RTTFW CH 1.3

It took time for Ent to accept that he had become Jaeyoon. But no one gave Ent any time to adjust.

Ent realized this after meeting his mother.

“Jaeyoon! Dad hit you…”

Hurried footsteps slammed open the door. Neatly tied hair and uneven breathing.

Ent’s eyes widened.

It wasn’t hard to guess who she was.

‘Park Jaeyoon’s, no. My… mother.’

But before Ent could even register this, the person whose gaze met his scowled endlessly.

“… Your mother came, and you won’t even look at her?”

Her warm, gentle voice turned icy in an instant. It was truly strange coming from her, known as the kindest pastry chef at the neighborhood’s famous bakery.

Her once-beloved, most beautiful child seemed utterly dreadful. A rage boiled up from within her.

“Jaeyoon’s fever did go down… but I suddenly got so angry I hit the child. Honey, am I crazy?” ”Just now… you said you hit the child?”

The conversation she’d had with her husband flashed through her mind. At the time, she’d thought it was crazy talk.

No, maybe she was the crazy one.

The moment she met her child’s eyes, she was overcome by a loathing so intense that her heart sank.

Jaeyoon’s mother raised her hand high into the air and struck Ent’s cheek. Staring blankly at her, Ent froze. In that instant, both Ent and the woman who had struck him stood rigid.

“Why… why did I…”

Ridiculously, his mother struck the small child down as if she were the world’s worst villain, then fled the child’s room, terrified of herself.

Ent – no, Jaeyoon – gently touched his own swollen cheek. His burning cheek stung like it had been scalded by fire. The strength drained from Jaeyoon’s legs, and he collapsed right there.

“What is this?” The child’s young voice trembled.

Jaeyoon’s vision blurred.

Strange faces, strange family, strange surroundings. In this unfamiliar space, there was nothing he could trust. Jaeyoon covered his face with his small hands, but tears still fell through his fingers.

Jaeyoon choked back the sound threatening to burst out, determined not to let his crying be heard. The face of his cold father, Count Evant, flashed before him. The face of his brother, Bernil, who always looked at him with icy disdain, also came to mind.

The mansion, the room, the family. They were fading away through Jaeyoon’s blurred vision.

His body shivered with cold. Jaeyoon curled up.

Tears kept welling up from the sorrow.

It was an incredibly painful first day in this place.

Ent Harvilt. No, ordinary high school senior Park Jaeyoon.

He had come here from what was commonly called a ‘fantasy world’ in this place. Because of the bastardly scheme of the God of Time, Omb.

“Disgusting little bastard…”

‘Yeah, yeah.’

Thud!

Jaeyoon quietly closed his eyes, thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ as a kick landed squarely on his shoulder. Students walked past without a second glance, even as they witnessed several people ganging up on one person.

“Doesn’t it hurt? You’re not even making a sound.”
“Ever seen this bastard act like this before?”
He enjoys getting beaten up, you know.”
”Pwahaha!”

Laughter that had nothing to do with the utterly unhappy Jaeyoon echoed hollowly in his ears.

Jaeyoon clicked his tongue. The words ‘Would you enjoy that?’ rose to his lips, but there was no need to stir up trouble.

It was familiar. Jaeyoon was sick of having to call this crap his daily life.

“Ugh…”

After the kids who’d mercilessly beaten him disappeared, he tidied up the scene as usual.

Tap tap. Shaking dirt off his trampled bag, Jaeyoon scowled.

“Ah, who stepped on my bag with gum-covered shoes?”

Sticky, flattened gum was stuck to the end of his bag strap. Annoyed, Jaeyoon tossed his bag aside and slumped against the building wall. Far away, among the cluster of banners, one recently hung banner caught his eye.

〈CONGRATULATIONS! Our School Was Selected as a Bullying-Free Zone in the Community〉

Beneath the text, which seemed utterly mismatched with Jaeyoon’s disheveled appearance, was a picture of children in school uniforms holding hands and smiling. Jaeyoon felt dizzy for a moment and couldn’t easily get up.

