Chapter 1: The Scene That Often Appears in In-Soul is Unfolding Right Before Me

Right now, in front of me, a scene straight out of a typical inso (internet novel) is unfolding.

“Are you the top dog of the vocational high?”

In a heavy atmosphere that feels like it needs an epic background soundtrack, one guy who looked like a potato stepped forward from a group of boys in black school uniforms from a technical high school.

Behind him, a boy who looked like he had already been beaten to a pulp by someone was trembling as he tried to hide.

Then, from the other side, a boy in a navy uniform with a clean-cut appearance approached the menacing potato-faced guy.

As he walked, his long legs swung lazily, his pants tightly fitted, and a black piercing on his earlobe caught the eye.

The leader in the navy uniform walked right up to the potato-faced guy, stuck both hands into his pockets, and leaned in with a relaxed expression.

One corner of his mouth curled up in mockery.

“Tch, our Lee Hyun doesn’t come to places like this.”

At the “tch,” I clenched my teeth and shut my eyes tight.

“What, are these all just scraps? You mess with our school, you pay the price.”

In inso stories, if a student from one school messes with a student from another, it’s considered provocation and usually escalates into an all-out school brawl.

A classic cliché.

The potato’s eyes lit up fiercely, thrilled by the excuse to wipe out the students from the rival vocational high.

“Ahahaha! Scraps? Me? I’m the top dog of Vocational High—Haemalgeum!”

The supposed “scrap,” the leader of the vocational high school students, laughed exaggeratedly with his head thrown back, then pretended to wipe away tears as he stared down the technical high students. In an instant, his laughing face turned cold and expressionless.

‘Ah… so he is Haemalgeum…’

A pretty big deal, huh.

My own face, watching all this unfold, turned grim as well.

“You’re Haemalgeum? Pfft. What is this, some gigolo-looking guy? Guys—!”

The potato guy scanned the lean and wiry Haemalgeum from head to toe and raised his hand.

WAAAAHH—!!

The technical high school gang, each holding some kind of club or stick they’d scrounge up from somewhere, charged at the vocational high school group.

It turned into a real bloodbath, with both sides brawling viciously—so much so that blood was actually flying.

And yet, not a single person stepped in to stop it.

No police, no teachers.

Nothing.

‘This is insane.’

Even though it was summer break, these kids were out here in full uniforms, throwing down in a gang fight.

I watched with a distant gaze and let out a deep sigh from my gut.

It’s already been one month and two weeks since I got possessed by this inso world.

This was probably the umpteenth time I’d stumbled across one of these cliché inso events.

But if there’s one thing that sets this world apart from the insos I’ve read until now…

BOOM—

“Aagh! What the hell?!”

“That bastard’s a Hunter! Is he seriously using skills in a brawl?!”

“Fight fair! No skills!”

Turns out, they weren’t just swinging wooden clubs around in this fight.

WEEEE-OOO—

“Everyone stop! We’re from the Hunter Management Bureau.

The student who just used a skill on a civilian, come with us.”

In the inso I’ve been possessed into, awakened Hunters use skills even in school fights.

***

I took one wrong turn at a fork in the road—and ended up possessed inside an internet novel.

It wasn’t because I got hit by a truck, or died in some ridiculous accident, or even just woke up to find myself like this.

No, I simply made one poor decision at a crossroads and found myself inside a novel.

And not just any novel—but smack in the middle of an over-the-top internet fiction filled with cringeworthy emotional lines that defined an entire era.

[Korea’s pride, S-Rank Hunter “Nada,” has just closed a sudden gate that appeared in Euljiro and saved civilians, drawing widespread praise. Despite being only a high school student, Nada has secured a top-tier ranking in the country’s Hunter system…]

I was a Hunter.

Not technically a high school student, since I dropped out early on, but I was one of the rare few in the world who awakened as an S-Rank Hunter in my late teens.

Globally, there weren’t many who didn’t recognize my nickname, “Nada.”

And the only person who could introduce themselves with just that name—was me.

Power.

Looks.

Fame.

Popularity.

I had it all.

Naturally, money followed.

I amassed an enormous fortune at a young age.

That is… until I got possessed into this world.

Now I sat on the floor of a cramped room where the door was close enough to hit my nose if I fell off the bed.

I looked around weakly.

“My Han River view…! Give me back my Han River view apartment, damn system!”

Just days ago, I’d been living freely in a big house all on my own.

Now, out of nowhere, I had parents and was expected to live in a cozy little home with them?

Was that even possible?

And I was originally an orphan, too!

I had no memories of ever living with parents in my previous life—and now I suddenly had some?

And worst of all, they had a god-awful relationship.

“If they were at least harmonious, I wouldn’t complain so much.”

But no—constantly fighting, giving each other the silent treatment for months at a time.

Living with parents like that turned out to be way harder than I thought.

Whenever they needed to communicate during one of their cold wars, they used their daughter (me) as a go-between.

Because of that, I grew up walking on eggshells—forming a weirdly twisted personality.

So naturally, the role I was stuck with in this possessed novel wasn’t normal either.

<Rank 0 Gangster Is Living a Double Life as a Model Student>

That was the title of the novel I was now stuck in—and also the last thing I’d read before being possessed.

Just from the title, you can probably guess exactly what kind of inso this is.

