Minseok Lee was always the first one to arrive at the hospital when a shift started.
He had just passed his final exams.
A grueling test of everything he'd learned throughout his years of medical school and he couldn't stop the smile that lingered on his face.
He was officially a doctor now.
A real doctor.
The weight of the world seemed to lift from his shoulders as he walked out of the examination hall, his phone buzzing in his pocket with congratulatory messages from family and friends.
The next chapter of his life was unfolding, and it was full of possibilities.
Perhaps a research position at a leading hospital, maybe a residency in a foreign country, or even opening a practice back in his hometown.
Minseok had worked so hard to get here.
It had been a long journey, filled with sleepless nights and endless textbooks, but it was worth it.
He had earned this.
The late autumn sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the bustling streets.
Minseok's footsteps echoed softly on the pavement as he made his way toward the bus stop.
He was in no hurry.
His day was finished, and he was already thinking about his celebration.
A quiet dinner, maybe a few drinks, and then a good night's sleep.
The world around him felt like it was finally opening up.
But life has a way of turning in an instant.
A screeching sound.
A tire bursting, followed by the roar of an engine revving out of control.
Minseok barely had time to react.
He looked to his left, and there it was: the giant shadow of a truck barreling down the street.
Everything moved too quickly.
His legs refused to move, his thoughts frozen in the instant of terror.
It was as if time itself was laughing at him, daring him to move, but his body wouldn't respond.
Then, it was too late.
The truck slammed into him with the force of a thousand storms, and everything went black.
["..."]
Minseok awoke to a sensation he couldn't quite place.
A disorientation, a fuzzy feeling creeping across his mind as he slowly surfaced from the depths of unconsciousness.
His body felt heavy, as if every inch of it had been weighed down by an invisible force.
He was no longer in the familiar, sterile confines of a hospital room.
No.
He was... somewhere else.
The air around him was thick, and heavy with an unfamiliar fragrance, something floral, mingling with an odd mixture of perfume and the musky scent of old wood.
It smelled like something from a past era, not like anything he had ever encountered in his life.
He blinked, his eyelids fighting against the unfamiliar pressure as he slowly opened them.
The first thing he saw was a crystal chandelier, its ornate design sparkling faintly in the dim light.
Minseok's mind scrambled to make sense of what he was seeing.
The ceiling above him was high, intricately decorated with designs he couldn't even begin to identify.
The room itself... The room was vast, sprawling.
It looked like something out of an old period drama, far too grand for the life he knew.
Panic crept up his spine.
Where was he?
His body felt strange.
Unfamiliar.
The fabric beneath his hands was soft and luxurious, unlike anything he'd ever touched.
He could feel the weight of silk slipping between his fingers.
His head throbbed with dull pain, but it was more than just that.
It was as if something had shifted within him like he had been wrenched out of one life and placed in another.
It was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
He shifted, groaning as his body moved against the plush bed.
But it wasn't the stiff, familiar mattress of his apartment.
No, this was far too extravagant, far too comfortable.
"Wha—?" Minseok began, but the sound that left his lips wasn't his.
It was high.
It was soft.
He stopped, his breath catching in his throat.
No.
His eyes snapped down to his body in a flash of horror.
A dress.
A long, flowing gown of deep violet silk, embroidered with intricate gold thread, wrapped around his torso like something from a royal court.
He instinctively recoiled, his mind screaming in disbelief.
His hands... slender, delicate hands.
Soft.
Uncalloused.
His nails were painted in a deep shade of crimson, perfectly manicured, the jewelry on his fingers glistening in the dim light.
Minseok's pulse quickened.
He looked at his arms, and his legs—smooth, white skin stretched over limbs that didn't belong to him.
He tried to push himself up, only to be met with a sudden wave of dizziness, his head spinning wildly.
No, no, no!
This wasn't real.
This couldn't be happening.
With trembling hands, Minseok felt his face.
The skin was smooth, but there was something different about it, almost too perfect, like a porcelain doll's face.
He cupped his cheeks and his fingers found the shape of high cheekbones, and a pointed chin.
A small, upturned nose.
His hair... His hair was long, flowing like a waterfall of platinum blonde, strands of it spilling over his shoulders like silk.
