And her feelings remained unchanged.

If that was the case, her course of action was clear.

Having made her decision, Natalie turned completely toward where the Demon King stood. She wanted to lend her strength to help McClain defeat Demon.

Perhaps sensing her intention, McClain furrowed his brow sharply and shouted. His voice was more stern than ever before.

“No! Didn’t I tell you? I’ll follow soon! Quickly! Before time runs out, get into the dimensional gate now!”

“But!”

Natalie tried to protest, but couldn’t.

McClain had suddenly pushed the distracted Natalie into the dimensional gate.

Only then did she discover it.

McClain staring blankly at her with a face that looked ready to cry as she was enveloped in light, and behind him, the monster-like Demon closing in.

“McClain!”

She desperately called out to him, but he remained standing there, disheartened.

It seemed certain that at this rate, he would lose his life to Demon before he could even attempt an escape method.

She couldn’t lose him so meaninglessly.

She hadn’t come all this way to part with him just as they were beginning—no, before they could properly start again after returning together.

Natalie gathered all her strength and stretched her hand toward him—or more precisely, toward Demon.

But before she could confirm that her attack had left the dimensional gate and struck Demon directly, everything went dark.

※※※

Ring-ring-ring- ring-ring-ring- ring-ring-ring.

The first thing she heard upon opening her eyes was the loud ringing of a cell phone.

“Huh, a cell phone?”

Ha-yoon, not Natalie, reflexively pressed the answer button as she turned toward the source of the sound.

Though she had answered the call, she was still confused about whether this was a dream or reality.

Soon, a very familiar voice flowed from the receiver.

—Kim! What have you been doing that you’re only answering now! Taking unplanned leave since the day before yesterday without any contact! Has something happened?

It was something she had heard before. Though slightly different from that time, the essence was the same.

That she had been absent. And that not many days had passed since her last day at work.

She had clearly entered the dimensional gate, but could it be that the Demon King had placed a powerful barrier around the entire area?

Or perhaps she was having a nightmare due to the shock of passing through the dimensional gate in a human body?

As she pondered in confusion, Manager Kim’s sharp voice continued.

—Why aren’t you answering? Has something happened? Ha-yoon! Say something. Are you really sick somewhere? Should I come over right now?

As she heard Manager Kim’s voice changing from anger to concern, she became convinced.

She must be having a nightmare. Otherwise, Manager Kim’s words couldn’t be so identical.

Her lips, which were spontaneously uttering lines that Kim Ha-yoon the assistant manager would say rather than Natalie, were proof of this.

“Manager Kim! I’m so sorry… I must have caught the flu or something because I was sick enough to lose consciousness yesterday. I just regained consciousness at the sound of the phone ringing. I should have contacted you earlier. I’m truly sorry.”

Her voice coming out of her throat was extremely hoarse, just like in the nightmare she had once had.

From the other end of the phone came a long sigh, followed by what might have been nagging or lamentation.

—Oh, Ha-yoon! How could you endure until you got that sick? You shouldn’t have endured it—you should have gone to the emergency room. Why are you so inflexible? I mean, there’s a limit to being stoic. What were you thinking, enduring until you collapsed?

“I’m really sorry, Manager…”

What struck her as strange came next. The manager’s next lines began to differ subtly from what she remembered.

—Then just rest for today. People need to rest sometimes; you’re not a machine that can work continuously. How hard have you been working to finish the project on time? You’ve been working overtime almost every day for over a month. I understand completely, so rest well and come in when you’re fully recovered.

“What? Pardon?”

This was where the zombie talk was supposed to follow.

As Ha-yoon responded in bewilderment to this deviation from her memory, Manager Kim’s voice came through the receiver again.

—What? Did you think I’d tell you to come in even when you’re sick? I’m not that harsh.

“Um, that’s not it…”

—Why? Did something else serious happen?

“No, Manager Kim. Nothing else happened…”

She felt confused. It was difficult to determine whether her current situation was just a nightmare or if she had truly returned to reality.

—Then you must still be feeling quite unwell? There’s no strength in your voice at all. Have you been to the hospital?

