Ch. 1
"Young Miss Selene."
"Young Miss, are you awake now?"
Yuna stirred beneath a comforter far softer than she remembered. Her brow furrowed at the sound of the voice gentle, feminine and unfamiliar.
The name was wrong.
Young Miss?
She groaned softly, blinking against the harsh morning sunlight that poured through floor-to-ceiling windows.
She turned her head lazily, expecting to see the familiar skyline of Seoul, maybe the edge of her marble coffee table or the blinking lights of her charging devices.
But what greeted her wasn't her penthouse.
It was... yellow.
Too yellow.
"...Weird," she mumbled.
Pushing herself upright, Yuna blinked hard. Then once more and again. The room was enormous with a ornate molding, elegant drapes, gold-gilded mirrors, and a chandelier that looked like it belonged in a royal palace.
She froze.
This wasn't anything she knew.
Her breath caught.Her last memory rushed back in fragments. She'd been working late and she tried to read the Love's Illusion novel, that irritatingly addictive novel— and then...
She felt a sharp pain in her chest.
Darkness after and that unfamiliar voice.
And now... here is??
The soft knock came again, more hesitant this time.
"Y-Young Miss?"
That again?
Yuna's hands gripped the edge of the massive bed. Her fingers trembled slightly. She needed a mirror.
Now.
Throwing the covers aside, she padded across the room and stopped dead in front of the vanity. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The reflection was... not her.
Gone was her long, sleek black hair, her mature jawline, and cool gaze that could disarm boardrooms.
In the mirror stood a young girl, maybe nineteen, with soft hazel-brown curls, olive-toned skin, and large almond-shaped eyes the color of dusk.
Her lips were naturally full, her features delicate and symmetrical, almost doll-like.
A stranger.
Yet when she raised her hand, so did the girl.
"This is... not my face." Her voice trembled.
She leaned in closer. Her skin was flawless. Not even a wrinkle or the light scar on her chin from a biking accident at fifteen. Yuna stumbled back, gripping the edge of the vanity for support.
"This is crazy. Am I dreaming? Hallucinating?" she muttered.
"No. That glass of wine didn't hit that hard."
Another knock.
"Young Miss, are you alright?"
She exhaled shakily.
Okay. Yuna take a deep breath and focus.
This body was younger and so different... But it was hers now.
Somehow?
And the maid outside clearly thought she was someone else. And then it hit her like a brick.
The villainess from the novel. That arrogant heiress and the main antagonist of Love's Illusion that she was reading a while ago.
Her jaw dropped.
No way! No. Freaking. Way.
"I transmigrated," she whispered in disbelief.
"Into a damn novel... is that really possible?"
The irony almost made her laugh. She had scoffed at this trope just hours ago. Another knocked hit the door but this time it was firm and deliberately.
"The masters are expecting you in the dining hall, Young Miss."
Still in daze, Yuna turned to the massive wardrobe, cracking it open to find a lineup of expensive designer clothes. Mostly blacks and deep reds. Leather with its gold accents. Nothing like her usual style.
So, this Selene liked to dress like a bossy anime rival character? Weird taste.
She picked the simplest thing she could find a white, silky dress with minimal embellishment and freshened up.
The face in the mirror was still wrong, but it blinked when she did, frowned when she frowned.
She even practiced her voice in the bathroom...
for her it was still hers, but with a higher and softer sound.
She didn't remember any memories from Selene's past not even a whisper. Which meant she was still Yuna, just... in someone else's skin.
But did she really transmigrated into Selene's body? Is this really the body of Selene Valen?
Ugh, who would have thought in my mid twenties I would experience things like this.
When she was done preparing she then opened the door. The maid standing outside, barely in her twenties jumped and bowed so quickly her bun wobbled.
"Y-Young Miss, I'm so sorry to disturb you b-but no I mean... I-I'll inform the kitchen to hold breakfast if you're not feeling well—"
"I'll come down after preparing," Yuna interrupted calmly, using the tone she reserved for junior employees, so firm but not unkind.
The maid looked up briefly clearly surprised by her tone but nodded and fled like a rabbit. Yuna closed the door again, sighing.
With fear, too much obedience and discomfort.
Tsk, looks like I'm a walking HR violation.
After composing herself, she then go outside. As she descended the grand staircase, she took in the architecture again.
Impressive, they are lowkey flaunting that they aren't that wealthy. Because this was a generational empire-level opulence. What are they? Do they have a blood of a royalty? Tss...
Even her penthouse for all its sleek luxury looked like a shoebox compared to this mansion. God, she wasn't dreaming. This was real or real enough. And if this really was inside the Love's Illusion, then she was on a borrowed time.
Because Selene Valen scratch... her, was inside the story's villain. Destined to obsess over the male lead, sabotage the heroine and fall in disgrace.
She walked into the dining hall, and three pairs of eyes turned at her. A sharply dressed two older woman with icy features. A tall, broad-shouldered man with a stiff, unreadable face. And an elderly gentleman with a cane with its presence of a king.
My new... family I guess?
They were in the middle of a quiet conversation that halted the moment she stepped in. Silence fell over the room like they have been disturbed by her. Yuna straightened her posture, chin high and walked toward them with the confidence.
Whatever this new life threw at her... she would handle it.
Her body and age may be different but the soul inside?
Still the same calm and quiet CEO.
Still the same Yuna Seo.