Chapter 01
This possession…
I wondered if something was wrong.
I thought about that on the bus heading to the summer camp.
“Huh, why is it suddenly acting like this?”
While driving along the forest road for a while, my car suddenly started making unpleasant noises and tried to stop.
Rattle-rattle-rattle…. Rattle…. Clunk.
I barely managed to steer it to the shoulder before the situation got worse, and then the car completely broke down. No matter how many times I tried to start it again, it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s finally broken down.”
Though it felt like I was accepting reality, honestly, I was a mess inside.
It was a junker that gave a bad impression from our first meeting. Still, I thought it would be fine since it ran better than it looked. To break down in such a remote place after running well all this time.
‘Christine’s parents must’ve been seriously ripped off when they bought this car secondhand.’
I took out my phone but hesitated. Who should I call? I’d rather not call my parents if possible…
Since they weren’t my biological parents, it felt awkward dealing with them. Well, it’s not like I have any adoption or secret birth story.
“But I guess I have no choice in this situation.”
They still think I’m their daughter, Christine Hilton, so they’ll help if I call.
So I dialed one of my parents’ numbers, but….
Beep beep beep beep beep—.
The call wouldn’t connect. It was the same with other numbers, and even the internet wasn’t working. I held my phone up high outside the window and moved around trying to catch a signal, but it was useless.
Is my crappy phone dead along with the junker car? Or is this place so remote that phones don’t work?
I need to get to the campsite and start my job. If I save my wages for about three months during college break, I might be able to at least replace my phone, if not the car.
‘But first, I need to be rescued from this crisis.’
I got out of the car and looked around. This is a national park in central South Carolina, where the trees are much taller and denser than in Korea, making it a gloomy place where sunlight barely reaches.
It’s already not a well-known place, but not a single car passed by on this route. Not even an ant… well no, the ground was actually crawling with them.
“Why are even the ants so big in this country! It’s so creepy!”
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…
The eerie cicada sounds in the humid air seemed to announce my current situation.
The whole area was full of insects, very humid and hot…. Wiping my forehead, unsure if it was sweat from the heat or cold sweat, I waited for any car that might pass by.
Missing even one car would make it uncertain when I could leave this place. I kept checking both ends of the road, craning my neck.
Ah! A bus is approaching from the entrance direction!
I’m saved! No, I must be saved!
Tapping into the Korean spirit of making myself noticeable, I ran to the center of the road, spread my arms wide, and jumped up and down to draw as much attention as possible. The bus grew closer, its bright yellow color revealing it to be a school bus.
Noticing my presence, the bus slowed down as it approached and finally came to a stop.
Screech—.
When the front door opened, I quickly ran over, and the driver spoke to me.
“Miss, is something wrong?”
“Hello! My car has completely broken down.”
The bus driver started discussing with other adults in the front seats. Glancing further inside, I saw people around my age. Some were in casual clothes, but there were also some in athletic wear or cheerleader uniforms. Maybe it’s some kind of physical education summer training camp.
A man and woman who looked like coaches stood up and spoke.
“Let’s start by taking a look at this young lady’s car.”
“Sure, let’s give it a shot.”
The coaches, who also worked as campus security guards, wore uniforms with name tags pinned on their chests.
The man’s tag read Bill, and the woman’s read Linda.
“Thank you so much!”
Even after they tried various things to help, my car wouldn’t budge.
Finally, Coach Linda called someone who might be able to solve this problem. But judging by the beeping sound from the receiver, it seemed calls weren’t going through, just like what I experienced earlier.
“The phone’s not working since earlier. At this rate, there might be something wrong with the cell tower.”
“Can’t be helped. We need to get going too. Why don’t you come with us, miss? Where were you headed?”
“Green Lake Camp.”
“What? That’s where we’re going too. But surely you weren’t going camping alone…?”
“Ah, I’m supposed to start working there today.”
“Ah, so you’re staff. Well, lucky for you, we’re going the same way. Hop on. Let’s work together once you start.”
As I thanked them and got on the bus, the passengers started murmuring when they noticed me.
“Wait a sec. Isn’t that Christine Hilton?”
“Yeah, the weirdo from our school.”
Damn it. Of course, they’re from the same university as Christine—St. Louis University.
“Did you hear? They say she sacrificed a live chicken in the abandoned dormitory.”
“Ugh! Disgusting.”
Even though I didn’t want to know, I’d heard enough about Christine’s notorious reputation for doing crazy things right up until the possession.
‘What did she offer…?’
I just opened my eyes wide in surprise, but all the college students on the bus avoided my gaze at once.
