BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP.

"Urgh..."

The piercing of Sujin's alarm clock shrieked through her small apartment, jolting her from a restless slumber. The dissonant notes seemed to mock the hollowness that lurked within her as she reluctantly dragged herself from the cocoon of her comfy blankets into the cold apartment air. Had she not paid the heating bill this month? Could her bank account even survive paying for it right now? Ugh, she'd deal with that later. Maybe. The morning light seeped through the curtains, casting a feeble glow on the barren walls that surrounded her.

A glance at the clock reminded Sujin that she had no time to linger in the warmth of her blankets. With a heavy sigh, Sujin shuffled to the kitchen still wrapped in blankets, her movements sluggish and devoid of enthusiasm. The grayness of her surroundings mirrored the pervasive irritation and depression that clung to her like a relentless shadow.

As she prepared a cereal for breakfast—no time for hot food—Sujin's eyes lingered on the stack of bills strewn across the kitchen counter. Each envelope held a grim reminder of the financial strain that added another layer of anxiety to her churning stomach. Bills for rent, utilities, student loans...She grumbled, slapping a flower pot down on top of them to hide them for now. After chomping on some cereal grumpily, she rushed to brush her teeth, wash her face, and pull on office clothes. Then she grabbed her backpack and was out the door.

The crowded streets outside matched the anxiety in her mind as Sujin navigated the sea of faces. The skyscrapers loomed overhead like sentinels, their exteriors cold. The commute to her uninspiring office, a journey she had made countless times, felt like a relentless march towards an inevitable abyss. Dramatic? Maybe. True to her feelings? Yup. Sujin had always believed humans weren't made to sleep in boxes and then go to work in boxes on computer boxes all day every day. Unfortunately, she had rent to pay.

Upon reaching her office building, ParanCore, Sujin slipped into the thongs of chattering workers to squeeze towards the elevators. The metallic hum of fluorescent lights overhead accompanied the cacophony of laughter and muttered conversations and the monotonous tap of heels against linoleum. Colleagues cast fleeting glances her way, their eyes holding a mix of disinterest and subtle disdain. At least they weren't being rude to her, like usual.

In the gray box of her office, Sujin settled into the drudgery of her mind-numbing tasks. The clicking of keyboards and the low hum of conversation formed a dissonant melody that reverberated through the sterile environment. Her colleagues—Jill, Yoona, Gyeoul, and all the others—ignored her completely, passing by her cubicle to talk to each other and casting her irritated glances every once in a while. Sujin continued to mind her own business, munching on the sandwich she'd bought on the way to work. 

Surprisingly, no one was bothering her. She shouldn't have expected it to last, sigh. In between two seemingly endless conference calls, her boss, Mr. Seo, ordered her to his office, where he berated her for the slightest mistakes just because he was in a bad mood—he did this to his employees all the time, but he seemed to particularly like using Sujin as a verbal punching bad.. The scoldings, disproportionate to her errors, intensified the suffocating atmosphere that enveloped her in the corporate abyss. Under the desk, Sujin counted her hairs on the back of her hand until he was done letting off steam at her expense. 

The clock on her work computer screen crawled at an agonizing pace, each tick a reminder of the tedium that defined her workday. The harsh fluorescent lights above cast an unforgiving glow on her weary face, revealing the exhaustion and irritation that had settled into the lines etched by a life lived in grayscale. Under her desk, her feet tapped with impatience and boredom. 

When the clock finally struck 6 PM, Sujin shoved everything into her bag, stood up, and practically fled the office, as she usually did. The crowded streets outside offered no solace, the faceless strangers merely extensions of the isolation that clung to her like a second shadow. Wow...city life really wasn't all people said it was, was it? She'd grown up in Andong, and all anyone had ever talked about was moving to Seoul. For work, for the shopping, for the people. But it was really more lonely than any village out there, wasn't it? On the subway back, Sujin was jarred this way and that by crowded shoulders, gritting her teeth and glaring back at strangers who snapped at her for accidentally tripping this way and that.

Ah, home sweet home at last. Well, home...box home at last. Sujin had reached her apartment. She sank onto the worn-out couch, the weight of the day's trials pressing down on her like an oppressive force, which was nothing new. A glance at the stack of bills, still untouched on the kitchen counter and crushed under the flower pot, served as a stark reminder of the financial abyss she faced.

After washing her face carelessly again and microwaving some leftover mandu, Sujin collapsed onto the couch with her tablet and the plate of dumplings. As she munched, she pulled up her web novel application. Her eyes lit up, and she made a noise of excitement.

