Chapter 2
“Oh Dan-eun
That was the name for the second round.
The girl, blinking her eyes, slapped her own cheek lightly—not hard enough to hurt.
“First, I need to find a safe place. Everything else can wait.”
And once she had a sense of her surroundings, she would have to go find the things that had been sent from the afterlife.
Even a martial-arts-ignorant like herself knew very well that wandering around empty-handed would be a surefire way to die screaming.
The girl entered a sparsely populated forest, lightly turning her head from side to side as she surveyed the surroundings.
She didn’t feel anything in particular, but she thought it was better to be safe.
She sat down on a suitable rock and closed her eyes. Thirty minutes—about half an hour—later, she opened her eyes.
“Haah.”
Her body was useless. Totally useless!
She couldn’t use magic.
At the very least, her soul needed to stabilize a bit.
“This is one of those things time will fix.”
Then, for everything else, she waved her hand in the air and opened the system given to her by the afterlife.
“Huh?”
[Name: Oh Dan-eun (吳煓听)]
“…….”
Oh my god. I’m losing it, really.
The girl—no, Oh Dan-eun—pressed her hand to her forehead. That earlier choice had just set her name.
She wanted to argue, “What kind of game is this for naming?” but the system would probably ignore her, that damn thing.
Glancing sideways at the system window, she let out a deep sigh.
“Well, let’s just think of it positively.”
Being called Dan-a before did make this a little fitting, she thought.
But the real reason she opened the system window was different.
The afterlife system had both free and paid versions.
If you could manage it yourself, you got the free version. If the afterlife had to manage it for you, it was the paid version—officially called the “expanded version.”
For example, the inventory locked with a padlock was using storage borrowed from the afterlife, so it was considered part of the paid version.
To use the expanded version, a pre-specified authentication item was required.
[Me: Give me what I left.]
[Delivery has arrived]
Thunk. Something fell onto her lap.
A cardboard box nearly as tall as her. Inside were a black staff, a diary, and a small palm-sized velvet box.
One hand rested on the staff while the other picked up and opened the small box.
Click.
Inside were dazzling earrings shaped like red camellia flowers, created by a friend using Kim So-hee’s birth flower.
“Can’t use these yet.”
They were too heavy.
She let magic flow through the staff—carefully, cautiously. Any mistake in controlling her magic now could destroy her body.
After finishing channeling the magic, she returned her gaze to the system window.
“Let’s see… what does the original story show?”
“…Why isn’t it showing?”
The original story was supposed to be standard.
For those possessed, the way to minimize a one-way ticket to hell was to replicate the original story’s ending. Naturally.
“No…”
She was speechless with disbelief.
Her eyes blinked constantly, but Dan-eun’s body steadily continued its tasks, taking over for her absent mind.
Pressing the GPS button brought up a map of China.
“Let’s see. Huh?”
Her location was marked in red. The blue marked the location of the authentication item needed for the paid version.
The map was displayed, but she didn’t know Chinese geography, so it was meaningless. She pressed her forehead against the text along the red line.
“Are you insane?”
1,388 km. On foot, about 15 days.
With her tiny, stunted body, it would take at least three more days, and considering rest time…
“Why is this happening? I should’ve started somewhere similar to before!”
She was truly in the middle of nowhere.
Ignorant of martial arts, unable to use magic properly, not even young…
And broke. Completely penniless.
“Alright.”
The staff, wrapped in magic, disintegrated into particles.
Dan-eun sprang up, fists clenched, striking a fighting pose.
She was determined to find work.
But it didn’t take long before her bold efforts led to frustration.
Why? She thought she could at least start as a low-level worker. In a place like this, wouldn’t even a young girl be able to work if she could understand instructions?
She got up, dusted off her clothes, placed her hands on her waist, leaned back slightly, did some light stretching, and relaxed her body.
If something couldn’t be done, there was nothing she could do.
At least her perception of reality was fast.
The sun was already setting, so she figured she should find somewhere to stay.
“Hey, you there.”
She turned at the call and saw a woman standing there. Dressed in the finest clothing she had seen so far.
“Looking for work, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
The woman slowly scanned Dan-eun from head to toe.
“You’re a girl?”
“…….”
After a brief silence, she nodded. She would be leaving soon anyway, so it didn’t matter where she went.
“I’m Nang-rang.”
“I’m Oh Dan-eun.”
“You’re quiet.”
Nang-rang gave a light laugh.
She led Dan-eun to a rather fancy ju-ru (a kind of upscale tavern or hostess establishment).
The patrons were likely high-ranking officials.
Dan-eun understood why she had been brought here.
From a young age, girls were taught essential talents to serve high-ranking officials: dance, musical instruments, calligraphy, Go, Janggi (Korean chess), etc. The cost of this training would, of course, become debt.
And there was one more important thing.
“You’re pretty.”
Her face.
For the first time, Dan-eun examined her face and let out a quiet “hoh” of admiration.
She hadn’t thought she’d admire her face now, but looking into the mirror, she turned her head lightly.
This was a face guaranteed a bright future unless something drastic happened.
She chuckled, hands on her waist.
“When you grow up, you might aim to be a national beauty.”
A ridiculous thought. For now, her goal was to work diligently, understand the world she was in, and learn to use magic before leaving this place.
Dan-eun worked diligently for several days: cleaning before the ju-ru opened, preparing for patrons, serving women, leading tasks, running errands.
When the ju-ru was lit and bustling, she would retreat to her assigned room to write.
The diary given by Haro had been replaced with a blank book from the ju-ru.
She couldn’t write the future in Hangul—it was too dreadful even to imagine.
One book for daily entries, another about her body. The latter she wrote in another world’s script to keep it secret.
She put down her brush, waited for the ink to dry, tidied up the book, and lay under the covers.
“Give it here.”
When Dan-eun held out her hand, the struggling child handed over the fabric. She adjusted the cloth and needle, swiftly sewing the thread.
She tied knots, cut excess thread, and put the needle away.
“There.”
“Thank you.”
The child watched Dan-eun close the sewing kit with a face full of wonder. Then, looking at her repaired clothes, she realized Dan-eun hadn’t just sewn—it was almost like embroidery had been done to hide the stitches.
In this ju-ru, the girl named Oh Dan-eun remained a mystery. Perhaps she was a young lady who had simply gotten lost.
So it wouldn’t be strange if Dan-eun suddenly disappeared one day.
A noble, coming to find a lost young lady, could whisk her away.
“Say hello. This person will now be responsible for you.”
Dan-eun lifted her head.
A man smiling broadly with pure curiosity. Mid-20s, maybe.
Her gaze fell on the sword at his waist.
He looked every bit like a noble from some distinguished family.
She bowed lightly, blinking. A window appeared, introducing him according to her will:
[Name: Hwang So-o (黃素娛)
Age: 28
Birthday: April 16
Special Notes: Error! Cannot view
Story Actions: Error! Cannot view]
Just as she thought.
Her eyes turned cold.
“I’m Hwang So-o.”
“I’m Oh Dan-eun.”
Dan-eun bid farewell to those who had helped her and packed her belongings. Thankfully, they had prepared some clothes, money, and a haegeum she had used.
Rather than traveling far, So-o secured another inn within Onju.
“I’m in Gangseo, not far but you’ll need to travel a bit.”
As he entered the room, he turned back, “If it’s uncomfortable, I can get another room for you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Okay, then.”
He set down her luggage lightly.
“I said I’d take care of you, but there are things I need to check first.”
He rested his chin thoughtfully.
“Well, instead of beating around the bush, I’ll ask directly—do you have anywhere you want revenge on?”
“No?”
But was this really a question to ask so casually?