It wasn't possible.
He was... he was...
Minseok's stomach churned.
He had read about this.
He had read the stories where someone would wake up in another person's body.
He had read about people who reincarnated into different worlds.
But that was all fiction, wasn't it?
Just stories, novels, and light fantasies to entertain people during dull afternoons.
They weren't real.
They couldn't be real.
But here he was, staring at a body that wasn't his.
A body that didn't belong to Minseok Lee.
A woman's body.
A princess's body.
Princess Seraphina Lumastra.
Minseok staggered to his feet, grabbing onto the bedpost for support as the room continued to spin.
His breath came in sharp, shallow gasps.
The name, the memory, it hit him like a ton of bricks.
Seraphina Lumastra was a character he had read about in one of those romance novels.
The villainess.
A woman doomed to a tragic fate in a royal court, destined to be betrayed, then discarded.
Her arrogance, her cruelty, she was one of those characters who, in the end, was killed off in the most tragic, dramatic way imaginable.
Minseok had skimmed her story years ago, bored by the predictable plot and the cliche tropes.
But now, standing in the center of her world, it all came rushing back.
He wasn't Minseok Lee anymore. He was Seraphina Lumastra.
The realization hit him with a sickening thud in his chest.
Minseok reached for his head as if trying to shake the unfamiliar thoughts from his mind.
But the memories weren't just foreign, they were his now.
He could remember the arrogance, the cruelty, the coldness that Seraphina had embraced throughout her life.
He could hear her voice, sweet but with a venomous edge.
He could feel her pride, her disdain for everyone who wasn't of her own bloodline.
The weight of her life settled on his shoulders.
No.
He couldn't be this person.
He couldn't be this villainess.
Yet, everything around him, the lavish room, the silk sheets, the jewelry on his fingers.
Everything screamed her name.
The life of Princess Seraphina Lumastra.
Trying to calm his breathing, Minseok—no, Seraphina moved shakily toward the mirror, drawn by an odd, desperate curiosity.
He had to see it.
He had to face it.
What he saw nearly made him stumble.
The face reflected in the glass was everything the memories told him it would be: beautiful, cold, and proud.
But those were not his eyes staring back at him.
They were Seraphina's eyes.
Gray, cold, distant, yet somehow calculating.
His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he stood there, frozen in shock.
This couldn't be happening.
But it was.
This wasn't a dream.
It wasn't some kind of hallucination.
He was Seraphina Lumastra now.
He had no choice but to accept it.
Minseok—no, Seraphina, stood frozen in front of the mirror, the reflection staring back at him as if mocking his very existence.
His… her gray eyes held an almost predatory gleam in them, a look of cold disdain that he could not shake, no matter how much he willed it.
The face that once belonged to a cruel, arrogant princess now belonged to him, Minseok Lee, a doctor who had been minding his own business before fate decided to play its hand.
He took a step back, his feet unsteady beneath him as the unfamiliar gown swished around his legs.
It was ornate, a mix of rich purple fabric and gold embroidery, the kind of clothing meant for royalty, not for someone like him.
The overwhelming heaviness of it all pressed in on him, and the air itself seemed too thick, too stifling to breathe in.
What now?
What was he supposed to do?
Minseok couldn't even form a coherent thought before his head began to ache again, as if a thousand foreign memories were jostling for attention in his mind.
It wasn't just the memories of Seraphina's life, but also the expectations of it.
The destiny she had to fulfill.
Her father was a king, an unforgiving ruler who had no tolerance for weakness or failure.
Seraphina had been born into privilege, yes, but it had come at a cost: the weight of being the only surviving child of the royal family, the constant pressure to perform, to prove herself.
And, of course, the inevitable betrayal that had been written into her future, a betrayal that would end her life at the hands of someone she had once trusted.
Minseok's heart hammered in his chest, but he couldn't afford to break down.
Not now.
Not when he had no idea how or why he had ended up in this position.
He was still reeling from the sheer absurdity of it all.
He had lived his life as a medical student in Seoul, studying tirelessly to become a doctor, to help people.
And now, here he was, caught in the twisted fate of a villainess in some foreign world.
