"You betrayed and killed me!"
The man hissed with hatred, pressing a knife to my throat.
He was a man with golden hair, most likely shining under the sun, and sapphire eyes that burned a hole through me for a solid twenty seconds.
"I'm happy to see you too..." I muttered.
In the end, all I wanted was to own a jewelry store.
Sure, I probably deserved prison time for running it illegally, but... there are a lot of unexplainable things in this world.
One of them being that the man I had once killed ended up here as well.
What are the odds that someone you murdered a long time ago would end up with you in another world?
"Isn't that absurd?" I thought, but reality begged to differ.
I glanced uncertainly at the familiar face in front of me, then slowly shifted my gaze to the knife pressed against my neck.
"Seems like I'm starting to believe in fate. Or maybe I'm just going insane?"
"I'm sorry. Let's forget about it, okay?" I flashed my most charming smile.
"You? Apologizing?"
The mocking tone of the head of a crime syndicate hit me like cold water. As expected. But I had to try.
"R-right, I'm really sorry. So put the knife down, b-be a pal?"
"Do you really think your apology means anything to me?"
I squirmed again, my hands still tightly bound above my head. If anything, our faces were really close now.
"Well, even from a deep shithole, there's always a way out, right?"
"Then how can I make it up to you? Maybe… there's another way?"
He didn't get a chance to respond, because I quickly pressed my lips to his.
It was a strange sensation — his lips were soft and slightly cold.
His eyes widened in shock, and our blue irises met.
Our tongues tangled, as if studying each other for two intense seconds. I pulled back slightly, ready to say something.
But this psycho clearly had other plans — his teeth clamped down on my lip.
"Did you really think I'd fall for that? And by the way, you're a terrible kisser," he said with disgust and stuck out his tongue.
"Terrible kisser?!"
As bad as things were between us, that one stung. That was my first kiss in this body, damn it!
SLICE.
Something cold touched my skin, and a small drop of blood ran down my neck.
"What a lunatic…"
"Hahaha…"
And now, let's rewind a few months before this horrifying moment…
---
A beautiful summer evening. A massive villa outside the city, hosting an event in honor of the company's anniversary.
Sipping champagne from my glass, I chuckled to myself.
After tonight, I planned to go on a long vacation. America? Maybe Hawaii? Italy sounded good too.
Let's just say I was in a fantastic mood.
Stepping closer to the center of the hall, I looked at the CEO of the company — my boss.
After three years of working at a financial firm, I had become his secretary. And of course, it hadn't been hard to start playing with financial receipts and using the company name for personal gain, making shady stock deals.
A big house, a luxury car, fine jewelry, delicious food… casinos.
There was no downside to the glamorous life. Only losers say things like "money can't buy happiness."
"Thank you all for coming on this wonderful day. Please, enjoy the evening..." the director finally finished his boring speech.
"Heh… that fool doesn't even know what's going on under his nose."
"That was a wonderful speech, Director. As always, you were so eloquent!" I said with a polite smile.
"And thank you, Miss Ko. Without you, this company wouldn't be growing so fast."
"Haha…"
"You incompetent idiot. Without me, this company would've gone bankrupt…"
Taking the fresh glass of champagne handed to me, I downed it in a few gulps.
"How's the champagne, Secretary Ko? I chose it myself."
He was still talking nonsense, but something about his voice sounded off.
I should have paid attention… especially when he used my real last name. One I never gave anyone.
"Bastard…"
The memory of that night brought a string of curses to my lips.
I turned to see the men who had twisted my arms behind my back.
From the start, this day was a disaster.
Leaving my hotel room was a mistake. And now, here I was — standing at the edge of a cliff, waiting for one of that old man's dogs to put a bullet in my skull.
He really sent hitmen after me just because I took a vacation?
"The Director wanted us to pass on a message."
(Of course, it was his doing… damn it.)
But killing me on vacation? That's beyond cruel!
I cursed silently, licking the dried blood from my lip. I was dressed in just a Hawaiian shirt and summer shorts, all wrinkled and dirty — like I had been running for my life.
(Well, I had been. They chased me… and then I ended up here…)
"Haaah…" I exhaled, looking at one of my executioners.
"He said: 'Come down from heaven, brat. Enjoy your last vacation.'"
(So that explains why he picked my lovely holiday to do this…)
"Any last words?"
The man pointed a gun at me, his face blank — like my death meant nothing more than swatting a fly.
I tried to wiggle my arms again, but the other two guys still held me tightly. My wrists ached from the pressure.
"Well, guess this is how I die."
"Oh, yeah… tell him…"
I paused for dramatic effect, then smiled.
"...that he's still a useless—"
"—i-d-i-o-t."
BANG.
(Well… I always knew it would end like this…)
The next moment, my body was surrendered to the wind, plunging into the water below. The sea swallowed me whole as waves crashed against the cliff.
And so, I died.
---
Or so I thought.
But… wait a minute, where am I?...
After that, I found myself in prison, and then—
Things happened so fast it was hard to tell what, how, or why I ended up here.
It hasn't even been half a year since I got here, and now I'm already about to die again?
"Do you have any excuses left?"
"..."
Tears of injustice welled up in the corners of my eyes.
This time, I just wanted to live a quiet life…
But the world has already made me its enemy.
"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye to my soul.
Sorry, Mom. Your daughter's gonna die young… again."