Death is Tender (1)

Death was kind, and death was tender. Ae-Rin pretty much accepted it. The cold concrete was harsh as it pressed against her body. Ae-Rin barely muffled a pained groan. She was likely going to die then and there. Logically, the blood loss was a lot.

[Processing save the heroine...]

And she was going insane now too, hearing weird things. Her consciousness blanks out and clears. Despite wearing warm clothes for the upcoming winter, she was cold. The chills crept to her body as if to stay. And stay it did. She shifted her thoughts elsewhere, ignoring the dings in her mind.

[First attempt: Failure. Body replacement starting up...]

The sky above her was a murky gray. It's similar to the ones Ae-Rin saw just before a rain. For a moment, she forgot her pain. She just wished it wouldn't rain. She hated it when it rains. It rakes across her hair, mussing her it up and ruining her make up. So, she hoped it wouldn't rain.

Her eyes fluttered shut slowly. Her body doesn't like feeling cold and yet she insisted to dress up pretty. Underneath her cloak of jackets was her waitress uniform. It fitted tightly against her curves. She once told her mom that she felt like a star again. But her mom had scolded Ae-Rin, and told her to stop choosing fashions that were unconventional. She's not lying.

[Perfect body found! Processing status report and host-to-body request form...]

The uniform was to grab customers, it wasn't helping her do her work at all. But it wasn't like Ae-Rin wanted to wear it either. She wanted comfort as much as her mother did. But still, she went out that day.

Ae-Rin wished she listened to that heed. She shouldn't have went out so quickly. She still had a change of clothes after all, and it really was starting to feel cold.

Just as she closed her eyes, tuning out the fading colors and the crowd bustling around her---she caught it.

Snow.

[Host acquired! Transmitting host to the suitable body...]

Her eyelids fluttered hurriedly the moment she caught sight of the first snow.

How... sad.

She missed it. But Ae-Rin couldn't even muster a sob as the pain wrecking her body purely vacated her mind. It's just that... She promised her parent's she'd be there for Christmas dinner. They'll scold her for sure.

Scold her for choosing the cold grasp of death than the warmth of living.

But it wasn't like she wanted to die.

She just...

[...transmitting host to the suitable body...]

Her eyes flitted to the crowd, wanting to see the girl she saved. But she doesn't catch sight of the bright gold of the young student's hair. None of them...

The girl was gone.

She attempted to speak, to ask---except copper filled her mouth until she can only choke it out. Shrill screams echoed in her ears. The snowflakes kept falling. Ae-Rin couldn't catch one on her hand just like she used to, her body too weak and immobilized.

She wishes for the young girl to follow her dream.

The other shouldn't make the same mistake as her. Someone who chose to live a life for the comfort of money.

But these were all wishes.

Ae-Rin flutters her eyes shut. Her last thought was that the dings in her head to shut up.

She welcomes death as she allows the first snows to cover her body

[...]

[...]

[...]

[TRANSMISSION SUCCESSFUL! WELCOME TO THE LOST SOULS PROGRAM]

--

Ae-Rin is technically---no, well, should be dead.

But as she stares into a figure, into a face she knows but a body she doesn't… She's starting to believe she's not dead. In all honesties, the pinch marks on her shoulders prove what she's been doing the whole morning.

She woke in a simple comfortable bed that could fit her whole body, and all Ae-Rin could think about is her cupboard-sized room. It befitted a small bed ( in which she'd had to squeeze herself in to sleep properly ) and was in a shared basement flat in Seoul.

Either way, she most definitely is...

Not dead.

"What…?" She finally manages to whisper. And it's a lot more horrifying than it should be. Her voice is small, sweet---young. She gags at herself. She remembers her classmate's heed on her voice; monotone and cold. However, she's thankful her voice is not recognizable. She finds hints of it that is hers, except that it WAS hers when she was a small child.

She turns back to her reflection in the arched mirror. Her eyes were a stunning apricot. Her fingers come to outline her hooded, almond-shaped eyes; the gold reminded her of honey, and yet the more she looks at it, it also had the blend of hazel. In other terms, her eyes were sweet, paired with thinly curved eyebows that made her look delicate. Succulent-pink lips and despite not smiling, they had soft quirks at the end that made her seem to be a gentle person. Her skin was light and when she attempts rub away the red marks from her pinches, it feels soft and supple. She seems kind.

The keyword is: seems.

Choi Ae-Rin knows herself and no matter the appearance, she is no gentle person. Sympathetic perhaps, with the capacity to empathize. But her actions limit such understanding. She was a woman filled only with goals and wants. She would not jump to save someone, except... Her brows furrow, and something pricks the back of her mind---

Except she jumped and sacrificed all her for a teenage girl with the same dream as hers. A girl who was about to die, the car, the street. The girl had a dream, Ae-Rin saw her work for it and yet desire to throw it away, just like Ae-Rin did. A dream she threw for her parent's wants, and the teenage girl must've been doing the same.