He tried to steady his breathing, to calm himself, but everything felt wrong.
The weight of Seraphina's life was too much to bear.
The memories that were now his felt like chains, locking him into a role he didn't want to play.
A sudden knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts.
"Your Highness?" a voice called from the other side, sweet and deferential.
"It is time for you to prepare for the council meeting. The king is waiting"
The king. Her father. The man whose reputation was as brutal as his rule.
Minseok hadn't met him yet, but he could already feel the oppressive weight of his presence looming over him.
From the memories that flooded his mind, he knew one thing for sure: Seraphina had been a disappointment to him in every possible way.
She was too cold, too calculating.
Too… unfeeling.
"Your Highness?" the voice persisted, slightly more urgent.
Minseok swallowed hard, forcing himself to take another step back, away from the mirror.
He couldn't let this person, this body, control him.
He needed to figure out what to do, to somehow regain some semblance of control over this situation.
He couldn't remain paralyzed by fear or confusion.
"I'll be out in a moment," he said, the voice that escaped his lips startling him.
It was hers, that sweet, almost innocent tone of voice that Seraphina had perfected over the years.
It felt wrong, unnatural. Minseok winced, but the words were already out of his mouth.
A muffled, respectful acknowledgment came from the door before the sound of retreating footsteps faded.
Minseok took a steadying breath, shaking his head.
What now?
He could feel Seraphina's memories swirling inside his mind like a vortex.
The overwhelming urge to be the cold, calculating princess, to play the part that was expected of her, clung to him like a shadow.
But that wasn't him.
He wasn't a villainess.
He wasn't someone who could be reduced to a single, tragic arc.
He had a life to live.
A life that he wasn't going to squander, even if it meant stepping into the most uncomfortable, precarious shoes imaginable.
Minseok needed to get out of this room.
He needed to understand what was happening, why he was here, and how he could survive this nightmare.
The first step was simple.
He needed to pretend to be Seraphina.
For now.
He would play the part, gather as much information as he could, and find a way to either escape or change his fate.
But first, he had to get dressed for a meeting that would almost certainly be filled with people who expected him to act like the cold-hearted princess she had been.
["..."]
The dressing process was another ordeal.
The servants who entered were quick to help him change into more formal attire, a gown of deep emerald, adorned with pearls and intricate lace.
Minseok's fingers twitched uncomfortably as they brushed against the fabric.
How did Seraphina wear this every day?
It felt like it would suffocate him.
The servants spoke to him with such familiarity, referring to him with such respect and deference that Minseok felt out of place.
But he had no choice but to comply.
He mimicked Seraphina's usual expressions, nodding where appropriate, and offering polite smiles, all the while feeling like a foreigner in his skin.
The way they addressed him, the way they moved around him.
It all screamed of a world he didn't understand.
A world where the rules were foreign and the stakes were impossibly high.
The moment he was dressed, the maids left with soft murmurs of "Your Highness," and Minseok was left alone in the room, standing in front of yet another mirror.
He stared at his reflection, trying to adjust to the surreal nature of his situation.
The longer he stood there, the more he began to realize just how out of control he truly was.
The sound of footsteps approached, and the door to his chambers opened.
"Your Highness, the king requests your presence at once," a guard announced, his tone stern but respectful.
Minseok hesitated, then straightened his posture, forcing himself to take on Seraphina's air of grace, even if it felt like it might crack at any moment.
He walked toward the door, his steps slow and deliberate, trying his best to mimic the poise Seraphina was known for.
The guards, bowing as he passed, escorted him through the vast halls of the palace.
As they moved through the corridors, Minseok couldn't help but feel the weight of the place around him.
It was enormous, grand, but cold.
The walls were decorated with tapestries depicting battles and victories, while the windows offered views of the sprawling grounds outside, lush gardens, stone paths, and the occasional glimpse of soldiers on patrol.
It all looked like something out of a dream.
A dream that Minseok was struggling to accept as reality.
They arrived at a grand chamber where the king awaited him.
He was seated on a throne, his back straight, his posture impeccable.
The King of Lumastra was a tall, imposing figure with sharp features, his gaze colder than the stone walls surrounding him.
