FPLNC 01

Chapter 1

“There’s a story about the heirs of two families falling in love.”

Royleit spoke to the girl standing before him.

“But it turns out their families were mortal enemies. The two of them suffer in anguish and torment until they finally decide to abandon their families and run away together. But things go wrong, and in the end… both of them end up taking their own lives.”

Elenoa’s eyes narrowed at his words. She felt her hands trembling and clenched her fists tightly.

“If the male lead’s name is Romeo, what do you think the female lead’s name should be?”

Without even taking a breath, she answered his question.

“Juliet.”

The moment she answered, Royleit’s eyes wavered. Elenoa didn’t miss that brief flicker.

“Then this time, you say the first word that comes to mind when you hear mine.”

Elenoa inhaled and spoke.

“Mr. Kim.”

He stared straight into her eyes before finally replying.

“…Ox bone soup.”

Wait… someone from this world knows what ox bone soup is?

Who are you?

✿ ✿ ✿

“When did you practice driving on the highway?”

As the car entered the highway, Hye-seo, feeling the warmth from the heated seat, asked.

“I’ve been practicing driving all the time. About half the time I’d end up on the highway.”

“Huh?”

“I’d drive for practice and call it a little trip.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I think you did say something like that before.”

Hye-seo glanced at Eun-ho, who was behind the wheel, as if seeing him in a new light.

A few years ago, he had just been a little kindergartener who would fight with her over a kick scooter, but now here he was, driving a car instead of a scooter.

She had never really thought about how she herself was growing up, but looking at her friend, she realized—yes, she’d taken the college entrance exam, and somehow, she was at the very end of her teenage years.

As she studied Eun-ho in that strange, bittersweet mood, she noticed how relaxed his posture was as he held the steering wheel. It reminded her of how her mother would always tell her to relax her shoulders whenever she drove.

“I need to practice highway driving too, but it’s scary.”

Muttering to herself, she looked at the car ahead and said,

“Honestly, how do moms never look back to check if we’re still following?”

She grumbled while double-checking the destination on the navigation screen.

Their two families were heading to a pension in Jirisan for a trip. Her parents and Eun-ho’s parents had left earlier in another car, while she and Eun-ho followed behind in this one.

They were going to stop partway to pick up her younger sister, Hye-rim, who had spent the previous day at a friend’s house. Since it was on the way, it wasn’t a problem.

Eun-ho, focused on driving, hadn’t caught most of her muttering, only the general tone of complaint. He turned the music down slightly and replied,

“They’re probably too busy chatting. Got anything to eat in here?”

“I’ve got tangerines. Want me to peel one?”

“Yeah.”

Hye-seo peeled a tangerine and popped a small slice into his mouth, then put a bigger piece into her own.

The moment she bit into it, her face scrunched up.

“Ugh, this is really sour. You eat it.”

When Eun-ho opened his mouth, she stuffed two or three slices in without hesitation.

“I don’t mind it,” he said, feeling the juice burst in his mouth.

“Really? I thought you didn’t like sour stuff either.”

“I don’t. But this one’s fine.”

“Well, at least you don’t mind. Here, finish the rest.”

She dumped the remaining slices into his mouth, chuckling at his chipmunk-like cheeks before tossing the peel into a bag.

“We have to get off to pick up Hye-rim anyway. Why are we tailing Dad’s car like this? All the other cars are passing us, and we’re going so slow. Let’s just change lanes.”

Watching cars zip past in the next lane, she spoke.

“This is the speed limit. We’re not in a rush. Besides, real good driving is keeping to your lane instead of weaving around.”

“Is that so? Well, if the driver says so. Just drive safe. Oh—up ahead we need to exit right.”

“Yeah, I saw on the GPS. But what’s with that car behind us? Why’s it coming up so fast?”

He’d been glancing in the rearview mirror for a while, distracted by the vehicle approaching. When he spoke, she turned around to look.

A tour bus was barreling toward them at an alarming speed. Even if it slammed the brakes right now, it looked like it would crash straight into them.

“Is that driver insane?” she muttered, frowning.

Within moments, the bus was right on their tail.

Eun-ho, realizing it was dangerous, honked and started to change lanes—

BANG—!

The two were hit with a deafening crash and a massive jolt.

Before she even had time to register the seatbelt tightening painfully across her chest, she heard another bang from the front.

A second impact rattled the car.

Flash.

Her vision went black, as if the power had been cut. And then—nothing.

✿ ✿ ✿

Her whole body burned and ached. She realized she was conscious again only because she could feel the heat and pain.

The accident, the shock she’d felt before blacking out, all came rushing back. She was certain she must have died.

If I’m dead, that’s supposed to be the end—so why does it still hurt so much? Do I have to suffer even after death? What happens to me now? Don’t tell me this pain is forever…

She had no idea where she was or what had happened. Her thoughts were sluggish, and she felt too lazy to care. Maybe this was the afterlife.

She didn’t even want to move a finger, let alone open her eyes.

Well, I’m dead anyway. I’ll rest a bit more before I think about what comes next.

Just then, something cool touched her cheek, followed by the sound of someone speaking.

A hospital? …I’m not dead yet?

Relieved, she let herself drift back to sleep.

✿ ✿ ✿

When Hye-seo woke again, her body felt much better—lighter, even. But she still wanted to sleep more.

She reached to pull the blanket up to her chin—only to stop, startled by the unfamiliar texture.

This isn’t my blanket… or a hospital blanket. What is this?

Her eyes snapped open, darting around. She was in an opulent room, lavish from floor to ceiling. It was a place she’d never seen before.

What is this, some kind of princess’s bedroom?

Trying to get up in surprise made her dizzy, so she sat up slowly, wincing at the pain that flared with every movement.

Then she froze. Beneath the blanket, her silhouette looked… shorter.

My legs! Could it be… because of the accident?

Panic flashing across her face, she yanked the blanket away—only to realize it wasn’t just her legs.

Her arms, her fingers, her feet, her torso—everything was short. The only long thing was her hair.

What the heck? Whose little kid is this?

Bewildered, she looked around the room, decorated in gold and pastel tones. Her gaze landed on a gilded mirror.

She hurried over and stared into it.

A little girl of about six years old with golden hair and green eyes looked back at her. She was…

Beautiful. Startlingly pretty. Cute, too. A complete package.

Wow… her face is already perfect at this age.

More shocking than that—this was her own face.

She tugged and stretched her cheeks in disbelief before fear overtook her and she scrambled back to bed, pulling the covers over her head.

So… the accident. That crazy bus rear-ended us. Our car and my parents’ car… it all happened so fast. What happened to everyone? Mom, Dad, Eun-ho, Auntie, Uncle… did they survive?

She wanted to believe they had—injured, maybe, but alive. But the vivid memory of the car crumpling left little room for hope.

The thought of that devastating conclusion made her clutch the blanket tighter.

I don’t want to think about it… later. I’ll think about it later. For now, I’ll just deal with whatever’s right in front of me.

She inhaled under the blanket, forcing her mind elsewhere.

Escape.

Because whenever she remembered the accident, she could only imagine the worst—that no one else had made it.

What about me? This body isn’t a baby’s—it’s a kid’s. So this isn’t a complete reincarnation, right?

Was this even real?

She looked at her tiny hands, opening and closing them. It was too real to be a dream.

She was certain she had died, yet somehow she’d woken up in the body of another little girl.

Past life experience? Some kind of afterlife service?

No matter how ridiculous the thoughts, they couldn’t explain the situation—or make her feel better.