Chapter 37
Tears welled up in Monica’s eyes.
“Do you really need time to process all this? Or do you just think I’ve gone insane and are trying to send me away somewhere? You’re not planning to kill me, thinking I’m a witch, are you? You promised me earlier.”
Liam raised his hand and rubbed his face several times. He wanted to believe her, but it was too much to accept. That this world was from an unfinished novel?
“Monica—or wait, what’s your name? What should I even call you now?”
“Soo-jung.”
“Soo-jung…”
He repeated the unfamiliar name once, then looked at her with her face buried in her hands.
He’d thought she had changed, but it wasn’t change—it was another woman entirely inside. That’s why she hadn’t pushed him away. Because she was someone completely different.
That’s what had drawn him to her in the first place.
Liam finally opened his mouth again, heavily.
“Soo-jung, I’ll keep my promise. I really just need time to sort things out. Help me understand this situation, so I can help you too.”
He fell silent for a moment, thinking back to the day Monica had collapsed in the garden. Then he asked,
“You said you wrote, ‘After her debauched lifestyle, Monica died after the divorce,’ right?”
“That’s right.”
“…The day she collapsed in the garden. That was the day I finalized the divorce papers, at her request. Did she die because of that? So, in the end… it was my fault…?”
The day Monica collapsed and the day Liam finalized the divorce papers—he couldn’t ignore the link between the two events.
His expression twisted with guilt, and he grabbed his head.
“How could this happen!”
“It’s not your fault.”
Slowly, Liam looked up at Monica’s face. He realized he no longer felt anything for the original Monica.
He wasn’t saddened by her disappearance or death—it was the idea that he might have driven someone to death that shocked him.
And so, he had no choice but to admit that the woman sitting before him wasn’t Monica. If it were really Monica, the attraction he felt toward her would’ve vanished.
“According to Evaso, I was able to come here because luck, coincidence, and desperation aligned. So, you don’t need to feel guilty.”
Evaso had told Soo-jung that this kind of possession had happened twice before. But she didn’t mention that part—she feared Liam would be consumed by even deeper guilt.
She felt sorry for the original Monica and the two other souls before her, but for now, explaining her situation to Liam was the priority.
“Still, being involved in someone’s death is hard to take.”
“No, like I said—it’s not your fault.”
“Then… should I call you Soo-jung from now on?”
“Hm… just when we’re alone. When we’re around others, call me Monica. That’ll be easier for both of us.”
“Alright…”
Liam let out a long sigh. Monica spoke again.
“Aren’t you curious about anything?”
“Of course I am. But we can’t stay up all night again.”
“Then just ask one question today. Who knows, maybe it’ll help us both sort things out.”
“…Alright. What are you planning to do next?”
“Hmm, that’s an important one. Well, since we’re delaying the divorce, I plan to help Princess Taylor.”
“You’re speaking nonsense again.”
“Why?”
“How do you plan to help Princess Taylor when you haven’t even met her?”
Liam looked at her with disbelief.
“Oh, I mean the Riat Trading Company. It’s secretly run by Princess Taylor. I already agreed to help her. And I think helping her is the right thing to do. I think we need to break all the default settings of this world for things to end well.”
Only then did Liam understand why Monica had been visiting the Riat Company so often. A headache throbbed behind his eyes.
“I’ve learned too much today. I need time alone to process everything. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
“So you believe that if the basic structure of this world is broken, the ending can change too?”
“Exactly. It has to change through interactions. You’ve changed too, Liam.”
He understood what she meant.
Back when he thought Monica had changed, he’d felt confused. And when Teodoro provoked him after the carriage accident, something felt off.
That “off” feeling had been like a welcome escape. It led Liam to act more on his own emotions instead of suppressing them.
Of course, it was only possible because he believed Monica had changed and wouldn’t push him away.
And even now, Liam still wanted to know more about the woman sitting before him. His desire to understand her kept growing.
“Soo-jung, you’ve made things even more confusing for me.”
Monica looked slightly flustered at Liam’s words.
She hadn’t been here long, but hearing someone constantly call her by her real name felt strange.
As he said her name, she unconsciously grabbed a pen and scribbled the word “Soo-jung” in her notebook.
“Just believe me. Then maybe the confusion will go away.”
“Ah…”
Liam suddenly frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I felt something strange on my back just now.”
“Let me see.”
She stood up and approached him quickly. Liam, seeing no way out, took off his shirt and showed her his back.
“Liam, nothing looks different from earlier. Where exactly did it feel weird?”
“My back—it felt like a prickling sensation.”
“Turn around.”
When he hesitated, Monica spoke urgently.
“Hurry!”
“Soo-jung, are you even aware of what you’re doing right now? If you keep touching me like that…”
Before Liam could finish, Monica suddenly let out a short gasp.
“Oh my!”
She rushed toward him and began brushing his back.
“What’s going on now?”
Liam tried to turn and see her face.
“Hold on. Just stay still. No—let’s go over to the big mirror.”
She pressed her hand to his back and pushed him toward the full-length mirror.
Liam twisted to look at his reflection—and there, on his back, was the word “Soo-jung.” He looked back at her notebook where she had just scribbled the same word.
“So… you wrote this, and I felt something, and now the same word is written on my back?”
“Let me try writing again.”
“Wait! Are you seriously turning my body into a notebook?”
“That’s not what I meant—but we need to verify it. That way you can fully believe me.”
“You’re saying…!”
He wanted to protest—but honestly, Liam was shaken. Reality felt surreal.
The fact that words were appearing on his body, and that Monica could read and understand them—it all felt strange.
And…
His growing attraction to her felt strange, too.
Before he could stop her, Monica scribbled “Liam” in her notebook. Moments later, Liam felt a tickling sensation on his forearm—and saw the word etched there.
“Ha. I really have become a notebook. What does it say now?”
He held out his arm, showing her the new word.
“I wrote ‘Liam.’ I think… this must be the ability Evaso said I’d get.”
“Who the hell is this Evaso? I need to find him and kill him. Giving someone the ability to turn my body into a sketchpad? How do I even erase this?”
“…Evaso said he was a tree spirit. And… I’m not sure how to erase it.”
Liam let out a deep sigh. Monica watched him cautiously before speaking again.
“Liam, look on the bright side—clothes cover it, right? It’s not so bad. No matter how upset you are, you can’t be more upset than I am. I haven’t even gone back to my world yet, and I’m in constant danger here. No one’s helping me—I could die…”
“Die? You’re not dying!”
Before she could finish, Liam cut her off firmly.
It was the first time he’d felt such strong emotions. His instincts told him he couldn’t let her die.
“Well, I’m just saying it could happen.”
Monica blinked at him, surprised by his sudden decisiveness.
Then she turned her head, looking tired, and rubbed her temples.
Seeing her like that, Liam spoke again.
“Get some sleep. Your eyes are red from staying up all night. Let’s talk after some rest. I need a nap too.”
“Okay. Then…”
Monica got up and began heading to her room, dazed with fatigue. But Liam’s voice called her back.
“Soo-jung, where are you going? You said your life was in danger, didn’t you? Didn’t you say all this because you wanted my help? Then sleep here. Since we postponed the divorce, it’s better we share the same room anyway.”
“Oh—sorry, I spaced out. I’ll sleep here then. I’m so tired, Liam.”
Having told someone everything, her tension melted away, and exhaustion hit her all at once.
Dragging her body, she collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes. And then, in a voice barely audible, she muttered to herself as she drifted off:
“…Liam, I’m sorry.”
