CH 24

{ Chapter 24 – The Possessor’s Circumstances }

“…Ha.”

Luckily, Lumia arrived at the academy on time and hurried to class.

As she walked, she suddenly stopped and turned her gaze to the side.

‘I still have some time left.’

She thought, noticing a newly opened shop.

– Growl…

Her stomach rumbled as she stared at the canteen. 

She had woken up early to stop by Lee Se-ah's house and hadn't had breakfast. 

Even if she had woken up at her usual time, it would have been impossible to eat.

“Hello.”

Approaching the store with a friendly smile, Lumia greeted the lady who ran the shop.

“Yes, student. What are you here for?”

Lumia’s kind smile, which has a neutral appearance, always gave her an upper hand in human relationships regardless of gender.

“Would you like a cup of rice?”

“Oh, if I eat a lot of that kind of thing, my health will deteriorate.”

“Haha, is that so?”

‘There are a lot of benefits to be gained by getting close to this lady.’

She knew that building a relationship with the shop owner would be helpful in a scenario that might arise in the future.

Even if that weren't the case, as the main character, there were limitless benefits to becoming close with the kiosk lady.

‘For example, sometimes in that corner…’

So, with a quiet smile, Lumia shifted her gaze to the kiosk next to her.

“uh?”

But just at that moment, something completely unexpected caught her eye.

“This…”

She rubbed her eyes several times and looked again, but it was still the same.

It wasn't the white mask she knew and loved enough to engrave on all of her possessions, but rather a black mask that differed only in color, with a slight crack, displayed on the stall.

“Ah, ma’am. This…”

“Ah, that?”

Lumia, who was trying hard to keep a smile, stretched out her trembling hand and pointed at the mask, and the lady scratched her head and said.

“I recently found it while cleaning the courtyard. It looked pretty, so I'm using it to decorate the shop.”

Hearing those words, Lumia’s eyes began to widen.

‘The mask worn by Trauma… The mask that Kang Ha-neul was wearing… The breath of the Ha-neul touched it directly…’

This rare item could not be missed.

She had to get her hands on it no matter what.

She was really lucky that the store lady picked it up and so far it hasn’t been collected, but if there was a student who recognized this mask...

It was clear that she would never be able to obtain this mask again or use it to decorate her home.

“Oh, aunt.”

“yes?”

“Could you… can’t you give it to me?”

Lumia, who had gone crazy with her thoughts up to that point, asked a question in a trembling voice.

“That's just not okay. There are no freebies for business people?”

Then the old woman waved her finger with a mischievous expression and continued.

“Ten thousand won.”

“…yes?”

“Give me 10,000 won, and I’ll give it to you.”

After hearing those words, Lumia began to make a slightly troubled expression.

“Hey, that’s…”

“Huh? Lumia?”

Was it a joke of fate? It was at that moment that Ariel’s voice began to be heard from behind.

‘…F*ck.’

Lumia cursed inwardly. She had to make a decision quickly.

“Wow... Here’s ten thousand won.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Can I take it now?”

Lumia hurriedly took out 10,000 won from her wallet and took the mask from the stall.

“Yes, yes. Why not…?”

Lumia took the mask in her hand and tucked it into her arms.

‘Kang Ha-neul… in mine…’

As the cold mask touched her skin, she was trembling with an expression that seemed to melt.

“Hello!”

But her reverie was interrupted by Ariel's greeting.

“……uh.”

Lumia, who held the mask in her heart, glanced at Ariel who had greeted her and then stiffened.

“……..”

Standing next to Ariel was Temporary Professor Oh Ji-seok, looking at her coldly.

It was only a fleeting moment, and he was smiling at Ariel before he knew it.

Lumia knew...

That he was none other than Kang Ha-neul.

And the reason was simple.

Oh Ji-seok was not in the academy at that time, and his appearance was very similar to Kang Ha-neul's face.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Yes, yes?”

He was asking Ariel with a gentle expression on his face.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! I, I…”

“Egg crackers and sweet chips, please.”

“I’m not hungry now…”

“Cupbap, too.”

“Uh, um…”

However, the more he spoke the more Ariel’s words became blurred.

“The cupbap here is delicious. Let’s eat one.”

“Ah, thanks.”

“Here, eat some sweets.”

“Thank you…”

In the end, Ariel lowered her head and muttered something.

“Growing children need to eat a lot.”

Kang Ha-neul gently stroked her hair and said.

“…….”

The two of them left the kiosk with a strange atmosphere.

“Student? So, are you going to buy cup rice or not?”

