MFMLC 01

Chapter 01

Sadly, I had terrible luck with winning things since I was very young.

In middle school, I spent my entire savings of 1 million won on a fan signing event for an idol I liked—and got rejected. (A friend who only bought one ticket got selected.)

I sold my personal information for all kinds of events, but I never once even won a 5th-place prize.

After failing the college entrance exam and going through multiple reattempts, I barely got into university through the very last round of admissions. After graduation, I went through a total of 97 job interviews—and failed all of them.

After realizing my limits, I decided to pursue a new future.

“Yeah~ I’ll just go to a neighboring country and sell DelX buns~ I don’t need anything else~”

Even the company where I reached the final interview rejected me, and yesterday I was eating soup rice, trying to find inner peace.

And today, I finally received a call saying I passed the final interview at a company.

“Huh, I got a job! I got a job!”

From the start, it felt like a suspicious company, but it was fine!

It was a place with a stingy salary that couldn’t support retirement.

A company that only got bad reviews no matter where you searched.

Rumored 80% turnover rate.

If you searched the company name on anonymous communities, you’d only see employees cursing nonstop—but okay.

I could just work one year and then switch jobs later!

My poor, unemployed life full of low self-esteem was finally over.

Since I was in a good mood, it was time to buy beer, beer, and more beer to fill my empty fridge.

But the elevator in my apartment building was barely surviving after being neglected by corrupt building representatives who had been misusing maintenance fees.

While a survey about replacing the old elevator was ongoing, I stepped inside.

And then it fell.

Just like that, I died without even being exploited by the company I got hired at.

“Ah, no. I can’t go to the afterlife alone. I’m taking all the interviewers with me.”

The world turned completely dark.

Fortunately, I didn’t feel any pain when I died.

I slowly tried to breathe.

‘Why can I still breathe?’

A soft, warm breeze brushed past my nose and cheeks.

The terrible fear washed away instantly.

I touched my body.

“What…? I don’t think I’m dead?”

When I opened my eyes slightly, I saw a bright blue sky.

Was everything from getting the job just a dream?

…If so, that’s a relief.

But at the same time, I felt a little disappointed because I wanted to drag all those people who rejected me down with me.

‘That’s a selfish thought.’

While I blinked blankly, my body slowly regained sensation.

‘Why does the top of my head hurt? Why am I lying here?’

I had a strong fear of ticks for 10 years, so I never lay down on grass.

Where am I, why does my head hurt, and why am I lying sideways looking at the sky?

I tried to slowly get up.

A boy with red eyes suddenly leaned his face close to me.

I stared at his unreal face for a few seconds, then screamed late.

“Ahhh! What?!”

“Are you okay? I already called a doctor! Are you awake now?”

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“This is our mansion’s garden. What happened? Did you get seriously injured when you fell?”

I touched the top of my head slightly.

It was wet.

“Don’t touch it! You’re bleeding.”

“Bleeding?! Why? Why am I bleeding?”

“…Why are you suddenly speaking politely? You got knocked out by a chestnut burr. Don’t you remember?”

Ah, wait. So I fainted after getting hit by a chestnut burr?

Oh my god, how embarrassing.

Because I had been preparing for employment for so long, I must have become weak.

I couldn’t stay lying here forever.

I ignored the handsome young man who kept speaking informally and tried to go home.

I straightened my body.

‘My body feels light?’

This wasn’t the body of Choi Yeonji that was built from fast food, alcohol, and delivery meals.

Not a modern body full of indigestion, headaches, and disc problems—but a light and delicate body.

Even when I was a teenager, my body was never this light.

“Lana, if you suddenly stand up after fainting—!”

“…Lana?”

At the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar name, I tilted my head.

Then I realized the boy in front of me looked oddly familiar.

‘Is it even possible for someone to look like this in real life?’

As my mind cleared, I understood the situation.

A few days ago, my friend forced a novel on me.

I ended up getting completely obsessed with the second male lead, Harriet Raymoon from Two Men Who Make My Heart Waver.

Harriet was too kind and soft-hearted, and because he was a duke near the capital instead of the northern region.

The heroine, Selene, with special abilities, chose the crown prince “Kelient,” who was as dangerous as his yellowish personality.

Sadly, even with his imperial noble background, Harriet still became the second male lead.

