1) Chapter 1 - Hope...... is there any? (1)
The end of life not being simply death—whether that is a blessing or misfortune, I’m not sure.
Still, for someone like me, who had always feared dying, it felt closer to a blessing.
After all, I used to think it would be nice if heaven or even hell existed.
If my existence could continue after death, wouldn’t that be better? Better than simply becoming nothingness and scattering away in the final moment.
Yes, it would be better to be reborn as someone else. Definitely.
Besides—
“Mmhm.”
My current appearance is… how should I put it?
Promising.
Right. I’m still young. A kindergartener. I don’t know if I was reborn as a kindergartener or if I had been living since before that and only now reached the age where my brain could form thoughts like this, but anyway—there’s potential.
The potential to become a beauty!
Sure, all little kids are cute, but that doesn’t mean every kid has the face of a child actor. Saying “this kid is cute” and seeing a child actor in a commercial and going “wow, that kid is really cute” are completely different things.
And right now, I’m the latter.
Big, round eyes. Long eyelashes already. Sparkling pupils.
A nose that’s nicely shaped—not too high, not upturned, just right.
And a small, cute mouth. Soft, rosy lips.
I may still be tiny, but honestly, this is amazing. Ten years from now, I’ll definitely be incredibly popular.
Actually, I’m already popular!
“Lua, Lua.”
While I was spinning in front of the mirror, a friend tugged at my sleeve.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?”
“I was looking in the mirror.”
“Mirror?”
“Yeah.”
The me in the mirror smiled confidently. So cute. Even though I was making a smug expression, it wasn’t annoying—just cute!
Of course, I did hope that if I were to be reborn, I’d come back as a handsome guy. If I was going to be popular with girls anyway, wouldn’t being a guy have been better?
Well, it’s not like you can choose what you’re born as. It’s not like I possessed someone. And at least I wasn’t born exactly the same as in my previous life.
I struck a pose toward the pink-haired kid standing next to me.
“How do I look?”
“Ooh.”
Sparkle, sparkle.
Her eyes lit up as she clapped.
“Cool!”
“Do you think I’ll be popular?”
“I think you’ll be popular!”
Yes, yes.
That’s exactly it.
Before I knew it, other kids had gathered around me. And of course, the one who stood out the most among them was me. Even if I set aside all subjective bias, objectively, it was still me.
Well, it’s not like being popular among little kids means much.
But who knows—maybe someday in the distant future, I’ll end up with a nice childhood friend.
Anyway, the more friends, the better.
It’s not like I’m desperate because I lived an unpopular life in my past life. It’s just objectively true.
In any case, this life feels good from the start.
Sure, there’s the unfortunate fact that I don’t have parents in this life, but… well, I’ll deal with it.
By the way—
I mentioned pink hair earlier.
Which means this life might not be a normal one.
What kind of orphanage dyes kids’ hair like that?
I wondered if maybe her hair had been dyed before she was abandoned and the color hadn’t fully faded, so I watched for months—but that wasn’t it. If it were dyed, the roots would grow out in her natural color, but they didn’t.
And it wasn’t just pink hair.
There was green, blue, red, silver. Blonde wasn’t even unusual.
Black hair was still the most common, but…
Does this world operate under different rules than my previous one?
And as soon as I thought that, one word popped into my mind.
Possession.
Yes!
Of course!
I was born with memories of my past life. Doesn’t that mean there must be a moment when this knowledge becomes useful?
Isn’t it practically common sense now? Criticize a web novel—possess someone. Praise it—possess someone. Finish reading it—possess someone. Hear only the title—possess someone. Sometimes you even possess a story you’ve never heard of.
So yes, it’s common sense. Common sense.
If the names weren’t Korean, I might have considered other possibilities. There are plenty of reincarnation and possession stories in other countries too. But judging from everything so far, this is classic.
Honestly, they could’ve told me sooner.
After realizing that, I tried all sorts of experiments. Secretly calling out for a status window when alone, putting my hands together and praying, swinging a stick to see if I had some innate ability, attempting a somersault and falling flat on my face.
And nothing happened.
No status window, no voice from the sky, no sword aura from a wooden stick, no thirteen spins in midair—nothing. All I learned was that I was just a cute little kid.
“Hm.”
So… not possession?
Weird. That can’t be right.
Did I possess a story I’ve never read? Or maybe, since I read so many web novels during my commute, it’s buried somewhere in my memory?
“Lua, Lua.”
“Mm?”
