Episode 008
Ryu Jiseung.
Son of the chairman of the World Peace Foundation. Researcher at the Future Talent Development Center. The guy who pushed Jo Yuhwa to her death.
“Don’t tell me… Ryu Jiseung is King?”
In Jo Yuhwa’s final memories, he’d already taken full control of the Center.
The people who stared her down with those bone-chilling eyes had all followed Ryu Jiseung’s lead.
“It’s possible… There are still some things that don’t quite add up, though.”
The past year, when King was in Sola’s body, was also when Jo Yuhwa spent the most time with Ryu Jiseung.
So if he had been the one possessing Sola, it’d be pretty hard to explain how he managed to be with her all the time.
Still, one thing was clear—Ryu Jiseung was a key figure linking the shady plans of the Foundation and the Center.
“King…”
You don’t just give someone that title for nothing.
They had to be at least as powerful as the chairman’s son—or even someone higher up.
“So maybe it’s the chairman himself… or someone even more powerful.”
With how huge the Foundation is, there are loads of wealthy and influential backers behind it.
It wouldn’t be hard for someone like that to take control of a government-run agency like the Center.
“God, this is a nightmare.”
She could only hope this whole situation wasn’t as massive and terrifying as it seemed.
But really, the fact that the entire Center was full of psychos? That alone was already bad enough.
“What the hell were they even trying to do?”
Jo Yuhwa wasn’t the only one who got caught up in their insane schemes.
Gold Sola, just a kid, had her body stolen.
The Center’s top-secret Copycat Project was doing illegal human experiments, costing innocent lives.
And who knows? There could be more victims piling up even now.
King and Joker, the World Peace Foundation and the Future Talent Development Center—they were dangerous, twisted people doing stuff no normal person would imagine.
They had to be stopped.
But who was going to do it?
Even if she tried to get help, who would believe this story?
And more importantly… who could she even trust?
She’d already been betrayed by the one person she trusted most.
Now, with no one to rely on, and no solid proof, she couldn’t just start acting on a hunch.
Still, turning a blind eye when she knew the truth? That wasn’t who she was.
She was the kind of person who’d risk her life to save a child—even when death was staring her down.
“I don’t know if I can stop them… but I sure as hell have to try.”
She had to stop others from ending up like her.
‘But how?’
Sola bit her lip.
Jo Yuhwa died trying to expose the Center’s secrets.
‘And now I’m just a powerless little kid… with nothing.’
It was honestly such a hopeless situation.
But then—
“Wait a sec.”
Even if the world was collapsing, there’s always a loophole, right?
“Who says I’ve got nothing?!”
She did have something.
Something really good.
“Me! This body! I’m the Gold Sola of the Kumho Guild!”
The girl King tried to possess—he even tried to completely take over her body.
That girl was her now.
The next morning.
“Mom, Dad! Good morning!”
Sola burst into the dining room with a cheery shout.
Even in her chick-print pajamas, she walked in like a fierce little tiger.
“Our princess is full of energy this morning! Did you have a good dream?”
Sujihyun, sitting across the table, smiled and put down her tablet.
Her morning routine was always the same—wake up at dawn and check her emails before breakfast.
It made sense. Sujihyun was the head of the Korean branch of the International Healing Awakeners Association.
With emails flooding in from around the world 24/7, she’d barely rested even while Sola was hospitalized for two weeks.
“Yup! Slept like a baby!”
Last night, Sola had made a decision: Use the identity of Kumho Guild’s Sola to take down the bad guys.
And then promptly passed out from exhaustion.
But when morning came, she woke up feeling super refreshed—like a weight had been lifted.
‘Maybe it’s ‘cause I finally know what I’m supposed to do in this body.’
Ever since the possession, she’d been feeling off. But now? She felt like herself again.
‘I don’t have a solid plan yet… but having a goal is good enough for now.’
Even if Jo Yuhwa’s original body was gone, she had this weird sense that the real Sola was still out there, somewhere, alive.
She would come back to this body someday.
And until then, Sola was going to make damn sure these villains paid for what they did.
“I won’t let them get away with—”
She paused mid-bite, clenching her tiny fist in frustration.
Just thinking about everything made her blood boil all over again.
“Hmm? What was that, Sola?”
“Ah—Where’s Dad? He’s not here?”
Oops. She’d been talking to herself and almost slipped.
But hey, smooth topic change.