Fine! I could accept Selene dating the rude Kelient.

But marriage should be with a kind, gentle man for a stable future—Selene, you fool.

I became so obsessed with Harriet that I kept thinking about him all day.

To the point that he even replaced my long-empty “favorite” position.

The illustrations in the novel showed a face like this too. Silver hair and red eyes…

“Harriet?”

My mouth moved before my brain could even think.

Harriet nodded and met my eyes.

‘Is this even real?’

While I was still stunned, memories suddenly rushed into my head.

Fragments of someone else’s life that did not belong to me.

But they felt so real, as if I had experienced them myself, that I grabbed my head with both hands.

Not all memories returned, but enough to live as the owner of this body.

The last memory came back—before I fainted from the chestnut burr.

‘I’m done. I don’t even want to see Harriet anymore.’

I remembered running while screaming that in my head, then getting hit and collapsing.

‘So I’ve possessed a novel, and this body belongs to Lana Demierd?’

Now I understood why the name felt familiar.

Lana Demierd was the woman who married Harriet in the side story of Two Men Who Make My Heart Waver.

She was a longtime friend and extra character who watched Harriet suffer from unrequited love.

She gave up her long-held decision to live alone because of Harriet.

She suggested a contract marriage, thinking her influence as a duchess could help protect his power.

“I can live in the empire without special abilities, and you can avoid marriage troubles. I thought about it. There’s only one answer. Marriage. It’s a bit late, but should we just get married?”

It sounded exactly like a side story full of complaints.

Readers reacted just like my friend who introduced me to this novel.

They didn’t want a story where the second male lead goes off and finds someone new.

In the side story, Harriet is healed by Lana’s calm and reliable personality, and eventually falls for her.

There were so many comments like angry posts:

“So the reason Harriet is second male lead is because he suddenly falls for another woman one year after Selene’s marriage?”
“Rare to see a duke not as main lead, but now I understand why. His heart is too unstable!”
“Dropping Harriet today. Get lost, unfaithful second male lead.”
“Who is Lana Demierd? Never seen her before, now I can’t focus on the story.”

Anyway, Lana was a princess with little influence compared to her title as a duke’s daughter.

Until the side story, she was barely mentioned.

A noble lady without abilities, ignored by society, engaged to no one until 22.

She became a duchess but gave up her family for her childhood friend.

And she had almost no personal storyline in the novel.

I recalled the moment right before Lana fainted.

Strangely, I couldn’t remember why she ran away saying she didn’t want to see Harriet.

What is this?

I blinked blankly and asked Harriet.

“…Harriet?”

“Yes. The doctor is coming soon. Let’s stay here.”

Seeing my favorite character worry about me made my mouth twitch.

It seemed like Lana had run away after saying she hated Harriet, so they must have fought.

But Harriet, carefully removing chestnut burr thorns from my hair, was very gentle.

Even with such a grotesque sight, his voice remained kind.

“We’re about to become adults. Don’t get hurt like this.”

“Yeah, this is embarrassing. But Harriet, you’re too close…”

His breath on my head made me dizzy.

I pushed him away and slowly tried to understand the situation.

This is probably around where the original story begins.

Since there are no memories of the heroine Selene in Lana’s mind, nothing has started yet.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? You should get treatment first. It takes six hours to get to the duchy.”

“I’ll get treated at home. I’m going back!”

Leaving the worried Harriet behind, I ran toward the garden exit.

Thoughts rushed in.

What happened to the soul of Lana Demierd?

So I’ve basically possessed a side character who, after a few years, will easily get the 2D man I recently obsessed over (now 3D) without much effort?

‘Is it worse if this is just a dream?’

Sorry to the real Lana, but the moment I realized it, I didn’t want to go back.

There was almost no chance I survived the accident in my original world anyway.

If I live in this body, I don’t have to go through job interviews or exploitation anymore.

Honestly, I probably didn’t want to work in a company with an 80% resignation rate anyway!

Even if I went back, all I had was an old house, a messy bank account, and a broken family.

And I didn’t even know how to die peacefully.

“Sorry. I’ll live as you until you come back.”

I didn’t know where the real Lana’s soul went.

I also knew that if she ever came back and asked for her body, I should return it.

But since I ended up here against my will…

Maybe I should just quietly play the role of Lana.