"Welcome, Jia." said the man wearing a black outfit facing me, crossing his arms.
"Who?" I asked. I know that I died because of an accident. I look at the white room with an attractive man.
"Hmm, let's just say I'm God." He answered me casually as if he just told me something natural. He smiles at me.
"Ah, but I thought I would go straight to hell," I told him earnestly and remembered all of my sins.
"You're a special case. Well, technically, you will go to hell, but I changed my mind because you asked forgiveness, and you died pitifully." He said, then stood up, strolling into a room.
The white space room where we are staying changes to a closed office room. There's a lot of record books on the tall shelves and a wooden table. I went to a wooden chair to sit and watched the good—looking man wear his reading glasses, for effect, I think. He looks ridiculous, though. A book suddenly appeared in his hands. He opened it.
"You have a nasty record, huh?." He said while moving the pages, then continued to read the blue book.
"But you regret them." He continues and gazes at me. I can't read what he's thinking.
"I caused people death." I bravely admitted. Remembering the stupid decisions, I made when I was alive.
"You have tons of sins, but I can give you a chance…." He said in an intense tone. He closes the book and faces me.
"Eh?" I was confused.
"But your sins need 600 years of working for me before I can grant you a reincarnation." The black man said and looked at me.
I stare at him with awe, not trusting his words. I was about to speak, but he beats me that stop my mind to asked further stupid questions.
"I don't want to be reincarnated. I want to go back." I said in a determined voice.
I need to correct my mistakes and make sure that their love will continue—...
"You want to rewrite their fate?" The black man asked me in bewilderment.
"Hmm. You are indeed special. Most people choose reincarnation, but you wanted to go back to the past." He said, grinning at me.
"I can work for you in exchange." I absentmindedly offered it to him.
"But rewriting fate is forbidden. My dear Jia." The black man looks at me sarcastically after hearing my unreasonable request, but he continues to speak.
"But I like fun made by humans. I like how they tried to do their best to live by their choice. The stubbornness of humans in fighting their fate sometimes surprises me, and I had fun watching the results they are so desperate to achieve. I give them the freedom to choose, but that's their ticket to destiny. Do you think it's unfair? That God provides a destination but not a journey? Dear, Good or Evil. Humans are remarkable. I want to watch you stubbornly change fate. So, I agree." He smiled at me, and a suspicious smirk formed on his lips.
"But you won't be reincarnated anymore, and you only have 100 days to rewrite fate." He said in a serious tone. His eyes changed, and I felt the chill in his words, but I didn't back down.
"I don't have plans of going back as a human anyways. I'm tired of living, you know." I said as if I was an old person who experiences life to the fullest.
"You made me sad in your words, child." He dramatically whispers and acts like he is about to cry.
I rolled my eyes at him and patiently waited for his drama to end. The black man stood up again and after walking into the office room. We teleported to the Namsan Tower, where I can see the beautiful city lights in Seoul. He then speaks.
"Remember that you only have 100 days. I will give you special service since you will soon work for me." The black man said, and we teleported again to the hospital.
I was surprised that no one could see us walking in the hallway. The man stopped at the ICU door. A patient is lying on the bed. A sick child is sleeping with a tube of oxygen covering his face.
"He is Daniel. Penelope's younger brother. He needs surgery immediately, but because of your selfish wishes, he died without even having a chance to see his sister." The man said while his eyes glued to the boy.
The door opens, and the familiar figures enter the room. A beautiful girl with pale skin and delicate features sits in the chair and holds a boy's hand. Her eyes are tired, but she still smiles at the boy while telling him a story.
"Penelope Hernandez. 18, Second grade, Class A. Smart, Friendly and Soft Hearted girl. She is originally from Tennessee, South USA, but her family moved to Seoul, Korea, because of her father's business. Her mother is Korean, and her father is half American. Her younger brother had an accident that happened in kindergarten. Her father's company goes bankrupt after a bad investment. Penelope's father borrowed money from the loan shark. The dep was repeatedly harassing them, making their life more miserable. Her father committed suicide while her mother runs away, leaving her alone with her sick brother and debt. She has tons of part—time jobs, and that's how she meets you. Jia Kim, 17. Prodigy, Second grade, Class A. Spoiled brat, from a rich household and the reason for Penelope's suicide." The man in black stops talking and glances at me.
My hands were trembling as I listened to him talking. The place changed again, and we teleported to the rooftop of St. Mary's Hospital.
