Chapter 2

The taxi pulled away.

A cold draft slipped in through the slightly open window, and it was only then I realized it hadn't been shut all the way.

The driver upfront remarked on how freezing and blustery it was, then closed the window for me.

Behind the glass, the figure hurrying back into the hotel blurred out of sight in an instant. He never looked back.

The harsh wind had left me with a sore throat, and I couldn't help but cough.

Specks of blood came up with the cough. I raised my hand to cover my mouth, only to stain the silver bracelet on my wrist red.

The bracelet was dull and blackened, having lost every last bit of its shine long ago. It was like what was left of my life.

I knew I didn't have much time left.

Ten years ago, I arrived in this world with a mission. I could go back home as soon as I filled Andrew's love meter for me.

The system had given me seven years to pull it off. But getting close to Andrew and filling that meter to the brim took me only one year.

On the day I was set to leave, Andrew happened to be heading abroad for business. I walked him out on a crisp, cold early winter morning.

I reached out to straighten his tie for him. Worried he'd catch a cold, I wrapped a bright red scarf around his neck as well.

Andrew closed his eyes contentedly for a moment. Glancing down at me, his voice turned playful. "Can I really pull off a business deal looking like this?"

Feeling a bit flushed, I glanced toward the driver waiting down the steps and whispered, "If the other side minds it once you get there, you can take it off."

He let out a pleased chuckle. Wrapping a hand around my back, he leaned down and rested his chin against my neck. "No way. I can pass on the deal, but I'm not taking off a scarf my partner put on me."

My back was against the pillar, and afraid I'd slip, I grabbed onto his neck.

It was right around the moment as Andrew leaned in to kiss me; a thought crossed my mind. A sudden, absurd thought.

I wanted to stay.

That thought felt like a thread pulled across my heart. It was tingling, yet carrying a faint sting.

But I knew I couldn't stay.

After an intense inner tug-of-war, I eventually reached out and pushed him away.

I walked Andrew to the car. Through the open window, I couldn't hold back one last reminder. "Take good care of yourself when you're on your own."

Andrew looked at me through the fully lowered window, a shadow of confusion passing over his face.

Gravely guilty, I averted my gaze and quickly covered up, "I mean... when you're on business trips abroad."

Only then did the confusion fade from his face.

It took me prompting him several times before he finally let the driver set off.

As the car rolled out of the front yard, a lump caught in my throat. My eyes stung violently in the wind, likely already bloodshot. Knowing he might catch a glimpse of me in the rearview mirror, I turned around in a panic.

I thought that was the end of it for us.

After straightening up the house, I followed the system out the door, ready to leave this world behind.

The moment I stepped outside, I was stunned.

Andrew, who had left over half an hour ago, was back in the front yard. He stumbled out of the car covered in blood, practically limping as he rushed toward me.

When he saw I'd changed my clothes, his eyes were frantic, almost desperate. "Luca, where are you going?"

Andrew had made a sudden U-turn when he was almost at the airport.

He shuffled up the steps with great effort, then wrapped his arms around me tight, his voice trembling with anxiety for the very first time. "I don't know why, but the further away I got, the harder it was to catch my breath.

"The more I thought about it, the more I had to come back and see you."

He ditched the driver and sped back on his own but ended up missing a traffic light midway and got into a bad crash.

He had suffered a severe head injury, a concussion, and a fractured right leg.

My hand trembled as I touched his face, only to find it completely covered in blood, making his complexion look all the paler.

He'd always been so sharp and capable, but right now, with his eyes lowered, he looked like a scared kid.

Andrew held me in a tight embrace, panic in his voice. "Luca, don't leave."

Before I could answer, his head slumped onto my shoulder, and he passed out cold.

It felt as though my heart had been grabbed and ripped apart in an instant, left bleeding out.

Ignoring the system's warnings, I rushed Andrew to the hospital and watched him get wheeled into the emergency room.

I dropped onto the bench outside, staring at those glaring red letters over the ER entrance, my whole body shaking.

The system urged me, "It's time to go. You're running out of time."

I clenched my fists tight. After a long silence, I looked at the system.

"I'm not leaving," I said.

The system stared back at me in total disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? This is only a virtual world for your assignment. You are falling in love with a fictional character. Are you insane?"

I snapped to my feet, practically yelling back at it. "He's not fake. He got hurt because of me. I love him, and I'm not walking away from him."

Everyone around turned to look at me in shock. Unable to see the system, they all assumed I had lost my marbles.

The system's eyes held nothing but deep disappointment.

My voice gradually dropped as I pleaded in terror, "Didn't I have seven years to complete the mission? There's still plenty of time left. I can leave later.

"Let me stay with him a little longer, at least until he's recovered."

Before taking off, the system left me with one final warning. "Break the rules, and you'll have to pay the price yourself."

The price I had to pay was being trapped in this world forever.

By the time I finally made up my mind to leave again, Andrew didn't love me like he used to anymore.

I was never able to max out his love meter again.

All I could do was cling to the dwindling scraps of his love and presence to survive, scraping by in a world where I didn't belong until, drained of all life, my body slowly began to wither and decay.