“Did you see that? Why does she stare like that?”
“So creepy. Hey, don’t make eye contact. She’ll lunge at you and bite”
Hmm, judging by their reactions, this rumor must be close to the truth too.
Suppressing a sigh, I climbed aboard.
The moment I did, the passengers sitting nearby started bustling about. They placed their backpacks on empty seats or slid to the far side of their spots.
This was clearly their way of saying, Don’t sit next to me. It wasn’t just dislike—it seemed they were genuinely afraid of me.
Or rather, afraid of Christine Hilton.
‘Just what kind of life did this girl live?’
Left with no choice, I found a seat all the way in the back—at the very end—and sat down.
Might as well put on my wireless earbuds and try to get some sleep.
‘Has it been two weeks already?’
Since I, a new college student, was possessed into this world. While watching shows on SetFlix until late at night, and as I shook my head to stave off sleepiness, I suddenly got hit with orthostatic hypotension—and bam, possession.
The moment I possessed, I was being scolded by Christine’s parents for the wild things she had done.
Thankfully, as someone who had read countless possession-themed web novels, I adapted quickly and took stock of the situation. Christine’s lingering memories also helped.
Back then, I thought this was the America I knew, until I tried logging into all the SNS accounts I used to check if Christine’s soul and mine had switched places.
Ridiculously, there wasn’t a single trace of me, Kim In-ah, in this world.
No CocoaTalk, no Eastergram, no Faceonbook, no Twister—not even accounts I’d used for web novel platforms. Nothing.
‘All my precious web novel collections—why didn’t I delete them before this happened? Please, please, even if I died mysteriously in my original world, don’t let them do forensic analysis on my phone…’
It wasn’t just me. There was no sign of any of the people I knew—no friends, no acquaintances, not even distant connections.
Let’s say I was hacked by some mysterious hacker. But other people too? Is this even possible normally?
Finally, I came to a conclusion. This must be something like a parallel universe.
Haahh. I worked hard on the college entrance exam and got in, and instead of having fun and excitement… I was adapting to tough campus life managing my GPA. Then overnight, what awaited me was an unfamiliar American campus.
With my cheek resting on my hand, I stared out the window with a blank expression. The window reflected a typical beauty with a slender figure, blonde hair, and blue eyes.
‘With looks like these, it should be impossible not to be popular.’
But speaking of Christine Hilton? Getting caught attempting various black magic rituals at school from dawn, being caught drinking unidentified blood from a thermos, threatening boys who hit on her based on looks with her hunting knife. And from what I heard earlier, she apparently bit someone too.
‘Wow, she really checked off every box for crazy…’
I understand why she’s treated this way despite her looks.
But her parents seemed unable to give up on their wayward daughter. 24-hour nagging and frequent contact bordering on surveillance. Even after I, the new inhabitant of Christine’s body, swore I wouldn’t cause any more trouble, they didn’t believe me.
‘That’s why she applied to work at the camp during summer break and used that excuse to escape after getting accepted.’
While I was lost in self-pity, I sensed movement beside me. Someone’s going to sit next to the notorious Christine? What fearless person is this?
I lowered the hand supporting my chin and glanced sideways. A stunningly attractive face, oozing charm, stared back at me.
“Hey, Christine. Sorry to hear about your car breaking down. Mind if I sit next to you?”
A delicate face on a not-so-delicate large body. This is Alex Ramey, an amateur league football player. With black hair and cold grey eyes, but his eye-smile reveals his flirtatious nature.
On campus, he was just as famous for his playboy reputation as for his athletic skills. And yet, there were countless people—men and women, young and old alike—who’d line up just to spend even a day with him. Even I, only two weeks into this bizarre possession and having just started my summer break, knew his name because people talked about him nonstop.
Sure, if anyone had the guts to sit next to me, it’d be someone like him.
‘Let’s pretend to listen to music and ignore him…’
“I know you’re not listening to anything.”
Tch! He’s got a good hearing, as expected of an athlete.
I definitely played music on my connected phone.
But the Bluetooth must have failed to connect because the sound blared from the phone.
CRASH!
BOOM BOOM!
KYAAAAAAA!
ROAAAAAAR!
W-what’s with this music selection! Cave-like screams that are hard to believe came from humans, and lyrics all about devil worship…
‘Christine, your taste is unreal. Couldn’t you have had some reverse charm and listened to K-pop or something?’
With music wailing like the opening of a slasher movie in the background, Alex and I made eye contact. His eyes curved into an effortlessly charming smile.
“Rock music? That’s so you, Christine.”
Thank you for reading! ♡
