Ch. 3
Rewriting the Script
The hallway outside Selene's bedroom was absurdly long.
Each step Yuna took echoed lightly against the marble floors, the walls have towering oil paintings and delicate floral arrangements that probably cost more than her last luxury watch.
She didn't have anywhere to go right now.
And yet, her mind was racing like she was late for a board meeting.
Not a board meeting, though. Her mind was busy recalling the novel she had read.
Yuna slowed her pace and pretended to admire the portraits. Crossing her arms, she paused in thought.
The title of the novel I had transmigrated into was Love's Illusion, and the person I had become was the story's very first villain.
How did I know I had become the infamous Selene Valen?
In the book, Selene's beauty was described from head to toe, right down to the smallest details of her expressions. The moment I looked into the mirror, I immediately knew I had become her.
After all, why would I forget my own face and voice? That would be ridiculous.
I have no idea what kind of magical or fantasy nonsense is going on, but somehow, it's happening to me right now.
So... does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do next?
With a quiet sigh, Yuna turned her gaze away from the portrait.
Because honestly, I don't have any idea. Part of me wants to get back to my old self and the other was I don't know. All I know right now is, this is where the arc begins.
She wandered aimlessly through the Valen estate, which to her, felt like a prison wrapped in silk.
I'm pretty sure we're already at Chapter 7. This is where Selene returns from her so-called 'overseas break' and enrolls at St. Athelene's as a first-year student. Since the university is one of the most prestigious in the country, her arrival is welcomed with mixed feelings.
And then, after a month of classes, she becomes interested in the male lead.
Her jaw tightened.
Yah right. The male lead's name was Ethan Ward. He had maintained perfect grades from preschool all the way through college. According to the novel's description, he had a sharp jawline, a straight nose, and a striking pair of blue eyes in short, he was ridiculously handsome.
Aside from being the son of a wealthy family, he was also kind, responsible, and emotionally constipated. The ultimate cliché love interest in every possible way.
At first, Ethan was polite to Selene.
Unfortunately, Selene mistook his politeness for affection. She began growing attached to him, following him wherever he went. Ethan tried to establish boundaries, but the more he pulled away, the more Selene clung to him.
And then...
Everything unraveled.
Yuna stopped at one of the arched windows, arms crossed loosely over her chest as she looked out at the estate's east garden. A few gardeners were tending to the hedges. The world looked so still, so wrongly peaceful, like it hadn't just rewritten itself around her.
"Selene Valen was set up to fall," Yuna thought.
"Her only real purpose in the novel was to make the heroine look like an angel by contrast. Because of her pettiness and obsession she was automatically abandoned by everyone around her."
"All because she couldn't let go of a boy."
Yuna exhaled through her nose and rolled her eyes.
Absolutely not.
She? Who survived corporate takeovers, media slander, betrayal from the people she once trusted and now someone expected her to throw all of that away just to play the villain in a shallow love story?
She wouldn't fall into the trap the original Selene did.
"If the story was written to humiliate the villain... I'll just rewrite the plot."
By mid-afternoon, her things had been moved and organized into the new room her mother decorated in soft gold and ivory. Yuna surveyed the space with a professional's eye.
Thoughtful.
Her mother had remembered the light comment she made about the old room being "bright."
That detail shouldn't have mattered, yet it did.
I hope Selene realizes that if she had done things differently, the story would have ended another way.
In truth, it was never Selene's fault. The blame belonged to the writer who shaped her fate that way.
Yuna sat on the edge of her plush bed, fingers threading through the soft waves of Selene's hazel-brown hair.
She still carried none of Selene's memories. She didn't know her pain, her regrets, or the struggles that had shaped her life. The only thing she had was the story written in the book.
"What if my transmigration here is also part of the novel? Because damn, what kind of fate is this?"
That evening, Yuna requested her schedule be delivered to her room.
She spread out the documents from class list, student map, uniform code until the faculty notes.
She scanned them quickly, retaining the key points.
Suddenly, her fingers paused over a name on her list of class.
Her eyes scanned through Ethan's profile.
Ethan Ward.
A Political Science major, the Debate Team Captain, and the only student from that department who shared a class with Selene. He was also part of the Finance track, currently a third-year student, and a representative of the student council.
Ah, that explains how the two of them met. They were classmates in one subject even though they weren't from the same year. And of course... he really is handsome.
Information like this... these little but crucial details was never written in the novel.
But I suppose that's understandable. Selene was only a side villain, so the author never cared enough to show the parts of her life that weren't connected to the main plot.
Another name caught her eye.
It was the female lead, her name was Lina Grey. Like Selene, she was also a first-year college student, pursuing a major in Business and Literature. She was the typical heroine of the story sweet, gentle, quiet, and empathetic.
If I remember correctly, this heroine was a scholarship student. Selene didn't hate her because she was poor, she just hated her for no particular reason.
Or maybe... it was because Ethan liked Lina.
So, our beloved villainess tried to embarrass her during the orientation week.
She even used her influence to prevent Lina from joining the clubs she applied for.
And, as if that wasn't enough, she once stole her assignment too.
Yuna tapped the paper, expression unreadable.
"Selene being petty is just... whatever. I'm not doing that," Yuna muttered, exhaustion evident in her voice. That night, lying beneath crisp linen sheets, Yuna stared up at the ceiling and let herself think.
"Am I really going to be stuck as a nineteen-year-old lady in this cliché world?"
A while ago, I accepted it completely. I told myself that I was going to live as Selene in a different way.
Yet somehow... I suddenly wanted to take it all back.
I had no idea how long I would be here.
Was there still a chance for me to return to my old life? What was happening to my life in Seoul?
What about my body there?
And...
Where was the original Selene?
All of these questions remained unanswered. But one thing was clear to me.
Starting today and tomorrow, this was my life now.
For better or for worse.