Welcome! This Is the RPR Motel — Episode 19

That impatient call from her brother, urging her to hurry home, was the last thing Seoyeon ever heard. She died just like that, and on her way to Wicheon, she was given a long series of explanations.

Of the options laid out before her, Seoyeon ultimately chose the one she wanted most. I will go back. No matter what.

Counting this round of midterm scores, her internal grade sat in the low 1.0 range. If she merely hit the minimum CSAT cutoffs, the math said she could reach any university and major she wanted — except she had no time left to get there.

She had died for nothing. And once dead, was she supposed to simply give up? Absolutely not. That was why Seoyeon had run to this motel faster than anyone else.

She was dead, and Regression, Possession, and Reincarnation were possible. Which meant, obviously, she had to go back and make her dream come true.

"And that's why I'm here."

Lee Seoyeon, a high school senior abducted from a dark alleyway, now sat not in the counseling room but at the front desk, facing the manager in charge, Sohee.

The counseling room still held the practice exam workbooks and mistake notebooks she'd packed into her bag, spread open and waiting.

She rubbed at the dark circles under her eyes a couple of times before speaking.

"I know from what the messenger explained that the Life Record contains everything about me. But I was told that for the Reincarnation process, it's more advantageous for me to provide the specific details myself."

"That's right. It makes everything go more smoothly."

She glanced down at her wristwatch and furrowed her brow.

"Then I'll talk fast. We don't have time to waste."

She recounted her top rankings on internal assessments and mock exams, the months she'd scraped by on barely three hours of sleep a night just to keep her record clean.

Nosebleeds were an everyday occurrence; she'd chugged coffee and high-caffeine energy drinks, clinging to her studies night and day, and she poured out the whole story of those relentless days.

Sohee knew that struggle all too well. Years had passed, so her own school days had been a little different, but she understood the feeling of trudging down an endless road of suffering, one painstaking step at a time.

Seoyeon's eyes had been perfectly steady while she described how hard she'd worked — but suddenly they reddened and stung. Then the tears came spilling down in earnest. Sohee held out a tissue.

"Dying like this is just so unfair! Do you have any idea how hard I pushed myself to earn those grades!"

Sohee plucked a tissue from the box and passed it over. The teenage student, so young that anyone watching would ache for her, cried for a long while.

"Why did I work myself to the bone like that? If I'd known I was going to die like this, I would've hung out with my friends more, played games until I dropped, gone on trips, all of it…"

No matter how much she'd studied, no matter how mature she seemed, a girl was still a girl.

"I don't know how the novel unfolds or how it ends, but I will get into university. Even if that's where the story stops, I don't care. That goal is what I sacrificed my whole teenage life to."

With those words, Seoyeon wiped her tears and rose unsteadily to her feet. Sohee stared at her in puzzlement.

"Where are you going?"

"…To study."

"Right now?"

"…I've said everything I came to say."

Thank you for your support. With a polite bow, Seoyeon headed into the counseling room. Sohee immediately sprang up from her seat and made for the kitchen.

"Eat this first, then study."

Seoyeon, so absorbed in her work that she hadn't noticed anyone come in, looked up at the sound of Sohee's voice. She glanced sidelong at the snack in her hand and gave a small bow of her head.

"Thank you."

She said the words, but she wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation. She wasn't even hungry, and above all, with every second ticking by, the delay was making her anxious.

The moment Seoyeon buried her nose back in her books, Sohee set the plate down on the table. No amount of refusal would avail her. This was a fresh-cream waffle made by Kuku, the finest chef around.

"And no more studying today."

"…Why not? Is there a time limit? I never heard about any rule like that…"

Then I really can't waste time.

When Seoyeon looked up at her with urgent eyes, Sohee laughed softly.

"Of course studying is your choice, but you're going back through Regression into the novel itself, so a little rest won't hurt. It all counts as saved time, doesn't it?"

Seoyeon's mouth fell open in genuine, wholehearted relief.

"Oh — thank goodness."

Only then did she set down her pen. She'd thought she'd wasted so much time getting here, but come to think of it, everything would be exactly as she left it when she returned.

With her mind considerably lighter, her appetite arrived in a rush. She didn't hold back any longer — she snatched up the sweet fresh-cream waffle sitting before her and took a big bite. Her eyes flew wide open and sparkled.

"This is… this is really good."

For the first time, a bright smile bloomed on Seoyeon's face. She had always been so short on time that she shoveled food into her mouth without ever tasting it.

She swallowed the mouthful she'd been chewing and asked, "I can stay here for up to three months, right?"

"…Don't tell me you're planning to use all of it?"

"Mm… every hour I spend studying here is pure profit."

A beaming smile spread across her crumb-dusted lips. Sohee burst out laughing despite herself and told her,

"Well, that would be lovely, but I doubt you'll be here more than a week. Make the most of it. You died unfairly — you might as well squeeze every benefit out of the deal."

Steel herself as she might, Seoyeon kept at her studies until late into the night, then followed Riri, dressed in her maid uniform, up to her room.

"I worked hard preparing it, though I'm not sure if it's to your taste."

"…Whoa."

Seeing her room replicated so perfectly, Seoyeon was genuinely moved. Being able to keep studying in a space identical to the one she always used was a tremendous advantage.

Without thinking, she threw her arms around Riri and hugged her tight.

"Thank you so, so much."

Riri, whose eyes had gone wide with surprise, smiled as though all her fatigue had melted away. With that, Seoyeon entered her room, and Riri headed for the lounge, each retreating to her own corner of the evening.

"Ah… why, of all people."

Sohee reread the Life Record and the synopsis several more times, but the answer she was looking for never appeared. She snapped the file folder shut. Her head throbbed.

The next day, Sohee went straight to Seoyeon's room. At the familiar sight of her buried in her studies, Sohee hid her conflicted heart behind a smile. Spotting her, Seoyeon set down her pen and looked up.

"Don't tell me the Regression preparations are already done?"

She grinned. She was joking her way around saying she wanted to stay the full week and study — but Sohee's expression remained grim. Slowly, the smile drained from Seoyeon's face too.

"Seoyeon."

"…Yes?"

Sohee sat down beside her and asked carefully. After all, novel character or not, the girl was still a minor.

"Seoyeon, do you remember… how you died?"

Ah. She blinked a few times, then spoke.

"I think I died sometime after I was abducted in that alley. Honestly, I don't remember anything past the moment I blacked out."

Sohee swallowed a sigh and decided to lay everything out honestly — in the rational, straightforward manner she always favored.

She looked Seoyeon dead in the eye.

"Then you don't actually know where you died."

"…Sorry? What do you mean, I died in that—"

"It's true that you lost consciousness there. But according to the synopsis, you were reported missing after that day. The truth comes out in the latter half of the novel, but as things stand, your brother — the male lead — doesn't even know whether you're alive or dead."

"…Then you're saying I might not have died there after all?"

"Yes."

Seoyeon fell silent. It was true she'd lost consciousness in that alley — but she couldn't be certain that was where she'd died.

The girl who had been so bold and quick-thinking ever since arriving here wore, for the first time, an expression of pure confusion. Sohee continued her explanation.