Rain always made Seoul look dramatic.
Tonight, it made it cruel.
"Damn it…"
I tightened my grip on my bag and ran across the crowded sidewalk, heels slipping against wet pavement. My phone buzzed again.
Manager: If you're late one more time, don't bother coming.
"I'm coming!" I muttered under my breath, even though he couldn't hear me.
Of course today had to be the day my alarm failed.
Thunder cracked across the sky.
The pedestrian light blinked red.
The bus I needed was already pulling away.
"No, no, no—wait!"
I stepped off the curb.
Headlights exploded in front of me.
For half a second, everything slowed.
A black luxury car.
Too close.
Too fast.
Inside it—
A man.
Sharp jawline.
Cold eyes.
And shock.
Our gazes locked.
Then—
Impact.
—
Ji-hoon had never believed in fate.
Fate was for weak men who needed excuses.
He believed in control. Precision. Planning.
He did not believe in a woman running blindly into traffic.
He slammed the brakes.
Too late.
The sound of metal crushing was deafening.
Airbags burst open.
Glass shattered like frozen rain.
His head snapped forward, pain exploding across his skull.
Through the cracked windshield, he saw her collapse.
Small.
Fragile.
Blood mixing with rainwater.
Something twisted violently in his chest.
Then darkness swallowed everything.
—
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Voices.
Distant.
"…pulse is unstable…"
"…prepare for—"
Cold.
Heavy.
I tried to open my eyes.
Nothing moved.
I couldn't feel my fingers.
I couldn't feel anything.
Was this death?
The beeping grew sharper.
Then suddenly—
Silence.
A long, flat sound stretched endlessly.
Somewhere far away, someone shouted.
Then everything went black.
—
When I opened my eyes again—
I wasn't in a hospital.
I wasn't anywhere.
I was standing in a vast white space that seemed to stretch into infinity.
No walls.
No ceiling.
Just light.
"What…?"
My voice echoed.
Footsteps approached.
An old man in flowing robes appeared before me, his long white beard brushing his chest. His expression was calm. Too calm.
"Am I dead?" I asked.
He sighed.
"Yes."
My heart dropped.
"What?!"
He adjusted something that looked suspiciously like a glowing tablet in his hands.
"Correction," he muttered. "You were not supposed to be."
I blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
He looked mildly annoyed.
"There was a clerical error."
I stared at him.
"A what?"
"Your name was processed ahead of schedule."
I took a step back. "Processed? Like paperwork?!"
He didn't even look embarrassed.
"Your time had not yet come."
Rage flooded me.
"So you're telling me I died because someone made a typo?!"
Before he could answer—
A sharp male voice echoed from somewhere unseen.
"This is absurd."
I turned.
Not far from me, in another field of white light—
The man from the car stood facing a different divine figure.
Alive.
Furious.
"You ended my life because of paperwork?" he demanded coldly.
Our eyes met.
Recognition.
Shock.
"You!" we said at the same time.
The bearded god cleared his throat.
"Yes. Both of you were involved in the same incident."
I looked between them.
"So what now?"
The second divine figure spoke, voice echoing like thunder.
"You will be given a chance to return."
Hope flared—
"Under one condition."
Of course there was a condition.
"You will complete a dual-life trial."
The space around us shifted.
Images flashed in the air—
A golden palace.
A throne.
A wedding hall.
Then—
A towering glass building.
A contract.
A marriage certificate.
My stomach dropped.
"You will live in two worlds," the god continued. "Until your mission progress reaches one hundred percent, you cannot return to your original bodies."
"Original bodies?" I whispered.
"In the human world, you are currently in comas."
Cold dread settled in my bones.
"And if we refuse?" the man asked sharply.
The divine figures exchanged a look.
"You will remain dead."
Silence fell heavy.
I clenched my fists.
"What are the rules?"
"You will remember this conversation."
"You will know you are living two lives."
"You may not reveal the truth of your origin to anyone."
A sudden pressure tightened around my chest.
"If you attempt to break this rule, the system will punish you."
A glowing interface appeared in front of my eyes.
MISSION PROGRESS: 0%
"What kind of sick game is this?" I whispered.
The god's voice softened slightly.
"Not a game. A correction."
The man beside me exhaled slowly.
"If we complete it… we wake up?"
"Yes."
I swallowed.
Two lives.
Two marriages.
Two worlds.
And the same man in both.
The white space began to fracture.
Light swallowed everything.
The last thing I saw—
Was his gaze on mine.
Cold.
Sharp.
Determined.
Then—
I opened my eyes.
And I was no longer in Seoul.