Chapter 7: Family reunion after the meal

“You must be thrilled to reunite with your family.”

I was dragged back to the police station, my dumpling soup held hostage by the officer.

I was curious about meeting my new family in this world, but my hunger was stronger than my curiosity. Eating the dumpling soup in front of me was more important.

Grrr…

“I’m starving to death.”

Why does this happen every time I try to eat? Since I started living in this body, I’ve only eaten properly once.

“Will I finally eat properly this time?”

At the station, in a familiar room, I asked for my dumpling soup, but oddly, it was nowhere to be found.

“Whoops, forgot it in the car. Sorry,” the officer said.

“Then order some Chinese food? I’m really hungry.”

“Is your stomach okay?”

“It’s fine, please just order.”

I convinced him, and he pulled out his phone, but the door burst open, and a panting girl rushed in.

“We’ll order later. Enjoy time with your sister,” the officer said with a warm smile, pocketing his phone and leaving.

I was left alone with the girl.

Just order the food already.

Swallowing my frustration, I looked at the girl who’d stormed in. Suddenly, she screamed with a look of disbelief.

“Kyaa… Kyaahhh!!!”

The officer said I’d meet family, and my sister was waiting, so this screaming girl must be her. I tried to approach her, but hunger left me too weak to move.

“I’m too hungry to move…”

“Unnie… You’ve been through so much, haven’t you?”

The exhaustion from hunger, the stress from constant misunderstandings, and physical fatigue formed a perfect storm, pushing my mind to its limit. My consciousness grew hazy.

“…Who are you?”

“Unnie! You really don’t know me?”

I asked to confirm, but she collapsed, sobbing. Officers behind her helped her out of the room.

“Do you not remember her?” an officer asked after she left.

“Is she really my sister?”

I feared lying would complicate things, so I told the truth.

“Ugh… They really broke you. Not even recognizing your own family—how damaged are you?”

“…?”

I tried to grasp what the officer meant, but my hungry, tired mind couldn’t process it.

“Officer, sorry, but is there anything to eat?”

“Wait, I’ll order something now.”

He must’ve seen my dire state because he quickly grabbed his phone to order. But the exhaustion, stress, and hunger overwhelmed me, and my mind reached its limit.

“Seol Ji Yeon? Seol Ji Yeon! Hey, over there! Don’t just stand there…”

The officer’s shout was the last thing I heard as my consciousness faded.

*

“A familiar ceiling.”

I woke to a white ceiling and an IV drip. Guess I’m still alive.

“Didn’t starve to death, huh? Well, they say humans can survive a month without food.”

As I stretched to get up, I felt something heavy on my stomach. Lifting the blanket, I saw my sister in this world, her messy hair buried in my stomach, sleeping soundly.

Did she bring me here? Her patient gown was stained with makeup, and her face was a mess, like she fell asleep without cleaning up. Her faint smile was cute, so I gently patted her head.

“She’s pretty adorable like this.”

Pat pat.

“Mmm.”

“Her hair’s really nice. Mine’s so dry.”

Her soft, fluffy hair was addictive to touch. I kept patting until she woke up, and she screamed again.

“Hiyaaah?! Unnie?!”

“You’re awake?”

“S-Sorry. How’s your body? You okay?”

“I’m a bit hungry, but otherwise fine.”

Beep—

Her scream caused a ringing in my ears, but it faded over time. As I lowered my hands, she cautiously spoke.

“Unnie? Can I ask something?”

“Sure, anything.”

“You really don’t remember anything? Not even me?”

Should I pretend to have amnesia or act like her sister with lies? I hesitated briefly but decided quickly.

I’d mix truth and lies. Pure lies are easy to spot, but blending truth makes it harder to unravel.

“Sorry, I don’t remember anything.”

I closed my eyes and spoke calmly, truthfully.

“I don’t know who you are or who I am. All I know is the basic info on my ID and the house I live in. Nothing else.”

At that, she burst into tears, sobbing heavily.

“You really don’t remember? What happened to you? What was so terrible that you erased all your memories…?”

I want to ask that myself. What happened to make the police and my sister look at me so pitifully? Even looking frail doesn’t usually evoke this much sympathy.

My head grew cluttered with thoughts. To organize them, I started patting her head again.

“Your habit’s still there,” she said.

“Maybe? Isn’t patting something cute just human instinct?”

“No, you always loved patting things. Every time I saw you, you were patting something.”

Chatting with her about this body was fun. After a while, she asked again.

“Any fragments of memory?”

“Nope, nothing.”

“I thought talking might spark something, but I guess not.”

Would memory transfer have helped? But the three wishes I made were about the “sickly body” details, and the god even converted my past life’s savings into this world’s currency as a bonus. I couldn’t complain.

“It’s fine. Living together, your memories will come back someday. By the way, were you an emotional person?”

“Are there people without emotions?”

“Yeah, before you disappeared, you were like that. Like an emotionless machine.”

Her words triggered the god’s voice in my head.

‘It’s just a matter of stuffing you into an empty shell.’

“An empty shell… Urgh… Cough…”

Oops, penalty.

A sharp pain tore through my heart, and a foreign sensation clogged my throat. I coughed, and a lot of blood stained my hand.

“Unnie! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine. Cough…”

But the coughing didn’t stop. Blood flowed down my hand and arm, staining my gown. I smiled faintly and asked her for tissues.

“Sorry, can you grab some tissues?”

“Tissues? I’m getting a doctor!”

“It’s fine, really.”

“No, it’s not!”

“It happens sometimes.”

“What?”

I wiped my hand and mouth with the tissues she handed me. The pain was just from breaking the contract; I’m not actually dying. Ignoring her worry, I sank back into thought.

Was the original owner of this body just an empty shell, as the god said? Or was it something the god arranged to put me in?

“Sorry, one more question.”

“What?”

I needed to confirm something.

“Can you tell me briefly what I was like as a kid?”

“Hmm… You always had the same expression and lived a super disciplined life. Why?”

“Just wanted to know about myself.”

It’s not some divine arrangement. Something complex is tied to this body.

[I’ll say this now: you don’t need to know.]

‘Can’t I even ask?’

[It’s like a contract between higher beings. It’s not as serious as you think, so don’t dwell on it. Some knowledge isn’t good to know.]

As I kept thinking about the body, the god warned me not to dig deeper and vanished. Probably dangerous knowledge for someone like me.

Sorting my thoughts, the hidden hunger resurfaced.

Grrr…

“What time is it?”

“11:40. Why?”

“I’m hungry.”

I wanted a proper meal. I didn’t even get to eat the dumpling soup I paid for.

“They said lunch is coming soon.”

“Oh, what’s the menu?”

“No idea, sorry.”

Speak of the devil—a nurse appeared with a tray.

“Lunch is here~”

Seeing the massive bloodstains on my gown, she screamed and ran out.

“Kyaahhh! Doctor!!!”

“Hey… leave the food…”

Why take the tray, you jerk?