Chapter 2 – Is This a Dream?

She wasn’t sure if she could go through the proceedings of a divorce.

‘No. I have thought about it ten thousand times now, but from an outsider’s point of view, I would appear ungrateful. We work as a family after all. I have food on the table and life is not that hard. That is probably the cause of such devious thoughts. If things were really hard, I wouldn’t even have the time to consider a divorce.’

Though I do feel suffocated all the time.

The only problem seemed to be her mindset really.

‘If I can’t get divorced then for this moment at the very least, I wish I could disappear. How I would love to turn back time. If I could do that, I would never marry!’

The thought of being in charge of the trajectory of her life brought a smile to Heeyeon’s lips.

‘I should go home. They must be waiting.’

Heeyeon quickly stood up from her seat, dusted herself, and started to walk back. She called the elevator which started to descend from the 10th floor.

Level three

Level two

Level one

Ding! The elevator ringed and opened up to a dark space inside. It was a common occurrence for one or two of the lights to go out from time to time. Since it was an old apartment complex, she did not think of it much and stepped inside. The moment the door closed, Heeyeon knew she had made a mistake. The elevator lurched and suddenly dropped. She collapsed with fear and a sinking feeling in her heart.

“Help! Did the elevator drop? Is anybody there? Help!!”

She yelled herself hoarse, believing her life was in danger. Nobody answered her calls, and her surroundings only became quieter. She couldn’t even hear the echo of her voice now.

‘I was definitely on level one. Is there a basement I never knew about? Even so, I’m sure it can’t be this deep!’

She mustered up the courage to look around, but it was so dark that she couldn’t even see her body. Horror pulsated throughout her body like a current of electricity. She was covered in goosebumps and hot tears made their way down her cheeks. It was not just the darkness. Something was off, but she couldn’t place her finger on it. She called for help again as the elevator continued to fall.

After an indeterminable amount of time, she thought she could make out some faint light coming in from behind the doors. The light seemed to grow brighter and Heeyeon covered her eyes when it became painfully bright inside. A moment that had felt like forever had finally passed, and when Heeyeon opened her eyes again, she was not alone. It felt warm and almost cozy now.

*

A friendly voice almost sang to her.

“Wake up, my lady. It’s morning. Did you sleep well. The master and mistress await your presence downstairs for breakfast. We need to get you ready.”

‘My lady? Who is this? Where am I?’

She blinked away her confusion while staring at this rather friendly person who was calling out to her while referring to as ‘my lady’. Her attention was drawn away by the high ceilings decorated in gilded leaves and detailed floral patterns.

Heeyeon realized she was in a bed, and was momentarily frozen in confusion and fear. When she gave no sign of moving, the calm and youthful voice repeated itself.

“Hurry up, my lady. We need to go.”

‘My lady?’

Heeyon jumped out of the foreign bed and looked around in amazement. Her surroundings seemed reminiscent of the books she had read in school.

‘It is like I have suddenly arrived in the worlds of Madame Bovary or Jane Eyre. Everything is so antique here.’

The bedroom was fitted luxuriously, and yet was designed almost to modern tastes. The woman who had been insisting she wake up was dressed just like the women in the period movies she saw on television. Heeyeon spotted a mirror with intricate leaf-like patterns on the borders and rushed to it. She jumped back on catching her reflection.

She was not herself. Something was very wrong. All of a sudden, she had grown copper curls and her eyes had turned almost emerald. A button-like nose now occupied the center of her face and her lips seemed naturally peachy instead of their usual pale color. Nothing of her current appearance was like her original self.

‘What had happened to her? What was going on? Is this a dream? This doesn’t make sense. I must be dreaming.’

Heeyeon wanted to wake up. She slapped her cheeks, fully expecting to wake up in her cold and dreadful apartment building. Except, her slap left a stinging sensation, and she was still stuck in that foreign dream. She continued slapping herself.

“Wake up, wake up, come on! Come to your senses. Wake up!”

“My lady? What’s wrong? You are already awake.”

“Arghhh!”

Heeyeon was now frustrated with this dream. She was also almost frightened by this woman who had not disappeared after all. Her head hurt and she felt caught between incoherent memories.

‘Am I in a dream right now? Was this what people meant when their dreams felt real?’

The other woman’s kind hand on her shoulder felt too real for this to be a dream. All of it felt too real, and Heeyeon’s thirty-six years of life felt like a dream instead. She cradled her aching head and mumbled helplessly.

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“Where am I?”

Heeyeon had whispered, but the woman seemed to have heard and replied swiftly.

“My lady, what’s wrong? You are Countess Lohikin. You behave so oddly today, I am confused. We must hurry and get you dressed. I would not like to see the Master scold you again.”

“Who are you?”

“Oh my! Have you forgotten me in a single night? I am Yellie! I attend to you every day. Do you feel ill? Do you have a fever?”