“Was I not the only Korean?
This is really something! I never expected it! Hahaha!”
When it became clear that the family members, whom I had thought were just fictional characters, shared a similar reality to mine, it was Dariann who first raised his voice.
The handsome man, who had been eating meat with a cold expression just moments ago, was now laughing heartily and striking the table, leaving me questioning whether he was really the same person I had seen earlier.
“No, really! I was super nervous when I found out that the possession I had only seen in web novels was actually happening!! I was so surprised when I woke up as this shady man!”
As Dariann spoke, Felix put down his fork with a pout, nodding in sympathy as if he related to the sentiment.
“No… really…?
Are all of you Korean?
You mean I’m not the only one who got possessed?”
Seeing those two, Rosaria, who still hadn’t grasped the current situation, wore a slightly awkward smile as she glanced around at the family members who had been quietly cutting their food just moments ago.
“I felt the same way! On the first day, I thought it was just a dream… but it’s not! No matter how much I pinch my cheeks, it won’t wake me up! And on top of that! To think I’d be an extra character who shows up at the beginning and gets schooled by the protagonist! I’m neither the protagonist nor a friend of the protagonist! What kind of supporting role is this! It’s unbelievable!”
In response to Rosaria’s hesitant question, Felix began to spout incomprehensible words as if a switch had been flipped.
His appearance resembled that of a villain, looking cunning and thoughtful, but his expert knowledge poured out as he spoke, completely contrasting with his character.
“Extra?
Was there a character like that at the beginning?
I don’t even know who this person is…”
Dariann, looking confused, turned to Felix.
Just by observing the two of them, it was clear to me: I wasn’t the only one who had possessed a character in this story.
“Um… I’d like to ask how you all ended up here—”
“Everyone.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Um.”
Just as Rosaria tried to join the chaotic conversation initiated by Dariann and Felix, Freya, who had not spoken at all except to agree with Rosaria’s comment about kimchi, finally opened her mouth.
“First, let’s finish our meal and find a proper place to talk. This place is too crowded.”
“Oh.”
At Freya’s words, still smiling with her narrow eyes, the three of them looked around.
They soon realized that not only they were present in the restaurant, but the attendants were also standing neatly behind them, looking this way.
The attendants were waiting to serve the meal, but since this family had been dining in near silence for the past three days, the sudden laughter and loud sounds caught everyone’s attention.
Opening your mouth or whispering at a noble’s dining table is considered rude, so the attendants simply kept their mouths shut and waited for orders, but it was evident that they were confused by the sudden change.
“The second-floor study would be a perfect place to have a conversation after our meal.”
“Ah, yes…?”
“That’s a good idea!”
“Wow, wow…”
As Rosaria and the two others calmed down from the attendants’ stares, they felt an unexplainable charisma from Freya, who casually decided where they would talk after the meal, prompting the three of them to nod in agreement and continue their meal.
Her voice was not loud but had a gentle and soft tone that was hard to oppose.
‘But something feels… too familiar…’
Once she calmed down, Rosaria continued slicing the meat with her knife, feeling an inexplicable discomfort.
Dariann, who was laughing heartily, Felix, who was lively and talkative, and Freya, who had a firm yet unassuming presence—all of them felt oddly familiar.
‘Mom, Dad, little sister… I wonder if they’re okay…?’
In that moment, Rosaria suddenly recalled the events just before the accident.
Her mom cheerfully suggested they treat themselves to expensive beef to celebrate her military discharge.
Her dad had comforted her, saying she had worked hard.
And her little sister, finally graduated from military service, was still fussing over her short hair.
Before the accident, she had thought it would surely be a happy day, but how had it turned out like this…?
“Ugh!”
Rosaria barely managed to suppress the surge of emotions and continued to shove the meat into her mouth with her knife.
The accident that unexpectedly happened on what should have been a joyful discharge day, followed by the possession.
Should I say it was an extremely unfortunate coincidence?
Maybe before dying, she had begun a second life due to the deity’s grace, which she hadn’t even known existed.
‘But I’m not alone…’
Chewing the chewy meat, she tried to lighten her mood by raising her gaze and looking around.
