Chapter 59
The Home I Want to Return To (1)
Another day passed, feeling different from the last.
Once the nobles left, Lucy and Annie’s nagging came crashing down like a storm.
But it didn’t end there—Strah and Akon followed up with more nagging.
The scolding continued until the sun went down, through dinner, and all the way to bedtime. I made a firm resolution:
Even if it kills me one day, I should think before I do anything reckless again.
“But hey.”
“Yeah?”
The sun had completely set. It was that time when baby birds and mice should all be in bed.
“What are you doing here, oppa?”
What should I do with this man sitting by my bedside, reading a book?
He didn’t even get on the bed—just sat in a chair next to it, quietly reading a thick book, definitely not a fairy tale.
Can’t he read that in his own room?
But Baizen answered calmly, as if it were no big deal.
“If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep.”
“No, you should go back to your room and sleep.”
Unlike usual, he had gone all the way to the imperial palace for work. Wasn’t he tired?
I’d just been playing tag all day and I was already exhausted.
I yawned softly and rubbed my eyes, and Baizen chuckled, patting my head as if to reassure me.
“I’ll head back once you’re asleep. Don’t worry.”
His hand gently stroking my hair felt unusually kind.
He was acting more like a real big brother now—it even surprised me.
Like he was trying to protect me from something dangerous. That comforting and tender feeling made me want to whine a little.
“Read me a book.”
“What?”
Baizen raised an eyebrow in disbelief at my request.
“You mean like a bedtime story?”
“You think I’m Anne or something?”
I replied boldly, and Baizen sighed even more deeply.
Honestly, it was a childish request. But I wasn’t a child—it wasn’t about wanting a story, I just wanted to act spoiled for a bit.
I pointed at the big book in Baizen’s hands.
“Read that one.”
“This isn’t exactly a fun fairy tale…”
“I don’t care. Boring stuff is better for falling asleep.”
The title, “The Gods and History of the Holy Nation of Jupiter”, sounded like the dullest thing ever, and I lit up.
“Perfect title for bedtime. Go on, give it a try.”
“Sigh…”
With a long exhale, Baizen covered my eyes with his large hand.
“I will now speak of the legend of King Leobalt, who revived the ancient Jupiter Empire. In his youth…”
Just when I thought he was trying to make me sleep by force, his deep voice flowed gently into the room.
The story of an ancient king’s journey, friendship, and love spilled from Baizen’s lips.
What I’d expected to be a boring story turned out to be unexpectedly interesting, and Baizen’s voice was pleasant to listen to.
“Standing before the River of the Dead, Leobalt asked, ‘Guardian of the river, where has your master gone?’”
As Baizen spoke, I imagined a man with a cold impression, someone like Diane. Probably breathtakingly beautiful.
I pictured King Leobalt, whose golden hair was said to resemble a lion’s mane, descending into the land of the dead to save a woman named Lily—his so-called first love.
“Then the guardian of the river answered, ‘He is delivering a red rose to your beloved.’ In despair, Leobalt threw himself into the river of death.”
It was an unfamiliar tale.
People fall in love, break up, and find new love. That’s life.
So why throw your life away for it?
But apparently, when Leobalt jumped into the river and gave up his life, he gained the power to speak with the gods.
He then became the divine messenger who conveyed the will of the gods and rebuilt the Holy Nation.
It felt more like legend than history.
A great king who followed a dead lover to the afterlife and ended up with divine powers.
Was that the kind of romance this book was going for?
But to me, it just sounded like a guy who got lucky after dying over a woman.
“…Are you not going to sleep?”
After quite some time had passed, Baizen sighed deeply at me still being wide awake.
His voice was slightly hoarse from reading for so long.
“It’s an interesting book.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
He pulled his hand away from my eyes and asked.
If he was asking whether I was tired—yes, I was.
The fatigue from the past days, playing tag, dealing with nobles… It would be strange not to be tired.
“I am tired…”
“Then hurry up—”
“But I don’t want to sleep. Hehe~”
Somehow, I didn’t want to fall asleep just yet.
I felt happy and content. It was a truly enjoyable moment.
Had I ever experienced something like this before?
At least, I didn’t remember anything like this in my past.
That’s why it felt like the sweetest dessert—so sugary and delicious.
“I don’t wanna sleep…”
Even as sleep overwhelmed me, I held onto Baizen’s sleeve to stay awake.
My eyes were heavy and dry.
“I’ll stay right here.”
He smiled reassuringly, brushing my hair with his large fingers.
