CHAPTER 03
I finally got to see the male lead’s past self that I had been so curious about.
When he behaved in a way that didn’t match his keyword traits and confused the reader, what is the proper response a reader should take?
Completely deny the situation.
Turn your head and pretend not to notice.
Erase it from your memory.
Leave the place and go somewhere else.
Fix the male lead who doesn’t meet expectations and rewrite the original story.
“They all suck.”
Maybe because these were the options my own brain came up with, I couldn’t see a single right answer.
What would a heroine from a romance fantasy novel choose?
“Option 5?”
But the thought that came to mind first was: “Do I really need to bother?”
My instinct to “fix this broken man” clashed with my desire to just “survive first!”
“This is agony!”
Even though I tried to separate the prince lying over there from the terrible male lead in the novel, my brain refused to cooperate.
“Hoo… calm down.”
I glanced at the boy still lying on the floor.
The pale green eyes—like budding leaves in spring—that had once met mine were now hidden behind closed lids.
Sharp features and slightly parted lips.
He really looked just as he was described in the book.
“None of this matters. I just want to go home.”
Back then, at least I had a body. Now, I didn’t even have that.
What could I do to get my body back and return to reality?
Based on my years of reading romance fantasy, those who attempted to escape the novel usually had to lead it to a proper ending.
“Still… seeing him happy is a bit much…”
Maybe this is all a dream. A long dream I’m mistaking for reality.
His blue hair was messing with my sense of reality.
“Does it matter how I got here? I can’t change the fact that I’m already in.”
I didn’t know who had thrown me into this place, but someday I’d return.
“Only way is to fix his rotten personality and change the future.”
Even though the resolve I made in front of Armel had wavered, what choice did I have?
I had to survive first.
“Wake up already.”
I squatted in front of the prince, who was lying there like a fairytale princess who’d eaten a poisoned apple, and just stared at him.
I tried poking his cheek with my finger—but it just passed right through.
“I really am a ghost.”
Twitch.
His eyes shifted under the lids—he was stirring.
“Hey, Your Highness.”
“……”
“You’re awake, right?”
Even though I could see his throat bob, the prince pretended desperately to be unconscious. That only made me want to mess with him more.
“Well, if it’s quiet, I guess I’ll just have to eat you.”
I flew over his stiff body and got close to him.
Sensing the chill, the prince cracked one eye open. His lips parted, as if he was about to scream.
“Shh. Quiet.”
I lifted my finger to his lips—but of course, it passed right through.
Still, it seemed to work. He went quiet.
He raised both arms to shield his face.
“Phew.”
Huh?
A small sound leaked out from between his arms. Curious, I leaned in closer.
It reached my ears loud and clear.
“Huuu…”
He was sobbing!
As soon as I heard the crying, I jumped back in panic.
“I— I didn’t mean to make him cry…”
He clenched his lips shut to keep the sound in, but tears trickled through his fingers and dropped to the floor.
“Uh, um, Your Highness. I’ll stay far away, okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Really. I apologize.”
I’m not the type to take pleasure in watching a child much smaller than me cry and choke back sobs on the floor.
“If you’re scared, I’ll stay far away. It was all a joke. I— I don’t eat people!”
Seeing him fight back tears made my chest tighten painfully.
“Really, I’m sorry. You can call someone over if you want. I bet it’s scary to be alone.”
“D-Don’t…”
As I turned to leave, the prince sat up suddenly, his eyes rimmed with red.
“Don’t call anyone… snf… please…”
“Don’t worry. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t call anyone. I’ll just stay over there, okay?”
I went to a corner and crouched down, waiting for him to calm down.
“Prince, if you rub your eyes like that, they’ll hurt…”
He didn’t answer—just sniffled. The sound filled the room in place of silence.
“Damn this meddlesome personality.”
“I’ve… I’ve finally lost it…”
He mumbled something in a stuffy voice and then completely ignored me.
“Prince? Your Highness? Hello?”
I was sure he could see me. Every time I passed by, he squeezed his eyes shut and trembled.
“Prince.”
Ignored.
“Your Highness?”
Ignored.
“Your Royal Highneeeess!”
Ignored.
“If you blink, it means you can see me!”
The prince even made an effort to blink in his blind spot to avoid giving me satisfaction.
I was being thoroughly ignored.
Eventually, the sun began to set and a maid came in with a meal tray.
“I’ve brought your meal.”
Silver utensils gleamed, and the aroma was enough to make my stomach twist.
“That smells so good.”
Why give me a nose if I can’t eat? Is this some special torture for Korean transmigrators?
A full meal was set up on the side table by the bed.
The prince’s face didn’t change as he ate, but I noticed he chewed much less when eating carrots. That’s when I realized he hated them.
