“Ha... haha.”

Camilla let out a hollow laugh. Looking at Isia’s face reflected in the mirror made her feel deeply strange.

It feels unfamiliar....

To think she would feel this way while looking at this face.

It had clearly been her face for a very long time, and yet now the sense that it was no longer hers was unmistakable.

It did not feel like she had gotten back what belonged to her. It quite literally felt as though she had entered someone else’s body.

“...Still, it’s good to see.”

Even so, seeing a face she had not seen in so long stirred her emotions without warning. In short, her feelings were in complete disarray.

“...Ow! Isia!”

At that moment, a familiar voice came from outside.

A smile rose to Camilla’s lips before she even realized it.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, Manager Hyunseok was staring at the empty bed, unable to hide the panic in his eyes.

“I’m here.”

“Sia!”

He hurried over and fussed over her, checking her body from top to bottom.

“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

“......”

“Sia? What’s wrong? Are you still not feeling well somewhere?”

Seeing Hyunseok grow even more flustered at her silence, Camilla let out a small snort of laughter.

He really hasn’t changed.

Whether the soul had changed or not, he seemed to be the sort of person who always stayed the same.

She had heard that sometimes, even when people came face to face with someone whose soul had changed, there were those who did not feel any particular sense of rejection toward that person. Perhaps Hyunseok was one of them.

“Hyunseok.”

“Yeah, are you not feeling well somewhere? Should I call the doctor again?”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Huh?”

“I missed you more than I expected.”

“I-I’ll call the doctor!”

Apparently thinking she must have hit her head badly, Hyunseok turned pale and tried to run out of the hospital room. Camilla quickly grabbed him.

“So I can’t even say anything now. I was just saying it.”

“My heart nearly stopped!”

“Okay, okay.”

I was only trying to show that I was glad to see you. Clicking her tongue briefly, Camilla glanced around for no reason.

“But why am I here? I opened my eyes and I was in a hospital, so I got startled.”

She knew the magic circle had activated properly, but why a hospital of all places?

Thinking about the last thing she had experienced in this world made her uneasy for no reason. She kept stealing glances at the LED lights overhead where a chandelier should have been.

“Am I sick?”

“Don’t you remember? You suddenly collapsed during filming.”

“Ah....”

Damn.

They must have seen her lose consciousness for a moment when the body changed suddenly and brought her straight to the hospital.

The set must have descended into chaos. Since an actor had collapsed, everyone must have gone into emergency mode.

“How long was I out?”

“Half a day.”

“What?”

She had been unconscious much longer than expected. She had thought she had only fallen asleep for a moment.

“The doctor said there isn’t anything particularly wrong with you. Other than the fact that your fatigue had built up badly....”

Hyunseok’s eyes were full of worry.

“Do you want to rest for a few days? I’ll talk to the office and try to rearrange your schedule.”

“No. It’s fine.”

She could not cause that kind of trouble for Isia as well.

“You must’ve had a hard time, bringing me all the way here.”

He must have been startled when she suddenly collapsed. And he must have been extremely busy cleaning things up at the site.

“More than me, Choi Sihyeon had it really hard.”

“...Who?”

“Choi Sihyeon. It wasn’t me who brought you to the hospital. It was Choi Sihyeon.”

“Choi... Sihyeon?”

No, why was that name coming up here?

Camilla was so dumbfounded that she had to choose her words for a moment. What kind of situation was this now?

“What do you mean, Choi Sihyeon? The Choi Sihyeon I know? That man was at my filming location?”

“What are you talking about? You’re filming with Choi Sihyeon.”

“...Who is filming with whom?”

“S-Sia, let’s get you examined again after all! I think maybe you hit your head really badly! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“What is wrong with you, big brother?”

The idea that I would be filming with that man is ridiculous...!

Knock knock.

At that moment, the sound of knocking reached them, and both Camilla and Manager Hyunseok turned toward the door.

The door opened quietly, and someone strode inside.

“......”

Tall, with sharp, distinct features. A man with a cold face that looked as though a suit had been tailored specifically for him stood there.

“...Senior Choi Sihyeon.”

A groan-like sigh slipped out of Camilla’s mouth as she recognized him.

Isia!

Isia, Isia! Isiaaa!

What on earth did you trust to decide you’d do a drama with that man in it?