I am about to sit on the bench with my hands still trembling, but I lost the strength of my legs, and I fell to the ground. My whole body is sore, and it's harrowing inside my chest like something is squeezing my heart. I felt suffocated, and a successive cough followed. I tried to gasp for air to lessen the soreness, but my whole body shook from pain while sweating a lot. There's a scorching heat in my heart that makes my entire body tremble. I look at the black man with tears in my eyes, begging him to save me from this hell, but all I can see are unemotional cold eyes. He towered over me and spoke in a very chilling voice.
"You will feel that pain from time to time as compensation for your sins." The man in black told me, staring at me ruthlessly. He lifted his hand, and the pain in my chest vanished like magic. I stare at him indifferently. I was resentful to him for not healing me quickly and just watching me suffer.
"You need to experience the pain first hand for you to get used to it. You can feel the pain every two days, and it will last for two minutes. But I'm not that heartless boss. I could lessen your pain for a minute. You have to survive the pain because that will be the reminder of your sin." The black man coldly told me and annoyingly smirked at my pitiful condition.
"Change your gear. Let's go to the next person." He clicks his fingers, and the place changes again. We're in a formal restaurant, and a family appeared in front of us.
"Yejun/ David Lee. 18, Second grade, Class A. Clever, Sharp, Talented and Handsome son of a business tycoon. Your dark plan was to bankrupt Penelope's family business using Yejun's parents. To separate them, you made her father agree to a lousy investment and caused it collateral damage. You cleverly plan it so that the result was all Penelope's father's fault. Yejun and Penelope met in the US, but they lost communication when Penelope's family moved to Seoul. Yejun met you at the formal dinner and got interested in him because of your parent's enthusiasm for his talent. Yejun dislikes your arrogant attitude, and he made it clear that he hates your guts. Your pride can't accept rejection and felt humiliation. You plan revenge. Upon determining Yejun's downfall, you met Penelope. You learn his weakness and target Penelope for your wicked scheme. You successfully ruined it by spreading nasty humor that made Penelope drop out of school, and even she was already expelled, the harassment didn't stop. You made her quit her job and isolate her. Yejun is planning to help Penelope, but you made it look like it was his fault that her life got ruined. You controlled their fate and manipulated them. Penelope killed herself in front of Yejun, and that incident lost his mind. He learned that it was all your doing with the support of his family. He can't handle the truth, and he killed himself." The black man stops again from talking to check on me. He continued speaking after seeing me flustered.
"Jia Kim did not love Yejun and just wanted revenge. Your evilness is giving me goosebumps, my dear Jia." He said and looked at my face. My heart skipped a beat because of the guilt I inflicted on Yejun.
The black man clicked his hand again, and our location changed. We're in the spacious living room. There's a huge chandelier at the center of the room. The man in black walks in and sits on the black sofa, and crosses his legs. I followed him and sat down voluntarily next to his side. I'm used to extravagant house structures, and this place isn't new to me anymore. I see him smirk, and a brown paper suddenly pops out in the air.
"You just need to sign a contract with me." He said and showed me an old piece of paper with bold font. I see my name engraved in the letter.
"Oh, before I forget, call me Haru, not a black man. I feel the distance between us if you keep calling me that." He mumbled and winked at me.
I ignored him and quickly got the pen. I signed the contract without even reading it. His brow raised, and an amused grin showed on his face.
"The contract is valid as of now. Your soul is mine, and you're going to work for me. It's a pity that you didn't even check the contract while I was expecting you to demand more, but looking at your enthusiasm in signing a contract with me makes me blush. Congratulations Jia." I facepalm when he forcefully shakes my hand. After letting go of my hand, his aura changed, and his smile vanished.
"Your 100 days will start now. If you're having a hard time, call me on this phone. I am available 24/7 but just like normal customer service. I also have breaks and can't attend to you unless it's an emergency. You have to remember that you are no longer a human. Your sickness will come every 48 hours. Now, My last gift to you as your kind employer."
A white light illuminated the whole room. I close my eyes because of the blinding light, and when I open it. I am already in the classroom. In the standard room, I bullied Penelope. The bell rings as a signal that class is about to start. I saw Penelope sitting beside me, and she's writing in her notebook. In the past, I stole her notebook and read it to the class. I humiliated her, and the bankruptcy of her family business and debts from loan sharks spread in school. I sighed and remembered the incident when Penelope's younger brother got in an accident. I need to think of something that will help her brother to survive.
"Jia!" a sudden call of my name from Yumi.