Everyone was similarly silent, but compared to the stiff expressions of the previous day, they seemed a bit more relaxed as they continued to eat.
Since those people were also unexpectedly possessed into this novel, Rosaria felt a sense of kinship with them.
Especially the fact that they were comrades who had come from the same hometown felt like a significant strength to Rosaria, who had thought she was alone in this world.
‘They must have families too…’
Since they were all in the same predicament due to unfortunate accidents, perhaps they could come together and somehow find a way to survive.
‘Yes! For now, let’s get to know these people and gradually learn about this world!’
With that determination, Rosaria clenched her fists.
“Um… Ma’am.
Excuse me, but are you really okay?”
As the attendant guiding them to the second-floor study trembled with sweat, he asked Freya, who was at the forefront.
Normally, Dariann, the head of the count’s family, would step forward confidently, but for some unknown reason, after the incident during breakfast, the trio had naturally followed Freya as if treating her as their leader.
“The study is still not cleaned properly… I-it’s not that I was lazy! It’s just that it’s a room we don’t use much, so it’s natural to pay less attention to it…”
“It’s fine, just give us some space for a moment.
We need to have a conversation as a family.”
“Ah, understood! Then I’ll take my leave!!”
It seemed that the state of the study, which they hadn’t seen directly, was quite messy, as the attendant tried to object once, but Freya cut him off decisively, and he immediately retreated as if to escape.
“Well then, shall we go in?”
Squeak—
As the attendant disappeared, the study door opened with a creak.
And then—
“Cough! Cough!”
“Ugh… why is there so much dust…?”
“Ugh! How long has it been since it was last cleaned?”
“Wow… why is the floor so white?”
As soon as the door opened, a cloud of white dust erupted, causing Freya to cough to the point of nearly staggering.
Despite the presence of quite exquisite furniture and beautiful decorations everywhere, the thick layer of white dust made them hardly noticeable.
“Cough. F-first… let’s quickly finish the urgent matters, cough!”
Freya, showing signs of slight bewilderment at how much dust had accumulated beyond imagination, stepped boldly into the study.
Following her, the trio hurriedly trailed behind her.
“Wow… there are so many books! What’s this?”
“Oh my, is this real gold? There’s so much money here!”
Once inside the study, Felix and Dariann, who had been lively in the dining room, roamed around the study, their eyes sparkling with excitement.
Felix was intrigued by the books stacked in abundance as befitted a study, while Dariann was leaning over a candle holder made of melted gold, adorned with rubies.
Just this situation alone revealed their personalities quite easily.
‘They remind me of my mom and sister…’
Seeing them, Rosaria felt a sense of familiarity reminiscent of her family back in modern times.
“Could you all come over here?”
Freya, whose bronchial tubes seemed more sensitive than others, had covered her mouth with a handkerchief she had brought and lightly brushed off the dust from the sofa before sitting down.
As soon as she finished speaking, the two who had stopped what they were doing hurried to the sofa, and Rosaria also dusted off the area where she would sit before plopping down on the sofa.
“First of all, this is all incredibly fascinating. At first, I thought it was just a simple dream, but gradually, as I began to feel a sense of reality, I’m truly grateful to meet people who’ve also come from my hometown.”
“Yeah, right? I mean, it’s ridiculous! Just a few days ago, I was living in a world where smartphones were a part of everyday life, and now I’m suddenly a noble!”
“But do you all know where this place is? According to my memory, it’s definitely a location from the novel I loved, [The Starry Dawn]…”
“It’s the family of the villain from ‘Strah’.”
“I knew it! I’ve read that novel too, so I recognized it at a glance, but why of all things…?”
“‘The Starry Light of Dawn’… Yes, I’ve read it too.”
“Dawn… what? Hmm… I think I’ve heard of it, but I don’t really like books, so I can’t remember well… Oh! I remember! It’s the one with magic! Right?”
“That’s right! ‘The Starry Light of Dawn’ is about a commoner girl named ‘Hanna’ who becomes a hero because of the meaning of dawn and enters the academy. In this story, Hanna is the protagonist, characterized by her water-colored hair and golden eyes! And then—”
From the conversation that started like that, they gathered one certain piece of information: This possession was not a mere coincidence, but the basis of the world—a novel.
