Chapter 17
“I’m going.”
“Huh? You’re not going to kill her?”
“…Forget it.”
Did she finally believe I wasn’t Jang Hyunji? Lila Green turned and glanced at me. Her eyes slowly looked over my whole body, then she walked away without hesitation.
As she walked off, one of the men scratched his head and said,
“Even if someone finds her, she probably won’t survive.”
“This is the slums. It’s not like doctors are everywhere.”
“Doctors won’t help. Look at her—she’s been burned badly…”
From a distance, Lila Green shouted, “Hurry up!” The men looked at me and whispered. Then they shrugged.
They clearly didn’t want me to live—and probably wanted to kill me themselves—but since Lila Green left me alone, they didn’t touch me.
One of them got angry and walked out first. I opened one eye and tried to catch my breath. Am I still alive?
“Hey.”
One man stayed behind and came closer. He gently touched my cheek and whispered softly,
“It’s a waste to kill someone that even she said not to kill.”
“…”
“I don’t know what you did to make her hate you, and I don’t know why she wants you alive… but if I see you again, I’ll kill you. Got it? Don’t make her angry again.”
I spat bloody spit in his face.
“Yeah… I kind of like that attitude.”
He laughed and walked away.
My brain felt like it was boiling. So hot.
‘Go back! That body is mine now!’
‘Give it back!’
‘No one wants you anyway!’
I know. I enjoyed hearing the woman’s angry voice. It was almost like music from a master. I was surprised I could laugh even in hell.
Even though it felt like needles were stabbing and peeling off my skin, her voice cleared my head.
You’re dreaming, too.
Just like I used to dream of your hell when I fell asleep in pain—now you’re dreaming of me.
‘Lynus will save me. He’ll find me…’
Even your great love won’t save you. Sad, but that pain is what you were supposed to feel all along.
‘The medicine isn’t working.’
‘Not even the new one?’
‘No. At this rate, she won’t last long.’
‘But wasn’t she getting better recently?’
‘Conditions can change quickly. Is there any family?’
‘I heard there’s a distant relative… but no one to be with her when she dies.’
Even while unconscious, I could clearly hear the nurses talking.
I felt like laughing, but also got angry. It meant Jang Hyunji had sometimes seen my pain in her dreams, too.
Just like I had seen her life in my dreams, she had seen my painful moments.
And yet—
My head was clear, but the pain didn’t go away. Especially the wounds Lila Green gave me—they burned. That sharp pain proved this body was mine now.
Even if you die, you can’t take my body.
I hoped this wasn’t just a dream. I hoped I still had a way to get revenge.
And just watching the woman who wanted my body suffer—that was enough.
‘Aaaahhh! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!’
Even her screams sounded sweet.
‘I’ll kill you and take back what’s mine! Don’t think it’s over, Florence…’
Her voice faded. My mind started to wake up.
Air rushed into my throat, and my neck and head tensed up. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything. After blinking a few times, things slowly became clear.
‘Where am I…?’
Did I get pulled back into Jang Hyunji’s body again?
I was scared because I didn’t know what was going on. I tried to turn my head, but it felt like someone pulled on my neck, and I got sleepy again.
Where was I? What happened?
After Lila Green left, they abandoned me.
From what the men said, it seemed to be a poor neighborhood—maybe an old house or warehouse.
The ground smelled terrible. The man had even locked the door when he left, so no one would come to save me.
I felt like I was still bleeding, but I couldn’t even move my hand to check.
At times like this… I always started imagining impossible things. It was almost a habit now.
What had I been thinking before?
I was born into a noble family and lived a proud life, wearing nice clothes and eating good food. And now I was dying in an abandoned building in the slums. Life is strange.
Maybe I was thinking how unfair it was to finally get my body back, only to die within a day.
Maybe I even wished my body would rot and be eaten by bugs so no one—especially Lynus—could ever find me.
And in the end… I wanted to live.
“This is so annoying…”
Most people would want to die by now.
But I had to admire my will to survive. I wasn’t just strong—I didn’t even know how to give up.
Enoch once said, if you knew how to give up, life would be 20 times easier.
At least there was a roof here. It was dark, but it didn’t look like it would collapse soon.
It smelled bad. There was the smell of sweat and blood. This definitely wasn’t a noble’s house.
There was also steam and the sour smell of plants. I tried to frown but stopped—it hurt too much.
My face bones were probably broken. I had felt my cheekbone drop earlier.
Maybe Lynus wouldn’t even recognize me now. My face was ruined.
The face Grandma used to praise—the one that looked like my mother—might be gone. But I didn’t feel sad at all.
Even though it was hard to breathe, I felt happy. I couldn’t help but giggle.
I escaped.
There’s no one here now.
No Lynus. No family. No Jang Hyunji. Not even Helen, who always watched me.
Now it’s just me. I’m finally alone with what’s mine.
I don’t have to worry about them hurting me anymore.
“What the—are you crazy? You’re laughing like that in your condition?”
The door opened, and someone came in. I smelled warm corn soup. I turned my eyes to look.
“Are you hungry?”
It was a man I had never seen before.
Even if I wanted to be careful, I couldn’t do anything in this state. I stayed silent and just stared.
The man smiled and came closer.
He looked very fancy. Bright blond hair. Purple eyes like jewels. His colors were flashy, and his face was, too. He looked like a sculpture from church.
His pale skin glowed. He smiled gently, but I could tell he knew who I was. He was definitely a noble.
“I can hear your thoughts, you know. Your brain’s not working very well.”
“…Who…?”
“Wow, what a raspy voice. How are your injuries?”
He came closer with a smirk. I tried to move my arm in surprise and realized—I wasn’t in that much pain.
I could move. I sat up and threw off the blanket.
It hurt, but I could handle it.
My legs were showing. I remembered they had been twisted in weird directions, but now they were straight, and the wounds looked faint.
“This… doesn’t make sense…”
“A thank-you would be nice.”
He pointed to his own face and smiled.
“How’d I do?”
I touched my face. Maybe it was just bruises causing the pain when I laughed.
“I fixed your pretty little face too. Would’ve been a shame if it stayed broken.”
“…Why did you do this?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you fix it?! You should’ve left my face alone!”