“Damn it.”

It really was a shitty reality.

Omb, the God of Time. Thanks to that bastard Omb’s scheme, Jaeyoon had been on Earth for over ten years and had adapted perfectly to this place. His family subjected him to violence and verbal abuse, and he did his best to stay inconspicuous so they would neglect him.

When he first entered Jaeyoon’s body, he hadn’t even started elementary school yet.

He’d thought that if it wasn’t for his family, things might be different.

Of course, that illusion shattered completely after he got slapped by a stranger at his elementary school entrance ceremony.

The people of this world hated him. They hated him even though they didn’t know why, even though they were confused and felt guilty.

‘For my dearly beloved child.’

Jaeyoon still remembered those words spoken by that wretched god, Omb. Spitting out the sand in his mouth, he walked slowly toward the classroom.

“Beloved child?” Jaeyoon’s voice carried a hint of mockery.

He was mocking his former self, the Ent Harbilta, who had once mistakenly believed he was that beloved child.

What Omb loved was not him.

“Ent Harbilta.”

The name that popped out of Jaeyoon’s mouth felt unfamiliar. If he had entered Park Jaeyoon’s body, then naturally Park Jaeyoon’s soul would have entered the body that was originally his own.

What Omb loved was the real Jaeyoon. Jaeyoon was certain of that. He was probably just some passing person sacrificed for that bastard’s ‘beloved child’.

Feeling unusually sentimental that day, Jaeyoon turned away from the classroom and headed toward the library.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Yes, it was all irrelevant now. Jaeyoon was no longer the little child who’d wailed, ‘I want to go back!’

‘I’ll just go to college, graduate somehow, earn money, and become independent.’

Looking back on his life, he realized he was never someone connected to words like love or affection.

The esteemed Harbilta family. His brilliant older brother, Bernil Harbilta, outstanding in every way, and his father, Evant Harbilta, who spouted nonsense like “If you’re useless, death is all you deserve.”

And he himself was the most useless, talentless scum among the Harbiltas.

Jaeyoon clenched his fist. Harbilta? That was laughable nonsense. He didn’t need friends or family.

‘I’ll just live alone.’

Still, maybe because Omb was a dog-like god, animals didn’t hate him. That was enough for Jaeyoon.

Omb probably thought he’d die on his own if thrown into this hellish world, but Jaeyoon couldn’t let that happen, even if it was unfair. He intended to survive here by any means necessary and live happily ever after with a beloved pet.

“… What?”

Jaeyoon dropped the book with a thud. The corner of the thick book, which had landed awkwardly, hit his instep, and he barely stifled a cry of pain.

‘Empire… Alcont?’

Jaeyoon frowned at the familiar name.

Studying had always been his sole talent, and his only hobby was reading books.

He read everything indiscriminately – specialized texts and humanities books for his studies, of course, but also novels of every genre. Among them, his favorite was, without question, fantasy.

Fantasy worlds so incredible they astonished even him, who had lived in such a world – worlds filled with magnificent worldviews, mysterious creatures, and beings beyond human. At one point, Jaeyoon had even fallen into the delusion that, given the intricate detail of these fantasy novels, ‘maybe there are others like me who crossed over to Earth this way.’

Driven solely by the goal of getting into his target university, Jaeyoon cut off even the books he loved so much and threw himself into studying. Then, just a few days ago, he finally received the tearfully joyful news of his acceptance. For the first time in ages, he picked up a book.

“… Did I order this book?”

Given the circumstances, Jaeyoon often ordered books online. Perhaps because they were books he’d ordered some time ago, a book with an unfamiliar title had somehow slipped in among them.

〈Emperor Fedrian〉

A rough black cover with the title stamped in gold foil. The thick hardcover looked quite sophisticated.

It was clearly a fantasy novel, yet no matter how hard he thought, he had no memory of ordering this unfamiliar title himself. For some reason, Jaeyoon pushed aside the other book he’d been reading and picked up Emperor Fedrian.

And throughout the entire time he read it, Jaeyoon was plagued by an inexplicable sense of unease.