Lumia, who had been watching the scene blankly from start to finish, heard the words and quietly rummaged through her wallet.

“I can’t afford it.”

Of course, the wallet was empty.

Because the 10,000 won she just paid was all she had.

Thanks to that, today, she had to fill her stomach with water.

“Goodbye.”

“……?”

Leaving behind the bewildered aunt, Lumia, who began to take a lonely step, quietly stared forward.

“Oh right, I accidentally bought two more meal tickets…”

“…yes?”

Kang Ha-neul’s eyes were only fixed on Ariel.

‘Should I just kill them all?’

A thought popped into her head as she paused for a moment.

She wanted to get rid of all the women around Kang Ha-neul and escape from this place with him.

She wanted to reveal all her secrets and go somewhere together.

As long as she could be with Kang Ha-neul, it didn’t matter to her whether she was a hero, a villain, or a monster.

However, women who tried to get close to her Sunbae would need to be cut off.

But she wanted to hide her true nature forever and stay by his side until the end of this world.

‘That’s not allowed.’

But soon after, she shook her head and moved forward again.

‘Then Sunbae will be sad.’

Every time she saw Ariel sitting next to Kang Ha-neul, she was full of heart to kill her, but she bit her lip and held it down until it bled.

‘I hate seeing Sunbae sad.’

Suppressing her innate nature, Lumia quietly began to follow them.

‘How can I take the Sunbae back?’

Her thoughts started to run fast.

‘How can I make him strangle me and hack me to pieces?’

She wouldn’t know if it was begging and hacking, but of course, she didn’t like being victimized.

However, if it was Kang Ha-neul, it was different.

Despite her innate nature, she was able to tolerate whatever she suffered from Kang Ha-neul.

Because...

Kang Ha-neul became her arch-enemy, to be trampled on, trampled upon, obsessed with, and killed by him.

It was the only way to save him.

‘I have to find it sooner rather than later.’

She, who had abandoned her nature for the sake of her love, looked at the back of Kang Ha-neul and started thinking over and over again.

‘How can I change the route again?’

She grabbed her hungry stomach, ignoring the pain in her chest.

‘…Where the hell did things go wrong?’

Holding the mask in her arms even tighter, she remembered the time when she had just possessed this world.

.

.

.

.

.

When she closed her eyes, she only knew that the world would end as it was.

“…really?”

But when she just opened her eyes, she was a white-haired girl.

“Am I really Lumia?”

It was amazing.

Because she became the character in the work she loved most.

Even the person she became was Lumia, with whom she felt a sense of unity because of their similar appearance.

“Ha ha ha…”

Once she accepted the situation, laughter erupted incessantly.

“Ha ha ha ha ha…..”

Because the wish she had for a short time at the moment of her death, to meet him in person, became a reality.

Judging from the body shape and appearance, it was several years ago from the beginning of the original work.

In other words, it was before Kang Ha-neul became Trauma.

“It’s the worst.”

A delusion that was always unfolding alone, which many fans around the world wrote down as fanfictions, different from the original began to appear in her head:

What if Trauma hadn’t become a villain?

What if there was at least one person reaching out to him?

What if he had met the main character or ‘her’ a little earlier?

It was an opportunity to directly live the stories and questions going around the community.

“Shall I kidnap Kang Ha-neul first? Trick him to love me? No, kill all those bi*ches first…”

Filled with such anticipation, she began to mutter.

“…No, let’s calm down.”

Then, she took a deep breath and lay down on the bed.

“I should save my favorite.”

She didn't know how this happened, but once she was faced with the situation, she thought about suppressing her nature this time.

Because it was a great opportunity to ‘save’ her favorite and feel pure love.

If she made that dark past into a thing that never happened in the first place.

If only she could be special to him.

Maybe caressing his belly, normal life, leaning next to him, and sleeping, didn’t seem too bad.

“Then, first, get the information…”

She got up from her seat with a happy smile and decided that from now on she would be called Lumia.

– Tring…!

“……?”

It was then that the smartphone rang in her pants pocket.

“Hello?”

After thinking for a while, she answered the phone with a smile to get information.

– Lumia. I have some news to tell you.

However, at the next moment, she had no choice but to get up from her seat with a puzzled expression on her face.

– Justia is dead.

“What?”

The moment she transmigrated, was when the day Justia fell.

– Since we urgently arrested Kang Ha-neul who was at the scene, let’s go this way…

And it was the day that Kang Ha-neul was arrested for the murder of Justia.

“…F*ck.”

She spat out in a desperate voice at the amazing timing of the transmigration.