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Chapter 2
“Tell me in more detail.”
Joo-hee barely managed to steady her mind, which was on the verge of breaking, and asked the dust-like creature.
The little dust puff floated around her, chattering endlessly.
—This is the Florel Empire! Your name is Eiryl, and you don’t have parents. You grew up in an orphanage and only recently came here!
“Where is this place?”
—The Melina Forest!
“A forest…?”
Joo-hee frowned.
The Florel Empire and the Melina Forest.
It felt like she almost remembered something, but not quite. She needed more information.
“Is there anything else?”
—Anything else? Ask whatever you’re curious about, Eiryl!
“…Ha.”
The dust puff was no help.
Joo-hee sat on the bed, deep in thought.
“Florel Empire… Florel Empire…”
At that moment, a memory flashed through her mind.
It was from a romance fantasy novel she had borrowed from the House of Wisdom.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but the setting of that book was the Florel Empire, and there had also been a rough description of the Melina Forest, known as the Forest of Death.
She hadn’t read it in detail, but she remembered the general setting and plot.
Just in case, Joo-hee asked the dust puff,
“Then… is the Crown Prince’s name Rowengreen de Alexio?”
—Huh? There’s no Crown Prince yet in this empire. The name you mentioned is the First Prince!
Joo-hee felt her mind go blank.
If her guess was right, then she was inside the book.
And not only that—the male lead hadn’t even become Crown Prince yet. The main story hadn’t started.
She had read plenty of transmigration novels, but she never imagined it would happen to her.
She had gotten into an accident and lost consciousness… and now she woke up inside a book. It was overwhelming.
“Then what happened to me? Am I dead?”
Joo-hee wondered if she had entered someone else’s body, like in the novels she had read, so she walked over to the mirror on the wall.
But her appearance hadn’t changed.
Thinking about it, she had never come across the name “Eiryl” while reading the book.
Since she was just an extra without even a facial description, it seemed she had entered as herself.
Her sharp, cat-like eyes and jet-black hair were exactly the same.
—Eiryl’s black hair is like the night sky! Eiryl, can I sprinkle some stars on it?
“No.”
—Eiryl has changed…
The dust puff muttered gloomily but didn’t leave her side.
Joo-hee asked again,
“What are you?”
—I don’t have a name! You were supposed to give me one, but you suddenly collapsed!
“Not your name—what are you?”
—I’m the guardian spirit of the Melina Forest!
A guardian spirit…
Joo-hee examined it carefully, but it still just looked like a lump of dust.
Then she addressed what had been bothering her.
“My name isn’t Eiryl. It’s Kim Joo-hee.”
—But you’re Eiryl! You are Eiryl!
Joo-hee frowned.
“If you keep calling me Eiryl, leave. If you call me Joo-hee, you can stay.”
Her voice turned firm.
The dust puff hesitated, then spoke in a dejected tone,
—Okay… just don’t kick me out!
“Fine.”
Honestly, it didn’t matter to Joo-hee whether it stayed or left.
It just annoyed her that it kept calling her Eiryl.
—Eiryl—ah, I mean Joo-hee! You seem different since you collapsed.
“…Maybe.”
It seemed the Eiryl the dust puff knew was no longer here.
—You suddenly collapsed! Was it because your heart hurt? Are you okay now?
She felt more than fine—almost too healthy.
“Do I have heart disease?”
—Yes!
Now things were starting to make sense.
Judging by the situation, it seemed that after Eiryl collapsed from heart disease, Joo-hee—who had died in a car accident—had taken over her body.
It was just a guess, but it seemed like Joo-hee’s soul had entered the body after Eiryl’s original soul left.
“I never thought the world inside a book could actually exist.”
Maybe it was like a parallel world.
Joo-hee sat on the bed, recalling the story.
If she remembered correctly, the plot was about a heroine who traveled across dimensions, became a saintess, fell in love with the Crown Prince, and eventually became Empress.
The main setting was the temple and the imperial palace.
Compared to that, this place seemed very far away.
It was a relief that she wasn’t the protagonist, but suddenly she thought of Ji-hye.
“As long as Ji-hye is alive, that’s enough.”
She might still be crying after the accident.
But she was a bright girl—she would recover soon.
Dying in a car accident at eighteen…
Maybe some god had taken pity on her and sent her here.
She didn’t believe in gods, but at this moment, she felt grateful.
Starting a new life felt overwhelming, but at least she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with this world.
She couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.
Since she had been given another life, she decided to live peacefully.
