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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: There's Someone Else Who Transmigrated Besides Me
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“Wait.”
Roje extended a hand towards Doana. At her gesture, the maids gasped. Roje wasn’t typically harsh towards the maids, but Doana’s recent remark had been quite dangerous. They expected Roje to punish Doana severely. However, their expectations were thoroughly defied.
“You, let’s talk.”
“Why should I? If you have something to say, say it here.”
“...!”
“Doana!”
Doana watched Roje, her arms casually crossed. Roje, seeing Doana’s bold demeanor, felt a surge of certainty.
‘That’s definitely not how a maid acts towards a Countess. She must have transmigrated, just like me.’
Roje walked past the flustered maids and stood before Doana. Up close, Doana’s appearance was quite striking. Was beauty a ‘buff’ for transmigrators? She had beautiful, albeit slightly disheveled, blonde hair, and her delicate features were also quite lovely. Roje whispered in a low voice, audible only to Doana.
“I think I can explain why you haven’t woken up from your dream, and why there are no smartphones here.”
“...!”
At Roje’s words, Doana’s eyes widened.
“Follow me if you’re curious.”
Roje smiled and turned, and Doana, who had been standing blankly, quickly followed behind her. The maids murmured amongst themselves, watching Roje and Doana.
“Is she going to give her a harsh punishment?”
“Maybe she’s going to kick her out of the mansion.”
“But why is the Countess speaking so formally to her?”
“She must be angry about Doana’s attitude. The Countess sometimes speaks formally like that when she’s angry, you know? You know how it is, gentle people are scarier when they get angry. Tsk, tsk, that fearless Doana. What could she be thinking?”
They clucked their tongues, watching Roje and Doana walk away. *** Contrary to the maids’ worries, Doana and Roje were strolling through the garden in a friendly atmosphere.
“So… this isn’t a dream at all?”
“That’s right. I just woke up yesterday. And I realized this world was inside a novel.”
“Inside a novel… that’s too ridiculous.”
Doana didn’t seem to fully believe Roje’s words.
“Then how do we go home?”
“That… I don’t know either.”
Most protagonists in the novels she had read had settled down in the transmigrated world.
“Then… are we dead in our original world?”
“I opened my eyes here right after a building collapsed on me. So, you could say I’m dead.”
“Oh my god! What building? Surely not that outlet building in Dokbok-dong?”
“The outlet was the building next door. Don’t tell me you were also nearby and died?”
“No. I saw the building collapse right in front of my eyes, got startled, ran out, and got hit by a car.”
“Good heavens! So, we died on the same day and transmigrated here together.”
Roje felt a deeper connection with Doana due to the shared experience of dying on the same day. Doana felt the same way.
“Let’s be friends. Meeting like this must be fate.”
Doana slowly extended her hand towards Roje. Roje didn’t dislike the hand she offered. She thought it wouldn’t be bad to be friends with her, given the shared experience of transmigrating here. She carefully took Doana’s outstretched hand.
“Alright.”
“Let’s drop the formalities too. We seem to be around the same age, even if we weren’t before.”
Roje nodded at Doana’s words. She recalled the maids referring to her as a ‘maid,’ but since Roje was planning to leave this place anyway, she readily agreed to Doana’s suggestion.
“Okay.”
“By the way, did you originally live in Dokbok-dong?”
“No, I originally lived in Seoul, but… something happened, so I went down there.”
Roje trailed off, giving an awkward laugh.
“Oh, Seoul! I lived in Seoul for quite a long time too.”
Doana squealed, taking Roje’s hand.
“I transferred to a high school in Seoul when I was in high school. I lived in Seoul for over 10 years. What neighborhood did you live in?”
“Seocho-gu.”
“Really? I graduated from high school there. Seoae High School!”
Doana chattered excitedly. Roje couldn’t help but be surprised by her words. Roje had also graduated from ‘Seoae High School.’
“My original name is ‘Lee Gyeoru.’ My mom gave it to me, meaning to live without losing, but it’s so old-fashioned, I hate it.”
Doana grumbled that she seemed to have no luck with names. She also complained that she didn’t like everyone calling her ‘Doana.’ As Doana spoke her original name, Roje’s heart plummeted to the floor with a thud. Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. The name that came from Doana’s lips was a name she could never forget, even if she tried.
‘Lee… Gyeoru?’
How could she forget? Her friend of ten years… and the homewrecker who stole her husband.
“...How old are you?”
It wasn’t a common name, but it was still too early to be certain. Her tightly clenched fists trembled. She tried to calm down, but strangely, her heart kept pounding uneasily.
“Twenty-nine. Too young to die. I even got married early and had a husband.”
Her heart sank. It felt as if all the blood rushed from her body, and her lips quivered. It was certain that the woman in front of her was ‘Lee Gyeoru,’ whom she had once believed to be her friend.
‘Lee Gyeoru… why are you here with me…!’
Why was the woman she never wanted to see again, even in death, here with her?
“You look like you know me? Don’t tell me we’re the same age or something?”
Doana smiled at Roje, oblivious. Then she chattered on, asking Roje for her name. Roje, as if reluctantly giving in to her insistence, spoke.
“...Kim Hana.”
“Hana? Sorry, I don’t think I know anyone by that name.”
