SSCP | Chapter 1

Episode 1

“You. You’re Jwi-Bang-Wool, aren’t you?”

At a charity party for flood victims, the crown prince suddenly asked me this.

The reason it was so truly out of the blue was because this was the first time I’d ever met the crown prince.

A man I was seeing for the first time in my life suddenly acted as if he knew me. He even knew my childhood nickname.

“It’s not Jwi-Bang-Wool but Ji-Bang-Wool.”

Unable to avoid answering just because I was flustered, I replied reluctantly and studied the man carefully.

It was as if the peculiar heat of the party had deliberately avoided only the man in front of me. There was a chill about him that made him hard to approach, like a wall of ice.

For example, most people in the crowded party hall only glanced at him furtively without daring to approach, merely circling around him.

“Are you really Jwi-Bang-Wool?”

The man asked me again. My brows furrowed. I couldn’t guess the source or intent of this random question.

How on earth does he know my name? And my Korean name, at that?

First of all, the man with silver hair and golden eyes who was asking my name looked extremely desperate. Like someone lost in the desert finally encountering a traveler who might offer a sip of water.

What’s going on?

“My name is Bang-Wool, but… how do you know that, Your Highness…?”

“I heard some Asian-looking girl was suddenly adopted into the Rubiche family and thought it might be you. But I didn’t expect it would be you. I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t losing my mind after all.”

The beautiful man, gripping me desperately, began shedding tears. His face crumpled in anguish as he cried silently, so sorrowfully.

Whispers around us grew louder. I looked at the man in front of me with an awkward expression. The stares were burning into me.

“Shall we move to another spot to talk?”

Even without this, I was already someone people gossiped about. Thanks to this damn crown prince, I’d be adding ten more rumors today. And of course, all ten would be different rumors involving the crown prince.

For now, I led the crown prince out of the party hall and into a dimly lit garden. He quietly let himself be pulled along, still sobbing.

As far as I remembered, the crown prince was supposed to be cold as ice and not very talkative.

So who the hell was this giant puppy bawling his eyes out?

“How did you know the name Ji-Bang-Wool? Here, my name is Ena Knox Rubiche.”

“That name doesn’t suit you.”

He answered, tears still falling.

Okay, but could you wipe those tears first?

I dragged him over and made him sit on a bench.

“When did you get here? No—when did you arrive in this world?”

After wiping his tears, he asked without hesitation. Such a blunt question couldn’t possibly be born of rational interest, but he was clearly trying to create a strange familiarity, like someone who’d seen me just yesterday.

What was this? It was like he knew I wasn’t from this world.

I hesitated for a moment. Could I tell this strangely familiar-looking man the truth?

“It’s okay. You can tell me. It’s not like you have anyone else to talk to anyway.”

His words left me unsettled again. And in the end, I told him the truth.

“It’s been about five years. Since I fell into this world.”

“No. I mean, what year was it when you came over from Korea?”

I was speechless for a moment.

Did he just say Korea? Korea?

And then it hit me—who used to call me Jwi-Bang-Wool.

Cha Do-Hyuk PD. My boss, a devil with no blood or tears.

But Cha Do-Hyuk and the crown prince in front of me looked completely different. There’s no way they could be the same person…

“Ha. Who would’ve thought I’d run into Jwi-Bang-Wool here.”

The man wiped away his tears and muttered with a sigh. His unpolished, casual speech felt refreshing, completely different from any royal or noble, as if he really were Cha Do-Hyuk.

“I’m not actually that small like Jwi-Bang-Wool, you know.”

In fact, I was quite tall—168 centimeters. And with a body type that didn’t gain weight easily, I often heard I looked even taller.

The nickname Jwi-Bang-Wool was purely because of my name, and Cha Do-Hyuk called me that only because he was ridiculously tall back then.

Well… this guy seems tall too.

“I know.”

He rubbed his eyes wearily and let out a small laugh as he answered.

“Your Highness Reynold, if I may ask…”

“Don’t call me that.”

The man—no, the crown prince—immediately dropped his expression and cut me off. He was so firm that I ended up being the one flustered.

Wait, aren’t you the crown prince? If I can’t call the crown prince Your Highness, then what should I call you?

“Call me Cha Do-Hyuk.”

“What the hell. Cha Do-Hyuk out of nowhere… Huh? What did you say?”

I blurted out, startled, then tried to act like I hadn’t said anything.

He let out a laugh, exasperated. It was a charming laugh, and I found myself staring at his face in a daze for a moment.

Yeah… when would I ever get to see a face like this up close again? He was so handsome.

“I never thought I’d be happy to hear even that silly way you talk.”

What?

His answer caught me so off guard that I swallowed every question I wanted to ask.

My hand trembled. Goosebumps ran down my body as I grabbed his shoulders.

“Are you really Cha Do-Hyuk?”

“You really are Ji-Bang-Wool, aren’t you.”

“Don’t lie. I still think this is a dream. Why the hell is a bastard like Cha Do-Hol appearing so realistically?”

As he brushed his hair back from his forehead, his hand paused.

“What? Cha Do-Hol the bastard?”

I pursed my lips inward and avoided answering.

That was the nickname my fellow author and I used to call Cha Do-Hyuk PD. Back then, he worked like he’d gone mad, making life miserable for everyone around him. Some people even joked he was a rabid hound.