His eyes, dark and calculating, locked onto Minseok with an intensity that made his stomach twist.
"Seraphina," the king said, his voice low and commanding.
"I trust you have prepared yourself for the council meeting. I will not tolerate any more delays"
Minseok… Seraphina forced himself to bow, just as he knew she would.
"Of course, Father," he replied, his voice sweet but with an edge of obedience that Seraphina had perfected.
The king's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, but it was not a smile of warmth.
It was the kind of smile a predator gives its prey before it strikes.
"Good. Because your actions have consequences, Seraphina. The council is growing restless. And I expect you to be ready to handle whatever they throw at you"
Minseok nodded, his mind racing.
He had no idea what was about to happen, but one thing was clear: he was being thrust into a world of politics and power plays, and there was no room for failure.
He needed to find a way out.
Or, at the very least, a way to survive.
- 10 Minutes Later -
Minseok left to prepare himself and returned to the faint smell of incense.
The soft rustle of guards' uniforms created an almost rhythmic sound as they moved in and out of the room, ever watchful.
Minseok, walking behind the guards with his head held high, felt like a ghost wandering through a foreign world.
His body, the body of Princess Seraphina Lumastra, was both an asset and a burden, weighed down by expectations he didn't yet understand.
Every step he took, he reminded himself: 'Stay calm. You have to act like Seraphina. She's been here before. You can do this.'
The guards flanked him as they approached the grand doors to the throne room.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the sound loud in his ears.
It was impossible to ignore how out of place he felt in this opulent palace, the coldness of the stone floors beneath his delicate feet, the weight of the jewels on his fingers.
The doors swung open with a soft groan, revealing a grand, almost suffocating space bathed in soft golden light.
The long, dark wooden table in the center of the room was surrounded by advisors, lords, and high-ranking nobles, their eyes snapping to him as he entered.
At the far end of the room, seated on a grand throne, was the King of Lumastra.
"Seraphina," he intoned, his deep voice vibrating through the room.
"Come forward"
Minseok's throat tightened.
He could feel the weight of the room's gaze upon him, the silent judgment in the air.
He stepped forward, his gown flowing behind him with an elegant swish, and knelt before the throne, bowing his head as Seraphina would have done.
But inside, Minseok was terrified.
His mind was racing.
The people in this room were the most powerful figures in the kingdom, and they all knew Seraphina's reputation.
They would know that he wasn't her.
How could they not?
But to his surprise, the king simply nodded and gestured to the council table.
"Sit," he commanded.
Minseok rose, gliding across the room to the seat at the table, trying to adopt Seraphina's usual posture.
Proud
Poised
But above all, composed.
His mind struggled to catch up with his body.
Every movement felt exaggerated, forced, as if he were wearing a mask he couldn't quite get to fit right.
The nobles continued to whisper to each other as Minseok took his seat, their eyes lingering on him, on Seraphina.
The whispers died down when the king cleared his throat, commanding silence with the force of his presence.
"Today's meeting will address matters of both internal and external importance," King Feran announced, his voice cutting through the murmurings like a blade.
"The council has requested an audience with my daughter, and I will not keep them waiting. I trust you have been preparing, Seraphina?"
Minseok swallowed hard.
This was where it started.
Where Seraphina's role in this kingdom was defined.
He nodded slowly, careful to maintain the same calm expression Seraphina always wore in situations like these.
"Of course, Father," he said, his voice sweet and obedient.
He hated how easily it came.
It was as if the princess's arrogance and coldness were embedded in his very bones, but that didn't mean he had to embrace it.
Not entirely.
He had to hold onto his own identity.
He had to find a way to survive.
The king's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze piercing.
"We shall see," he murmured.
The councilors, each one more powerful than the last, spoke in heated tones about issues of land disputes, trade agreements, and the looming war with a neighboring kingdom.
It was all overwhelming, so much so that Minseok could feel his pulse racing, his thoughts scattering.
The council was full of people who had power.
Real, tangible power.
The kind of power Seraphina had always taken for granted.
But now, he had to navigate it, and it was like trying to understand a foreign language without a dictionary.
He kept his hands folded in his lap, eyes trained on the table in front of him as the words flew past.