Knowing who Choi Sihyeon is!

...Well, what would you know.

Even if she had watched this world for a long time, she could not have known every single detail of its human relationships.

Still, shouldn’t there have been some sort of instinct? Couldn’t you tell just by looking at him?

Choi Sihyeon.

No matter what anyone said, he was one of the top stars in South Korea. If Isia was at the top among actresses, then he was the best among actors.

What does it matter if he’s the best? His personality is complete garbage.

If he openly picked a fight, then she could have simply fought with him once and for all, but with Choi Sihyeon, that was impossible.

Look at him. There he goes again.

“......”

The stare he fixed on her with his lips firmly shut was painfully sharp.

Camilla clenched her fist hard, holding back the urge to march over there and smack that neat forehead of his.

Why exactly does he act like that?

He had always been like that. Whenever she felt a stare and turned around, she would inevitably meet that man’s eyes.

His sharp gaze never left her for even a moment, like someone searching for the slightest excuse to pick at her, and it bothered her enough that she had even made out-of-character mistakes on set because of it.

Do you have something you want to say to me?

No.

...You really don’t have anything to say?

Should I?

......

There had even been a time when she picked a day and asked him outright. But she had not gotten a proper answer.

Instead, he had only answered with a question of his own and a faintly crooked smile, and the sight of it had made her blood boil so badly she had nearly exposed every bit of her filthy temper right there on set.

Then why do you glare at me every time with those obnoxious eyes!

...That was what she had wanted to demand, but he had never openly picked a fight, and she could not be even rougher with someone who had been in the industry two years longer than her.

And after that, the same situation had always repeated itself.

Yes, yes. Fine. Do whatever you want.

This is a new form of harassment, isn’t it? Well, it’s not as if he’s the only person who dislikes me.

She had simply decided to stop caring about Choi Sihyeon altogether.

Instead, she never went anywhere near any project he appeared in. No matter how much she tried to ignore him, she did not like that watchful gaze.

But I’m acting with him?

Isia, you °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° idiot! You should have looked at who your co-star was before choosing the project!

Camilla fixed a long stare on Hyunseok, who was standing off to one side.

When Isia made a choice like this, what were you doing, big brother? Hm? Were you just sitting around?

A man who knew better than anyone that she hated Choi Sihyeon had simply stood by and watched while Isia chose a script that would put her in the same production as him?

Prickle.

She felt a stare on the side of her face after turning her head. She did not need to look to know perfectly well who that stare belonged to.

Another long sigh flowed from Camilla’s mouth.

So much time has passed, and that man really hasn’t changed at all.

Her unpleasant gaze turned toward Choi Sihyeon.

If he had come all the way to the hospital room, then shouldn’t he at least have asked how she was doing? He had not said a single word since entering.

Why did he even come? Did he come just to rub it in?

Or had he come to receive thanks?

“I heard you brought me to the hospital. Thank you.”

There, gratitude.

“......”

“......”

...Should I really hit him just once? Seeing that he showed no particular reaction even to her thanks made heat surge up inside her.

“I-I’ll go buy something to drink.”

Manager Hyunseok apparently found the atmosphere in the hospital room too hard to bear, because he hurried out through the door like a man fleeing for his life.

Click.

When the hospital room door shut behind him, a quiet silence sank between the two of them.

Ah, whatever.

Camilla gave up on talking to Choi Sihyeon and tried to lie back down on the bed. If I fall asleep, he’ll leave on his own.

“Don’t get sick.”

...What?

A moment later, at the low voice she heard, Camilla quickly pushed herself upright.

When she turned her eyes, Choi Sihyeon was still standing there, looking at her with that steady gaze as though nothing at all had happened.

“What... did you just say?”

She was fairly sure she had just heard something extremely strange.

“......”

Hey, why are you silent again!

“Rest.”

Excuse me? Hey?

As if he could not even see the bewilderment on Camilla’s face, Choi Sihyeon turned at once and left the hospital room.

“...Hey.”

Are you really leaving? You’re just going to go?

“Hah.”

What kind of situation was this, right after I got back? It was strange enough that that man had personally brought her to the hospital, but what he had just said was even stranger.

“Ah, whatever....”

Camilla lay back down on the bed. To calm the headache that had been building for a while now, she decided to get a little sleep.