Sweat soaked the girl's entire body. She tossed and turned restlessly, her breathing uneven in sleep. Her small, pale lips moved randomly, as if she were mumbling something.
"For-give me, Auntie. Please ...."
"PLEASE!" The girl woke with a start and immediately sat up. Her body trembled violently as cold sweat poured down her skin.
Her head spun, and her vision was still blurry. More than that, her chest felt unbearably tight. Just like when her aunt had taken her oxygen away.
**Crash!!**
"IVANNA?!" The girl immediately turned toward the sound. Someone rushed in and pulled her into a hug. As soon as she felt the warm embrace, the person cupped her cheeks anxiously. The girl could even feel the hands of the figure before her trembling.
"How did you end up dropping again, sweetheart? Where did you put the inhealer?"
The black-eyed girl's vision began to clear. A middle-aged woman who looked on the verge of tears from worry came into focus. She clutched her tight chest, then shook her head because she couldn't answer the woman.
"Hang on a second. Mom will get the spare." The girl called Ivanna only gave a brief nod.
_What is happening? Didn't I die after Auntie killed me?_
Mia, a girl certain she had experienced death, had instead awakened in a completely unfamiliar place. Everything felt different, except for the tightness in her chest that had plagued her for as long as she could remember.
The middle-aged woman who referred to herself as "Mom" hurried back to Mia after rummaging through the drawer over there.
"Open your mouth and breathe this in properly." Mia obeyed, inhaling the inhealer's liquid deeply. She was already very familiar with how to use it.
Slowly, Mia managed to steady her breathing. The tightness in her chest eased. Meanwhile, the woman in front of her still wore an expression as if she were holding back tears.
"How did you end up dropping again, Ivanna?"
Mia still couldn't process the situation. So she simply stayed silent, continuing to stare at the woman.
**Thump!**
Suddenly, she remembered the name the woman had called. Ivanna. Mia knew someone named Ivanna, but why was she being called that?
Mia cast a furtive glance to the side, and her eyes landed on the wardrobe mirror, which reflected her as well. That was when Mia realized the reflection in the mirror wasn't her.
Pitch-black eyes, dark brown wavy hair, sunken eyes with dark circles beneath them, and skin as pale as paper.
Mia knew exactly who the figure in the mirror—her body, to be more precise—was. No, more accurately, Mia knew where that figure had been described: in a novel titled Guardian Angel, which told the story of a sixteen-year-old boy who protected his younger siblings like an angel.
And to confirm what she was thinking, there was only one way. A way that wouldn't arouse suspicion.
"M-Mom, where is ... Izora?"
The middle-aged woman's body seemed to freeze. She fell silent, her expression impossible to read.
"Zora went out, Vanna."
Mia felt immensely relieved. Her guess had been right. She had entered the novel as Ivanna Razaputra, Izora Razaputra's twin and the protagonist's first younger sibling. Rayden Razaputra.
After thinking it over, Mia finally realized something. Now wasn't the time to feel relieved, because the author had fundamentally mislabeled this story as teen lit. Its true genre was ...
"Vanna! Why are you crying? What hurts?"
Tragedy.
The sound of the door opening seized Mia's attention. Ah, maybe she had to start going by Ivanna from now on?
"Vanna, you—M-Mom?"
There he was. A young man with neatly trimmed, pitch-black hair, though his bangs were adorably messy. His pitch-black eyes felt so warm, even from a distance. There was no denying his handsome face, especially with features that were both gentle and defined.
"Bro ... Rayden?"
"Vanna, why are you crying?"
"Sweetheart, you're crying again? Does something hurt again?"
Ivanna didn't know why tears kept streaming down her cheeks. No—that wasn't true. She knew the reason. First, she was deeply moved because Mom kept taking such good care of her. And second, because she was looking at Rayden. The character she loved so dearly ... who died at the end of the story.
Ivanna sat in a daze. No, in truth, she was thinking hard by herself in this room after asking Rayden and her mother to leave. Ivanna still had to process the situation.
She didn't need days to realize that she had experienced something impossible. Transmigration was a theme featured in countless web novels, but Ivanna had never imagined that she would undergo something fictional like this herself.
The novel was titled Guardian Angel, which translated to Guardian Angel. It sounded like a fantasy story, but this web novel was written as teen lit. No, it was actually more fitting to call it a tragedy.
"I still remember how many readers cursed the author." Ivanna murmured, her eyes unfocused.
The novel was about Rayden Razaputra and his friends. It revolved around friendship, family, and love, like an ordinary teen lit novel. But everything changed once the initial conflict began. It opened with the suicide of a girl who had been bullied, followed by a friend who became a convict because of a murder case, a friend who became a drug addict, a friend who moved abroad after being accused of murder, a friend who was forced into an arranged marriage, and a friend who was shot dead in an act of sacrifice. Even at the end, Izora died after becoming trapped in a forest fire, and Rayden died after donating his lungs to Ivanna. As if the author hadn't run out of cruel ideas, they made Ivanna commit suicide due to severe depression. Yes, the readers unanimously agreed that the author was either a devil or a masochist.
"I'm Ivanna, the final victim of the author's cruelty," she murmured.
"That means my purpose in life from now on is ..." Ivanna paused. Her attention shifted to the bedroom door, which had opened to reveal her mother smiling warmly as she carried a tray of food.
"Vanna, it's lunchtime." Ivanna returned the smile.
_Save every character._
Ivanna wasn't thinking about surviving or enjoying the wealth. She only wanted to save every character she admired. Even though the author was hated for their cruelty, Ivanna was still grateful to them. They had created characters who became her friends and role models. Ivanna loved them all dearly, including the original Ivanna, who was often portrayed as the root of every problem.
That was why Ivanna wanted to save them all. She had made up her mind.
"Want Mom to feed you?" Her reverie shattered, and she looked at Vita in surprise.
"N-no, Mom. I can eat by myself," Ivanna replied with an awkward smile.
Vita's expression immediately fell. Ivanna felt awkward in moments like this because she had never received such kind treatment before. Especially not since her parents' deaths.
"You don't like Mom feeding you anymore?" Vita asked sadly.
Ivanna quickly shook her head. "That's not it, Mom! I—" Ivanna slowly exhaled, then looked at Vita and gave her a faint smile. "Okay, could you feed me, Mom?"
Vita immediately lit up. She scooped up the soft food and lovingly brought it to her daughter's mouth. Ivanna's heart warmed. She didn't know whether she was allowed to receive such warmth. The truth was, the woman in front of her wasn't her mother. And she herself wasn't Vita's daughter.
And if she was occupying Ivanna's body, where was the original Ivanna? What condition was her soul in? What had happened to her? She didn't know whether those questions would ever be answered.
"Mom, can I ask you for something?" Vita's hand stopped moving as she looked at her pale daughter with confused, knitted brows. Even so, a smile still curved her lips.
"What is it? Mom will always try to grant your every wish."
Ivanna had already decided to save every character in this novel. And that could only happen if she fulfilled her first mission, so she had to make sure of it starting now.
"I ... want to go to school with Izora."
Vita's smile faded, replaced by a stunned expression and a tense look. Ivanna had expected that reaction. But she didn't want to give up.
"I've been homeschooled this whole time. This time, I want to experience what school is like. Please, Mom."
Vita glanced around restlessly. She swallowed several times, clearly never having expected such a request from her daughter.
"Mom ...?"
Vita gave in. She focused her attention on Ivanna, who was looking at her pleadingly. She smiled faintly.
"Let's ask Dad first, okay?"
To be continued ....