There was talk of alliances, strategic marriages, and weapons.
There was one councilor, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, who seemed particularly intent on speaking to the king about military expenditures.
His voice was low but insistent, his eyes fixed on King Feran with a familiarity that made Minseok uncomfortable.
"What say you, Seraphina?" the man asked suddenly, cutting through the tension like a blade.
Minseok blinked, his attention snapping to him.
All eyes were on him now.
The air felt suffocating.
His heart was in his throat.
It was all too much.
His mind raced, trying to find some way out, some way to answer that didn't reveal just how completely unprepared he was for this.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
He could feel Seraphina's memories tugging at him, urging him to respond with arrogance, to dismiss the question as trivial, to show his superiority.
But that wasn't who Minseok was.
He couldn't—he wouldn't sink into this role completely.
"Perhaps we should consider the broader implications of this decision," Minseok said slowly, forcing the words out.
"Rather than focusing solely on immediate gains, we should look at the long-term stability of the kingdom"
The council fell into stunned silence.
The man who had asked him the question raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the response.
It wasn't the kind of reply he'd expected from Seraphina.
It wasn't arrogant, or dismissive.
It was… rational.
King Feran's gaze shifted to his daughter.
Minseok could feel his eyes on him, cold and calculating.
It was like standing in the eye of a storm.
"You speak as though you have experience with matters of statecraft, Seraphina," King Feran remarked, his tone laced with a dangerous edge.
"But you have not been the one to make these decisions, have you?"
Minseok's breath caught. He had no experience in this world.
No training.
Nothing.
"I… I apologize, Father," Minseok said, slipping back into the role Seraphina was meant to play.
"I merely wanted to suggest a more measured approach"
King Feran's eyes softened, but only slightly, as if recognizing the attempt.
But Minseok could see the warning in his father's eyes.
"You will learn, Seraphina," the king said, his voice firm.
"But you will learn by my side. Not as an observer, but as a ruler. One who makes decisions"
Minseok nodded, swallowing hard.
The king's words settled like a weight in his chest.
There was no escape.
Seraphina's life, with all its crushing expectations and political intrigue, was now his.
There was no turning back.
- 5 Hours Later -
After the council meeting, Minseok was escorted back to his chambers, his mind still reeling from everything he had just witnessed.
He had survived, yes, but the cost was beginning to show.
Every moment in this world, every exchange, felt like a test.
A test that, if failed, could have dire consequences.
He collapsed onto the bed once more, letting the tension in his shoulders drain out as he closed his eyes.
His head spun with everything he had just learned.
'How am I supposed to survive this?' Minseok wondered.
And yet, in the silence of the room, a small spark of determination began to glow.
He couldn't let Seraphina's fate become his.
He wouldn't.
He had to find a way to rewrite this story, to find his path in this foreign world.
But first, he had to figure out what the hell was going on and why he had ended up in this nightmare of a life.
Minseok closed his eyes, trying to calm the frantic thoughts swirling in his mind.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape the harsh truth: Seraphina's life had been written in stone long before he had even arrived in this world.
It was a life of manipulation, politics, and eventual betrayal.
The princess was nothing more than a pawn in her father's game, and Minseok was now forced to play the same dangerous game.
'I can't be her,' he thought desperately.
'I can't become the person they expect me to be.'
His hand clenched into a fist.
He wasn't a ruthless ruler.
He wasn't someone who enjoyed the taste of power or the fear of others.
He had spent his life studying medicine, healing people, and saving lives.
This world, with its scheming nobles and bloodstained politics, was foreign to him.
But one thing was clear: he had to adapt, or he wouldn't survive.
A soft knock echoed at the door, dragging Minseok from his spiral of thoughts.
"Your Highness," came the voice of one of his personal attendants.
"Your father requests your presence. He wishes to speak with you privately"
Minseok's stomach dropped.
The king again.
He forced himself to sit up, straightening his back.
'No time to dwell. Don't show weakness. Do what Seraphina would do'
Taking a deep breath, he stood and quickly adjusted his gown, trying to ease the heavy fabric as it clung to his form.
