By Zephyria 
It was nothing short of a shock to hear that Hyun-wook, who had been so healthy, passed away in an instant. Hyun-wook had boasted a healthy, sturdy physique—so much so that Seo-joo used to tell me every day how envious he was and that he wanted to be like that.
But to think it happened just a few days after I died… Hyun-wook’s health likely didn’t deteriorate after my death, but rather had been declining steadily since before then, after Seo-joo was gone.
Neither of them told me explicitly, but I knew they had feelings for each other. Looking back at Seo-joo’s meaningful words during his lifetime, it was an emotion that wasn’t hard to notice.
It wasn’t my place to interfere, so I kept my mouth shut. Regardless, it is a fact that the death of us brothers had a profound impact on Hyun-wook’s life. Still, to die from malnutrition, pneumonia, and the aftereffects of a high fever… it breaks my heart.
“Since his nutritional state was poor, getting caught in the rain caused his fever to spike. Because the high fever lasted for several days, his lungs were completely ruined… He suffered for a few days and then passed.”
“What do you mean ‘then passed’? Why are you talking about it so lightly, as if it’s someone else’s story?”
“I’m saying I prefer it this way. When I opened my eyes, I was here, and apparently, I was sick here too, because my parents were nursing me with such worried looks.”
“They did?”
“Yeah. But it’s so different from over there. Do you know how it was there? My parents were so busy teaching classes until the day I died that they couldn’t even be there for my final moments. Isn’t that just too much?”
“What? No, then were you alone? You were alone in the hospital while you were that sick?”
My final day. On that last day as I ended my life, Hyun-wook was by my side. He held my hand tightly and whispered that I had suffered a lot because of my illness, telling me not to worry about anything and to go in peace. Hyun-wook had protected me until my very end, yet on his own final day, there was no one by his side.
What could a mere class be? While his son was dying! Rage surged within me. Just imagining Hyun-wook closing his eyes in lonely solitude made my heart ache. I held Hyun-wook’s hand and shed tears.
“But the parents here love me so much. They didn’t leave my side for a single moment, and all their attention was focused solely on me. That’s why I adapted so well. It’s almost as if this was where I originally lived. I was terrified when I realized this was that novel, though.”
Hyun-wook emphasized how well he had adapted, smiling nonchalantly as if it were nothing. But how did we all end up coming here?
“I wondered about that too, and I thought maybe we were connected through the medium of our greatest happiness, or something like that. Seo-joo always said it, right? That he wanted to be born in a place like this. I’ve thought all sorts of things, like maybe Seo-joo loved it so much that it became a longing that brought us here.”
“I thought that too. Whether some strong part of us was contained in this novel and our souls were drawn here. But isn’t it too funny? The names and faces are so similar.”
At my words, Hyun-wook nodded seriously. It would have been fine if at least the names were different, but since both the names and faces were identical, it couldn’t help but be confusing.
“I was so shocked when I saw you yesterday that I couldn’t sleep. To think you’re that crazy psycho Grand Imperial Concubine. Wow, since commoners can’t see the faces of the imperial family other than the Emperor, I couldn’t have imagined it. Their faces aren’t even released to the press.”
“How shocked do you think I was? I seriously thought I was going to faint. L-look at this face. And the body.”
“Hey, but you’re freaking pretty. Is this what an Omega is like? This is more shocking than meeting again after death.”
“Since I’m an Omega, I can even have children. You should be the godfather to our kids later.”
“You crazy bastard. You, having kids.”
Hyun-wook frowned and put his hand over his mouth as if he were actually feeling nauseous. Right. Hearing that a childhood friend had become prettier than a woman and was going to have children—it would be hard not to feel like throwing up.
“But your personality is so different from the original? Right now, you’re not the Grand Imperial Concubine, you’re just Cha Hae-joo himself. You’re as bland as pickled cabbage with all the salt washed out. The Grand Imperial Concubine’s charm was being vicious.”
“Who cares about charm or being bland? As you know from reading the book, if I live with that personality, we all end up in a total annihilation ending, so why would I live like that? Above all, I don’t even like the Emperor. Neither does he. For now, my plan is for my brother and me to get out of here and live our lives before all that chaos happens.”
“Brother? The brother in the story who started the coup?”
“He’s still fine. Having experienced my brother here, I can see his life got twisted because he was caught between Grandfather and the Emperor. He was just used and learned only the bad things. His innate personality doesn’t actually like that kind of thing… Hey, come closer.”
I whispered into Hyun-wook’s ear, detailing how I had been living here, holding my breath and getting beaten by my grandfather. I spilled everything, from barely escaping the Emperor’s attention and living comfortably like a stranger, to the incident not long ago where I almost got hit by my grandfather but was caught.
“That old man was vicious in the novel, and he’s the same in reality? Where is there even a place left to hit you? One blow looks like it would break all your ribs.”
“Because of that, the Emperor keeps coming here. In the end, I’m grateful for the help, but it’s also uncomfortable. And scary.”
“Huh? But you know, looking at him yesterday, it seemed like the Emperor likes you a lot?”
I let out a hollow laugh at Hyun-wook, who was talking nonsense with a fairly serious expression. He was probably saying that because the contents he read in the novel had been internalized.
In the novel, no matter how much the Grand Imperial Concubine went mad with envy and jealousy to torment other concubines, the Emperor always forgave him and let it slide. It wasn’t even forgiveness; he simply ignored it. This was because he was suppressed by the power of the Grand Imperial Concubine’s family.
