RHFTY chapter 1- Prologue

TL: The relationship started when MC is Chaeyi is 35 and Leo is 29.

“Chaeyi. Your name is unique—can I use it in my novel? It’s for a fairly important character, but I haven’t decided on a name yet.”

Chaeyi’s mind, which had been deeply immersed in thoughts, was suddenly brought back to reality.

In a dream drifting in the haze, a “friend” was babbling on about the content of a novel they had written.

Upon reflection, Chaeyi realized that this had happened just yesterday during a drinking session with a friend whom he hadn’t seen in a while due to taking time off.

“The main character is Leonard, but he hasn’t manifested into Alpha until he’s fourteen. So, he’s kicked out of the family at nine, and while he’s on the run, he ends up in an unnamed forest. That’s where he meets the villain.”

His friend, who was an excellent storyteller, explained everything in such detail that it was as if he had witnessed it himself. Chaeyi could remember every word, but it was strange.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall the friend’s face or name, even though they had talked nonstop for hours.

“Good luck… …with that.”

A strange sense of unease suddenly made Chaeyi open his eyes.

The familiar feeling of his bed, which had become uneven from overuse, was absent.

He had definitely gone home, washed up, and lain down to sleep right after all that talking.

He had just woken up, so there was no way he had left the bed.

His drowsy mind instantly sharpened.

This vacation had been the longest he’d ever taken.

Maybe he had let his guard down too much from all the rest and relaxation.

‘I let my guard down.’

Why had he slept so deeply, as if nothing would happen?

Chaeyi wake himself as he slowly opened his eyes and scanned the surroundings.

Then, he quietly lifted his upper body, minimizing any noise.

But that was short-lived.

‘Where is this…’

Chaeyi, who had started to assess the situation, widened his eyes in surprise.

This wasn’t his apartment; it was some kind of cabin he had never seen before.

Yet strangely, it didn’t feel unfamiliar, as if he had lived there for a long time…

Suddenly, he noticed his hand resting on the sofa.

‘Huh?’

His hand, which should have been tanned from frequent outdoor activities, was now pale, thin, and so frail that veins were visible.

“……??”

Chaeyi blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend the situation.

It took him a moment to realize that his hand had changed.

No, not just his hand.

From head to toe.

His entire body had become someone else’s.

‘What… what is this.’

He felt around his body frantically and only realized the truth when he saw himself in a nearby mirror.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

All he remembered was having some drinks and chatting with his friend before going home to sleep. How did his body change in the meantime?

He understood it, but he couldn’t accept it.

To accept this, he would have to assume that it was all a dream.

But when he slapped and pinched himself hard, all he felt was pain.

A lucid dream wouldn’t feel this vivid. So this body was really his.

This wasn’t a dream.

As his mind, which had been stuck in a state of disbelief, began to process the situation, something unexpected came flooding in.

It was someone else’s memories.

Chaeyi instinctively realized that these were the memories of the body he somehow transmigrated into.

‘In the outskirts of the Grand Duchy of Combest… a slave trader hiding in the unnamed forest…’

And the information he could recall wasn’t unfamiliar.

It was connected to one of the characters from the novel his friend had described the day before.

“That villain takes in Leonard to train him as a slave and sell him. It was dusk, with rain falling and the sun completely set, when it all happened.”

At that moment, a tapping sound on the window made Chaeyi look up.

It was indeed dusk, and it had just started raining outside, exactly as his friend had described.

“…….”

A chill ran down his spine.

The timing and the circumstances matched perfectly with what his friend had said.

‘I need to check this out.’

This couldn’t be left as is.

Chaeyi grabbed an umbrella from the long iron cylinder next to the front door and stepped out of the “novel Chaeyi’s” house.

Tap, tap, tap.

The rain-soaked ground was muddy and slick.

Fortunately, he was wearing leather boots that came up above his ankles, otherwise, the soft mud would have splattered everywhere.

‘But which way should I go.’

The path to the left led into a dark forest, while the path to the right seemed slightly less dark.