This is insane. Could this unfamiliar foreign man in front of me really be Cha Do-Hyuk?

No matter how I looked at him, this man was Crown Prince Reynold.

“Ena?”

A voice calling for me rang out from a distance.

“Jwi-Bang-Wool, isn’t that your name?”

“I know that too, you know?”

I glared at Cha Do-Hyuk… no, the Crown Prince, and reluctantly turned around. A man in a deep navy evening coat was searching through the bushes, looking for me.

Why is he searching through the bushes?

It was obvious why someone who didn’t even get along with me would be looking so hard. My adoptive father must have told him to come find me.

“Is that the young master of the Rubiche family?”

“Yes. A new family member. It seems my adoptive father is looking for me.”

At those words, Cha Do-Hyuk—no, the Crown Prince—stared intently at my face for a moment.

“That must be tough.”

I shrugged. This world was one where divine power and magical power existed. As if Hogwarts really existed, wizards were rampant, and there were priests who used divine power.

Magic and divine power were always at odds. Only a chosen few humans could wield such powers, and perhaps due to divine providence, I had magical power as well.

“I didn’t suffer because I gained some strange power. If anything, I’ve been treated quite well. I’m also not really bothered by a new registry mate.”

Even if he didn’t like me, I was already registered in the Rubiche family, so what could he do? It’d only be spitting on his own face.

When I laughed heartily after saying that, the Crown Prince stared blankly at my face.

Curious, I looked down at him—and at that moment, my new older brother, Rioel, spotted us. He frowned deeply and strode toward me, then stopped when he saw the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness is here as well.”

“It’s been a while, Sir Rubiche.”

The Crown Prince stood up. Then Rioel bowed his head respectfully. After that, he glanced sharply at me.

What. Why. What are you going to do?

I furrowed my brow and glared back at him with my eyes.

“Ena.”

Suddenly, the Crown Prince called my name.

He was calling me “Jwi-Bang-wool” this whole time, but now that Rioel was here, he used “Ena”?

I looked at him in confusion, and he smiled gently with his eyes before lowering his head to whisper in my ear.

“It saddens me to part from you. I’ll miss you dearly.”

I stiffly stared at him like a malfunctioning machine. That ridiculously handsome face was right in front of me.

As if amused by my reaction, he gave a crooked smile. Then, like a true gentleman from England, he slowly took my hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. The entire sequence of motions was smooth and elegant, so much so that I found myself staring at him in a daze without even realizing it.

No. It’s just because he’s so good-looking. God must’ve dumped all the visual stocks on this man.

“I’ll visit the Rubiche estate soon. Let’s talk more then.”

Then, unlike his first appearance when he’d sobbed like a baby, he casually waved a hand at Rioel and disappeared with a composed demeanor.

“What’s going on between you and the Crown Prince?”

Rioel asked me. He was a capable knight with a solid reputation within the Empire’s Order. With his sturdy build and tall frame, he crossed his arms and looked down at me, quite intimidating.

I gave him a sweet smile. He immediately scowled and took a step back.

“What the hell.”

“Are you starting to take an interest in me?”

Aw, cute. I was about to pat his butt, but he flinched and shouted.

“You crazy—what the hell are you doing!”

Of course, I didn’t actually plan to pat his butt.

I crossed my arms and asked him,

“So, why were you looking for me?”

Still fuming like a teenage boy, Rioel ruffled his light brown hair in frustration and glared at me.

Although not quite like the Crown Prince, Rioel was also a fairly handsome man—provided he kept his mouth shut. He had that vibe of a cool upperclassman who might twirl a basketball mid-game and go for a slam dunk on a university court.

“Father is looking for you.”

Rioel replied curtly. He always acted like he couldn’t stand me and made no effort to hide it.

Considering his position, it was understandable that he saw me, the adopted daughter, as an intruder. But no matter how much he disliked it, I was still his sister.

“Ohh, really? Then I should go. Let’s go.”

“Why would I go with you?”

I almost said, What kind of idiot logic is that?

“Aren’t you taking me to Father?”

When I asked with an incredulous expression, he looked flustered for a moment before sighing.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Then he just stood there, staring blankly at me. I couldn’t believe it and asked again,

“You don’t even know where he is, and you expect me to lead the way?”

At that, Rioel finally muttered a curse.

“Damn it. Why do you have to argue with every damn word?”

“Well, if you spoke clearly, maybe I wouldn’t.”

“You just never shut up! Forget it!”

“Forget what? What kind of noble talks worse than me?”

“Ugh, I’m sorry! I said I’m sorry, okay? Happy now? Please just stop! You’re not even cute! Why did I have to end up with a sister like you!”

In the end, Rioel screamed like a tantrum. He was simple and terrible at arguing. And though his words were rough, he had a surprisingly soft side.

For example, before I joined the Rubiche family, he was the one most excited about having a younger sister. And that was when he was already a fully grown twenty-year-old man.

Finally satisfied, I smiled and quietly followed behind him.

But really… could that Crown Prince truly be Cha Do-Hyuk?

I’d dropped into this world with my body intact, like a foreign substance. So why was that man here, living as someone else?

This feels a little unfair.