day you left the orphanage, just to save money, until the director came running after me.”
“…Oppa.”
“And… the one who promised to help you when that jerk at the convenience store gave you trouble, only to disappear without a word—”
“Stop. You don’t have to say any more.”
Before I knew it, I was holding him tightly in my arms. He didn’t need to say more—I understood.
“Yujin oppa…”
“You believe me?”
“How could I not recognize you!”
My own voice was starting to tremble. Yes, my voice too.
Because Yujin oppa had already been sniffling since earlier, soaking my shoulder with his tears. Ah, what a sight—two grown adults crying like this.
But I couldn’t stop my tears either. Soon, people who had gathered around us—without even knowing the situation—started clapping.
“What’s going on there?”
“I heard they’re long-lost family meeting again.”
“That’s good. They say a lot of the temple knights had hard lives.”
It wasn’t exactly right, but I couldn’t explain. Still, thanks to the crowd, I calmed down a little. Oppa eventually stopped crying too and whispered in my ear.
“Let’s go somewhere quieter?”
“Yeah. This is embarrassing.”
“Alright. Up we go!”
Oppa easily lifted me into his arms—like someone picking up a kitten.
Most people applauded as we left, though a few tried sneaking after us to eavesdrop. But oppa solved that by jumping over a high wall in a single leap. With that body? He could really do this?
“Wow, I got stuck in some extra role without powers or even a name, but oppa hit the jackpot.”
“Extra? Like a ghost possession?”
“Ah, you don’t read web novels, huh.”
I didn’t know how he’d managed to adapt to this world, but clearly, I had a lot to explain from the basics.
On a bench tucked away near the temple, I told him everything.
How I’d drifted from part-time job to part-time job after the convenience store incident.
How I binged a romance fantasy novel, left a snarky comment, and then suddenly transmigrated into the role of a minor side character.
I explained what a “romance fantasy” was, what “transmigration” meant, and roughly how I had managed to survive until now.
“My story is hard to believe, but…”
“I believe you. I’ve been here myself.”
Then his story began. It was short, but it hit me hard.
“After… that problem at the convenience store.”
“…Yeah.”
“I ran around trying to get money.”
“Money for what?”
“You said you might get sued. All I could think about was hiring a lawyer. But the fees were outrageous.”
“…”
I knew. I had looked into it briefly too.
I gave up. But apparently, he hadn’t. That must be why he vanished for so long.
“You could’ve told me.”
“I couldn’t. If you knew what I was doing, you might have gotten your hopes up. And I knew I’d just end up disappointing you.”
“…”
“Stupid, huh.”
I couldn’t deny it. I felt grateful and sad.
I’d never expected much. Even if he had just cursed that guy out with me, I would’ve been happier, and I wouldn’t have felt abandoned…
But it was too late to bring that up now.
“Later, I got a call from your number. Someone said they’d found your phone.”
“Ah…”
“They asked why I was answering, when I wasn’t family. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“…”
In my contacts, the only ‘family’ was the orphanage director. No job, no close ties. Most high school friends lost touch when they went to college.
That kind person must have tracked me down by calling through old contacts, eventually finding oppa.
“I even tried to retrieve the phone. But since I wasn’t family, I couldn’t even report you missing.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, but I checked the last sites you visited and what you typed. Just in case… it was the worst-case scenario. And then I found it.”
“What was it?”
“The record of you reading that novel ‘To Save the Beloved’, and the line: ‘How can unconditional love even make sense?’”
Ack.
That exact sentence—the one that triggered the god to throw me into this world.
“As soon as I read it, I opened my eyes and found myself in the central temple.”
Damn that god. Did he curse that sentence?
Anyway, oppa had come chasing me here just a few days after I disappeared. But unlike me, who had lived here six years, he had only been here for about one.
And the biggest difference—
“Ignatz’s consciousness remained.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He helped me a lot, so adapting wasn’t too hard. At first, I thought it was a dream… but after months of not waking up, and how real everything felt, I had to accept it.”
Apparently Ignatz was kind to him.
Makes sense. Ignatz was good-hearted, tough enough to survive after running away at 15. He must have recognized something similar in oppa and empathized.
“Is Ignatz listening now?”
