I Became My Ex-Boyfriend’s Concubine - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2

‘Wait.’
Danbi quickly pulled the handle inward. With a soft chime, the door locked again.
Current time: 11:20 PM.
It wasn’t the sort of hour anyone but a close friend would drop by without warning. And the only people close to her were Som and Ihyeon—barely even those two.
Som had left the house moments ago, and Ihyeon was…….

“I agreed to it too. Taking your name off.”

What could that person possibly say now, showing up at her place like this? She could already picture those indifferent eyes, the words that would carve into her chest without mercy.
And besides.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

In eight years of knowing each other, she’d never heard Ihyeon knock like that.
Danbi turned the matter over in her mind, then pressed the door viewer button mounted above the shoe rack. Something on the other side of the door came into view.
A familiar delivery box—the sort you saw anywhere.
‘……A box?’
Something felt off.
Who leaves a delivery and knocks? Could someone be hiding in a blind spot?
Danbi paced the entrance with arms crossed, then stopped dead.
‘Ugh, forget it. This endless circling isn’t like me at all!’
Leaving her spiraling thoughts behind, she pulled the door open in one decisive motion.
Only the delivery box sat there, nothing else. Mercifully, no one was around.
Danbi quickly grabbed the box and closed the door. It was modest in size—just right to nestle against her chest.
Why would someone knock at this hour just to have her pick it up? What on earth was inside?
“Could there actually be a bomb in here……!”
The moment that thought crossed her mind, she laughed at herself.
She’d been playing games too much lately—it was warping her mind.
Danbi carefully peeled away the box tape. Inside, wrapped in soft foam, lay a single object.
“What is this?”
As if entranced, she slowly lowered it onto her head.
The visor was transparent like goggles, but since it curved around her ears and the back of her skull, it resembled a Helmet Device.
And the moment she pressed the protruding button on its surface.
“……!”
Everything went dark.
Or rather, the location changed.
Danbi slowly looked around. Just moments ago she’d been in the living room, but now she stood in the middle of a pitch-black space.
Was this even a room?
She couldn’t tell where the floor ended and the walls began. It felt like drifting weightless in the depths of space.
Danbi retraced her steps one by one.
All she’d done was put that strange device on her head and press the button. And then, as if she’d been sucked into somewhere…….
‘Oh, that’s right!’

“When the new title drops, I’ll send it your way. Just play that and burn off some stress.”

Could this be that gaming device? If so, was she inside a game right now?
Only then did Som’s voice echo back to her—something about an incredible game in development.
Som, who always left on time, had taken to staying late night after night. It had to be something spectacular.
‘If this is that game, it really is incredible!’
Danbi barely managed to calm her racing heart. An excitement unlike anything before surged through her entire body.
“So what do I do now?”
She struck what she thought was a combat stance, ready to take on monsters, but the space around her remained unchanged.
Did they have a tutorial or manual for beginners or something?
That’s when it happened.
Crackle—
A transparent blue window materialized before her eyes, accompanied by a familiar notification chime. On it, only four letters were written.

「Game Over」

“Game Over? I haven’t done anything yet.”
As if the display understood her words, a chime sounded and the text shifted.

「Would you like to restart the game from the beginning?」

Below that were two options: YES and NO.
Just two choices.
“Hmm, something feels off about this.”
Danbi hesitated for a moment, then shouted at the top of her lungs so the sound echoed all around.
“Yes!!”
The instant she cried out, the floor beneath her feet began to writhe in a grotesque manner. It was like stepping into undulating black waves.
The moment she fell backward, her body lifted weightlessly into the void. Then the black background around her started to peel away in blocky, pixelated shapes.
But that wasn’t all.
“W-what is this!”
Starting from Danbi’s toes, she began to peel away in the exact same manner. No—she was beginning to vanish.
‘This can’t be happening, that—!’
The moment she tried to cry out, even her mouth disappeared. Then, into the space where the black background had vanished, a flood of brilliant light erupted all at once.
Danbi squeezed her eyes shut.

