Chapter 2
Fortunately, the person reflected in the mirror was Han Jia herself. As she confirmed her smooth forehead without any injuries, a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
“Phew, thank goodness. It was just a dream…”
“…Are you crazy?”
“I’m not crazy…”
“What the heck!”
The door suddenly swung open.
“Who, no, wait… Mrs. Song?”
To make matters worse, the person who appeared was Mrs. Song, with her hawk-like eyes; she was Shin Sera’s mother. Jia vaguely remembered the plot of the drama but couldn’t recall the appearance of the other characters. Yet their names came to mind as soon as she saw them. How did this happen?
“Ah, ugh…”
The intensity of the headache that was tormenting her brain increased. Unable to overcome the pain, Jia hesitated and sat back down in her place. Mrs. Song shouted at her, facing the pale-faced girl.
“Why are you suddenly protesting again? One minute you’re whining, wanting to be a vice president, and the next you’re sitting in the corner of the room!”
It couldn’t be a dream. The headache pain felt too real. Jia, with a pale face, stuttered and tried to respond.
“I’m… not Sera. I, I’m really not… Sera…”
Bzzt! Suddenly, dizziness overwhelmed her. In an instant, as consciousness blurred, Jia lost her balance and collapsed to the floor.
“Sera? Sera!”
“Sera!”
‘If it’s a crazy dream… I hope I wake up soon.’
Before her consciousness completely faded, Jia earnestly wished for it.
* * *
“It’s a short-term memory loss due to a concussion. The impulse control issue… seems to persist.”
She just had a heart attack at the historic moment of successfully acquiring her own house, and to top it off, she possessed the villainess Shin Sera with a death flag hanging over her. What a ridiculous situation this was.
It was too delusional to simply accept this ludacris reality. Initially, Jia denied the situation she found herself in. No, she denied it to the point of losing her mind for a few days, wasted her time trying to wake up from the dream, and even attempted various ways to return to reality, nearly dying in the process.
Eventually, she ended up being dragged to the hospital.
“Professor, what will happen to Sera from now on?”
Mrs. Song asked Professor Kim, who was in charge of the diagnosis, with a worried expression.
“Her memories will naturally return as time passes, so you don’t have to worry too much. Just focus on managing stress for now.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Forget about memory loss. Jia grumbled inwardly, feeling noticeably relieved next to Mrs. Song, who seemed reassured.
“You heard that? They’ll process your sick leave, so you’ll stay home for a while. Secretary Kim, please take Sera home.”
“Yes, Madam. I will take care of Miss Sera.”
“Sera, aren’t you going to answer?”
“Yeah… no, uh, yes, got it.”
Jia muttered complaints to herself but obediently stood up from her seat. She no longer had the will or energy to rebel.
But still, of all people, she had become Shin Sera.
The twists of fate were too cruel. Every character appearing in the drama was insane in their own way, and becoming the target of relentless attacks from deranged individuals was undoubtedly the worst possible outcome.
‘I really became that damn Sera,’ Jia muttered to herself as she returned home, staring intensely at her reflection in the mirror.
Although she had taken on the role of Sera while maintaining Jia’s original body, not everything was the same as before. Perhaps due to the setting of being the illegitimate daughter of a conglomerate family, she had transformed into a woman who exuded elegance from head to toe, emanating an air of sophistication.
It was unbelievable, yet Jia had no choice but to accept the fact that she had become Sera, especially as Sera’s memories gradually seeped into her mind. Most of the fragmented memories were surprisingly filled with wickedness, humiliation, anger, and calamity.
‘I don’t want to die again…’
Jia clenched her fists as an overwhelming sensation of fear took over. Amidst all the confusion, it was ironic that her survival instinct remained strong.
In all likelihood, the Jia in the previous reality would have died. But just in case, by some slim chance, if she was miraculously still alive… she wanted to do whatever it took to return to her own body. She wanted to reclaim Jia’s life.
Fortunately, the drama had not yet descended into complete chaos. The turning point for the drama to plunge into full-fledged madness was when Sera got married. So there might still be a chance for a happy ending.
To return to reality, she first had to survive as Sera.
Or perhaps she could completely exit this damn drama.
If Sera disappeared, wouldn’t someone else take on the role of the villain? After all, it was a fundamentally absurd melodrama; who would care about a character wreaking havoc?