He had rushed out but had no idea which direction to take.

However, according to the “novel Chaeyi’s” memories, the village was to the right.

Although his friend hadn’t mentioned the exact path Leonard took while running away, it was worth a try.

‘Let’s go right.’

Chaeyi began to walk, following his instincts.

Fortunately, his instincts were right.

As he reached the dimly lit path, he noticed a faint light from a farmhouse, and there he found a small, filthy boy lying motionless.

“…Ha.”

Chaeyi let out a bitter laugh.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, everything aligned with the story from the novel.

This was the world of his friend’s BL novel.

And somehow, he had become one of the characters—a villain who shared his name.

Could this really be happening?

Chaeyi rubbed his forehead.

But since he was actually experiencing this absurd situation, it wasn’t something he could just dismiss.

‘Let’s calm down and reassess.’

The character he had “transmigrated” was named Chaeyi.

His friend had used Chaeyi’s name when creating this character, so they shared the same name.

And the “novel Chaeyi” lived in a secluded area in the unnamed forest at the edge of the Grand Duchy of Combest and would take in the young protagonist, Leonard, to enslave him.

Later, Leonard would successfully manifest as an Alpha, kill the “novel Chaeyi,” and escape from the cabin, which was like a prison, to take revenge on the family that abandoned him.

Along the way, he would meet a sickly yet beautiful Omega and find happiness.

“Leonard is the most beautiful creature in that world. He’s the perfect creation, standing on the borderline between beauty and handsomeness.”

At the time, Chaeyi had laughed it off, thinking his friend was just exaggerating because Leonard was his favorite character.

But seeing him in real life, he understood.

“…….”

Chaeyi looked down at the young Leonard lying “in the flesh” before his with a complicated expression.

His lips were blue from the cold, his breathing was faint and shallow as if it could stop at any moment, and he was so dirty from hardship that it was hard to see any beauty in him.

Yet, despite all that, he was still an astonishingly beautiful creature, as if his pitiful state was meant to highlight his tragic beauty.

It made Chaeyi think, “If a villain from a comic book existed, they would look like this…”

‘He’s nine years old now, right?’

So what should he do with this little boy?

Chaeyi hesitated.

If he left him here, he might die before the story even began.

Especially with the rain pouring down, it would be nearly impossible for this frail boy to survive the night.

‘Should I just pretend I didn’t see him?’

The “novel Chaeyi” was destined to be killed by Leonard.

While he had no intention of tormenting this boy like the character in the novel, was it worth taking the risk?

Such thoughts crossed his mind.

‘But…’

Chaeyi looked at Leonard’s long, thick eyelashes, trembling from the cold.

‘If I raise him well, maybe he’ll repay the favor someday.’

Leonard is the sole dominant Alpha heir of the Lancaster family, one of the most prestigious ducal houses in the empire.

Although his abilities didn’t manifest until he was nearly nine years old, leading his family to temporarily discard him, he eventually emerged as a formidable Alpha and took control of the family.

In short, he possesses incredible connections.

Such connections are rare and not easily found.

Honestly, if it were possible, I would prefer to return to my original world.

But if I have to live in this world from now on…

‘It wouldn’t hurt to form one connection.’

One that could help me survive in this world—a future golden spoon connection, so to speak.

Allowing such a small, young child to die would be cruel.

Once this decision was made, there was no need for further hesitation.

Chaeyi immediately picked up the young Leonard, who had collapsed.

The movement must have jostled him, as a small groan escaped onto Chaeyi’s shoulder.

With a quick glance, Chaeyi checked his condition and then, as soon as they arrived at ‘Chaeyi’s’ house from the novel, laid Leonard on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

After lighting the fire, Chaeyi removed Leonard’s damp clothes and wiped his body dry.

There were no clothes small enough to fit such a little child, so Chaeyi dressed him in an oversized shirt and wrapped him in a blanket.

Leonard’s face gradually relaxed, and the pale cheeks near the flickering firelight began to take on a rosy hue.