Chapter 1
“Saintess, thank you for saving our village!”
A little girl with pigtails beamed brightly. She held a flower crown woven from colorful blossoms in her small hands.
Rena knelt down to meet the child at eye level. She didn’t care if her pale blue dress got dirtied by the dusty ground.
The little girl stood on tiptoe and carefully placed the crown atop Rena’s silver hair. People standing behind the child began clapping one by one. The wave of applause didn’t stop—it swelled into cheers.
A warm spring breeze blew. Rena’s silvery hair fluttered in the wind as she tucked a strand behind her ear.
Her radiant smile was like that of the goddess Fiora herself.
Rena’s eyes met those of the Crown Prince. Seeing her blue eyes curve like crescent moons as she smiled, he could no longer deny it—
He had fallen for her far too deeply.
Just as Suji was about to scroll down, the middle-aged lady who’d been sneaking glances at her finally approached the counter.
It was such a good part of the story, too. Reluctantly, she snapped back to reality and turned off her phone.
With hands that had only recently gotten used to the work, Suji carefully took out each item. Scanning the barcodes and bagging everything took her longer than most people, but thankfully, the lady waited without a word of complaint.
Instead, her eyes openly wandered to Suji’s burn-scarred hands.
It was uncomfortable, but she could bear it. She was used to it by now.
“17,800 won, please.”
When the transaction was done, the lady handed her a small vitamin drink.
“This is for you, dear.”
“…What?”
“Drink it and stay strong, okay?”
The woman clicked her tongue as she looked at Suji’s warped hands.
“A young woman’s hands shouldn’t be like that… what a shame.”
It was probably meant as a gesture of kindness, but Suji had heard it so many times that it made her sick to her stomach.
“…Thank you.”
She lowered her head without much emotion. She wasn’t even angry anymore. Just numb.
All she wanted was for the lady to leave quickly so she could get back to reading The Saintess’s Dilemma.
“Hang in there, alright?”
“Yes.”
The moment the door closed, Suji immediately checked her phone.
Only one chapter of The Saintess’s Dilemma remained. There was still plenty of time before her manager came in.
After hesitating for a moment, she decided to start over from the beginning instead.
She’d already read it five times, but it never got old.
Especially the part where the female lead, who had been a rising child actress, lost everything after a fire and had to quit acting—it felt so much like her own story that it hit differently every time.
Her blunt fingers tapped the screen. Her thumbs were half a joint shorter than most, and they slid awkwardly.
She clenched and opened her stiff hands. In her mind, they bent easily, but reality was far less forgiving.
Heat radiated from her imperfectly straightened fingers.
Suji had once been famous as the youngest national shooting athlete.
But that was four years ago. Back in her second year of high school, an explosion at the shooting range had destroyed everything.
Her face, her hands, her dream—gone.
Maybe that’s why this novel resonated so deeply.
After quitting acting, the heroine couldn’t quench her thirst for the stage, so she worked as a lighting tech. But during a performance, she slipped and fell.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t dead—she was a saintess. And then she went on to capture not only the male lead, the Crown Prince, but also a count who served as the second lead.
In that world, everyone loved her.
Suji envied and admired that world she could never have. She was glad, at least, that the heroine had found happiness in a new life.
The only tragedy was that the story wasn’t complete.
The author had stopped updating a year ago—burned out from declining views or maybe because something happened in real life.
What a waste of a treasure!
Even after savoring it over and over, she still couldn’t bring herself to read the last remaining chapter.
Especially when it ended on such a sweet, heart-fluttering note—the Emperor realizing he’d fallen for the heroine. Just thinking about it made her pout in frustration.
Why did the author abandon such a masterpiece?
Suji scrolled again with her clumsy fingers.
The manager showed up an hour late without notice, offered no apology, and just waved her off without even making eye contact.
Still, this was the only person who’d given her a job despite the burns on her face and her disfigured hands, so she endured it.
Pain coursed through her entire body as exhaustion crashed down all at once.
Standing at the crosswalk, Suji took out the vitamin drink the lady had given her.
She tried twisting the cap as hard as she could, but her grip strength wasn’t enough.
Once, these hands had been strong enough to absorb the recoil of a bullet. The bitter taste in her mouth deepened.
Trying to console herself, she reached for her special remedy.
She didn’t want to end the day on such a low note.
Holding the phone took both hands now.
She’d binge-read the whole thing again while waiting for her manager, and once again, only the final chapter remained unread.
The temptation to tap it was overwhelming.
“I wonder what the author’s doing now…”
She was envious—envious of someone who already knew the ending.
The light turned green. Still focused on the glowing text on her screen, Suji stepped forward.
Then came the screeching sound of tires—sharp, grating.
She instinctively turned her head. A luxury car swerved uncontrollably in an S-shape, headlights glaring like spotlights.