“Normally, he gives me tasks then goes to sleep. Said he was tired of a life without weekends, so as long as the body survives, he doesn’t care. He wakes up sometimes though.”
So basically, a long vacation.
Thanks to giving up control of the body, even though his eyes were blue and his build far more imposing than before, the expressions were unmistakably oppa’s.
“Must be nice, getting taller and stronger.”
“Guess I got lucky in this transmigration lottery. But what about you? You came as your younger self?”
“…Huh? No, I told you—I transmigrated into a side character.”
“You look exactly the same as before.”
Oppa drew his sword and let me see my reflection. Black hair. Golden-brown eyes.
“You look exactly like your high school ID photo.”
“My eyes were this bright back then?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? You think I wouldn’t recognize your face?”
Really? The reflection in the blade looked nothing like the gloomy teenager I remembered—she was beautiful…
Then oppa’s large hand rested on top of my head. Instantly, my lips curled upward.
…Yes. I always used to smile like this. Whenever I was with Yujin oppa.
We should’ve talked about the future too, but I couldn’t bring myself to say, “I might die at sixteen.”
If I did, oppa might try to fight the Duke. I couldn’t put him in danger. He was already wary of the Duke without even meeting him.
“Seyul, are you sure it’s okay living in that house? Ignatz said the Duke isn’t someone you can live with.”
“Don’t worry. The Duke and I are more like partners. I don’t easily accept him as family either.”
“That’s a relief, I guess.”
“…Haha, though maybe that’s not actually a relief.”
If I was adopted, shouldn’t I accept him as family?
Having grown up witnessing the ugly sides of adults, we both just smiled bitterly at the irony.
“Anyway! Oppa, trust me. I can make that man roll on the ground groaning, ‘Oh my, my daughter is so cute!’”
“…That sounds terrifying. If anything goes wrong, promise me you’ll tell me. We’ll run.”
“Okay! I’m sixteen this year—if I have to, I can survive even outside the Duke’s mansion!”
We clasped hands.
At first, it was nothing but joy. It felt like meeting my real family, my real friend, after so long.
But then oppa pulled me into a tight hug.
“This time… I’ll really protect you.”
At those words, I couldn’t help but break down crying again.
Oppa wanted to escort me back to the dorm, but I refused.
“If the Duke finds out about you, who knows what he’ll do. Let’s not risk being noticed.”
“In the original story, what happens to Ignatz?”
Apparently, a few months after transmigrating, oppa had told Ignatz, “This world feels like a novel my sister read.”
Ignatz, with his iron nerves, wasn’t even that surprised. He just said, “Really? I hope I get a happy ending where I survive.”
…I couldn’t tell him that the Duke and Bennen die.
“In the final battle, he leads the knights, fights bravely, and survives. Though who knows if things will follow the original exactly.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay too, right?”
“Of course!”
Wishing my words would come true, I answered confidently and skipped off toward the dorm. My steps grew lighter and lighter until I couldn’t help shouting.
“Woooooooh!”
Oppa hadn’t abandoned me! And on top of that, he’d transmigrated into the same novel! I finally had a true ally!
The moment I reached my dorm room, I leapt onto my bed and rolled across it.
“Hahahahaha!”
Even though I’d met that annoying Creator, today turned out to be a good day.
And I even got a strange new ability. It looked useless at first, but I’d already used it to find my way. Surely, I’d find more uses.
While I was imagining all the ways I could use it, someone knocked. The dorm manager’s voice called out.
“Student Sol, someone claiming to be your brother is here to see you in the reception room. Should I send him away?”
“Ah, no! I’ll be right there!”
Did oppa forget something?
It didn’t matter. After finally meeting someone who was purely on my side after six years, I wanted to share even the most trivial stories!
I ran excitedly to the reception room.
Unlike the dorm, the reception room was a shared space. Some boys leaving glanced my way.
I wanted to snap, “What are you staring at?” but I had more urgent things to do!
With a big smile, I flung open the door.
“Oppaaaaa!”
“…Hello?”
“….”
The man smiling inside wasn’t Yujin oppa.
It was Elber Schlager. Still an “oppa,” but in my eyes, more like a younger brother I’d raised myself.
I froze, and his sun-bright smile stiffened just slightly.
“…What’s wrong? Were you expecting someone else?”
