As If Transmigrating Wasn’t Enough, I’m Pregnant?! - Chapter 1.7
“What… what on earth is this…?”
His hoarse voice echoed emptily through the room. He now realized that he had been trapped in the clutches of a vast, inescapable fate that went beyond mere possession. And the name of that cruel cycle was The Wheel of Shattered Fate.
The moment he confirmed the identity of the novel file, all strength drained from Ryu Hae-sol’s hands, and his phone dropped onto the bedsheets with a soft thud.
The Wheel of Shattered Fate. A predetermined tragedy. An inescapable cycle.
Despairing words echoed endlessly in his mind.
Everything felt like one enormous joke. No, calling it a joke would be an understatement. It was a cruel and malicious prank, far too vicious to be funny. He stared blankly into space.
What was he supposed to do now? Was there even any point in struggling against this predetermined fate?
The urge to give up on everything swept over him like a tsunami.
Just then, a sharp telephone ring shattered the silence, filling the room.
Ring-ring-ring!
It wasn’t the phone in his hand. It was the landline on the bedside table.
Still dazed and overwhelmed, he picked up the receiver almost reflexively.
“Yes?”
The voice that came through the receiver belonged to a man who sounded thoroughly businesslike, with a hint of irritation. He spoke as though he knew who was staying in the room and was accustomed to dealing with them. His attitude was clearly not directed toward Do Won-hyung.
“This is the front desk. Your checkout time passed quite a while ago. Aren’t you getting ready to leave? We need to clean the room, so please vacate it as soon as possible.”
The voice was like a cold hand forcibly pulling him away from the enormous wave of despair threatening to engulf him.
That’s right. He wasn’t the protagonist of a tragedy right now. He was merely an unwelcome guest who was about to be kicked out of a hotel room. Unfortunately, Ryu Hae-sol couldn’t even afford the luxury of wallowing in despair.
He briefly replied that he understood and hung up.
His mind snapped back to reality. He hurriedly looked around and gathered his belongings. He had neither the time nor the inclination to wash away the traces of the previous night still lingering on his body. He stuffed his phone and the frayed charger into his worn-out bag, then checked the crumpled bundle of banknotes in his pocket one more time.
This was his entire fortune and the only lifeline he had to survive in this hell.
As he walked down the hotel corridor, took the elevator, and descended to the lobby, he avoided making eye contact with anyone. The magnificent chandeliers, marble floors, and people dressed in expensive clothes—all of it felt like scenery from a world that had nothing to do with him.
He passed the hotel front desk, and the automatic doors slid open. He fled the hotel as though escaping from something.
The city’s hot, humid air touched his skin with startling clarity.
This was real. This was reality itself, not a dream.
Ryu Hae-sol began walking aimlessly.
The streets of Seoul felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Everything was astonishingly identical to the city where Moon Seong-yoon had lived for thirty-two years. And yet, within that familiarity, he sensed a subtle feeling of wrongness.
Something about the people passing by seemed different. Some were unusually tall and exuded an intimidating presence, while others walked beside them with their heads lowered, seemingly cowed by their companions.
Alphas and Omegas.
The social hierarchy he had only ever seen in the novel was unfolding before his eyes as part of the real world.
A bus stop advertising board displayed a pheromone perfume endorsed by a famous Alpha actor. In a pharmacy window, a poster for the latest Omega suppressants prominently featured the logo of the NT Health Group.
Everything around him constantly reminded him that this was the world of the novel.
As he walked, he suddenly came to a stop. Across the street, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the enormous electronic billboard mounted on a towering building.
DK Group.
The logo of the massive corporation owned by Do Won-hyung’s father stood proudly against the blue sky. It belonged to a business empire that held the power to sway South Korea’s economy.
The conglomerate hadn’t existed in the world he originally lived in, but here, DK Group seemed to wield power on an entirely different level. It was as though the entire city were their kingdom.
Ryu Hae-sol gave a bitter smile.
What could someone like me possibly do against an entity that powerful?
Even if he knew the contents of the novel, even if he knew the future, could he really change this overwhelming reality?
He started walking again.
For now, what he needed to do was clear. First, he had to find somewhere to go back to. Even if that place was a hellish home, he needed somewhere to set foot, at least for the time being.
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