Seeing such a human side to a fictional character felt oddly strange.
“Prince, are you really going to pretend I don’t exist?”
“……”
Despite waiting quietly until he finished his meal, I continued to be treated like thin air.
“He didn’t even eat half of it…”
He ignored me all evening while reading a book, then lay in bed.
When our eyes met briefly, he flinched and pulled the blanket over his head.
“Um… sleep well. Let’s not ignore each other tomorrow, okay?”
No reply.
I lay on the couch and tried to sleep. I’d wondered if ghosts could sleep, but I lost consciousness in under a minute.
My miraculous first day of possession ended in anticlimactic fashion.
***
It’s already been about a week since I ended up here.
Aside from the loneliness of having no one to talk to, lunchtime was quite peaceful.
Until a loud clang! echoed through the room.
“……”
In the past few days, the prince seemed to have realized that ignoring me wouldn’t make me go away—so he changed tactics.
“Taking it out on your food is a bad habit.”
He had flipped the table and was glaring at me.
Bowls and dishes that had just held warm food were now scattered all over the floor.
But I’d worked part-time with some of the worst customers imaginable. This was nothing.
“You’re only hurting yourself, you know.”
He was clearly still scared of me, even if he was too proud to show it. His body trembled.
“You might not grow if you keep this up.”
“…Ugh!”
“I’ll clean this up.”
The maid beside him tidied the floor like it was routine and left to bring a new meal.
“Yup, he’s definitely the male lead I know.”
Flipping meals, throwing things, glaring, ignoring, tossing out subtle insults…
These were the things the prince had done to me over the past week.
And not just to me, either.
“If you don’t eat, you won’t have the strength to throw rocks at me later.”
“……”
“And you might not grow tall.”
I was seriously worried the tall character setting might change because of me.
He was already pretty small, so this was no laughing matter.
“I’ll just stay in the corner this time, okay? Eat something, please?”
“……”
“Even just half…”
How did I end up as a babysitter?
After raising my younger siblings, now I had to do it inside a novel too?
“What a tragic fate.”
Right on cue, the maid returned with a new tray of food.
“Smells amazing.”
Glossy pork glistened. My nostrils flared, involuntarily soaking up the scent.
I crouched in the corner like I said I would, but the prince still didn’t move.
“Do you need me to feed you?”
Of course I couldn’t.
Before I finished speaking, he shakily picked up a spoon.
Watching him eat brought a smile to my face.
But apparently, it came across the wrong way.
“Cough! Cough!”
“P-Prince!”
He clutched his throat, coughing violently. The maid rushed over with a glass of water.
He gulped it down, then glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
He looked so terrifying I forgot who the ghost was between us.
“Hey… come on, that’s not my fault.”
He looked ready to hurl the glass at me, so I instinctively backed down.
“You looked happy eating, so I smiled, that’s all.”
“……”
“Seriously! I can’t eat people!”
I wrung my hands like a helpless fly and begged. The glass returned to its place.
“Look at me. I’m just a harmless ghost.”
I raised both hands and floated midair. The prince flinched.
“Get out! Now!”
“…Call me back when you’re done eating.”
Only the innocent maid had to leave.
Tension hung between us. The prince acted like I was about to attack him.
“Fine, I’ll go quietly into the corner and put my head down. Happy?”
“……”
“Come on, isn’t that enough?!”
I leaned too far and accidentally got my head stuck in the wall.
“Ahhh!”
It must’ve looked horrifying from the outside—half my face stuck in the wall.
I yanked myself out at the sound of his scream.
“S-Sorry.”
“……”
“I really didn’t mean to scare you this time.”
I was still new to being a ghost.
“You might not believe it, but this is my first time doing ghost stuff. I’m not very good at it yet.”
“……”
“I’ll try to improve, so watch me, okay?”
“Don’t show me! Just disappear already!”
Wow. That shout rivaled Armel’s maid’s.
Still…
“That’s hard. I have my own circumstances too, you know.”
I shook my head and held out my palms. Even I thought I sounded shameless.
The prince stared at me, dumbfounded.
“Disappearing… is hard.”
“Hah…!”
It’s not like I knew how to leave.
“Let’s just live peacefully and compromise, yeah?”
Wearing a smile fit for a public service campaign, I spoke gently.
Despite my overwhelmingly kind attitude, the prince shut down again.
Apparently convinced talking to me was a waste of time, he picked up his spoon.
The clatter of utensils echoed for a while.
“You ate half! Good job! Let’s keep it up!”
I clapped from afar in encouragement.
Clunk. He set the spoon down—seemed like I had the opposite effect.
Oh well. At least he ate half.
“Next time, let’s try to finish it all!”
What a life—to get applauded just for eating. I was jealous.
