The man’s house wasn’t far away. The luxury villa overlooking the Han River right after crossing the bridge was so gorgeous and delicate that I wondered if this was really a novel.
“Really… this isn’t me…”
After washing up briefly in the bathroom and looking in the mirror, a face that wasn’t really mine was reflected. Even when I touched it with my hands, it didn’t feel like a mask, and the sensation of touching the skin was the same, but the appearance wasn’t me at all.
A small face with flowing hair, delicate yet pronounced facial features, a thin body with glowing skin… The slender man in the mirror looked somewhat sick, and also had a mysterious feeling.
“Hehe, that guy really, I do like his beauty though…”
It was so absurd that I let out a hollow laugh. I stayed in the bathroom for a while like that and then came out. One wall of the man’s house was entirely made of glass. While admiring the scenery that felt completely unreal, I was startled when I saw the man approaching from the side.
“Please have this.”
What the man gave me was warm cocoa.
“Thank you…”
I took the cocoa and just felt the warm heat. Actually, I still couldn’t believe whether this place was really inside a book or a dream. Did I really have an accident? Then am I dead? Is that why I ended up in this place…
While thinking such thoughts, I just stared blankly at the steam rising from the cocoa.
“I’m Baek Woojin, I work as a psychiatrist.”
The man extended his hand for a handshake and said.
Ah… The way he recognized medicine I didn’t know, and the way he had a professional feeling somewhere, he was indeed a doctor as expected.
“Wow, I was really lucky. I thought I was going to fall from there, you know?”
“If I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings, I would have just passed by.”
“Yes, phew. I thought I was going to go just like that…”
I tried to speak exaggeratedly to lift my sunken mood. Baek Woojin, who had been staring at me like that, quietly opened his mouth.
“I’m not Chae Seungyeon-ssi’s attending physician, but I thought the medications in your bag earlier seemed excessive.”
Excessive or not, I wasn’t Chae Seungyeon in the first place, so I didn’t know the details well.
“Have there been any side effects so far?”
“Side effects?”
Was that the case? Since the main story of the original work flowed around the obsessive maniac and the main shou, there wasn’t much about what kind of life the obsessive maniac’s father lived. So I only knew that he took his own life due to prolonged depression caused by his in-laws and his husband’s death, but I didn’t know any other circumstances at all.
So what should I do? Right now, Chae Seungyeon was in a more disadvantageous position than anyone else and had nothing. In this state, the only person I could ask for help was…
“Um… you know.”
“You can call me Woojin-ssi.”
“Yes, Woojin-ssi.”
Baek Woojin stared at me intently as if telling me to speak. That gaze felt like it was seeing right through me from earlier, which was embarrassing.
“I… this might sound crazy, but…”
“Yes.”
Baek Woojin seemed worried about the cocoa cup I was holding in my hands, so he gently took it away. I fidgeted with my hands that still had warmth left in them and said:
“Actually, I’m… not Chae Seungyeon.”
Nothing to lose. I decided to be completely honest.
“…So you’re saying you’re not Chae Seungyeon-ssi.”
But unexpectedly, he didn’t seem particularly surprised. Baek Woojin even walked calmly toward the kitchen. I followed him and began explaining my situation in earnest.
“Yes, I’m originally a kindergarten teacher, and I was on my way to work after passing the civil service exam this time. But suddenly there seemed to be an accident.”
“A kindergarten teacher, and there was an accident…”
“Yes, yes! But when I came to my senses, I was on that bridge earlier, so… I think I’ve entered a BL novel that my younger sister wrote. No, it’s not that I think so – it’s right!”
“I don’t know exactly what a BL novel is, but you’re saying you were in a different world and then possessed the body of someone living in the novel world… Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right…!”
I was surprised. I thought he wouldn’t believe me easily even if I said this… but he looked at me with serious eyes as if he really believed my words. Are there really people like this in the world?
Come to think of it, Baek Woojin saved me without any hesitation, and even though we just met, he brought me to his home… Is he an angel?
Just as I was moved by this thought on my own.
“Ah… Papa…?”
A faint child’s voice made our gazes turn. I don’t know how long he’d been there, but a small child was peeking out just his face between the door of the room across from us, looking at us.
“Huk…”
For a moment, my heart skipped a beat. Large eyes that seemed about to shed tears at any moment and an endlessly delicate face. A child who looked like a real angel was looking at me.
“Wow,” an exclamation naturally escaped. I do like children quite a bit, but this was the first time I’d seen such a beautiful child in the world.
“You… what’s your name? How old are you?”
I immediately approached the child stealthily and made baby talk. But the child shyly hid behind the door.
“Ah, the child is really adorable… What’s his name?”
“It’s Kkotsu.”
“What?”
“Baek Kkotsu. It’s a really pretty name, just like the name Gwak Hyeol.”
“……”
Gwak Hyeol vs Baek Kkotsu.
My goodness… there are two people in this world who desperately need name changes…?
No, wait.
Baek Kkotsu…?
I recalled from vague memories that the main shou who was the obsessive maniac’s partner had a congenital stutter.
“Um… Woojin-ssi? Does the child happen to have some difficulty speaking…?”
“How… did you know?”
Baek Woojin asked back with surprised eyes at my careful question.
“Huk,” a sound naturally came out.
It wasn’t “vs” but “x”…!
Of all names to choose from, why that name… I wanted to applaud my sister’s terrible naming skills.
“Oh, then…”
But then what is this? If this man Baek Woojin is the main shou’s father, does that mean he’s Chae Seungyeon’s son Gwak Hyeol’s future father-in-law?
Then Chae Seungyeon’s in-law…?
I looked at Baek Woojin once more at this truly unexpected connection that was too much to be called coincidence.
Tall height and a solid-looking body, a model-like handsome face, good job, understands the value of life well… And importantly, the name “Baek Woojin” is perfectly normal.
Hmm, at this level, as an in-law, it’s 100 points out of 100. Definitely a pass.
“Ah… Papa…”
While I was evaluating my in-law like this, Kkotsu peeked his face out between the door. Seeing his chubby cheeks turn red as he looked up at his father, I naturally smiled.
Whether his name is Baek Kkotsu or Baekkop-su, what does it matter? He’s so adorable…!
“Hello? Kkotsu?”
“……”
I bent my knees so Kkotsu wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and greeted him. But with a roll, his large eyes were looking at Baek Woojin again, not at me.
However, even though the child kept calling him, Baek Woojin just stood there blankly.
“It seems too early to be awake… Did you wake up because it was noisy?”
Baek Woojin checked his wristwatch in front of the child and asked stiffly. I stiffened up too. In my entire life, this was the first time I’d seen someone speak to a child like that.
“N-no… sir…”
Kkotsu seemed as surprised as I was, looking very troubled as he fluttered his long eyelashes. The child’s hands clenched tightly as if enduring something made me feel sorry for him.
“Then did you have a scary dream again today?”
The content of the question itself was fine, but the nuance wasn’t. The man’s tone was as stiff as if he were conducting a survey.
Kkotsu blinked his eyes as if he was about to cry and shook his head.
“Don’t just shake your head, answer with your voice.”
“……”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
