By the time we arrived at Grandma Hyejin's house, my patience was hanging by a thread. Between Lucien and Damiel breaking my car door and their clueless commentary about "earthly contraptions," I was ready to collapse. Yet, I had a gut feeling that the day's chaos wasn't over.
The moment we stepped out of the car, Grandma appeared at the doorway, beaming as if she had been expecting us for hours. Her energy was a sharp contrast to mine, and her keen eyes immediately landed on Lucien and Damiel. Then I threw a fit every time I remembered the car's door.
Moments after their introduction to Gramps, Gramps reveals her first love. I can sense that chaotic days and nights are coming. I just dreamt of getting isekai-ed, but ended up the other way around and with the entire battalion of reversed isekai-ed people. Now all I can say is it's frustrating, draining, everything I can describe with words ending in -ing.
"Well now, aren't you two tall!" she exclaimed, craning her neck to get a proper look at them.
"That's one way to describe it," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "But first, shoes off before entering."
Lucien and Damiel exchanged glances, then looked down at their boots, confusion written across their faces.
"Shoes… off?" Damiel asked, as though I'd just spoken a foreign language.
"Yes. No one enters the house with their shoes on, you're in an asian household and not in Valeraine," I said firmly, crossing my arms.
Lucien bent down, examining the intricate laces of his boots. "These are not designed for frequent removal," he muttered, his brow furrowing.
Watching the two of them wrestle with their boots was like watching toddlers trying to figure out how to tie shoelaces. Damiel groaned, pulling on a particularly stubborn knot. "This is… tedious."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," I snapped, though their fumbling was admittedly entertaining.
Grandma returned moments later with slippers in hand. I froze when I realized they were the bunny slippers I'd bought for her and I-seo.
"These should do the trick!" she said brightly, handing them over.
Lucien and Damiel stared at the slippers, clearly unimpressed.
"They're footwear for indoors," I said, exasperated.
Damiel held up one slipper, his expression horrified. "This is… not dignified."
"Neither is breaking a car door," I retorted. "Put them on."
To my surprise, Lucien complied first, though the slippers barely covered half his feet. Watching the two of them shuffle into the house with floppy bunny ears on their toes was almost enough to make me forget about my car. Almost.
Once inside, the real trouble began.
The ceilings were, unsurprisingly, too low. Both men straightened to their full height and immediately smacked their heads against the wooden beams.
"Oh dear," Grandma said, stifling a laugh.
Lucien rubbed his head, his composure slipping for the first time. "This dwelling is… impractical for people of our stature."
"It's a normal-sized house," I said, rolling my eyes. "Maybe you're just impractically tall."
Damiel crouched slightly, grumbling under his breath. "I feel like a bear in a cage."
Their awkward movements continued as they maneuvered through the house, ducking and bumping into everything from light fixtures to door frames.
"Careful," I said sweetly, watching Lucien narrowly avoid knocking over a lamp. "We wouldn't want the royal heads of Valeraine to suffer further damage."
His sharp glare did nothing to quell my amusement.
It wasn't long before their troubles escalated. Lucien bent down to pick up a pillow Grandma had dropped, and the sound of ripping fabric filled the room.
All eyes turned to him.
Damiel was the first to react, doubling over in laughter. "I warned you about those trousers!" he managed to say between gasps.
Lucien's jaw tightened, his face betraying a rare flicker of embarrassment as he inspected the tear. "It's… unfortunate," he muttered, clearly mortified.
Grandma, ever the problem-solver, clapped her hands. "Don't worry, dear! I have just the thing!"
She disappeared upstairs, leaving me with a sinking feeling. Moments later, she returned holding a pair of pajamas. My stomach dropped.
They weren't just any pajamas. They were the elephant-themed ones Grandma had bought for Grandpops years ago for Halloween. Complete with floppy fabric ears and a cartoon trunk sewn onto the front.
"Here you go!" she said cheerfully, handing them to Lucien. "Grandpops was tall too, so these should fit you perfectly!"
Lucien stared at the pajamas, his expression unreadable. Damiel, on the other hand, burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, collapsing onto the couch.
I couldn't hold it in any longer. "I'll be… outside," I choked out, bolting for the door before my laughter could escape.
Once outside, my amusement faded as I was met with the sight of my car. Its mangled door lay in the backseat, a cruel reminder of the destruction Lucien and Damiel had wrought.
I knelt beside it, running my hand along the scratches.
"How much does a kidney sell for?" I muttered to myself. "Because that's probably the only way I'll afford this repair."
The cost of fixing the door flashed in my mind, each estimate more horrifying than the last.
"Do car insurance companies even cover 'damage caused by interdimensional morons'?" I sighed, slumping against the car.
Before I could spiral further into despair, Grandma called from the house.
"Sena! Come here quickly!"
I dragged myself back inside, only to find Lucien and Damiel crouched by the kitchen sink, staring intently at the faucet.
"What now?" I asked, dreading the answer.
Damiel pointed at the running water, his expression a mix of awe and horror. "Your house is peeing!"
I blinked. "It's… what?"
Lucien turned the tap on and off repeatedly, his brow furrowed. "The water responds to touch. This must be some kind of enchantment."
"It's plumbing," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "And for the last time, the house is not alive."
Grandma and I-seo were in tears, laughing so hard they could barely breathe. I sighed, leaning against the counter.
Watching these two try to navigate modern life was like watching toddlers discover the world for the first time—chaotic, frustrating, and weirdly endearing.
That night, the chaos continued as we tried to figure out where everyone would sleep. King Kael had claimed the couch, his regal demeanor intact even as he adjusted to the cramped quarters.
Lucien and Damiel, however, had no such luck. The guest room beds were far too small for their towering frames, and the narrow staircase had proven to be a near-death experience.
After much grumbling, they finally resigned themselves to makeshift beds on the living room floor. Grandma piled blankets and pillows around them, beaming with pride.
"See? This isn't so bad!" she said.
Lucien stared at the arrangement with visible disdain. "This is… less than ideal."
"Good," I said, plopping onto a chair. "Now you know how my car door feels."
As I lay in bed later that night, I found myself smiling despite everything. Between the bunny slippers, the elephant pajamas, and the faucet fiasco, my world had turned completely upside down.
And somehow, I had a feeling this was just the beginning.