The story was about a female protagonist who, despite being the boss of a gang and holding the infamous Rank 0, had to hide her identity due to unavoidable circumstances and pretend to be a model student at school.

The male protagonist, the unofficial leader among the so-called “Four Heavenly Kings,” initially thought of her as just another quiet, well-behaved student in class.

But then, by chance, he saw her beating the crap out of a bunch of thugs in a back alley.

Intrigued by this stark contrast from her usual image, he found himself tangled with her in increasingly coincidental ways… and slowly began to fall for her.

But of course, the story didn’t end with a simple “they fell in love and lived happily ever after.”

Like all inso protagonists, they had to overcome trials and tribulations:

Manipulation, hired beatings, kidnapping, confinement, threats, car accidents, incurable diseases, amnesia—you name it.

The protagonists of <Rank 0 Gangster Is Living a Double Life as a Model Student> went through it all, their bond strengthening each time, ultimately culminating in an epic love story.

And me?

In that entire story, I wasn’t even one of the main trials.

I was a small, pitiful side obstacle—

A stalker girl who obsessively clung to the male lead, burned with jealousy toward the female lead, and ended up ruining herself.

That was the role of the character I had been possessed into.

Was I close childhood friends with the male lead?

So close that he’d overlook most of my actions or words?

If that were the case, I could’ve passed as a side character at least.

Was I someone he couldn’t ignore because of ties to an older brother or a close friend he respected?

Not at all.

I had zero connection to the male lead.

Did I resemble his first love enough to make him waver emotionally?

If that were the case, I’d be the female lead, not a background extra.

Did I at least share a memorable encounter with him?

Something so unique it left a lasting impression?

The only “memorable” moment I had was the time I got hit in the face with a soccer ball he kicked during PE.

I got a nosebleed and everything.

He apologized and walked away.

Later, when I went back to class, I found a bandage on my desk.

This body’s original owner thought the male lead left it there and was moved to tears.

But the truth?

It was just our class president—who plays the role among the Four Heavenly Kings—who left it.

Out of pure duty and responsibility. Not even a hint of romantic intent.

So yeah, I’d been possessed by a character who couldn’t even dream of romance.

No dreams, no hope, no chance—just a stalker.

The kind that shadowed the male lead’s every move, confessed multiple times despite being thoroughly rejected, got marked by the school bullies who liked the male lead, got beat up mercilessly, and disappeared.

That’s me.

I buried my face in my hands after catching a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror nearby.

“My height… my face…”

Even when I didn’t eat properly, I had still managed to grow to 170cm!

I was always the tall one wherever I went.

But now—me, like this?

This body had clearly been well-fed growing up, yet was still frustratingly short.

Over 10 centimeters shorter than I used to be.

Naturally, the arms and legs felt stubbier, too.

The face?

It didn’t resemble my old one in the slightest.

Light brown, wavy hair that somehow kept its shape without a curling iron.

Eyes matching the same warm color.

A slightly droopy eye shape that gave off a weak and submissive impression.

A small nose, slightly plump lips, narrow shoulders, and a slender build—

Altogether, I looked… fragile.

So, so different from my original cool and healthy vibe that I couldn’t get used to it at all.

I clutched my unfamiliar face with both hands and cried out in frustration.

And just then—I heard the sound of the door lock from the front entrance.

Beep beep beep beep—click.

“Ugh, why’d that damn gate have to open all of a sudden? I thought I was gonna die.”

“We really should move closer to the Hunter Association or something.”

“Do you even know how much housing prices have skyrocketed there…?”

“Were you saying that for me to hear?”

As soon as I heard my parents coming in, I rushed out of my room, trying to read the tense atmosphere between Mom and Dad with a forced smile.

“You’re back?”

Dad, adjusting his disheveled clothes and messy hair like he’d been running for his life, spoke with an annoyed scowl on his face.

“Dana, don’t even think about going outside today. That stupid dungeon break or whatever has things in chaos.”

“Really? I’m just glad you and Mom are okay. Oh! You must be thirsty from all the running!”

I hurried into the kitchen, filled two identical glasses with water, and handed them to my parents.

“Are you a daughter or a well-trained intern?”

While I nervously looked for a chance to slip back into my room, Dad turned on the TV, and sure enough, the news was covering the gate incident that had opened nearby.

[“This is an apartment complex in the southern district of Seoul. Earlier, a dungeon break suddenly occurred within the complex, prompting a mass evacuation of residents. Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of the guild ‘Four Heavenly Kings’…”]

“The Four Heavenly Kings? Aren’t those the kids from your school?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Honestly, it sounds like your school’s safer than our house.”

“Haha…”

Creeped out by the guild name, I quickly changed the channel—only to be met by another unsettling broadcast.

[“<Dimensional Outsider Possessions Are Activating the Gates>—Who exactly are these ‘dimensional outsiders’?”]

It was an investigative report speculating on the so-called “dimensional outsiders” based on the strange messages that had appeared in front of people the moment I had possessed this body.

“Who else could it be? Villains, obviously. Those dimensional freaks show up, open these damn gates, and now the whole world’s in danger.”

That villain they’re talking about?

Is right here.

Me.

That’s why I have to keep pretending to be this body’s original personality.

Why I’m stuck in this house I don’t even like.

Why I absolutely, under no circumstances, can get found out.

Because the moment I possessed this body, the entire world changed.