Chapter 2
“At least… I’m apparently not a beggar.”
In the middle of a busy marketplace, a small girl stood among the crowd, murmuring blankly:
“Am I… dreaming right now?”
She clearly remembered being hit by a car.
The crushing pain, the sound of screams—she remembered it all vividly.
Geum Seolha was certain she had died.
And yet, when she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a completely unfamiliar scene.
“Where… is this?”
She looked around in a daze, then raised her hand and pinched her cheek hard.
“Ow!”
The sharp pain made her freeze.
“This… isn’t a dream?”
Cold air seeped through her torn clothes, making her shiver. The vivid sensations drained the color from her face.
When reality is too absurd, people tend to think it’s a dream.
She was no different.
But the biting cold and the pain in her cheek told her otherwise.
“This makes no sense…”
She hurriedly scanned her surroundings again.
Nothing had changed.
People dressed in unfamiliar clothing, long rows of shops along dirt roads—it looked like something straight out of a historical drama.
“Cheap! Fresh vegetables for cheap!”
A woman sat on the ground selling greens.
“Stay close; you’ll block the way. Hold my hand.”
Another woman walked by, carrying a load on her head while holding a child.
“Fresh dumplings! Hot dumplings here!”
A man shouted loudly to attract customers.
After taking it all in, her breath caught.
“How is this even possible…?”
Her voice trembled.
Surviving the accident was shocking enough—but this situation was even more unbelievable.
This was not the world she knew.
“Move aside! Make way!”
Someone shoved into her with a loud shout, knocking her down.
“Ugh!”
Pain shot through her knee as it hit the ground.
As she tried to stand up, she noticed a puddle right in front of her.
“…Huh?”
She blinked.
“Why is there… a kid?”
Reflected in the water was the face of a young child.
The child opened her mouth—and so did the reflection.
“…What the hell?”
She tried pinching her cheek again.
The reflection copied her perfectly.
“…I became someone else.”
She muttered blankly, then realized—
Even her voice was unfamiliar.
“This is insane…”
She carefully examined the face in the puddle.
Large, clear features.
Round, youthful cheeks.
Covered in soot.
“So this… is me?”
At best, she looked about seven years old.
Cute, even.
But her clothes were torn and filthy.
“No matter how I look at it, I’m basically a beggar.”
She staggered slightly from the shock.
Dying in a car accident was already unfair.
But waking up in a strange world, in a child’s body—and as a beggar?
“This is ridiculous…”
She crouched down and looked at her hands.
Small, scratched, and covered in grime.
“With hands like this… I can’t even pretend I just look poor.”
She stood up and examined her ragged clothes.
“…But wait. Aren’t wide sleeves like these worn by wealthy families?”
A small hope sparked.
She searched her sleeves, her waist, inside her clothes—
Nothing.
“Nothing… So I really am a beggar?”
Her voice turned gloomy.
The world had never been easy for her.
But was it really going to be this cruel?
“Beggars don’t even have homes or food…”
Tears welled up in her dirty eyes.
Even in modern society, surviving as a child without guardians was difficult.
And here?
In what was clearly another era?
“Can I even survive here…?”
She didn’t know anything about this place.
The worst possible conditions.
She looked back at the puddle.
A filthy girl, hair tangled with mud, face smeared with soot, stared back at her.
“…Ha.”
After a long moment, she lifted her head.
“First… I need to get somewhere quiet and think.”
She needed time to process everything.
Just as she started moving toward a less crowded area—
A rough hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
“You little thief! I finally caught you today!”
“Ugh! What are you—”
She winced from the pain and looked up.
A rough-looking man stood before her, face red with anger.
“You filthy rat! How dare you steal from me!”
“…Steal?”
Me?
While she was still confused, the man shoved her hard.
“Ah!”
She fell again, twisting her wrist as she tried to catch herself.
Taking a breath, she steadied herself.
In situations like this, she had to stay calm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why am I a thief?”
“You stole from my shop! Do you think I haven’t seen your kind before?”
Her eyes sharpened.
Even if this body had stolen something—
Wouldn’t there be evidence?
‘But there was nothing.’
She had already checked everything.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“Don’t lie! I saw you clearly!”
She didn’t back down.
Meanwhile, people began gathering.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
“That’s Hwang again… If business is bad, he always picks on beggar kids.”
“So the child didn’t steal anything?”
“You don’t know him? If she really stole something, he’d have already beaten her.”
“Right. With his temper, who would dare steal from his shop?”
“Still, maybe she is a thief.”
Seolha listened carefully.
‘So he’s just a bully who targets kids?’
No one believed she was guilty.
But no one stepped in either.
‘If I can just prove I’m innocent…’
But she had no direct evidence.
Still—
‘Evidence isn’t the only way.’
She looked at her hands.
“I think you’ve mistaken me. I didn’t steal anything.”
The man frowned.
Normally, kids would beg or cry.
But she remained calm.
“If I’m not the thief, how will you compensate me?”
“…What?”
“You used violence because you thought I was a thief. If I prove I’m not, how will you take responsibility?”
Her logical tone made him hesitate.
But only for a moment.
“What nonsense! You’re just a beggar!”
“What exactly did I steal?”
“…Candy! From my shop earlier!”
“How many?”
“…A few! Three or four!”
She followed his gaze to a distant candy stall.
Then she smiled slightly.
“If I stole three or four… why didn’t you stop me?”
“What?”
“With these small hands, stealing that many at once would’ve been obvious.”
The crowd murmured.
“She’s right.”
“Those are big pieces. A child couldn’t carry several easily.”
“And Hwang never tolerates beggar kids near his stall.”
The tide turned.
“And if I stole candy, my hands would be sticky.”
She held them up.
“They’re dirty—but not sticky.”
“That’s true.”
Now the crowd looked at Hwang with suspicion.
Seolha smirked.
Time to finish this.
“Why do you keep lying? Is it true you just accuse random kids to bully them?”
His face twisted in anger.
“This brat… I’ll teach you a lesson today!”
He raised his fist.
Seolha tensed.
…I pushed too far.
Just as he swung—
“Miss!”
Someone rushed in and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Why did you come out alone? What if something happened?”
A woman’s heart pounded rapidly within her.
Seolha blinked.
‘What… is happening?’
Then—
“Let go of him.”
A man stood nearby, gripping Hwang’s arm firmly.
“Do you even know who you tried to strike?”
“What nonsense! She’s a thief!”
“If you speak recklessly again, you won’t leave unharmed.”
Hwang froze at the sight of the sword at the man’s waist.
Meanwhile, the woman holding Seolha spoke tearfully:
“Was it the young masters again? Or Miss Yulhee?”
“…”
“Even if you didn’t return by carriage… how did you end up like this in half a day?”
She checked Seolha all over.
Seolha’s expression turned strange.
‘So I wasn’t a beggar…?’
‘I have a family?’
‘And this isn’t my original state?’
Her mind raced.
From the situation—
It seemed she was the “young lady” they were talking about.