Thankfully, she wasn’t the protagonist—no need to suffer through hardships.
She just had to live quietly here.
Determined never to get involved with the main characters, Joo-hee stepped outside.
The dust puff hovered around her, speaking again,
—Joo-hee! Give me a name, a name!
“Too bothersome.”
—Name! Name! Name!
It looked like it would chant all night if she didn’t.
In the end, Joo-hee thought for a moment.
It didn’t take long.
“…Mel.”
—Mel?
“Yeah. Mel. That’s your name.”
—I like it! I have a name now!
As soon as Mel finished speaking, its body began to glow.
Joo-hee shut her eyes from the brightness. When she opened them again, a tiny person stood before her.
With wings on its back, it looked just like a fairy from childhood storybooks.
—Thank you for giving me a name! Now that I have one, I have a body!
Mel giggled and flew around her.
Joo-hee ignored it and stepped outside.
It was midday, and the sun shone brightly.
Just as she thought it was too bright, clouds suddenly gathered and blocked the sunlight.
A cool breeze brushed against her cheek as if it had been waiting.
If it felt like nature itself was being kind to her… was she going crazy?
But soon she realized it wasn’t just her imagination.
—Joo-hee! There’s more here!
According to Mel, Eiryl gathered herbs and went down to the village once a week to sell them.
The Melina Forest was full of rare herbs—but also monsters.
—But it’s okay! Monsters can’t come near you, Joo-hee!
Mel was right.
Even after wandering through the forest, Joo-hee hadn’t seen a single monster.
While digging herbs, she asked,
“Why can’t they come near me?”
—Because the forest loves you! The forest loves you!
Mel beamed proudly as she sat on a small rock nearby.
Every time her wings fluttered, sparkling dust fell.
Joo-hee kept working with a tool that looked like a hoe.
She didn’t know its real name, so she decided to just call it that.
At first, she struggled, but she learned quickly.
As she worked, she suddenly noticed the surroundings growing dark.
“Mel, I think we should go.”
But there was no reply.
“…Mel?”
She looked around, but Mel was gone.
Joo-hee felt uneasy.
Since she had followed Mel in, she didn’t know the exact way back.
She decided to retrace her steps.
Mel would probably find her anyway.
After walking for a while, she tilted her head.
“Is this not the way?”
She thought she had walked straight, but she was mistaken.
“…Ha.”
A sigh escaped her.
It was already dark.
Then, fireflies appeared, lighting her path.
“Fireflies don’t usually come this close…”
She hesitated, then raised her hand. One firefly landed on it.
Deciding to try, she spoke,
“Can you show me the way? I think I’m lost.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the fireflies moved in one direction.
Joo-hee was shocked.
She hadn’t expected them to actually guide her.
At this point, she was really curious about Eiryl.
Was she really just an extra?
Why hadn’t she been mentioned in the book?
Lost in thought, Joo-hee followed the fireflies.
Soon, she saw the forest’s exit.
“Thank you. See you again.”
One firefly brushed her cheek before flying away.
—Joo-hee!!!
Mel came flying toward her, crying.
—I’m sorry! I got distracted playing with a squirrel…
“It’s fine. The fireflies showed me the way.”
—Really? That’s a relief! Everything in the forest will listen to you!
“Everything?”
—Yes! Even clouds and wind!
“…Who exactly am I?”
Mel blinked, then smiled brightly.
—You’re a child loved by the forest.
Joo-hee felt unsure.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
She even checked her ears, wondering if she was an elf—but they were normal.
She must be human.
Still, it was strange.
She looked at the basket full of herbs.
“Let’s go back, Mel.”
—Okay!
Mel led the way as Joo-hee followed.
The sound of insects filled the air, and her complicated thoughts slowly eased.
Inside the house, Joo-hee instinctively reached for a light switch—
But there was nothing.
Of course, there were no electric lights here.
She looked around and found candles placed here and there.
Lighting one with a match, the room grew dimly bright.
—Joo-hee, aren’t you hungry?
She shook her head.
“I’m too tired. I’ll just sleep.”
—Okay! Don’t forget, tomorrow is the day you go to the village! A wolf will come to pick you up!
“…Alright.”
She didn’t know that, but answered anyway.
A wolf?
Before she could think further, sleep overtook her.
And the next morning—
—Joo-hee! Wake up! Let’s go!
She opened her eyes groggily.
This wasn’t a dream.
She stepped outside, washed up, changed clothes—
And saw something running toward her from the distance.
