The Inauspicious Route to my Happy Ending

Adrien? She's calling out that name again. Why does it sound like she's talking to me? I still haven't figured out why that name sounds so familiar.

Seo-jun felt confused, not sure how he ended up in this situation, whatever this was.

The soft tapping sounds of flat-heeled shoes drew closer. "Here you are, Madam. Do you want me to treat his wounds?"

"No, I'll do it myself." The sound of a box clicking open and of wood striking against wood rung in his ears with a dull thud that didn't kill his throbbing head. "Adrien, I need you to sit up for me, my son," the sad yet older feminine-sounding voice spoke with a wobble.

A slender hand wrapped around his arm. He hissed out in pain when another hand touched the back of his shoulder. Amidst the stinging and burning sensation, a tearing, wet feeling overcame him when the hand touched his skin.

"Bare with it," the voice was firm and reassuring, "the pain will go away soon, I just need to take care of your wounds."

Seo-jun numbly felt his hands on the ground. Using all of his strength, he tried to sit himself up to help the woman whose voice sounded familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. The teeth-clenching movement made all the blood rush to his head, making him feel even more disoriented.

The movement caused the cold air to strike against the bare skin of his back, causing him to bite his tongue to stop himself from crying out. This felt more like something had struck against his back multiple times than him slamming face-first into a mesh of metal and cement.

The oddly familiar-sounding woman breathed a long and low hiss when she saw his back. "He's gone too far this time," she growled out, sounding like a bear who was protecting its cub from a hunter, or a pissed-off trash panda guarding its young.

"The disinfectant might not be enough," the other woman spoke, her voice tinged with sadness. "Shall I bring a bottle of alcohol, Madam?"

"Please do."

Seo-jun heard the second set of footsteps belonging to the worker trod off at a fast pace.

"Wh-where am I?" Seo-jun asked, his voice coming out hoarse as if it hadn't been used for a while.

"You're in the cellar. I'm so sorry that I wasn't here to protect you, Adrien. I didn't know he would go this far while I was away."

The cellar? Why the hell am I in the cellar? Who was the 'he' that did this to me? And why does this woman sound like she's apologizing to her son?

Feeling extremely confused and disoriented, Seo-jun used his current situation to ask a very unusual question, a question that he desperately believed he needed the answer to.

"Wh-who am I?" He hated how sore and raw his throat felt.

"What kind of question is that, Adrien? You are my son."

Did I somehow get mixed up with someone else on the bus? . . .However that doesn't explain how I wound up in a cellar. Wait. . .don't tell me I somehow became this Adrien person? That's a ridiculous thought, switching souls is the stuff of fantasy that only happens in books and movies.

"Who are you?" Seo-jun tried another question, relieved that his voice wasn't as shaky, though it did hurt him more to speak than it didn't on the last question.

"I've brought the alcohol, Madam."

Seo-jun heard the sound of a cork being pulled out. "Here, drink." The cool feeling of glass softly pressed against his parched lips. He opened his mouth and took a slow, shallow drink. The alcohol poured down his throat, quenching his thirst but burning his throat raw.

The bottle was soon taken away from his lips. "Bite onto this," came the maid's voice, Seo-jun was pretty sure he heard the woman call her Nadeline.

With his eyes still closed, Seo-jun decided to trust the women before him. He opened his mouth once again. A cloth was pressed into his mouth. Seo-jun bit down on it, having a bad premonition as to why he needed the gag.

The shredded shirt was carefully removed from his back. The cool air stung his aching back, informing him that he had open, bleeding wounds.

And then the bad premonition came to fruition.

The room-temperature alcohol was poured onto his back. His back felt as if it were lit on fire. Tears pricked the edges of his closed eyelids, and a scream escaped him, trying its best to be heard above the gag that blocked it from fully voicing its agony.

A gentle tapping eased the pain on his back as the two women wiped away the blood, sweat, and alcohol. He focused his mind on the gentle touch.

"My name is Teressa Mallorne, the Countess to the Mallorne County and the wife of Count Mallorne," the woman finally answered his earlier question, her voice heavy with emotion. "I am the temporary heir to the Ratcliff Merchantry and the Vespa County. I am your mother."

Ratcliff? Mallorne? They sound familiar. Wait, is this body's name Adrien Mallorne since this woman claiming to be this body's mother has the married surname of Mallorne?

Adrien Mallorne? Where have I heard that name before? An actor? A singer? Maybe a character from a movie or a book?

The younger girl, by the sound of her voice, started carding her fingers through his hair, gently parting each strand. Her fingers paused halfway through her carding. "Madam?"

The hands on his back stopped, half of his back having been covered in medicine and bandages. A gasp came from above his head.

"Nadeline, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my hands steady enough. Can you stitch it for me?"

"Yes, Madam."

Stitch? I need stitches on my head? Did the original owner of this body die from these injuries?

This body's mother went back to working on his back while the servant started stitching his head. Seo-jun kept his teeth clenched against the rag in his mouth, and his fingers curled into the floor.

"Why I-" the angry voice muttered from behind his back. "That man needs to hold back his temper. If he wasn't necessary, I would-"

That man? Is she talking about this body's father, Count Mallorne? Why do these names sound so familiar? Maybe if I wasn't in so much pain, I could think a little more clearly.

"Let us finish getting you patched up. After some rest, maybe things will become clearer."

Rest? That sounds wonderful.

Not long after, his head was stitched up and his back was cleaned and bandaged. Nadeline helped Seo-jun to Adrien's room to rest. It was difficult moving from the cellar to the second floor because Seo-jun was still unable to open his eyes. According to Nadeline, they were swollen shut from the intense bruising.

Seo-jun was laid down on his stomach. The bed underneath was plush and soft, allowing him to instantly drift off into sleep, exhausted from the day's events.

Images that felt like memories flashed through his sleeping mind. Several images involved twin boys with ocean-blue hair and matching blue eyes. The twins would find new ways to torment Adrien; from insults and verbal abuse, tripping him down the stairs, stealing his homework only to shred it in front of him, among other things.

Other images included a serene woman with pale-blonde hair and equally pale-green eyes. She would whisper words of encouragement to Adrien while preparing him to take over the Ratcliff Merchantry Guild, a business that Adrien did not believe he deserved as the third child.

There were memories of an older man with long ocean-blue hair and fierce blue eyes raising his hand to Adrien.

Then there were images of a young Adrien lying in his room, immersed in his drawings. Sometimes, the young Adrien could be found singing and learning to play new instruments, much to the ire of Count Mallorne.