Yoon Hayeon did everything she could to try to come back to her world. Searching for information about another world that might exist and the way to teleport there since the tattoo on her hand won't budge at all.
But she found anime and comics instead... And novel about isekai.
Hayeon became depressed each day and it made the parents and brothers worried. So she decided to just play along a little.
Helping the mother bake, playing charades with the family, discussing today's weather with the father, and even reading in silence with the older brother.
But then, a week passed by fast, and now she needed to come back to school.
The halls smelled like citrus polish and money. Everything here gleamed. Fresh uniform, smiling, and spirited students.
Different from her school in Eden Garden. Everything there was black and steel. Even the atmosphere was grey like there wasn't any color in it.
Hayeon stood stiff in front of the school gates, the polished black car purring behind her like a silent reminder she didn't belong there.
Her blazer was freshly ironed, her shoes polished, and the skirt just a bit too short for her liking. Even the school crest on her chest felt heavy.
She looked down at her wrist—just a tattoo now. The golden cubes gleamed faintly in the morning sun. Just ink pretending to be something greater.
"Hayeon-ssi?" the chauffeur said gently.
She nodded and walked in.
The whispers began before she even crossed the courtyard.
"She's back…?"
"I thought she was missing."
"No, didn't they say she was found in the restricted zone?"
"Alone. Covered in blood."
"What happened to her?"
She didn't react. Just kept walking, eyes forward, body rigid like a soldier on parade. Inside, her nerves thrummed like a tripwire.
No one welcomed her back. No warm hellos. No reunion cheers.
They all just… stared.
At her clean uniform. At her stiff posture. At the fact that she was even alive.
The classroom door slid open when she approached. Thirty pairs of eyes followed her every step as she entered.
No one offered her a smile. Even the ones who supposedly knew her looked away or faked interest in their tablets.
The teacher forced a gentle smile. "Yoon Hayeon-ssi, welcome back. Your seat is still yours." she pointed at the table in the front row near the window.
She sat without a word, eyes scanning the room. Most of the faces were unfamiliar. They were all clean without any wounds, so different from all the people she usually knew.
Then there was her.
Class Queen: Jisoo.
Hair curled to perfection, makeup natural but flawless, and that sweet poison smile painted on like a second skin. She sat surrounded by friends but looked directly at Hayeon.
"Hayeon-ssi," she said, voice sugarcoated. "You've come back."
Hayeon turned to her calmly. "Yes."
"You don't remember us, do you?"
"No."
'More like I don't know any of you.' she sighed.
She was once associated with someone like her. All smiling, gentle voice like an angel, and gorgeous. But that girl always used people like they were her servants.
Crying when the teacher came saying she was hurt and couldn't continue with training...
The fake bitch that play the victim when she pointed out how lazy she was.
"That's okay," Jisoo continued with a laugh. "We'll make new memories, right?"
Hayeon didn't answer.
And Jisoo frowned, didn't like that.
She tilted her head, eyeing Hayeon's posture like she was examining something unpleasant.
"It must've been hard. Being… wherever you were."
"Not really," Hayeon replied flatly.
That shut her up. For now.
The day dragged on. Teachers reviewed topics Hayeon didn't recognize. Her fingers itched to hold a blade instead of a pen.
The uniform made her skin crawl. It was too tight at the collar, too soft at the cuffs. She missed her uniform. Simple and easy to move, efficient to kill any enemy in front of her.
This world was too polished, it disturbed her.
***
At lunch, she sat alone.
No one invited her to their table.
Even when she carried her tray to an empty spot, students subtly shifted away. Like she was contaminated. Like they thought she brought something dangerous back with her.
'This girl... Is she bullied?' she thought, 'Maybe she was being attacked by her bullies and decided to run away.'
'But if so, why the bullies didn't confront me yet? They should be attacked me or slander me, right now.'
She put kimchi in her mouth, a weird taste, soft and sour. At first, she didn't like the taste. But since the mother told her the real Hayeon loved it, she decided to eat it more and used to it.
'The food in this world is nice and fresh... I love it.' she smiled faintly and ate more, relishing in taste that was a privilege in her world.
***
The second period starts
The classroom door opened mid-lecture, and a student walked in. He was late to school, and probably got permission for it since the teacher just let him in.
The class suddenly turned brighter with his arrival, some students joked with him, some girls flirted even the teacher played along.
He was tall with red hair, tucked neatly behind one ear and green eyes, clearly wasn't Korean.
When his gaze landed on her, something in her chest squeezed tight.
Then he gave her a nod as if she knew her before sitting in the empty seat.
It hit her like a gunshot as her body locked up. She forgot how to breathe
That face—
It couldn't be.
But it was.
Those sharp green eyes, the quiet posture, the way he didn't smile—it was him.
---
The alarm was blaring—one of the few systems still working in the collapsing lab. They were stationed to guard it, not fight inside it. But monsters didn't wait for protocols.
She had been at the rear, covering evac routes. He had been her partner. Older, cool-headed, quiet but dependable. She trusted him with her life.
When the mutants broke out—skin twisted, roots exploding from their backs—he shouted at her.
"In! Now!"
She turned to yell back, only to see the containment door slamming shut in her face.
"What are you doing?!"
She screamed, pounding her fist against the glass.
He wouldn't meet her eyes.
Locked inside while the walls trembled. While the screams echoed beyond her reach.
---
The memory struck like cold water. She blinked hard, the classroom flickering around her.
He sat two rows back now relaxingly like nothing was wrong.
'That traitor!' She curled her fingers tightly under the desk.
Without knowing Jisoo noticed. She followed Hayeon's gaze and tracked it to the new boy.
Then her smile dimmed.
"He looked at you first," she said quietly, venom slipping beneath her tone.
Hayeon didn't respond.
She had no energy for fake games or girl drama. Not when he was here.
Not when she didn't even know if he was the same person—or if this world just copied the face that haunted her nightmares.