“All of a sudden, you want me to share my story…”
I couldn’t help but feel flustered.
First of all, if I was to tell my story, I’d have to mention how I was an orphan in my past life and how I got stabbed in the stomach and died due to a random knife attack.
Even if we share the common ground of being a reincarnator, O Ah-ra and I were meeting for the first time today.
There was no way I could open up about such sensitive topics.
But then again, was my awkwardness showing on my face?
“Ah, I must have pressured you too much.”
O Ah-ra bowed her head slightly as if apologizing for making me uncomfortable and continued.
“I’m sorry. I just really want to get close to you, Ye-rin, and I rushed things.”
“…It’s okay. But… since we only met today, I’m a bit hesitant to share my story.”
“That’s true. How about this? I’ll go first and share my story.”
“O Ah-ra’s story?”
I still didn’t know the exact reason I reincarnated.
But one thing was clear.
In my past life, while dying, I resented my life as an orphan and desperately wished for a family.
That longing must have influenced my rebirth somehow.
It wasn’t likely for a normal person to live a normal life and then get another chance for a new life.
I believed that O Ah-ra must have had a tumultuous life in her past as well.
But O Ah-ra seemed unaffected…
“Yes, I’ll share my story first. I was a…”
She started her story calmly.
Time was short, so she couldn’t talk long.
O Ah-ra summarized her past life as an idol in a few sentences.
“…You were an idol even in your past life?”
“Yeah, haha, of course, I completely flopped in that life.”
O Ah-ra mentioned that she had been an idol in her past as well.
However, unlike this life, her debut girl group had failed, and she died after falling into despair before coming back.
“Which group were you in? Was it one I might know…?”
“No, it was a pretty small group that completely failed. You probably wouldn’t know it even if I told you.”
Maybe she was embarrassed about her past, but she never mentioned the name of her group.
Honestly… I wouldn’t have known it either since I had no interest in idols in my past life.
So, I didn’t pry any further and instead organized the information based on what she told me.
‘Firstly, unlike me, O Ah-ra was O Ah-ra in her past life too.’
In my past life, I was someone else, and I was reborn in Ha Ye-rin’s body.
However, it seemed that O Ah-ra was indeed still O Ah-ra in her previous life.
Just as I began pondering over this interesting fact, my chin rested in my hand.
“Ye-rin.”
O Ah-ra held my hand in hers as she looked at me with her sparkling eyes.
“Since I shared my story, now it’s your turn to share.”
“Ah…”
Definitely…, it wouldn’t be polite to not share my story after hearing hers.
I hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.
“…I was an orphan in my past life.”
It was the first time I revealed something I had never told anyone, even the members of Brotherhood Planning and Rookies.
I told her about being an orphan in my past life, about desiring a family while dying, and how I was reborn as Ha Ye-rin, only to be used by my parents.
Honestly…, it felt a bit liberating.
O Ah-ra listened intently to my story and then nodded seriously with no trace of a smile.
“I see… If I was reborn to become an idol, then you were reborn because you wanted a family.”
“…You could say that.”
“You had no interest in idols in your past life?”
“No, not at all. I rarely followed entertainment news…”
“…So, that’s why you debuted as a Rookie, huh? Because you didn’t know the future.”
“…Huh?”
Shocked by her sudden muttering, O Ah-ra simply smiled again.
And then….
“That doesn’t matter. More importantly, Ye-rin, we don’t have much time left, and we haven’t talked about the most important thing.”
“The most important thing would be…?”
“Our status windows.”
She leaned in with a subtle tone that suggested she was getting to the main point.
“Aren’t you curious about what my status window looks like? I’m super curious about yours!”
“…….”
To be honest…, I was curious too.
Based on what we had talked about, it seemed our status window systems were almost identical.
If so, what would O Ah-ra’s overall stats be? Could she use skills like me as well?
Most importantly…
What was O Ah-ra’s trait?
My trait was Sky Demon.
If O Ah-ra was a reincarnator like me, she must have some amazing trait as well.
‘I’m curious… Really curious.’
It seemed like O Ah-ra shared the same feeling as mine.
She glanced briefly at the clock on the wall of the waiting room and then told me.
“Ye-rin, I don’t think we have enough time to share all the details of our status windows. How about we just reveal our traits to each other?”
“Traits… you mean?”
“Yes, as usual, I’ll go first this time.”
Once again, O Ah-ra said she would reveal her trait first, and I nodded.
After confirming my consent, O Ah-ra took a deep breath and began.
I focused on her expression, considering the possibility that she might be lying.
Finally, she revealed her trait…
“My trait is… Protagonist.”
“…Protagonist?”
I paused for a moment.
And no wonder…
‘Protagonist is the trait of Yoo Seol.‘
The protagonist trait was already held by Yoo Seol.
‘Can there be multiple holders of the protagonist trait?‘
…No, it wouldn’t make sense.
