Chapter : 01
I’m tired.
I want to lie down.
That’s the only thought that’s been in my head for a while now.
You’re asking why I don’t just lie down if I want to?
That’s exactly the problem—I can’t.
Because the place I’m in right now is the front desk of a luxuriously decorated hotel.
Amid people bustling around in neat, immaculate uniforms, I was feeling a kind of loneliness in the crowd.
Sitting there all alone, wearing bee-patterned pajamas.
Whenever I so much as tried to move, everyone flinched and glanced my way.
The whispered voices trying to avoid my gaze flew clearly through the air and pierced my ears.
“What should we do? There’s no reservation cancellation no matter how much I look.”
“Just pretend you’re checking.”
“Seriously. How do they even train new hires to make a mistake like this?”
“Shh. She’ll hear.”
Yes… I can hear you perfectly well…
Sitting there staring at the floor like a guilty criminal, a surge of resentment welled up inside me.
Because this really wasn’t my fault at all—not even a tiny bit.
So, what happened was…
To start with, I’m the kind of person you could turn the word ordinary into.
Ordinary looks, ordinary personality, ordinary job.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I, Kim Jiyoon, am the very flower language of ordinariness.
I could probably even change my name to Kim Ordinary.
But someone like me getting transmigrated?
Did I get hit by a truck with blinding headlights?
No.
Then was I terminally ill and read one last web novel?
No.
Or did I leave an angry comment because I hated a story?
No…
I just got home from work like usual, showered, lay down, scrolled through my phone a bit, and fell asleep.
I was tired, watched a few videos, then passed out.
It was a day exactly like any other.
The only difference was that I woke up refreshed without an alarm…
I reached around the pillow to check the time, but the texture under my hand wasn’t my usual blanket.
Feeling something was off, I slowly opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar scene.
Golden pillars and a bed with a canopy.
Thinking it might still be a dream, I pinched my cheek—ouch.
The moment my gaze landed on the huge chandelier and the sparkling, polished furniture, my mind snapped fully awake.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t my home. And since I didn’t have a habit of sleepwalking, I needed to figure out what was going on.
When I abruptly sat up, the crisp blanket slid away, revealing the bee pajamas I’d been wearing to sleep.
Looking at my outfit, which clashed horribly with the luxurious room, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I’m the same as always, but I’m lying in what looks like a romance-fantasy novel setting?
‘Ah. I’ve been transmigrated.’
Realizing my situation instantly, I fell into deep contemplation.
No, I mean… I know it’s the age of mass transmigration, where anyone can get isekai’d, but…
Me?
Why me?
I was just an ordinary office worker, with no skills that would be useful in another world.
I didn’t have any groundbreaking business ideas that could revolutionize a novel’s world.
I didn’t know herbs, and I couldn’t even make soap!
My memory wasn’t great either, so all the web novels I’d read were jumbled together into a vague blur.
It wasn’t like I was brilliant enough to engage in politics, or charming enough to captivate people of all ages and genders.
…Why do I suddenly feel like crying?
The more I thought about it, the more baffled I was that I’d been transmigrated at all.
But at the same time, a small spark of anticipation rose up.
‘They must’ve sent me here because it’s doable, right?’
Touching the blanket, which felt cozy yet refreshing, instantly put me in a better mood.
Living in an environment like this just because I transmigrated…
As long as I didn’t get tangled up in the novel’s plot, it seemed pretty nice.
Sure, I’d seen plenty of characters who thought the same thing and ended up becoming protagonists who suffered endlessly—but I had a certain level of confidence.
Because I had a special talent.
If someone asked me, the guardian of ordinariness, what my specialty was, there was exactly one thing I could proudly say.
‘Lying down.’
As an ordinary person, I possessed world-class talent in being a homebody, a champion of lying down and breathing, a stay-in specialist.
And now, to think I’d been given the chance to become every office worker’s dream—a rich, unemployed person.
A smile slowly spread across my lips.
‘So who did I transmigrate into?’
Could it be the only daughter of a fearsome duke’s family, a noble lady no one dared mess with?
Or a young and rich villainess everyone tiptoed around and tried to please?
Or maybe… a saintess granted holy power bestowed upon only one person in the entire world?
Without even considering the possibility of being a doomed extra who gets brutally killed in a dark novel, or a villainess who bullies the heroine and dies first, I let my happy fantasies run wild.
I reached up to feel my shoulder, but my hair was tied up, so I couldn’t check its color.