She takes a shaky breath in.

Whatever happened to her, it is godsend.

She's not dead, somehow.

Then the girl…?

Her eyes widen in panic.

Could the teenage girl have died?

[That would be impossible]

A subservient voice responds, and Ae-Rin tenses, pressing her back to the wall defensively. The mirror shows no figure but hers, and she's sure there's no one in her room, quickly peeking from the door frame to her bedroom. There is no one.

[I have no physical appearance. It is unfortunate.]

Ae-Rin frowns, actually detecting some lament into the voice. Despite keeping her guard up, the voice had a velvety smooth texture. It sounds kind. Womanly. It relaxes her shoulders slightly.

"Who are you?"

[I am the Raising Stars System, currently in beta and at your service.]

Ae-Rin wrinkles her nose.

"What do you want from me?"

Perhaps money? She never bought such peculiar system, and even if it exists, it would be black technology. She didn't sign up for anything like it. Her shoulders tense again.

"I really don't have money," She insists, a hint of panic worms itself to her tone. Ae-Rin is no fool, whatever system this was, she has no intention on knowing how it has no physical body. Much less, anything about it.

And beta? Doesn't that mean she's a tester? Did she sign some contract? Heaven knows contracts had consequence if one end didn't follow through the set terms. She shivers at having to pay for her liver. Would they even accept her liver?

The voice goes silent for a long time. Ae-Rin starts to doubt herself. Perhaps she's going senile.

[Have you ever read isekai novels?]

There is doubt in the voice. She notices that, despite the situation, the voice is comforting to her. Seemingly reliable.

"No." Ae-Rin punctually replies, keeping up with the conversation as her eyes scans the bathroom. There is no razor, except the arched mirror doubles as a cupboard. Perhaps one could be there---

[Reincarnation? Leads with powerful systems there to assist them?]

"No." This time, Ae-Rin frowns. "I have no time for those."

"Go away."

At that, Ae-Rin storms out of the bathroom, anxiety prickling her when she's welcomed to a wide apartment. The bed is large---noticeably, a queen-size. There's a red, punching bag near to it, hanged from the ceiling. Across it is a window with curtains drawn. Clothes adorn themselves on the cold and concrete floor. The bedroom side is a few inches higher as the platform next to it is freespace. It leads to a spacial room with a kitchen and a dining. It seems farely... defensive; fairly gray and pressed, innocuous shades.

It isn't hers, but---well, she woke up there. She picks one cloth up from the floor, putting it near to her nose. It smells... good enough. She wears the shirt.

[I can't "go away". I'm supposed to assist you.]

Ae-Rin scoffs at such punctual answer.

"Assist me to what? To the stars?" Ae-Rin doesn't deny the bitterness in her voice. The gods must know how earnest she is taking in the meaning of 'stars'. She wants to be one. But, even if she survived the crash, woke up in an unfamiliar room, given a second chance--- life did not just hand over opportunities for her to finally become what she wants to be.

She has to continue living, that is what her parents want. Forget dreams, they don't afford her bills--- and wherever she is in Seoul, she's going to be late for work---

[Exactly. I am here to assist you to stardom.]

Ae-Rin freezes.

[Assist you in yes, exactly what you're thinking, to being an idol.]

Ae-Rin's breath hitches, and a premonition rises in her throat. She turns to the window across her bed, curtains drawn close. Instinct and suspicion has her quickly dropping everything in her arms in favor of running to the window and drawing away the curtains.

What she sees is an interstellar city. Rising buildings, and the sky sparkling with stars as she looks up. It is countless and bright, and from what she can see is endless skyscrapers, commercial buildings. Commercials flashed, holograms and banners. And flying cars---

The difference is clear.

This is not Earth.

A ding comes into her mind.

[Welcome to Soule Luna.]

And she knows. If the system had a body, it would have a smug grin right now from the shock Ae-Rin can't hide.

---

The fates had given her a chance, that is as much as she can get from the overall story of the system. Her parent's downfall was never meant to be, some forces had went wrong and her destined glorious life was unrightfully taken away from her.

Apparently, she had a 'good' record. And when Ae-Rin asked the system for further details it only went quiet before introducing itself.

[I am Beta 3.5.81 of the Lost Souls Program. Personally assigned to you, Miss Choi Ae-Rin to accomplish your life-long dream and destiny to be an idol. I will be assigning you quests, and allowing you the opportunities to achieve your goal. However, listening to my advice does not particularly mean success. You have to work hard for yourself as I, too, have a limit. Pushing me might mean someone ending up the same fate as you did, their destinies ruined for your wishes.]