Only those who had read ‘The Starry Light of Dawn’ had been possessed.
“By the way, how did everyone come to know about this novel? I’ve liked this genre for a long time, so I kept reading similar genres until I randomly came across it! It was really fun!”
As the conversation progressed, Felix suddenly looked at them with shining eyes and asked a question.
“Well… my younger sister told me.
When I was in the military, she sent me a package saying I wouldn’t have anything to do…”
Rosaria recalled her younger sister’s letter about the stack of novels that had suddenly arrived in the package and told her to read the classics.
Then, Felix’s pupils noticeably widened as he abruptly stopped speaking at Rosaria’s question.
“Huh…?”
“Did your sister also tell you to read it?”
“Yeah, my daughter kept insisting that I should read it, so I did… but it wasn’t really my taste. The protagonist looked too frail, when they should have been strong and cool…”
“I also remember my daughter introduced it to me, saying it was interesting. I found it quite fun, so I read it to the end.”
“Uh, wait…?”
After hearing Darián and Freya’s responses about how they came to read ‘The Starry Light of Dawn’, Felix’s pupils started shaking uncontrollably.
“Huh? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?
Are you okay?”
Rosaria, startled by Felix’s strange behavior, reached out to pat his shoulder just as he spoke.
“Could it be… brother?”
“… Brother…?”
Felix’s wandering gaze suddenly turned to Rosaria as he opened his mouth with a dazed expression. But wait, brother?
“Wait a moment… really? No… oh come on… what kind of coincidence is this…”
“Excuse me? Brother? What does that mean—”
“Hyunsoo brother. Is your name Kim Hyunsoo?”
“. Huh?”
And with Felix’s following question, Rosaria also froze and wore a dazed expression.
Kim Hyunsoo.
At 22 years old, he had completed only the first year of university before taking a break and enlisting in the military, after which he was honorably discharged as a sergeant.
And before Rosaria Evergarden possessed this body, it was also her name.
“How do you know my name…?”
Feeling extremely bewildered by Felix, who knew her name despite being fellow Koreans, Rosaria stammered her question.
“… Hey.”
“Yes?”
“It’s me! Hanhee! Kim Hanhee! Brother and sister!”
“…. Hanhee? Hanhee?!”
Once again, an astonishing fact burst forth from Felix’s mouth, leaving him with his mouth agape.
Kim Hanhee.
Now 20 years old, she was Hyunsoo’s younger sister and the one who highly recommended ‘The Starry Light of Dawn’.
And now, she was Felix Evergarden, Rosaria’s brother.
As the absurd situation unfolded before her eyes, with her brother becoming her sister and her sister becoming her brother, Rosaria could hardly close her mouth.
However, that was not the end of it.
“Wait… so you two are Hanhee and Hyunsoo?”
“Son…? Daughter…?”
“… Wait a moment… if that’s the case…?”
“Could it be that the two of you…?”
The two people who had been listening to the conversation suddenly jumped up from their seats, pointing at Rosaria and Felix in disbelief.
“Could it be… Mom and Dad?”
“What? Mom and Dad?!”
As Rosaria, who had been trying to figure out how the situation had unfolded, stood up and looked at the two in turn, Felix also stood up, gazing at them with trembling eyes.
Then,
“That’s right! It’s me! I’m your mom! Han Yoonhwa! Wow… you’re alive!”
“It’s me, kids… I’m your dad… Hyunseok, Kim Hyunseok…! Everyone is safe…! Sob…!”
Darián, who was thumping his chest and claiming to be the mom, and Freya, whose eyes were red as if she was about to cry, claiming to be the dad, were certainly similar in their actions despite their different appearances.
“Ah, that’s definitely Mom.”
“Yeah. And Dad too.
Their faces and bodies are completely different, though.”
The siblings, who had been raised together since birth, nodded their heads without realizing it.
Thus, a family that had suffered an accident while driving home together on the day of their eldest son’s military discharge was reunited once more, though not in a way they had ever wanted or wished for.