‘Ha, don’t tell me pink hair and pink eyes? That matching combo would be gorgeous… Or maybe the classic blonde hair and blue eyes?’
I desperately wanted to look in a mirror.
But I forced myself to calm my restless body.
Since I’d transmigrated anyway, I wanted to follow the proper route.
I figured I’d be sure this wasn’t a dream once a maid came in and said, “Miss?”
I lay my head back on the pillow and raised my hand.
A pretty hand, well cared for, white, without a single callus—
“Huh?”
It wasn’t there.
This was just my hand.
Something was wrong.
Creak.
Just as I was about to examine my hand more closely, I heard the sound of someone opening the door.
I quickly pulled the blanket over myself and closed my eyes.
Now they’d come closer and call me, right?
They’d say, ‘Miss, please wake up,’ right?
What would my name be…?
“…Kyaaak!”
Since no one’s name is “Kyaaak,” it was obvious the other person was startled.
I snapped my eyes open.
“Who… who are you?”
“Pardon?”
In front of me stood a woman in a maid uniform, holding cleaning tools and staring at me in shock.
“This room is empty…?”
The maid checked the door again, then looked back at me, her gaze turning cold.
Ah. That look.
The exact look people give thieves or freeloaders.
I hurriedly started explaining.
“No, I mean—I woke up and I was here! I didn’t sneak in! I’m just as confused as you are!”
Hearing my explanation, the maid’s expression softened immediately.
“Oh! You’re a guest? It seems your information was omitted. I’m so sorry. Would you please follow me this way?”
‘Guest? Omitted? What on earth is going on?’
I awkwardly got up and followed behind her. I was sad to part with the cozy bed, but it couldn’t be helped.
Once outside, I saw a spotless hallway.
The long, neat interior was decorated in a classical style reminiscent of medieval Europe.
As I walked along, gaping and looking around, my eyes met my reflection in a glass window.
‘Huh?’
What is this? I look the same.
Where’s the pink hair?
Where’s the pale, translucent skin and plump lips?
Where are the jewel-like sparkling eyes?
‘I’m just… one hundred percent me.’
With the growing sense that something had gone very wrong, I kept walking.
When we reached the front desk, the maid whispered something to a staff member.
The employee looked startled, then quickly put on a professional smile and spoke to me.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Let me check your reservation. May I have your name?”
“Kim Jiyoon…?”
“Yes, just a moment. Kim Jiyoon… Kim Jiyoon… Uh… hmm…?”
The employee tilted their head, flipping through the documents again and again, then looked up at me.
“It seems that Ms. Kim Jiyoon is not on the reservation list…”
I nodded without realizing it.
That made sense. I’d never made a reservation, after all…
I asked the question that had been bothering me this whole time.
“By the way… where is this place?”
So many strange things happen in this world. In my 26 years of life, this was a first.
According to the explanation, this place was an intermediary world that connected reality and the world of novels.
It was called the “Transmigration Hotel,” where future young ladies change their clothes and appearances and prepare for transmigration.
With so many transmigrations happening these days, they needed systematic and efficient management.
All transmigrators were listed in a reservation registry, and it was apparently fully booked for years in advance.
Since my name wasn’t on the list, they believed I’d ended up here due to some kind of mistake.
And the staff member who seemed to have caused that mistake was standing next to me, sweating bullets.
‘Figures… As if I’d ever be transmigrated.’
Trying to soothe my disappointment, I spoke up.
“So… can I just go home? How do I get back?”
At my words, the employee replied with an awkward expression.
“I’m terribly sorry, but…”
“Yes?”
“Once you come here… there’s no way to leave.”
“Yes?”
As I stood there blankly, the employee stammered out an explanation.
“Other than transmigrating into a novel… there is no way to exit…”
…Then what am I supposed to do?
“But you said there’s no room to transmigrate because it’s fully booked?”
“Yes, yes. It’s peak season for transmigration…”
“Ah… so I can’t leave unless I transmigrate, but I can’t transmigrate either?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Then does that mean I have to stay here until a spot opens up, whenever that might be?”
“Yes, yes.”
Are you kidding me?
When I made a dumbfounded face, the employee squeezed their eyes shut and rattled off a list of warnings at the speed of an insurance agent.
“Originally, when you enter a trance, you’re disconnected from the real world. However, we’d like to inform you that in your case, there may be side effects that may not have been discovered yet. The cost of staying here and all auxiliary facilities are free, but since most people don’t stay for more than a day, additional fees may apply.”
“yes?”