While I was deep in thought—now with a bandage on my forehead from my failed experiments—the pink-haired kid interrupted me.
“What are you doing?”
The same pink-haired kid from before.
All the kids here are without families. But it doesn’t feel like we’re poor or anything.
It’s more like… living in a kindergarten full-time. I barely remember my own kindergarten days, but if I had to describe it, that’s what it feels like.
The teachers are mostly kind. Sometimes they get a little irritated, but they’re dedicated to their jobs, so no one gets abused.
But even so, with so many kids, they can’t give each child the same love a parent would.
Kids crave attention, but teachers are only human. Even if there’s more than one teacher, no one can play the role of a parent for dozens of kids every single day.
So naturally, kids gravitate toward the slightly more mature ones.
“Sigh, can’t be helped.”
“Mm?”
Even the teachers say I’m mature. Well, of course—I’m mentally twenty years older.
Even if I try to act like a kid, it’s not easy.
“Chae-yi, sit down.”
“Huh? Okay.”
When I sat down on the floor, the pink-haired kid—Chae-yi—sat down in front of me.
Chae-yi is shy.
I don’t know if it’s just her personality or if something happened in her past.
She plays fine with the other kids, but she gets extremely shy around teachers, so I have to look after her like this.
“I was thinking about my future.”
“What’s future?”
“Uh.”
The conversation hit a wall immediately.
She was obviously asking what the word meant, but kids’ questions often have unexpected weight.
“…I mean, I was thinking about how I’ll live from now on.”
“Where are you going?”
“Uh.”
She probably thought I was literally going somewhere and got anxious, but the timing—right after she asked “What’s future?”—made it sound strangely philosophical.
“Good question.”
I tilted my head.
Good question.
Why was I reborn with memories of my past life?
The memories are clear, so I’m sure it’s real. But then there must be a reason. Even if no god was involved, there should be some cause behind the phenomenon.
“Hmm, maybe I’ll figure it out as I live?”
It was a lame answer considering how cool I tried to sound, but what can I do?
Even with memories, I’m still just a kindergartener. Planning out my life now would be ridiculous.
If this really is a possessed world, maybe things will become clearer with time.
I’ve never read a story where the protagonist is a kindergartener, so the “main story” probably won’t start for at least ten years.
“Is that so?”
“Probably?”
I wasn’t even sure myself.
At least, in the novels I’ve read, there weren’t many with female protagonists, so I’m probably not the main character.
But being a side character in a possession story isn’t a problem.
Because in possession stories, the possessed side character is the real protagonist.
Exactly.
Eventually, I’ll rise to the protagonist’s position anyway. I can think about it after I meet the main character.
Until then, my job is to study hard, eat well, grow well. Maybe take care of my appearance too.
Yes. With this face, what could go wrong?
Who knows—I might even be one of the heroines. Not that I want to be a heroine.
“Let’s take it easy.”
“Easy?”
“Yeah. Easy.”
We’re still only kindergarten age.
It’s not like the orphanage is going to give us elite gifted education. Until elementary school, I’ll just relax—
—But I shouldn’t have.
There was something I failed to consider.
Even if the story has a starting point, the “setting’s starting point” might be long before the main plot.
The protagonist has a past, and of course, important side characters have pasts too.
And those pasts can be endlessly tragic.
“Grrk.”
I’d heard that sound before.
Once, when I was hospitalized, the dying person in the next bed made that sound.
Something stuck in their throat—phlegm or blood, I wasn’t sure—but it was a deep, bubbling sound.
“Grrk.”
The man holding me was coughing up blood, trying to say something as he looked down at me.
Pathetically, I couldn’t do anything.
I was too scared. The blood falling onto my body terrified me. Even though I was mentally twenty years older than the kids around me.
“Geh.”
He spat out the blood in his mouth and forced a smile. His tight-fitting uniform—slightly outdated-looking—was torn in several places.
Something was sticking out of his chest. A piece of metal, maybe.
And then, finally, something clicked.
My name.
And Chae-yi’s name.
They weren’t common names. Why did I only realize now?
And this man’s name too.
“It’s okay.”
That was all he managed to say.
“It’s okay. Others will come.”
The metal sticking out of his chest slid out. A hole gaped open. Blood poured out, soaking my body. Human blood was much warmer than I imagined.
“…I’m sorry.”
That’s what he said to me.
And then—shhk, splat.
The metal pierced his chest again. Blood.
Only after my vision turned red once more did I finally remember what kind of world I had been born into.
Though it was already far too late.