Chapter 1

It seems like I have reincarnated, and not only that, I’ve changed genders as well.

One day, I woke up to find myself in the body of a little girl. There was no sense of alienation, and my memories and feelings as a girl were intact, so it felt more like reincarnation than possession.

To put it more precisely, when I woke up one day, it felt as though my mind had matured. Based on my current life, the mind from my previous life—specifically, the mind of an adult man—had blended in.

Still, the influence of my past life seems to dominate, but it would be an exaggeration to say that my current life has no impact.

On the bright side, I no longer feel distant from my parents, which is fortunate.

I got up, tidied the blanket, and headed to the bathroom to wash my face.

This room is now my personal bedroom. Since I’m about to enter elementary school, I strongly demanded privacy, and my parents responded by furnishing an empty room.

Thanks to that, I’ve had my own room for a few weeks, and it’s been wonderful.

Now that I think about it, it’s odd that we even have an empty room that isn’t a storage room. They must have planned to use it as a child’s room from the start.

It feels like my parents have been guiding me a bit in this current life. When I was hesitating over what to read in the study, my mom recommended a popular book about personal privacy.

After washing my face, I changed out of my pajamas. I hadn’t noticed before, but the sink must have been lowered specially for me, as it’s very convenient.

When I was about to leave the room, my eyes caught a painting hanging on one of the walls. It’s a painting that I, in this current life, made with splashes of vibrant colors.

A few days ago, I replaced the old paintings in the room to personalize it more.

Back then, it felt fulfilling, but now looking at it, I must not be very talented in art. Neither the previous life had much interest in art, so I have no standard for judgment.

Still, I might as well redecorate it.

Replacing the original painting with a new one would be better since it’s not particularly good.

“Ahh, everything costs money though.”

Without thinking, I started considering the cost of things. My sense of money is getting strange. Hmm? Could this be influenced by my current life?

After giving it more thought, I decided to leave the painting as it is. The room was decorated by me in this life, and it makes sense to hang my own work.

After roughly making up my mind, I left the room.

“Huh? You woke up early.”

I saw mom on the living room sofa reading and went over to sit next to her. Suddenly, she lifted me and placed me on her knees.

“What?”

“Do you want some cookies?”

“Yes.”

Mom brought the cookie to my mouth. It was soft and savory—surely it was homemade. Though I don’t recall seeing her bake, so it might have been bought.

Glancing at the clock, it was around 9:20. Didn’t mom just say I woke up early?

“Mom, 9:20 isn’t early at all.”

She laughed.

“To our princess, it is. What time do you usually wake up?”

Well, in this life, I didn’t check the time every morning, but typically, mom would wake me up, and lunch was my main meal of the day.

“Hmm, I don’t know the time, but I’m definitely going to wake up earlier from now on. So this doesn’t count as early for me.”

“Really? What time will you wake up?”

“I’ll have breakfast.”

She laughed again.

“Then I’ll need to prepare breakfast more often, huh?”

“Yes.”

While answering, I took a few more cookies which made my throat dry. I picked up the coffee cup from the table, but mom carefully took it away, saying she’d get me juice—she then went to the kitchen.

Not allowing me to drink coffee, treating me like a complete child.

But, I am a child…

Though, thanks to this current life’s influence, I feel neither awkward nor uncomfortable about this. It feels very natural. Still, this kind of treatment can’t continue indefinitely.

If I get used to it, I’ll end up growing lazy, failing to properly utilize the advantage of remembering my past life.

Although, it is quite comfortable…

But for now, I’ll just play a bit.

I glanced at the book mom had been reading.

“CAT Child Raising Practices.”

It’s a parenting book. Should the subject of the parenting even care about reading it? It doesn’t seem like something you’d read out of boredom.

I should turn on the TV.

—

“Sky. In a few weeks, Dad will meet a friend. Do you want to come?”

I was reading in the study when Dad approached and spoke.

“Why me?”

“Dad’s friend has a child the same age as you. Wouldn’t it be fun to meet and make friends?”

“Nah, I’ll pass.”

Dad lingered even after my response. Annoyed, I waved my hands to shoo him away.

Why is he staring while I read? It’s embarrassing.

I underlined some key terms from my specialized textbook, which is based on business management.

Even though I understand the content, I wonder if others see a kindergartner struggling with a complex book.

Thinking about the detail makes me even more self-conscious.

I should’ve read this in my room.

Originally, I planned to read it in my room, but since the book was recommended by Dad, I decided to read it here in the study, respecting his implicit request.

I’ll ignore him and read in my room next time.

In my previous life, I had finished my undergraduate studies and kept studying while working. But now, going back to the basics is due to a problem I found.

I realized that my past and current life are not the same world but parallel dimensions. This was noticed on the day I became aware of my past life, when the brands of certain electronics were unfamiliar, and strange unknown symbols hovered in the sky.

When I asked my parents, they told me it was an unexplained natural phenomenon.

The subtle gap between past and current life created issues with academic theories. The structure of the theories remained the same, but certain terms changed.

For example, names of scholars or historical cases. Terms like Taylorism or Fordism are named differently in this world.