“Hospital, yes, I’ve been to the hospital.”

—Look at that, look at that. I can tell from how you’re talking that you haven’t gone. Go get examined and get some medicine right away. Are you listening to me, Ha-yoon? Ha-yoon!

Only after Manager Kim’s repeated urging did Ha-yoon finally respond.

“Ah, yes, I will, Manager.”

—I’ll process a vacation day for you if needed, so you can rest until tomorrow. We have a new project coming in, but we can start it next week, so there’s no rush.

“But…”

—What? Are you worried about your performance evaluation? Even if you rest until tomorrow, you won’t use up half of your remaining vacation days. You haven’t taken a proper vacation in ages. I know how hard you’ve been working, and it will all be reflected in your performance review, so don’t worry.

Perhaps it was because the manager mentioned performance evaluations.

Suddenly, she felt as if cold water had been splashed on her, instantly clearing her mind.

Whether this situation was reality or a nightmare, it seemed like something she shouldn’t take lightly. Ha-yoon barely managed to part her immobile lips to utter an appropriate response.

“Th-thank you, Manager.”

—So listen to me. It’s only Thursday today, so you’re just taking one more day off tomorrow. But you must come to work in perfect health next week, understood?

“Yes, I will. Thank you, Manager.”

Even after the call ended, Ha-yoon sat there in a daze.

It was difficult to understand why the nightmare wouldn’t end, or what reality she had returned to.

She only truly realized she had returned to Kim Ha-yoon’s reality after going to work on Monday. The reality she thought was a nightmare wouldn’t disappear no matter how hard she tried, and the company was operating as if nothing had happened, exactly as she remembered it.

“Oh my, I heard you were so sick you couldn’t even answer calls. You really do look like half a person. Are you feeling alright, Ha-yoon?”

As she entered the office, Deputy Manager Lee rose and asked with concern.

Her colleague Ji-won, who was just coming out of the pantry, also approached and added her thoughts.

“Seriously, shouldn’t you have been hospitalized at this point? Are you sure you’re fully recovered?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Deputy Manager Lee. Thanks, Ji-won.”

Ha-yoon nodded with a bitter smile. How ironic that after trying so desperately to return while transmigrated into Natalie’s body, she now felt this bitter upon actually returning.

It seemed she would need more time to process the connections she had made there in her heart.

After a hectic morning, she felt somewhat more settled by the time she returned from lunch.

Settled enough to start filling her previously empty mind with new work.

“By the way, about the new project that just came in. I heard from the manager that you’ll be in charge of it, right?”

Perhaps concerned about Ha-yoon’s continued daze, Deputy Manager Lee asked.

Ha-yoon nodded with a faint smile.

“Ah, yes. I did hear about starting a new project…”

She was about to say she hadn’t properly checked it yet, when her colleague Ji-won cut in with a smug expression.

“Wow, I was so jealous when I heard about it. I almost begged the manager to give it to me instead, but I gave up.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Haven’t you heard the details yet? The client is that hot gaming company these days.”

“A gaming company? Why would a gaming company request data analysis? They would typically analyze their own data and draw conclusions in-house.”

Of course, there was no fixed rule about who could request data analysis.

Everyone wanted to have future guarantees backed by visible metrics, and even companies with their own data analysis teams would occasionally outsource to professional data analysis firms for more accurate analysis and solutions.

In response to her reaction, Ji-won shook her head as if wondering how the person in charge could still be unaware, and continued.

“They’re preparing for a major update and apparently want to perfectly reflect user needs. I heard they’re a rapidly growing company but don’t have a specialized data analysis team yet. But you know what’s really interesting?”

“What?”

“Their executive director personally made contact.”

“The executive director personally?”

It was somewhat surprising. While request forms typically came by email with the company representative or executive director’s title attached, that alone wouldn’t be described as “personal contact.”

Saying it like that meant they had actually spoken on the phone.

Pleased with Ha-yoon’s surprised expression, Ji-won continued with an even more triumphant look.

“That’s not all. Do you know who he is?”