Even when the Movie Palace first entered, the Emperor took extra care not to hurt the Grand Imperial Concubine’s feelings. Thus, everyone believed the Emperor favored the Grand Imperial Concubine greatly.
However, that was a play to deceive the people of the Grand Imperial Concubine’s side. It was surprising how one could immerse themselves so deeply in such fake emotions.
It would certainly be the same now. Considering what my grandfather and our family had done, far from love, he would likely want to refuse even being in the same space as me.
“I thought you were being loved immensely. I’m telling you, the way the Emperor looked at me yesterday was freaking murderous.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that since he found out that I, whom he thought was the enemy’s right hand, was being beaten by that enemy, he’s developed a sort of internal kinship. Maybe that’s why his visits have been frequent lately.”
“Hmm, I don’t think it’s that kind of emotion? That’s definitely…”
“Ugh, enough. Yesterday, after he held my face and gave me medicine, he just started biting his own arm! How vicious is that guy? I wanted to hit him once, and that’s why he did that to hold himself back. You know all about the relationships here.”
I scolded Hyun-wook, who was tilting his head in curiosity. I know that according to the setting, there is no way Joo Min-hyeok would sincerely love me. Therefore, I don’t even expect such warm and fluttering emotions in the first place.
More than that, I had to discuss how to live after leaving the palace and what to do with the reunited Hyun-wook. I had to think of a realistic way to survive here.
Since the Emperor could just live happily with the Movie Palace, I thought the best course of action was to humor him as much as possible and maintain a good relationship. Since I had already triggered his sympathy, he would probably think of me as pitiful. When I meet him tonight, I’ll first apologize for the molestation yesterday, and if he presses me, I’ll just pretend I don’t remember it well.
“Palace Lord user. A message has arrived from the Queen Mother’s palace.”
“The Queen Mother’s palace?”
While I was catching up with Hyun-wook, a court lady approached and informed me of the message from the Queen Mother’s palace. Why did the Queen Mother contact me? Since coming here, she had never contacted me personally.
“Her Majesty the Queen Mother has requested that you come to the Seokjojeon Grand Dining Hall by six o’clock this evening to have dinner with His Majesty, the Queen Mother, and several relatives.”
“Me too?”
Is this a sudden gathering on a day I’m supposed to have dinner with Joo Min-hyeok? But why are they calling me? I wasn’t called to gatherings like this. Unnecessary tension and worry washed over me.
The court lady soothed me, saying that since the Queen Mother contacted me personally, I must attend. I wasn’t keen on it, but I knew I couldn’t ignore the words of a superior.
But I really don’t want to go. There’s no one in the imperial family who likes me, so why bother calling me? Since I’ve already been called, it can’t be helped, but since I don’t know who else is coming, I’ll just stay quiet and then leave.
∗ ∗ ∗
Inside the Grand Dining Hall, where I arrived on time, people were already gathered and seated. As I entered the dining hall, the guests who saw me stood up to greet me, and the Queen Mother gave me a benevolent smile.
“Grand Imperial Concubine, you’ve arrived? Then we should have met and come together.”
A familiar Alpha’s voice sounded from behind me. Turning around, I saw Joo Min-hyeok entering, looking as neat as ever, smiling brightly toward me. Huh? He’s smiling?
Seeing him smile like that, it seems he’s willing to overlook the fact that I touched and groped him? Contrary to my actions—where I had even searched for the severity of punishment for molestation—Joo Min-hyeok seemed perfectly fine.
“Let’s go and sit over there, Grand Imperial Concubine.”
Joo Min-hyeok guided me toward the center where his seat was. The people who had stood up to greet the Emperor looked at Joo Min-hyeok and me with very curious eyes. That would make sense. The sight of the two of us was different from usual.
“I have prepared the Grand Imperial Concubine’s seat over there, so the Emperor should not worry and enjoy his meal comfortably.”
Joo Min-hyeok and I, who were heading toward the front seats, stopped in our tracks at the sudden words and turned our heads toward the direction the Queen Mother indicated.
It was near the door I had entered through—the very last seat of the guest area, far removed from Joo Min-hyeok’s seat.
The furthest, most secluded seat. If I sat there, I wouldn’t even be seen, so I would be out of people’s sight. Their attention would naturally be focused on the Emperor and the Queen Mother.
I couldn’t help but smile at the seat assignment, where the Queen Mother’s intention was clearly visible. So this is why she called me? To make me look ridiculous. While cursing inwardly and about to head to that seat, Joo Min-hyeok grabbed my hand.
“The Palace Lord is my spouse, so naturally, the seat is next to me. Why was it arranged over there?”
Joo Min-hyeok asked chillingly while smiling gently. However, as if she had expected Joo Min-hyeok’s reaction, the Queen Mother didn’t bat an eye and gave a bright smile toward the Emperor.
“That is precisely why I arranged it there. Since he is the Emperor’s only concubine, should there not be no negligence in treating the guests? It was meant for him to converse with the guests here and get to know them, but it seems the Emperor dislikes it. I believe the Grand Imperial Concubine’s thoughts will differ from the Emperor’s.”
Differ? How? If anyone’s feeling bad, it’s me. Still, since there’s no other way, I’ll have to humor her as much as possible and crawl to survive. Such is my fate. I’ve won the prize of being the odd man out, so I’ll just have to eat well so I don’t get indigestion.