Whoosh!
Before the light could fade, a cacophony of voices seized her ears.
Danbi slowly opened her eyes. Looking around, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.
But the room was extremely small. It was just large enough to sit in, with walls closing in on all sides. The space even swayed slightly side to side.
“W-where am I?”
The room that had seemed to stretch endlessly before was now so cramped she couldn’t even stretch her arms.
Why such an extreme swing?
Then the swaying stopped momentarily, and a small door beside her swung wide open. A face suddenly thrust itself through the gap.
“Young mistress! We’re almost there—”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“A-ahhhhhhh!”
Danbi let out a shriek, and the other person screamed in response. A brief silence followed.
“W-who are you?”
“Why did you suddenly scream like that, young mistress? Is something wrong—”
“Som?”
“Yes?”
Danbi opened her eyes wide and leaned her face close to the woman.
Round eyes, a blunt nose. Even those freckles on her full cheeks that she used to grumble about hiding with concealer every morning.
It was unmistakably Som.
“Som, is that really you? What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to go home?”
“Home? I’m not sure what you mean—”
“But you…”
The girl who always wore heavy makeup was now bare-faced, and she seemed to be wearing some kind of filthy, tattered cloth.
But what struck Danbi most was how she was speaking.
“Are you filming some kind of drama or something?”
“A drama, you say?”
Danbi looked down at her own hands gripping the window frame. The sensation against her skin felt unfamiliar, and now she noticed her sleeves looked different from usual.
A pale purple jacket, deep indigo skirt hem. Soft silk touching her skin all over.
“Young mistress, are you perhaps feeling dizzy? It seems like something might be wrong—Young mistress!”
Leaving Som’s grasp behind, Danbi pushed through the door and stepped outside. When she turned around, she saw the small room she’d just been in.
Four men carrying it on their shoulders—it was a Palanquin.
“Hey, these silk ribbons are pretty~ nice!”
“Come take a look, everyone!”
Where cement had been, there were now elegant roof tiles. Where asphalt had been, there was now dirt. Everyone around her wore traditional clothing.
“Surely not…”
That’s when a blue window appeared in the air.

「This place is the imaginary nation of Dohwaguk.
You are a citizen of Dohwaguk.
Complete the mission, and save Dohwaguk.」

“You’re telling me this is all a game right now?”
Danbi swept Som into her arms in a single motion.
“I can’t believe a game feels this real. You really are a genius, Som!”
“What? Oh, miss. That’s not—!”
Leaving the flustered girl behind, Danbi dashed excitedly into the marketplace. Som hurried after her, bewildered.
“Miss, where are you going! Miss!”
Danbi wove frantically between neat clothing and jewelry displays.
As she walked enchanted by sights she’d never glimpsed in the real world, her eyes suddenly arrested on a single point.
“Wow, look at that color. How did they render something like that?”
Layered skirts cascading cleanly downward in a riot of hues. Without thinking, Danbi reached out her hand.
Just then, a bamboo cane flicked sharply against the back of her hand.
“Young lady, you mustn’t touch that carelessly. It costs a fortune.”
She turned her head and saw a rough-faced man. A subtitle appeared beneath him: “Bang Pildu, Cloth Merchant.”
“Sir, what are you doing? How dare you touch our lady’s delicate hands like that!”
Som rushed over at once, seized Danbi’s hand protectively, and glared at the cloth merchant with narrowed eyes.
“Som.”
“Yes, miss? Are you all right?”
“Pinch my cheek for me.”
“What?”
“Go on!”
Reluctantly, Som pinched Danbi’s cheek lightly. A sharp prickling pain spread through it, and her lips curved upward of their own accord.
It was exactly like the real thing.
“I’d believe this was reality even if you told me it was.”
“What?”
“Som, do you have any game money?”
“Game money? What do you—”
“Oh, money! I mean money!”
“Money? Well, I do have some.”
The moment Som reached for her pouch, Danbi snatched it and pressed it into the cloth merchant’s palm. A heavy bundle of copper coins clinked loudly in his hand.
“Miss, if you give away all of it, what will we do! That’s our entire savings—!”
“What does it matter? It’s just a game. I can earn more. I’m good at games!”
“A game?”
The cloth merchant, now cradling the pouch, hurriedly bowed and shifted his tone entirely. Apparently, money transcended all boundaries here too.
“I shall serve you with the utmost devotion.”
Danbi smiled and followed him through the door. But then Som grabbed her arm from behind.
“Miss, we don’t have time for this!”
“Just a moment, that’s all.”
“Your Majesty is waiting for you!”
Som’s hand flew to her mouth as if she’d misspoken. In that same instant, every gaze turned toward her, and the merchants hastily retreated into their shops.
“Your Majesty? What do you mean by that?”
Danbi tilted her head in confusion, and Som whispered softly.
“You were on your way to the palace, remember? You forgot?”
“…The palace? Wait. So Your Majesty means the king? I’m meeting the king? Why on earth would I?”
“Why? Because you need to receive the Rank of Concubine.”
Danbi’s eyes went wide as saucers.
“What?!”
At that moment, a crackling sound filled the air, and a blue window materialized before her eyes.

「A Sub Quest has arrived.
―Palace Entry」

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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