CHAPTER 0: PROLOGUE
I don’t care about anything anymore.
I tried to move on—truly, I did. For so long I poured everything I had into pushing forward, forcing myself to keep going despite all that had happened. Yet the aching emptiness inside me—this void carved into my heart—refuses to be filled.
I’m broken.
Fine food? My tongue has gone numb from endless banquets. Wealth? The peak is barren and cold. Love? My skin has never sparked for another soul. Worse, people now repulse me.
I despise them all.
Ever since graduation, my life has spiraled beyond control. My emotions drift without direction or purpose. I’m nothing but an empty shell, trudging through each day, inhaling the stench these monsters leave behind while they smile as if life matters. Even fear no longer restrains me. Each morning I rise only to endure another round of torment—a weight that grows heavier with every passing second. I’m lost. I’ve fallen. And I am unbearably alone.
Why did you have to leave me?
You were my only light, my only hope. I still cling to those mornings when you greeted me with that smile—so pure, so kind it could soothe even my fiery, volatile temper. Only you ever made me feel truly happy.
When you left, my entire world collapsed. The colors faded, leaving nothing but darkness behind. And for so long, I lived convinced that you never deserved someone like me. I came to realize I never truly gave anything back to your happiness.
If anything, I stole from you. I used you as a crutch to numb my pain. I selfishly drained your time, begged for your attention—knowing how much it weighed on you to carry me. And still, I didn’t care. I just kept taking.
I’m so sorry.
You never had a moment of peace with me. I forced you to show me every bit of beauty life had to offer, as if it were something I was owed. I clung to you, desperate for you to fill the void inside me. You were all I had.
I’ve never been able to remember my parents. My grandparents only ever beat me, cursed me, blamed me for their deaths. Did I really kill them? At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if it were true.
So I held on to you—because you never had the strength to push me away.
You helped me change. And I tried—I really did. For a moment, I believed there might be hope for someone like me. That all the pain I’d endured would eventually mean something. That maybe, just maybe, I could have a happy ending.
But everything shattered in an instant.
For years, I tried to hate you for leaving me. I blamed you for everything, even though deep down I knew it wasn’t your fault. No one could’ve seen it coming. And still, you were the one who paid the highest price.
Yet I was selfish enough to hate you for leaving me behind. Me. Just me.
I stole your pain.
I’ve committed the most despicable sins—driven by the desperation that consumed me after losing you. There was a time I didn’t care about the anguish you must’ve felt that afternoon. No, I only cared about my own grief. I blamed you for shattering my already fragile world.
And for that… I deserve every terrible thing that’s ever happened to me.
Now, it’s time to pay the price. I’m standing on the highest bridge I know, my feet just inches from the edge of the abyss. My dry, tearless eyes stare down at the deep river below, the place that will soon become my final refuge. It’s so dark, yet the city lights still manage to faintly illuminate my destination. I can hear dozens of voices screaming, pleading with me to stop what I’m about to do.
What are the people who know me thinking right now? Are they sad? What would my parents say if they were alive? What would you say if you were here with me?
But none of that matters anymore. I don’t care about anything. It’s so cold. I need to jump soon. I can’t keep the demons waiting any longer. This spectacle has dragged on far too long. All I need is one last breath—one final, deep gasp of air to fill my lungs.
My death must be as slow as possible.
The wail of police sirens echoes through the air. I can feel people inching closer, desperately trying to reach me. They’re shouting. They’re begging. They’re trying so hard to save me. I’m so sorry, but it’s already too late. I’m far beyond salvation.
I release my grip. My mind, knowing this will be my final act, starts replaying every misfortune I’ve endured in my life.
What a tragedy. I should never have been born. Maybe Mom and Dad would still be alive. Maybe my grandparents wouldn’t have been so miserable after the funeral. Maybe your life would have turned out better.
One less soul in this world won’t make much of a difference.
I’m so sorry, officers and rescuers, but there’s nothing you can do for me now. I never wanted to cause a scene. But I couldn’t find a better place to end my life than here—where it all truly began. Through my numb skin, I can still feel every tremor as the adrenaline surges, trying to drag me back to reason. But it’s no use.
I guess this is it.
One.
Two.
Three.
And I let go.
It only takes a few seconds before I plunge toward the water. It all happens so fast. Everything goes silent. There’s no light anywhere. Everything fades into darkness.
I can’t feel anything anymore—not the icy water swallowing my body, not the crushing pressure as I sink deeper and deeper. I only wish no one would disturb me—no one would dare pull my body from this place.
For once, everything feels calm.
Peace at last.
“…cess! Princess!”
I was jolted awake by the frantic cries of a girl beside me. She was sobbing uncontrollably, her voice trembling with fear and desperation. It was strange. I had no idea who she was—I’d never seen her before in my life. And yet, for some reason, my heart was racing as she clutched my hand tightly in hers.
“P-Please, don’t move, Princess! Let me call the doctor!” she cried, her fingers gripping mine with trembling urgency.
Ignoring her plea, I tried to sit up from the bed I found myself lying on. The moment I moved, pain surged through my entire body. I hadn’t expected death to feel this excruciating. But even stranger than the pain was the place I’d woken up in.
It was beautiful—majestic, even. A place so ornate and fantastical it looked like something out of a storybook.
Then there was my body. It didn’t feel like mine at all. I felt taller, slimmer. My skin was paler—almost unnaturally so. The calluses on my hands, earned through years of hard work, were gone. My chest was fuller. And my hair—its usual brown hue had been replaced by a deep, vivid crimson.
No. This couldn’t be my body.
I spotted a mirror across the room and rushed toward it, ignoring the girl as she tried to stop me. I stood in front of the reflective glass, bracing myself—only to be hit with the next shock.
I wasn’t just younger—I was someone else entirely. My face was unrecognizable, far more beautiful and youthful than I had ever been in my old life. My eyes, like my hair, burned with an intense red, as if they held the flicker of an uncontrollable fire. My pale complexion was as flawless as freshly fallen snow, and my lips bore the delicate pink of cherry blossoms in bloom.
It was in that exact moment that the truth hit me.
I had been reincarnated as someone else.