Ae-Rin's eyes dims.

She's not in her apartment anymore, it seems so simple compared to the world of technology outside. Her watch was apparently an old version despite being able to call cabs with the interface of a hologram. She was in complete awe despite the system remarking it to be 'ancient'.

If it is ancient then her technology must be the prehistoric age!

The cab is self-driving, so her and the system didn't have to worry about being overheard. The system assured her that even if there was a driver, and there still are those kinds of cars, it wouldn't be unusual to board a passenger talking to themselves.

"Is that what happened to me?" She asks. "Is that why I couldn't achieve my dream?"

Again, the system went quiet.

[Unfortunately.] It replies. [Not to worry though, the said system has been punished and its host's prestigious right to have a system revoked. They went back to their time of death and their casualty of forcing a system to do more than it should is in their record. They'll be dying early in at least a decadium's worth of rebirths.]

Ae-Rin frowns. Is it that much a violation? Sure, she is annoyed of what happened, but taking in the fact that Ae-Rin is just one person…

It feels… Stifling.

The other didn't deserve that.

[Your life is not the only one ruined. Your parent's were ruined, and many other people. We, here, at the Agency, apologize for the happenings. We were too slow to track down and by the time we arrived, the damage was already there.]

Ae-Rin nods.

"So, where are we going?" She asks, noticing that they've been in the cab for at least half an hour and yet still not arriving anywhere.

[To somewhere closer in the more busier parts of Soule Luna.]

Ae-Rin hums, and the silence becomes heavy.

She never thought she'd be compensated in such a matter. In such… extravagant way. She peers outside to see a new world. It has been many, uncountable years since the original Earth. The system had told her that a new species had come, and it was a constant war and reconciliation before it is what it is now. Humans going beyond boundaries, and technology advances. There are many planets inhabited by strange creatures, and they were all open to the idea of peace and cooperation.

That was how everything was built into what it was now.

[You can still cancel me.]

Ae-Rin raises a brow at that.

"What does that pretrain exactly?"

[Many things. You can choose to rebirth to a life you want, and I shall go away. But all the terms, currently, fits what you want doesn't it, Miss Choi Ae-Rin?]

Ae-Rin gives out an airy laugh, a laugh deep into her chest.

"Yes, everything fits me right now…" Ae-Rin smirks. "You're not attempting to certify your existence, yes?"

[I am, actually.]

Her smirk turns to a lightly fond smile before completely wiping it off her face. This is simply a system. To get attached... Her jaw clenches. There is no need to get much closer than what they already are.

[I believe I forgot to mention something to you.]

"Yes?"

[Do you know of… Omegaverse?]

There was an odd tone to it, but Ae-Rin does know. She had read a few back before her parent's downfall.

"I have."

[Ahh, this makes it simple then.]

"Simple?" This time, a bad premonition rises in her heart.

[I don't have to explain everything. You are Choi Ae-Rin in this world, and you identify as… ahh, yes, an alpha.]

And before Ae-Rin can help it, many images attack her mind, both innocent and---not-so-innocent. Beds, and blankets. Heats and ruts. Ideas of what it means to be an alpha that the woman blushes a deep red.

"I'm a what?!"

--

( Extra ) ( In Earth, before the accident )

"How much longer," Ae-Rin is shaking, and she's trying to compress it. She tries to pace her question and it works enough that it seems more like a statement. It's a steady calm that starts with a breath in her chest. She's trying so hard to compress everything. People can be tired too, and she's tired.

Her mother avoids the question by running to the kitchen, her steps lithe. A dancer's grace as she places the plates onto the sink. She was a beautiful film empress, Ae-Rin remembers. She've seen her mother dance and blink like a star; in the commercials with her pretty smile; in a film with her tearful eyes; her lips and her voice known among the cities. They want to hear it personally, and men want to be the one to kiss her lips.

Her father attempts to placate her, pulling her attention away from her mother.

"A simple life is a good like, Ae-Rin." He starts, but she's heard it many times. Her father too, he's tasted fame and business. He is eloquent, smart---always looking like a gentle scholar. But she knows her father.

He is sharp.

"You can still taste fame---"

"By what, singing in bars? Dancing in poles?" She satirically laughs. "Don't be ridiculous!" Ae-Rin raises a glass, as if to throw but her father holds onto her wrist. She clenches her teeth.

"I don't want to be like you." And she sees her father flinch, and from to her left, her mother drops a plate.

Ae-Rin wants to be what they once were but stronger, better. A star that will glow, not a comet that only shines when it's about to die. Her parents were such, and their heads bow down in shame.

She so desperately... Desperately wants to be higher, better---an everlasting star, the one that will never fall.