Not just any regular trait, but having multiple protagonists is hard to believe.
‘Lying.‘
I immediately thought that O Ah-ra was lying.
Did she catch my suspicion? O Ah-ra grinned playfully and continued.
“Haha, of course, the protagonist trait belongs to Seol unnie… I mean, Yoo Seol. My trait isn’t just a protagonist.”
“If it’s not just a protagonist then…”
Her next answer left me even more confused.
“True Protagonist.”
“……!”
“My trait is True Protagonist.”
Then, it clicked as I connected this situation to the often-read plots from the novels in my past life.
Yoo Seol was a huge star, just like the protagonist in a story.
If Yoo Seol was the original protagonist or the fake protagonist, then…
The O Ah-ra before me was the true protagonist, having gained a second chance through reincarnation.
“……”
Looking into her eyes, I could tell O Ah-ra wasn’t lying.
‘True Protagonist…‘
Seeing my shocked expression, O Ah-ra waved her hands playfully.
“Wow, you seem really surprised. Yikes, your trait isn’t True Protagonist, is it? I wouldn’t want a double protagonist situation.”
“No, my trait is…”
My trait was Sky Demon.
…Honestly, it was the complete opposite of the protagonist trait.
It felt like the status windows were declaring that O Ah-ra and I were inherently destined to be enemies.
‘Is it really correct to reveal my trait truthfully?’
For a moment, I considered lying about it instead…
[Acting Skill: 18]
That low acting skill was nagging at me.
If I tried to bluff poorly, I’d definitely get caught.
And most importantly…
Ding dong!
O Ah-ra had displayed a candid attitude by revealing her own trait, which might have been a secret, and I felt guilty about lying to her.
Plus, if I thought about it, I had managed to become quite close to Yoo Seol, who had the protagonist trait.
So I took a moment before saying…
“My trait is…”
“……”
“Sky Demon.”
In the end, I chose to tell the truth.
When O Ah-ra heard I had the Sky Demon trait, her eyes widened.
And then…
“What does Sky Demon mean…?”
“Ah.”
She tilted her head and asked me.
That’s when I realized that the term Sky Demon might be unfamiliar to girls who hadn’t read martial arts novels.
“Sky Demon, you see…”
I turned on my phone and showed her various martial arts webtoon images to explain what a Sky Demon was.
“In the world of martial arts, it typically refers to a character that comes out as the final boss.”
“Ahh…”
“Still, these days there are many kind Sky Demons too.”
I went on to show her interpretations of Sky Demon, like those who cooked or taught kids.
Finally, O Ah-ra nodded as if she understood everything.
“Ah, now I get it.”
And then…
Twitch!
“So, Ye-rin is the villain I have to defeat, huh?”
“……What?”
She smiled while patting my head.
I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of discomfort from the disparity between her words and her expression.
“Oh, is it okay if I speak informally? Since I’m older by a year, I’ll talk casually. Besides, we’re rivals, after all.”
“…Rivals? What do you mean by that?”
“…You must have received the quest to become the best idol, right?”
“……!”
That’s right.
On the day I was abandoned by my parents, I received my first quest from the status window.
[Unique Quest]
[Content: Become the best idol.]
[Penalty for Failure: Void.]
[Reward for Success: One thing you desperately desire.]
The quest was to become the best idol.
“There can’t be multiple best idols. I don’t know what the criteria are, but… one of us has to fail the quest.”
“……”
“My status window shows the penalty for failure as Void. Does yours say the same, Ye-rin?”
“……!”
…It does.
“Ha ha, thankfully, you’re not good at acting. Yeah, it looks like the penalties for both of us are the same. Let’s think about what Void really means.”
“……”
“It could mean going back to our past lives with nothing again, right?”
“……!”
O Ah-ra’s words made a lot of sense.
All the 19 years I’ve lived as Ha Ye-rin in this life, along with various ties like Brotherhood Planning and Rookies…
There’s nothing more empty than losing all of that.
‘…No way.’
…Just the thought of it was unbearable.
Maybe sensing that connection, O Ah-ra scrunched her face as she spoke.
“…I absolutely can’t go back. I’m sorry, but becoming the best idol is something I must do.”
“……”
With a sudden glare filled with animosity, she stared at me before smiling again as if to reassure herself.
“I saw your videos. You did great. So, I’m relieved. If you had gone to another group, it could have been risky, but thanks to you choosing Rookies, things will go smoothly.”
“Why Rookies…?”
I froze at what she said with that meaningful smile.
“Because Rookies is a group that won’t last long anyway.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
At first, I thought she was just trying to scare me.
But…
“Even if I try to change it, it’s already too late. You guys will soon become an issue for a while… quickly forgotten by the public before even half of your activities are done.”
Her face looked more honest than ever, without a trace of deceit.
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