The next second, she jumped out of bed like a little kid who just found out school was canceled.
Her steps were light—almost like she was dancing—toward the tiny pantry in the corner of the room.
And there it was, everything looked straight out of a top-tier K-drama set design.
A built-in fridge gleaming with an SSG logo, a high-tech digital stove with Hangul buttons, a toaster, a mint-colored coffee machine, and even a spice rack labeled gochugaru and doenjang in fancy glass jars.
Naima covered her mouth with both hands, torn between awe and disbelief.
"Oh my God… all the electronics are actually SSG brand! That's the one that always pops up in dramas! Even the spoons are the same design as the ones in Crash Landing on You!"
She opened one of the drawers and found silver chopsticks and delicately patterned ceramic bowls.
Her heart exploded with joy.
Naima let out a tiny squeal and started bouncing in place.
"If this is a dream…" she said, looking up at the ceiling, "Please, God, make it a beautiful one! I swear I'll never watch pirated dramas again! But just let me enjoy this a little longer…"
She looked back out the window, watching cherry blossom petals drift slowly onto the sidewalk below.
Her heart filled with a strange warmth—part wonder, part confusion, part fear.
"It's like… a dream that's too real," she whispered.
Then a soft smile appeared. "But who cares? In K-dramas, magical things happen all the time, right?"
Naima turned to the other side of the room.
There was a vanity table with round lights framing the mirror—exactly like the heroine's room setup in every K-drama ever!
She stepped closer, half afraid her reflection would laugh at her for being ridiculous.
But the moment she saw the pastel-colored bottles neatly lined up, her breath hitched.
"Oh my God…" she whispered in awe. "It's my K-beauty skincare wishlist! Everything's here! From Glowmist Essence Toner, Peach Cloud Serum, to Snow Aura 24K Cream!"
Her hands trembled as she touched one of the bottles.
"Just one of these costs half my freelance paycheck, Lord…"
She pulled the chair out, sat down gracefully, and stared at her reflection.
"Still my face," she sighed in relief—then squinted suspiciously.
"Wait a second… why does my skin look brighter?"
Leaning in closer, she gasped.
"My pores are gone! Is this even real skin or a TikTok filter effect?"
Her hand went up to her hair.
"…And this hair?!" she blurted out. "It's straight, silky, and falls perfectly like a shampoo commercial in slow motion!"
Naima stood up and slapped her cheeks. "Okay, this is a dream. It should hurt a little."
Smack!
"Ow." She winced. "Wow, this dream is way too realistic."
Without thinking twice, she dashed toward the bathroom. Somehow, she knew exactly where it was—right turn from the pantry, two steps past the plant shelf.
Of course she did. She'd memorized this apartment layout.
It was the lead character's apartment from Cherry Blossom Season!
"Can't believe I actually memorized someone's house layout just from binge-watching," she muttered, opening the bathroom door.
Inside, a clean, eucalyptus-scented air greeted her. Everything sparkled—white towels neatly folded, a spotless sink shining like a commercial ad.
Naima quickly grabbed a toothbrush—another Korean brand, naturally—and started brushing her teeth while glancing at the mirror.
"Wow, even the toothpaste foam smells like mint from Seoul! This is insane—the level of dream detail is off the charts…"
She rinsed her face, stared again, and found her skin glowing, her cheeks naturally rosy, her hair framing her face perfectly.
Naima sighed, both amazed and slightly horrified.
"If this really is a K-drama world, please don't let some cliché happen—like a guy walking out of the bathroom wearing just a towel…"
Her eyes flicked toward the bathroom door—her heart instantly doubled its rhythm.
—
After warming her stomach with the unbelievably delicious corn soup—which weirdly tasted exactly like Kaefce's—Naima leaned back in her chair. The spoon clinked against the bowl as she stared dreamily at the window, where cherry blossoms still danced outside.
"But…" she murmured, frowning.
"Something doesn't add up."
She propped her chin on her palm, analyzing like an overinvested K-drama theorist.
"If I really got pulled into a K-drama, my love interest should be a handsome oppa. Minimum requirement: Hyun Bin or Song Kang level. But why did I get some random foreign guy who talks like a lost tourist but acts all confident?"
She closed her eyes, recalling the morning.
"He kissed me… and then talked about soup and garlic bread?"
Naima's eyes flew open. "What kind of opening scene is that? Even Netflix wouldn't go that far!"
Her gaze fell to the leftover soup on the table. "And seriously, why corn soup? Shouldn't it be kimchi, steaming rice, and perfectly lit eggs like every other K-drama breakfast?"
She sighed, shrugging. "Ah, whatever. If this is a dream, I might as well enjoy it."
Standing up, she scanned the immaculate apartment.
"Okay, next step: find the main character props."
She narrated like a YouTuber, "Every K-drama heroine has a cute pastel phone and a tiny purse that—when dropped—gets picked up by a hot guy."
She started tapping the table, opening drawers, peeking under the sofa. "Where's my adorable SSG phone and drama-style wallet?"
Her steps were light, eyes sparkling like she was playing an escape room game.
"If this is a dream, God, please add a few bonuses: a bank account full of won, a 12-megapixel front camera, and one oppa walking past my door."
She giggled, then added in half-prayer tone,
"And please, not the weird foreign guy. At least give me someone with a sharp jawline and a killer smirk."
Before she could continue her treasure hunt, footsteps echoed from outside the apartment…
Naima froze—then her eyes caught sight of two things sitting on the table near the bed.
A rose-gold flip phone, exactly the one from every K-drama, and a tiny pastel wallet with a ribbon keychain.
"Oh my God…" she whispered, walking toward them slowly. "They're real…"
She picked them up carefully, as if holding sacred K-beauty relics. But when the phone lit up, her expression shifted instantly.
"What?!" she frowned. "Why is the wallpaper my passport photo?!"
She swiped through the screen.
"My name's still the same? Email, number, everything?! Even the contacts are Indonesian!"
Naima sighed. "Okay, so this dream's a cross-universe glitch—but the admin still uses my local data."
After grumbling for a moment, she tucked both items into her baggy pants pocket.
"Well, at least I can take selfies if I meet a cute oppa."
She walked to a big ivory-colored wardrobe.
"Hmm, outfit of the dream day," she said, opening the doors.
She picked a soft white tank top and comfy pants, checking herself in the mirror.
"I'll just wear this—it's fine, my armpits are hair-free and not dark," she said proudly, peeking at them with a grin.
"K-drama worlds really know how to honor women."
Then she crouched to open the wardrobe's lower compartment—rows of handbags lined up neatly. Her eyes widened.
"Wait… these are EZT, local Indonesian brand bags?" she gasped.
She lifted one; the leather was smooth, the stitching perfect.
"But this is the most expensive model—the one I always add to my online cart and delete every payday!"
Naima hugged the bag tightly. "God, even my dream understands my shopping wishlist."
A lump rose in her throat. But before the emotion could fade, she turned toward the shoe rack.
When she opened it—
"Oh my GOD…"
Rows of shoes sparkled neatly, from heels to sneakers. And right in the middle—limited-edition SPC running shoes, the same pair she'd once sacrificed for paying her electricity bill.
She stared at them for a long moment, then smiled softly, eyes glistening.
"It's okay if this dream's absurd," she whispered. "At least here… everything I never had can finally come true."
Naima sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her EZT bag, gazing out the window bathed in Seoul's gentle light.
Outside, cherry blossoms kept falling.
And for the first time in a long while, Naima felt… her life was beautiful, even if only in a dream.