Roje told Doana the name she had adopted after her divorce, not ‘Kim Byeolha,’ which she had used for over 20 years.
“I’m pretty quiet, and I don’t have many friends, so you probably wouldn’t know me.”
Roje vaguely mumbled, worried Doana might notice something strange. How could fate be so cruel? Why… did the bad karma from her previous life follow her here? Roje’s voice trembled. She tried to speak calmly, but it wasn’t easy to remain composed in front of Gyeoru, who had betrayed her.
“Oh, really? I have a friend who’s similar to you.”
Doana glanced at Roje, thinking. Her demeanor somehow resembled Byeolha. Her long-time friend who had suddenly disappeared one day.
‘Well, there are plenty of timid people like her.’
In truth, Byeolha wasn’t timid. She was quiet, but she had good social relationships and was the type to meddle in others’ affairs. However, to Gyeoru, who was blunt and outspoken, Byeolha must have seemed timid. Doana shook her head, thinking. Not only was the name different, but if Byeolha faced her, she wouldn’t be able to react so calmly.
‘She’d probably just cry, like some tragic heroine, after I stole her husband.’
Doana snickered, recalling the day she perfectly stole her friend’s husband. How ridiculous it was to see her just weep, unable to say anything. If it had been her, she would have thrown a drink and pulled her hair.
‘Well, I wouldn’t let my husband be stolen in the first place.’
Doana thought, her lips curling into a sneer. For Doana, dating was the easiest thing. Even in her previous life, Doana possessed a very attractive appearance. No one she set her sights on could resist her. It didn’t matter if the person had a girlfriend or a wife. In fact, those who were already taken were easier to win over. Fools, utterly naive. They had no idea their men embraced her every night, smiling happily, completely oblivious. They even boasted that they’d never find another boyfriend or husband like theirs. Doana found those moments the most thrilling. Secretly having an affair with someone else’s man, with the unknowing woman in the middle. Doana, thinking back to the past, put on a fake smile for Roje. To dig for information, she needed to get close to Roje. To survive here, it would be best to use Roje.
“So, what’s this novel about?”
At Doana’s friendly question, Roje silently observed her. Before, she might have thought, ‘Doana is so sociable,’ but now she wasn’t a naive person anymore. She could roughly grasp Doana’s intentions in asking this.
‘She probably thinks I’m a person of high standing and wants to befriend me. And get information about the novel as a bonus.’
Roje replied softly to Doana, who was scrutinizing her with a subtle gaze.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? A passionate romance between a man and a woman.”
She carefully omitted the part about it being a ‘dark romance’ novel.
“A romance novel, then. So what’s my role?”
Doana looked at Roje with expectant eyes. Roje, with an innocent face, shattered Doana’s hopes.
“You’re an extra with no name.”
“...What?”
Doana, who had been swollen with anticipation, stiffened her expression and trailed off. She wore an expression of disbelief at the fact that she was an insignificant character. That was because Doana had lived her life always believing she was the protagonist.
“Then who’s the main character?”
“The main character is Count Wens. And me, the Countess.”
At Roje’s words, Doana’s eyes trembled with disbelief. She clearly hadn’t expected Roje, standing before her, to be the protagonist.
“...You?”
“Yes.”
‘Someone so unremarkable is the protagonist… She’s all dressed up, but if you really look, aren’t I much prettier?’
Doana frowned, looking at Roje, whose light pink hair was neatly braided. How tacky… I could style it so much more beautifully. Doana tried hard to hide her displeasure and asked about the male lead in this novel.
“What kind of person is Count Wens?”
‘If someone like you is the female lead, the male lead must be obvious without even seeing him.’
Roje stared back at Doana, who seemed to be dismissing her. Then she began to present Eric as the most wonderful male lead imaginable.
“He’s so handsome it makes sense that I fell for him at first sight. The plot is that I, the heroine, fell for Eric and chased after him.”
“Really? I haven’t seen anyone particularly handsome since I got here.”
Doana’s reaction was still indifferent. She didn’t seem to fully believe Roje’s words.
“Yes. He’s a bit cold towards me, though…”
At Roje’s words, Doana interjected as if seizing on a weakness. She enjoyed putting others down while pretending not to. Already annoyed that Roje was the protagonist, she glared at Roje as if she’d found the perfect leverage.
“Cold?”
“It’s probably because I was the one who pursued him for marriage.”
“Good heavens. Do women ever pursue men like that? I’ve never done it, so I wouldn’t know. I feel bad for you. Hang in there.”
Her eyes looked sympathetic, but Roje saw the corner of Doana’s mouth twitching upwards.
“It’s okay, though. Even if he seems cold on the outside, he thinks about me a lot on the inside. He’s just someone who can’t express himself, you know? He’s a really good person.”
Roje, in her second life, was no longer an easy target. She gracefully dodged Doana’s attack and even offered a relaxed smile.
“You lead quite the charmed life. Some of us couldn’t get a wink of sleep working all night.”
Just then, Eric appeared in the distance. He walked towards Roje and Doana, his brow furrowed in a tired, displeased expression. Doana’s eyes went wide at the sight of the dashing man standing before them, and she poked Roje in the side.
“Who’s that?”
“My husband, Count Eric de Wens.”
At Roje’s words, Doana stared at Eric, unable to hide a strange glint in her eyes.