“I… I’ve really been happy lately…”
Maybe it was because of Baizen’s kindness, or maybe because of the sleepiness—but a sliver of honesty slipped out.
“But I still… miss the old days too.”
Images of laughing and chatting with my siblings before I ended up in this world came to mind.
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy being here.
But I couldn’t pretend I could be truly happy here without my real family.
It felt wrong, like I was betraying them.
Even though he couldn’t possibly know, Baizen nodded as if he understood.
When I finally closed my heavy eyes, darkness took me.
And just before I fell asleep, I murmured toward Baizen:
“So… I’ll go back…”
And then, unable to resist the pull of sleep, I fell into a deep slumber.
***
Just as I was drifting in a deep sleep, I heard a voice.
“…Ni…! Unnie…!”
A familiar voice.
But maybe because of the exhaustion from the past two days, I didn’t want to get up.
Like a child, I buried my head under the blanket.
“I said it’s morning!!”
“Ah… I don’t wanna get up—”
As I curled up under the blanket, the voice’s owner sighed in exasperation and yanked the blanket away.
The warm comfort disappeared, and cold air wrapped around me.
“Ugh… What the heck…?”
“What do you mean, ‘what the heck’?!”
Startled by the unfamiliar chill, I opened my eyes. The voice’s owner flung the windows wide open as if to shock me awake.
Cold air rushed into the room, not at all like summer, and cleared my foggy mind.
Then, with an exasperated sigh, she said,
“I knew it when I had to bring documents to your place. You stayed up all night again, didn’t you?”
“No… I didn’t…”
I fell asleep listening to Baizen read me a book…
As I stretched, recalling the dreamlike events from the night before, someone smacked me hard on the back.
“AAAH!”
I shot my eyes open, shocked by the sting.
And a familiar scene unfolded before me.
“Don’t lie. I saw the documents scattered all over your desk.”
“Ji… Ji-won?”
“Hurry up and get ready! You’ve got work!”
There she was—my little sister, Ahn Ji-won—holding a cat so big I couldn’t tell if it was a dog or a pig.
It felt so vivid, so real, it was almost surreal.
“Nabi tried to eat your papers. Ugh, this stupid cat.”
The cat, Nabi, wriggled out of Ji-won’s arms and yawned lazily beside her leg as I crawled over to the full-length mirror.
“Unnie! Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah! I’m fine!”
In my rush, I’d rolled off the bed, but now wasn’t the time to complain about pain.
I looked up into the worn, brown mirror I’d salvaged and repaired in my old apartment.
“It’s… me.”
Short black bob sticking up from sleep, black eyes and hair.
Monolid eyes, thick lips with downturned corners.
A distinctly East Asian face with pillow creases still on my cheek.
It was definitely my face.
Not Odelia’s beautiful face that shone in the mirror—mine.
“What… What is going on—?”
“Aren’t you going to work?!”
As I stood there trying to figure things out, the door burst open with a familiar yell.
“Soo-hyun…”
She was holding a kitchen knife with some green scraps on it—probably prepping breakfast.
Shocked by the familiar yet surreal scene, I blinked.
Soo-hyun clicked her tongue at me, clearly unimpressed.
“Ever since you said you were starting a new project, I figured it out. Another all-nighter?”
“…What are you doing here?”
“What else? Making breakfast.”
She answered flatly, patting Nabi’s chubby butt as the cat waddled out of the room.
“You asked me to make breakfast since I have the day off.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did.”
She didn’t even bother calling me “unnie.” The look in her eyes was exactly like I remembered—disdain for a hopeless older sister.
“Don’t mind her. Unnie’s probably still dreaming,” Ji-won sighed and smacked me on the back again.
“Just go wash up already! You’re the one who insisted you had to work on the weekend.”
She even opened the bathroom door for me as she poured kibble into the cat’s bowl.
“Oh, and I took a day off today, so is it okay if I hang out here all day?”
“I’m going to see my girlfriend later though.”
“But you said you had the day off!”
“…Why does my love life need to be on break too?”
Familiar conversations, familiar scenes.
Everything felt so familiar it made my head spin.
Was it really all just a dream… like Ji-won said?
Everything that had happened up until now?
I still couldn’t believe it.
But the body remembers.
Even amidst the chaos, I got ready for work with practiced ease.
After putting on a well-ironed jacket, I sat in front of the vanity, and finally, my head started to clear.
I applied some basic skincare, drew on my eyebrows, and finished my makeup.
And there it was—the face I’d seen every day before heading to work.
My real self.