His fingers trembled slightly as he smoothed his hair back, but he kept his face composed, an image of serenity.
The princess would have been a master of hiding her emotions behind an impenetrable mask, and for now, that would have to be him.
"Send word that I'll be there shortly," he instructed, his voice as calm and unwavering as he could make it.
A soft murmur of acknowledgment came through the door, and Minseok's thoughts began to race again.
He was going to speak with the king, and he knew it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation.
His instincts told him that this would not be a simple familial chat, it would be another test, one of loyalty, of obedience, of power.
His pulse quickened, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it would feel like to break free from all of this.
To escape this world.
But deep down, he knew it was impossible.
'You can't escape. You have to play along'
The reality of his situation settled in once again, heavy and suffocating.
The door opened, and a servant stepped in, her eyes lowered in respect.
She motioned for Minseok to follow, and he complied, his steps measured and deliberate.
The halls of the palace were eerily quiet at this hour, the only sound the soft swish of his gown as he walked.
Every time he passed a mirror or a reflective surface, he couldn't help but catch a glimpse of Seraphina's face.
His face now.
The face of a princess who was once beloved but would soon fall from grace.
The face of a woman whose life would end in betrayal, whose death would be the key to the power struggle in Lumastra.
The thought made him shudder.
He was led down a series of ornate hallways to a private chamber at the far end of the palace.
The guards outside the door stepped aside at the sight of the princess, bowing deeply.
Minseok inhaled deeply, trying to steady his nerves, and entered.
The king was sitting at his desk, his eyes fixed on a stack of papers in front of him.
He looked every bit the ruler he was, poised and in control, as though nothing could shake him.
Yet, Minseok could sense the coldness radiating from him.
The same coldness that haunted the entire palace.
The same coldness that had made Seraphina who she was.
The king didn't look up as Minseok entered.
For a moment, there was only silence, broken by the rustle of papers as the king shuffled them.
"I believe your performance in the council meeting was satisfactory," King Feran finally said, his voice like gravel.
There was an edge to his tone, but it was hard to decipher whether it was disappointment or something else.
Minseok couldn't afford to find out.
"Thank you, Father," Minseok replied, keeping his voice even and respectful, though inside, his heart was hammering.
"I believe our kingdom's best interests lie in cooperation, not conflict"
The king's gaze flicked up, and for the briefest moment, Minseok saw something unreadable in his eyes… something calculating.
"You may think that, Seraphina. But you must learn what it means to rule, to make hard decisions"
"We don't live in a world where everyone can cooperate. And you will need to be strong"
His voice softened slightly, but it still held the harshness of command.
"You are my only heir. I expect nothing less than perfection from you"
Minseok's heart skipped a beat.
His "perfection," his ability to lead, had been based on manipulation, control, and cruelty in Seraphina's world.
Could he survive this?
Could he change things, bend this fate?
"I will learn," Minseok said, though even to his own ears, the words sounded hollow.
What else could he say?
There was no escaping the weight of his new life, the endless expectations of a kingdom that demanded more from him than he could ever give.
The princess's life had been full of sorrow, betrayal, and tragedy, and now, it was his burden to carry.
"Good," the king replied, his voice satisfied with the answer.
But the coldness never left his gaze.
"Then we begin two days from now"
"You will accompany me to the war council. You will see firsthand how decisions are made. How lives are traded for power. You will learn what it means to be a ruler"
Minseok's stomach twisted, but he bowed his head.
"Of course, Father"
"See that you do," the king said, his eyes narrowing with something far darker than a simple command.
Minseok's breath caught in his throat, and he forced himself to keep his expression neutral.
He wasn't sure what he feared more, facing the king's expectations or facing the inevitable fate Seraphina had been dealt.
Either way, the road ahead was a long, treacherous one.
The king dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and Minseok made his way back to his chambers, the weight of his situation heavier than ever.
As he entered the quiet solitude of his room, he looked out the window, the night sky stretched out before him, a sea of endless stars.
He was a long way from Seoul.
A long way from his old life.
The only thing that was certain now was this: He was stuck in this world.
And if he wanted to survive, he would need to become more than just Seraphina.
He would have to become something else entirely.
And the only question left was… what would he become?