‘Let’s leave. That’s the answer.’
A resolute light gleamed in Jia’s eyes. Since she had fallen into this damn drama for the first time, she felt a surge of determination.
***
“What? What are you talking about?”
Mrs. Song was taken aback by Sera’s declaration to leave Seoul. She squinted her eyes in a menacing manner and clumsily imitated the tone of the original Sera’s speech.
“As you know… my condition hasn’t been good lately. So, I think it would be better for me to leave Seoul for a while for recuperation.”
Mrs. Song jumped up from her seat and shouted in disbelief, “Are you possessed by a ghost? After doing all sorts of strange things, now you’re suddenly saying this? You’re not in your right mind! Where do you think you’re going? What about the company? Are you out of your mind?”
“Well… if I spend time breathing in fresh air, my memories might come back, you know? And being vice president… I think it was just excessive ambition on my part, considering my lack of competence.”
“Sera, you really!”
Sera took a step back, startled by Mrs. Song’s outburst. She pounded her chest and vented her frustration.
“Everyone can’t wait to devour you, and you speak so easily about destroying the company? What about Mr. Cha? You really want to be kicked out without earning a penny!”
Who was this Mr. Cha anyway?
A fire ignited in Sera’s mind as she grumbled. If it were Cha Jae-eon, he would be the arranged marriage partner for Shin Sera and later fall in love with the female lead, Lee Seon-kyung.
Having no fiancé was safer than having one.
“I’ll quit the company and break off the engagement. If you have to kick me out, well… do it. Anyway, did I make myself clear?”
“You–? Hey, Shin Sera!”
Ignoring Mrs. Song’s shout, Sera climbed the stairs in a hurry. From the perspective of a third party, it was quite a tiring drama. The characters kept shouting and yelling without a break.
Just as Sera’s energy drained from a conversation that lasted only a few minutes, she stumbled and leaned against the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“…Lee Ro-un.”
Sera’s tense expression made Ro-un uneasy. He stared at her with a twisted expression.
Sera’s head snapped around, her expression tense. Ro-un was staring at her with a stern expression.
Shin-sera’s father, Chairman Shin, and Ro-un’s father, Chairman Jung, were co-founders of Sungwon Group, and Ro-un was the illegitimate child who came into light years after Chairman Jung’s death.
Chairman Shin treated Ro-un like his own son, who bears a striking resemblance to Chairman Jung. Naturally, Shin Sera, with Ro-un’s emergence out of nowhere as her rival, despised Ro-un to the point of hatred, hurling all kinds of insults and abuse at him.
“You’re just a bastard who lived off your mother’s sponsorship from Chairman Jung, right? You’re just like those filthy people.”
“You dare to go beyond Sungwon, you worthless scum who rolls around without any principles? Get lost, just disappear!”
“Since you have your mother’s face and a resemblance to Chairman Jung, why don’t you lick the boots of some rich family’s daughter? Just maybe, you’ll get something. You can do that, can’t you?”
At first, Ro-un had no thoughts about it, but gradually he grew to hate Sera. After she drunkenly caused a scene at a sponsorship party, revealing his birth, their relationship deteriorated to its worst state.
‘What will happen in the future? If it follows the original, Ro-un will…’
He falls in love with Lee Seon-kyung, who fully understands his deficiencies and wants to protect her. Then he completely ruins Sera to the point of being incapacitated. In the end, he stages a car accident to kill her.
“….”
Recalling the unfortunate fate that awaited her in the future, Sera lowered her head with a dark expression. Ro-un’s eyes, misunderstanding her attitude as disrespectful, turned cold. He approached her, his gaze filled with ridicule, and spoke in a mocking tone.
“Are you giving up and leaving everything behind?”
“….”
“You’re blabbering about Sungwon or discussing irrelevant matters. What nonsense are you trying to create?”
Sera quietly retorted, avoiding his gaze. Ro-un chuckled, as if finding her behavior ridiculous.
“Why are you pretending to be scared? Did you really lose your mind like you claimed?”
Even though their relationship was not good, wasn’t this too extreme?
Even in the midst of her fear, a sense of indignation surged within her. She knew that holding back was the best course of action, but it felt unfair to be blamed for something she hadn’t done.
In the end, Sera raised her head defiantly and asked in return.
“What would you do if I really lost my mind, as you say?”
