Today, I did something I probably shouldn't have done.
I confessed my feelings…
To the girl I've secretly loved for years.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time, Ma nin Phyu. I really believed that maybe… you felt the same way too."
With a heart full of hope, I—Min Khant Thu Ya—told the girl next door, Ma Nin Phyu, how I truly felt. She was two years younger than me, but for the past five years, we'd grown incredibly close since she moved in next door. She was more than a neighbor. More than a friend.
Whenever she needed help, I was there. No matter the time, no matter the place. Even when I couldn't afford to care, I still did.
The truth is, I've loved her for a long time. And even if she didn't love me back, I never regretted being there for her—not once. There was no way she hadn't noticed… right?
"Go on, big bro. What is it you wanted to say?" she asked calmly, eyes clear as she looked at me.
"I… I love you, Min Phyu."
The moment those words left my mouth, her face stiffened. A pause. Then, with a voice sharp and cold, she cut back:
"I'm sorry, but I've always thought of you as nothing more than an older brother. I'm already seeing someone, and frankly, I'm not into guys like you… You're too soft, too sentimental. I don't like guys like that."
"That's why," she added, "it's best if we stop being close from now on."
Her words, calm and precise, hit harder than any scream could. I tried my best not to cry in front of her.
"I understand," I whispered. "I'll leave now."
And with that, I walked away… the tears falling only after I turned my back.
Sometime later, I found myself sitting on a broken bridge, a couple bottles of cheap beer by my side. I drank and drank, trying to numb the pain, the regret, the sting of rejection.
"Why the hell did I do that? We're not even friends anymore… She probably hates me now. Ha… ha… ha…"
I laughed bitterly, drowning myself in liquor.
I'm not a loser. I'm smart, capable. I've always done well despite my circumstances. But with two parents deep in debt from gambling, life hasn't exactly been kind. Love? That was a luxury I never had time for.
Lost in my thoughts, a notification pinged on my phone. I glanced at it.
[Update] The Golden Princess's Fated One – New Chapter Released
My favorite novel. Don't ask why I love it. Maybe it's the hot male characters. Maybe I just needed an escape. I opened the app with bleary eyes.
"Wait… what language is this? Did I mess up my settings?"
Suddenly, the phone slipped from my hand.
"No—!"
I lunged for it, forgetting where I was. My fingers grazed the phone…
…and I fell.
Right off the edge.
SPLASH.
"Ghk—! I can't… breathe… I can't swim!"
The freezing water swallowed me whole. Darkness closed in. My limbs went numb. Then—
Silence.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a bed.
"…My head… Where… am I? A hospital?"
No. The room was strange—elegant, old-fashioned, yet regal. As I slowly sat up, someone rushed to my side with a cup of water.
"Here, Your Highness. Drink."
"...Your what now?"
The girl dressed as a nurse—or at least, I thought she was—looked at me with concern.
"I'm not a nurse, Your Highness. I'm one of your loyal attendants. You passed out after falling into the royal garden's lake. You've been unconscious for three days. Everyone was worried sick!"
What the hell?
I stumbled to a nearby mirror—and froze.
Golden hair. Blue eyes. Pale, flawless skin.
I wasn't me anymore.
I was him—the villain prince from The Golden Princess's Fated One.
"This has to be a dream… right?"
I slapped my cheek.
Ouch.
Nope. Not a dream.
I was inside the novel.
Inside the body of the third prince—Noah Everain.
The spoiled, hated, doomed-to-die villain.
Just as I tried to make sense of it all, I heard footsteps. Someone entered the room, calling out with a deep, smooth voice:
"Your Highness… Finally awake, huh? We thought you were never going to open your eyes again."
I turned.
And there he was.
Aren Velthorn.
The story's main protagonist.
The very one destined to kill the villain prince—me.
To be continued...
[Post-Credit Scene]
Outside the room, two palace servants whispered to one another.
"He remembers everything now, doesn't he?"
"Seems like it. We thought he'd forgotten everything for good… If he had died, it would've been a disaster for us. We've been stealing money under his name for months! We even sent reports to the Queen just to earn some rewards…"
"Yeah. Everyone in the palace hates him, but to us lowly servants? He's been our golden goose."
"Should we inform Her Majesty he's awake?"
"Go. This is big news."
As one servant rushed off, a quiet figure passed by. Calm, unreadable, with sharp eyes full of calculation.
Aren.
He remembers... Good.
It's been three months since I was assigned as his personal guard.
The others may see him as a curse, a lost cause. But to me?
He's exactly the tool I need.
Once I get what I want—he'll be discarded.
Without another word, Aren opened the prince's door.
End of Chapter 1.