Cordelia Blackwood ##&&@&#&@_#&@ Seo Ina.
(Cordelia POV)
THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE ENTRANCE EXAM AND THE THIRD DAY OF MARCH 2026.
My name. What country I'm from. Well, that isn't important.
As a young, naive girl, I had only one single dream: to stand on the stage as an idol.
Well, to tell the truth, most female children have that dream, but there is always a thin line between reality and fiction.
A line that can never be crossed.
You're meant to be a doctor they said. You're meant to be a lawyer, an engineer.
Just more and more expectations.
Maybe that's why I withdrew myself from the world.
But do I regret it? No.
Because I found fiction, it would be an insult to even call it fiction.
From an Animanga fan to a Manovel addict.
But I loved it, I enjoyed it, and because of it, I made my debut as an idol, leaving behind everyone's expectations.
Soon, I became pretty famous, even as an upcoming idol.
Then it happened.
The day I crossed that thin line.
Just a random birthday party of a colleague, as an upcoming idol, I had to cover my face when on the street, but that day, a scene unfolded before me that almost made me take off the mask and burst into laughter.
"That man must be crazy," I said looking at the man that screamed on the street.
He had tattered suits, but he was still a little handsome, though it didn't feel like he knew that or even took proper care of himself.
Just a random guy and a random day.
But as I entered the taxi a notification rang.
INFINITE CUBE: WAYS TO SURVIVE AN APOCALYSE. CHAPTER 1308 HAS BEEN RELEASED.
ICUWSA had dropped and I had to read it.
Soon I got the man's frustration.
He wasn't angry because of just life but he read the series too.
How could I tell?
Yes, the ultimate fan bond. That can tell friend from foe.
And just when I was about to crash out.
I was transmigrated into the same novel I just read as the main heroine who was meant to be the emotionless princess.
I tried to act my role for a couple of weeks, and yeah, I gave up.
But I had a valid reason to change my character.
Cordelia Blackwood was born into a ruined noble family, so who cares if I changed the plot.
I won't die any time soon so I can just figure things out later.
Little did I know that one selfish act of saving the Blackwood County would lead to this.
A league out of nowhere.
This wasn't meant to be in the plot.
Did I change it?
But then I saw it: no matter how I disputed my inner thoughts, I, too, knew there was something wrong with the boy who was being bullied by Matthew.
Yes, if I am the female protagonist, there might also be another character that got transmigrated, but as who?
The answer was always clear: the main protagonist of transmigration, 'THE OP EXTRA'.
And I finally confirmed my suspicion.
After being sent to the gutter the young man headed straight for Aiko's store to get food.
A shop no one except me should know about.
'Yes, I got to be right.'
(Back to the present in front of Aiko's Cafe)
'What's the cold queen even doing here?'
[Kai let's just leave for now and come back later.]
'Yeah.'
Without looking back, Kai passed Cordelia, but before he could take a breath of relief, something tugged onto his sleeves.
Slowly turning to face the figure that stood straight, gripping the edge of his uniform, a single word escaped her lips, a word that sent shivers down his spine.
"야~ 너두?(Hey~ you too)" She said in a slightly playful tone.
[Did she just speak Korean?]
'No, that's far from the matter; only someone raised in Korea, Seoul to be exact, can know that meme.'
At that moment Kai realized why the plot had changed so much when he did nothing.
Why the cold princess was in Aiko's store.
"나도 써!(I use it too!)" He answered reluctantly.
"No way, you're Korean too?"
Kai covered his face with his hands in embarrassment before heading into the store.
"We have a lot to talk about." He said hesitantly.
"We do?" Cordelia answered smiling excitedly.
'Damn her!'
[Relax Kai, at least you now have a fellow brother or sister.]
"Tsk."
******
Kai and Cordelia had been sitting in the small white cafe for over thirty minutes.
Not even a single word had been said between the two.
Just silence.
'What's his problem? Isn't he going to talk? I thought he would be ecstatic to see a fellow countryman.' Cordelia thought while lifting the cup of tea with her soft tender palm.
Her platinum blonde hair was let loose and her moonlight grey eyes flickered with each sip.
She was the embodiment of beauty and class.
Or she was meant to be.
'How can she be so unrefined in drinking tea?'
[You aren't refined either... And how are there two people from the same world]
'I'm trying to process that too.'
"I know it is a lot to process.." She paused. "But you have to accept it one way or another.."
Kai exhaled heavily. "Let me ask you this." He added. "What the hell did you do to the plot?"
The cup that Cordelia held began shaking, causing some tea to fall onto her lap. "We...ll... you...see..I.." She answered, her voice trembling as she stuttered. "I kind of saved the Blackwood from ruin...so"
"Huh?"
'Did she just say what I think she did?'
"Are you brain dead? How can you make such a newbie mistake?" Kai asked face palming himself. "Of all things to do, you saved an entire noble house, and you didn't expect this kind of change?"
"I'm sorry." She said in a pitful tone.
'She just had to say it with Cordelia's face.'
"First of all, were you a girl or a boy?"
[How is that important?]
Cordelia pointed at herself confused. "A girl, obviously; I was even an idol."
[I knew it..those...damn..]
"Hah"
"I'm tired."
"Was it too much to handle?"
"Are you... No, can you see what you did to the plot?"
"I promise I won't change any other thing, I just couldn't live in poverty..."
"I feel like strangling you right now."
"But look at the bright side at least we know Matthew is a total asshole." Cordelia said clapping her hand.
"I guess so." Kai replied nonchalantly.
"Hmm.."
"What now?" Kai answered, picking up a cookie from the tray in front of him.
"Just wanted to know, are you by any chance the male worker who was screaming on the street?"
Kai spat out the cookie he had in his mouth. "What did you say?"
"I just felt like you were that man or am I wrong?" She said drawing closer her hands closer to his side of the table.
[Hahaha...Kai, someone saw your shameful act, and you thought he had escaped... Hahahaha]
'That's enough from you.'
But Alpha was right.
Shame.
That was all Kai could feel.
'Let the ground just open up and swallow me.'
"Yes." Kai's voice was barely a whisper.
"What did you say."
"I said yes damnit." He increased his vice threefold.
Cordelia closed her mouth barely containing her laughter.
"Just laugh already."
As if waiting for him, Cordelia burst into uncontrollable laughter, and so did Alpha.
'Yeah, just enjoy it while it lasts.'
"Sorry...Sorry... It was just really funny..... You were like... Noooooooo!"
"It wasn't that much."
[She got it right... Kai, I think I like this girl]
'Damn you two.'
"Now, with that out of the way, what do you plan now." Cordelia asked wiping the tears in her eyes.
"For now, I plan on just training till the league starts."
"That's two days from now, right?"
"Yeah."
"I already have a plan on getting stronger," Cordelia said confidentially.
"You want to go take the elixir of immortality."
"How do you know?"
Kai tilted his head slightly. "Cause I have already taken it."
*******
Soon Kai and Elia parted ways after a long talk.
This filled Kai's mind with a lot of thoughts.
How does transmigration even work? Who chooses who gets transmigrated? Was it just a coincidence that both of them met that day? Or did it play a major role?
But he had no answers to his question. The best he could do was train hard and become stronger than any enemy he faced.
"I guess it is time to learn the breathing technique."
[We were so preoccupied that we almost forgot... and the sun has long set..]
"It can't be that hard right?"
[...]