It had run the red light—and it was barreling straight toward her.
She froze. There was no time to run.
When she came to, she was sprawled on asphalt.
It felt like her entire body had been shredded. During the shooting range explosion, she’d at least been able to move—but now, she couldn’t muster an ounce of strength.
She thought she’d grown numb to pain after years of burn treatments, but she was wrong.
She wanted to scream, but her throat was blocked.
The driver’s door opened. The only words he uttered were curses.
Suji barely moved her head, trying to plead for help, but blood filled her throat, drowning her voice. Only an animal-like whimper escaped.
The driver staggered back to the car.
The vehicle reversed—and crushed her right hand before speeding away.
Her shattered phone lay beside her, its cracked screen faintly glowing.
The last chapter of The Saintess’s Dilemma was open.
She never imagined her death would be this pathetic.
The vivid sensations in her body faded away, one by one.
She closed her eyes.
A bitter laugh slipped out even as life ebbed from her.
So this was death?
Not in the heat of flames, but on cold concrete.
Alone, from start to finish.
Her eyelids grew heavier.
A single tear traced down her cheek.
“Gasp!”
It felt like someone had grabbed her by the nape and yanked her out of the deep sea.
She inhaled air as if her life depended on it—because it did.
When her eyes flew open, she saw an impossibly high ceiling.
The floor was still cold, but she wasn’t lying on rough asphalt anymore—it was smooth stone beneath her head.
Voices murmured around her, growing clearer by the second.
Calming her breath with difficulty, Suji slowly lifted her head.
A wave of dizziness hit, and she pressed her forehead—only to freeze at the sensation.
Her hand was soft. Every joint bent just as she willed it to.
Startled, she stared at her palm. No burns. No scars. Just smooth, elegant fingers—long and straight.
This… is my hand?
Before she could process it, an old woman with dark, weathered skin and eyes like deep lakes approached.
She barely reached other people’s chests and walked with a black cane as a third leg.
“Are you awake?”
Her exotic face didn’t match the words—Suji understood them perfectly, like fluent Korean.
The woman seemed to be the eldest among those present. As she neared, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, bowing respectfully.
She had authority here—that much was obvious.
Without waiting for Suji’s answer, the old woman gestured to someone. A man approached, carrying a silver tray with something on it.
Suji’s eyes followed—and widened when the woman picked it up and held it out.
A gun.
A .38-caliber revolver.
As Suji stared, dumbfounded, the old woman spoke.
“You said you could slay monsters with this weapon, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“Prove it.”
Without waiting for a reply, she motioned to someone else.
Suji accepted the revolver automatically. Her fingers wrapped around it smoothly, without hesitation. The familiar weight sent a shiver from her toes to her scalp.
Suppressing the tremor in her chest, she opened the cylinder. Empty.
Then, tiny white lights like fireflies gathered into the gun, pouring from above.
She looked up—and saw two moons hanging in the sky.
Two moons?
Before she could make sense of it, the cylinder locked into place, now fully loaded. The revolver gleamed like new, its barrel shimmering as if freshly polished.
And it was heavier now—solid, real.
As she gripped it properly, long-forgotten sensations came flooding back.
The feeling she had longed for, deep in her soul.
“Ohhhh!”
The onlookers clasped their hands and cheered in awe.
Why?
Before Suji could wonder, chaos erupted among the crowd.
She stood slowly. Every joint moved fluidly.
Only then did she notice she was barefoot—the chill seeping up her legs, so unlike concrete.
Then came the sound of heavy chains dragging, mixed with a beast-like snarl that grated on her nerves.
When the noise entered the temple, Suji saw something that wasn’t human.
It wore rags resembling clothing—but its skin was pitch-black, like it had been painted with ink.
Even its sclera was black, with blood-red pupils glowing like embers. When it bared its teeth, the long, sharp fangs evoked vampires or zombies from TV dramas.
Two small black horns jutted from its forehead like a demon’s.
“You claim you can erase this monster without a trace?”
The old woman’s question wasn’t kindly—it carried a silent threat: Fail, and you won’t be forgiven.
Shaaah!
The creature hissed, a sound so sharp it felt like it could cut skin.
Heavy chains bound its limbs, but it still lunged ferociously at the people restraining it.
Even the collar biting into its neck didn’t make it flinch.
Is that even human?
And what exactly did these people expect from her?
Every gaze fixed on Suji’s hands—no longer scarred and stiff, but glowing faintly as they gripped the revolver.
The steel she had yearned to hold again.
“Shoot.”
The old woman tilted her chin toward the monster.
“High Priestess!”
The man holding the chains yelled as the creature thrashed violently.
“If you succeed, we will accept you as a saintess under the blessing of Goddess Fiora.”
At that moment, the man lost his grip, and the creature broke free.
