Prologue:start
✍🏻In a world ruled by status, Sumin and Akani learned a bitter truth at just sixteen: life is only kind to the powerful, the wealthy, and those of noble blood.
As orphans, their teenage years were a relentless battle. Despite grueling nights to afford their room and tuition, they prioritized their education. Yet, the world was built on prejudice. Wealthy students were showered with unearned praise, while corrupt teachers deliberately lowered Sumin and Akani's grades simply because they had no influential families to protect them.
- Teacher, I answered every question on the test correctly, please look!
- How do I know you didn't cheat? You're a poor student! There are so many fake top-rankers like you these days! You deserve the lowest grade possible!
Sumin stood in front of Akani:
- Excuse me, but she didn't cheat at all! You need to be fair! - she said with a cold, piercing gaze.
"Slap"
- How dare you speak to me like that?! You have nothing, just be grateful for the grade you got
the teacher raged and stormed off.
Akani looked at Sumin's bruised face:
- I'm sorry, I won't do it again,
she cried, hugging her friend.
No one wanted to listen. No one cared to help. They realized that knowledge alone wasn't enough; only those with power and gold could survive in comfort. Their only escape was a web novel.
- Look, Sumin, let's read all the new chapters today! Please!
- Yes, let's read them today!
- Yay!
That night, they stayed up through the dead of night, losing themselves in the final pages of a new update. Running on zero sleep, they dragged their exhausted bodies to school, oblivious to the world. They never saw the speeding truck. A deafening horn fractured the morning silence, followed by a brutal, crushing impact.
BANG!
- Hey, come over here! There's been an accident! Two students were hit, someone help!
As the cold asphalt stained with crimson, time slowed down. Sumin lay motionless. Akani, crawling through blinding pain, grasped Sumin's cold hand, tears blurring her vision as the light left her eyes.
- "If there is a next life..." Akani thought, as darkness consumed them. - "I pray we are born into families so powerful that no one can ever look down on us again."