“Dad had to leave early for work. He told me to remind you he loves you very much.”
“Aw… Is he super busy these days? He’s always heading out early.”
“There’s an S-rank dungeon raid coming up soon.”
An S-rank dungeon was basically the highest-level disaster in the world.
Prepping for one meant days of meetings with hunters and experts from all over.
Of course the Kumho Guild Master—aka, her dad—had to be involved.
“And I’ll be out this afternoon too.”
“Then I’ll finally get some alone ti—”
“No running wild with your uncles just ‘cause Mom and Dad aren’t around, okay?”
Of course not.
Even when Sujihyun and Seonghwan weren’t home, there were plenty of people ready to babysit Sola.
She’d gotten her hopes up for some solo freedom. Silly her.
“Mom’s gonna take this call in the study.”
“Okay~”
While Sujihyun was busy talking on the phone, Sola snuck back to her room.
She powered up the laptop she’d shut down last night.
She was going to reply to Joker’s chat this time.
‘I could just ignore it…’
But right now, this laptop was her only weapon.
They didn’t know that King had been kicked out of Sola’s body.
She had the upper hand. It was the perfect opportunity to gather intel.
[Joker: King! You’re here!]
If she pretended to be King, that is.
[Joker: My deepest apologies, King.]
She hadn’t even typed anything yet, but Joker was already groveling.
[Joker: I should’ve formally apologized sooner. I’m sure you’ve been upset since the incident. It’s my fault.]
Joker clearly thought King was giving him the silent treatment out of anger.
[Joker: But as you saw last time, that creature was amazing. Don’t you think it’s time we started the first phase of the operation? You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?]
Right, their last chat before everything went down was about some “creature.”
On the day of the incident, King had gone to check out the “creature” in the forest near the Center.
‘And then… he ran into Jo Yuhwa.’
Grrrrrr…
She could almost hear the monster’s growl echoing in her ears again.
‘So that monster… was what they called a creature?’
[Joker: How about during the S-rank dungeon raid? Perfect timing, no?]
…Wait, what?
“A present for you, miss!”
“Thank you~!”
That made twenty gifts now.
Sola was on a full Kumho Guild tour, thanks to Apple’s suggestion.
“She smiled!”
“Ahh! That soft little smile! It’s been ages!”
She waved and smiled like a princess meeting her people—because that was basically the package deal here.
Guild dining hall, office 1, office 2… lounge, training room, meditation hall, training ground 1, training ground 2…
Everywhere she went, people crowded around to see her.
“Miss, please don’t overwhelm her. Don’t all rush in at once.”
Apple tried to calm the chaos.
He even brought a shopping cart overflowing with gifts.
‘I mean, thanks… but I just wanted some fresh air.’
With all these people swarming her, there was zero chance to relax.
‘Still… at least they helped me cool off a bit.’
Sola had woken up in a great mood, but now? It had plummeted like a winter cold front.
Right before leaving the house, she’d stumbled across something that completely ruined her mood.
[Kumho Guild Heiress Kidnapping Suspect: Jo Yuhwa. 1 Billion Won Reward. Report to 112.]
“Jo Yuhwa… is wanted for kidnapping me?”
After chatting with Joker, Sola had gone online to gather info—only to find this gem front and center.
Unbelievable.
She almost smashed her precious secret laptop out of rage.
The Kumho Guild was offering a billion-won bounty.
‘WHY ME?!’
– “She gave off some seriously creepy vibes.”
In an interview video suggested by the algorithm, a blurred voice claimed to be a Center employee.
– “I’m telling you, you can read people by their looks. She was always rated the worst in our team.”
– “And then she deleted all our research and ran away… I heard she took some classified data on a USB?”
– “Yeah, the Center’s in full crisis mode right now.”
They say dead people can’t talk, huh?
The Center was using Jo Yuhwa’s death as an excuse to erase anything that might get them caught.
‘Creepy? Judging by looks?! You guys never even gave me a real job!’
Killing her wasn’t enough—they were turning her into a criminal too.
She could already tell from Joker’s chats, but now it was clear: this was a massive, well-planned operation.
An ordinary person like her probably didn’t stand a chance.
But she wasn’t ordinary anymore.
‘I’m not dead yet.’
She was a technically dead but also alive girl.
They say a grudge can make frost form in mid-summer.
Sola clenched her teeth.
A fierce fire burned in her eyes—the eyes of a tiny but determined beast.