Would you look at that! The Shining Apothecary Princess had finally gotten an update! Sure, the series was technically finished, but there were still extras coming out. Sujin munched and pulled up the newest extra, reading it hungrily. This was her favorite series, after all. It had been coming out for ten years prior, and Sujin had pored over every chapter since high school, memorizing all of the ins and outs of the alchemy recipes provided, buying every piece of merch she could find, cosplaying her favorite character—the best friend of the female lead, Emily Galwain.

As she delved into the extra, the characters and potions offered a brief reprieve from the harsh reality that encroached upon her existence. She giggled at the chapter, slurping it up like soup. For a moment, the gray world outside ceased to exist, replaced by the vivid hues of an alchemical fantasy. 

But the respite was short-lived. Sujin fell asleep with the book still cradled in her handsafter just ten minutes, the mandu getting cold on the small coffee table. The velvety covers of the Shining Apothecary Princess world embraced her, enveloping her in a warmth that transcended the boundaries of her own existence. She dreamed she was the female lead, Annabelle Hethberns, with a harem of men chasing after her, never having to worry about her own financial security...

_____

BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP.

The alarm, again, Sujin slapped it off, groaning, then realized that she had slapped the coffee table, not her alarm clock. Where was she? She groggily opened her eyes...Oh, she'd fallen asleep on the couch again. Ah, the mandu was bad now. She rubbed her eyes and stumbled over to her room, slapping the alarm off.

And then she promptly fell back asleep face-first on her bed.

BEEP.

BEEP.

SLAP!

Sujin slapped the alarm again. She groaned and sat up, looking at the time.

"What the—?!"

Panic gripped her. Her alarm had only gone off twice! How had she slept so late?!?! She exploded to her feet, brushed her teeth in two swipes, chugged a glass of water, grabbed her laptop and was out the door again, in the same outfit as yesterday. In her haste to get to work, she had left behind her only companion – a steaming cup of coffee.

With a sprint that could rival the speed of Olympic athletes, Sujin whirled across the street, oblivious to the world around her. If she was late, Mr. Seo was sure to berate her for at least an hour on timeliness, and then pick at all her other flaws, existent and nonexistent. She hurried forward across another street.

The bus, an ominous metal behemoth, hurtled towards her with a thunderous roar.

Sujin didn't even notice it coming. She barely heard the shouts of passerby, the honk of the horn, the squeal of the breaks.

All she saw, was a huge metal bus front in her face when she turned, bright lights blinding her.

And then, nothing.

...

...

...

Her ears rang. Her head hurt. Her whole body felt like it had been beaten by a gang of high school bullies. There was a blinding light behind her eyes. It felt like she was floating in time and space. What had happened? Had she been hit by a bus? Had she died?

When she opened her eyes, the world was a hazy panorama of colors and shapes. A red velvet canopy arched above her, and as she shifted, the snug, velvety covers encasing her whispered tales of opulence and antiquity.

Confusion clouded her senses as a voice echoed through the room, calling out a name with urgency:

"Lyre!" The high pitch of the tone pierced through Sujin's foggy consciousness. Blinking against the remnants of a headache, she found herself staring at a woman dressed in a maid's attire, who was leaning over her through the velvet canopy curtains.

"Lyre...?" Sujin's voice, tinged with disorientation, cut through the room's silence. "The instrument?"

The maid laughed nervously. "...Lyre, please don't play jokes on this old maid, you know my heart can't take it..."

"...Who is Lyre?"

The maid's eyes widened in disbelief. She clutched at her heart, suddenly as pale as a ghost and looking like she might fall over in a puff of smoke. "You… you don't remember who you are? M-My Lady!"

Sujin's laughter bubbled forth, a mix of incredulity and hysteria. She held her forehead, eyes wide and manic. "Remember? I think I've gone completely mad. Am I hallucinating?"

The maid, however, looked stricken. "But you must remember! You are Lyre, the young lady of Duke Penbroom's estate!"

Sujin's amusement faded, replaced by a gnawing realization. "Duke Penbroom? Lyre? This can't be real. I'm really not this creative...Did someone play an elaborate joke on me?"

With a furrowed brow, Sujin asked the only question that mattered: "Where am I, and who are you?"

The maid, her eyes still wide with worry, answered, "You're at your father Duke Penbroom's estate. I am Eliza, your handmaid, and I was your milkmaid when you were born! You can't have forgotten me!"

A chill ran down Sujin's spine as the pieces fell into place.

No way...

Lyre. Duke Penbroom. Eliza. All characters from The Shining Apothecary Princess.

You're kidding.

Had she actually died and isekai'd into The Shining Apothecary Princess...as the series' most horrible, infamous villainess?! You know...the one who was sentenced to die a thousand deaths in honey, fire ants, and being buried alive by the male lead?!