It’s not all of them, but some terms do vary. Encountering these unfamiliar terms during reading was frustrating.

So, I thought I should look for introductory books. But as expected, the professional textbooks were also renamed, so it was hard to determine which book would be good.

Lost in thought, I remembered that Dad works in the management field, so I decided to ask him for help.

He easily picked out a specialized management book while browsing in the study, and as I was about to take it to my room, Dad suggested I read it in the study. He said he could help me with anything I didn’t understand.

But there seemed to be a hidden agenda…

Dad’s sly smile hinted at ulterior motives.

Sky pulled underlined some more terms and stole a glance at her Dad standing nearby.

Dad was taking pictures with his smartphone.

“Is there something you don’t understand?”

Dad had been grinning since the moment I noticed. Why is he taking pictures of me?

I quickly stood up and snatched the phone.

A kindergartner reading a professional textbook—this kind of evidence can’t be left behind.

But when I took a closer look, the phone was on the KakaoTalk screen, and the message was addressed to Mom.

“Did the photo come out well?”

Dad leaned closer with that grin. The picture showed a girl with short apple hair reading while holding a pen.

…It’s cute, actually, better than I thought.

“Still, don’t take pictures without asking.”

I handed the phone back to Dad. Just then, I received a message from Mom suggesting we eat dinner.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Chicken hot pot.”

“Sounds good.”

I quickly gathered the book and left the study.

When I went to the kitchen, Mom was dishing out rice, and Dad was taking side dishes out of the fridge and placing them on the table. I sat down and arranged the tableware.

Mom sat down and asked.

“So, are you going?”

“To where?”

“To the friends’ house we’re planning to visit in three weeks.”

“Are you talking about Dad’s friend?”

“That and also Mom’s friend.”

“Is Mom going too?”

“Yes.”

“So, it’s a family meeting.”

“Yes, there’s a girl around your age.”

“I’ve never met her, so she’s not a friend.”

Mom tilted her head in thought.

“You don’t remember? We met when you were about three.”

Thinking about it, I don’t recall.

“When did we meet?”

Dad answered, sitting down.

“Probably when you were three.”

“Three?”

Mom nodded.

If I’m six now, then it’s been three years. It feels somewhat familiar, but I don’t exactly remember.

“I don’t remember.”

“Then let’s become friends this time.”

Mom, holding her chopsticks, spoke. Though she said that, it seems she and Dad are more excited about the outing.

I just nodded in agreement.

The day arrived, and Mom and Dad were busy packing our bags.

Because it’s February and there aren’t many options around here, Dad rented a vacation house.

Mom was folding clothes into a bag when I squatted next to her.

“Aren’t you packing our camping supplies?”

“The vacation house has them, and the rest will be prepared by the friends.”

Mom seemed genuinely happy. They weren’t just friends; they seemed to be close ones.

Finally, the day came.

In the underground parking lot, I followed Mom and Dad, who were pulling suitcases.

After walking for a bit, Dad approached a van that I’d never seen before. He held up his smart key and pressed a button. The van’s engine roared to life, and the headlights blinked.

Dad glanced at me with an expectant look.

“…?”

What is Dad expecting from me?

Mom opened the door and put the suitcases inside.

Even then, Dad kept staring. I met his gaze, and he eventually looked away.

“Dad, what do you want?”

Mom giggled while closing the door.

Dad mumbled something, then got into the driver’s seat. Mom and I followed, and we soon departed.

What was Dad expecting?

To be impressed by remote start? I’ve already seen it in this world.

Oh, I recall something plausible.

“Where’s the chauffeur?”

“I gave him time off. Today, Dad is the chauffeur.”

Mom answered. Dad stayed silent, concentrating on driving. This isn’t what Dad had in mind.

I nudged Mom and whispered into her ear.

“What did Dad expect just now?”

Mom peeked at Dad, then whispered.

“I don’t know.”

“…”

Looking at Dad, who was glancing at us in the rearview mirror, it seems he’s curious about our private conversation.

Mom’s answer was nonsensical, so I nodded and whispered back as if it were important.

“I see.”

The car kept moving. While I was gazing at the strange celestial patterns in the sky, we arrived at an apartment complex.

Mom adjusted my scarf as we prepared to get out. Looking out the window, it was an ordinary apartment building. Most of the residents seemed to live here as tenants rather than owners.

This was unexpected.

Life in this current existence is quite comfortable. Though parents don’t explicitly reveal it, judging from the surroundings, we do well.

We live in a super high-rise luxury building, have a chauffeur, and Mom is a housewife, while Dad appears to be in a high position. I thought their friends would be in a similar financial situation.

Maybe they’re schoolmates from a long time ago.

The car stopped, and we got out. Following my parents, a family of three emerged from the entrance.

Parents ran over to help with luggage and greeted each other happily.

As expected, the parents are more excited than we are.

There’s been a boy staring at me the whole time, so I glanced at him. He looked dazed.

“Hello?”

“Uh? Oh.”

The boy hesitated and continued.

“You… uh, you’re pretty.”

I tilted my head.

“I know.”

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