After my death, I found myself inside a romance strategy game, where the system assigned me three male leads.

If I followed its instructions and successfully captured the heart of any one of them, I would return alive and well in the real world.

Drawing on my experience, I crafted careful scripts to win their affection. Yet, every attempt ended in failure.

The reason was simple: each of them had already fallen for the dazzling heroine of their world.

They hurled cruel words at me, as if wishing I would just drop dead.

In the end, I fulfilled their desire—when my strategies failed, the system erased me.

But the moment I died, they all regretted it. One by one, they begged the heavens to return me to them.

[Attention player, according to system detection, your mission has failed. Since you did not complete any successful routes, the system will now erase you.]

The system’s voice echoed in my mind as I stood in the shadows, secretly watching the wedding.

Inside the grand hall, Michael Brosnan and Faye Summer exchanged a smile before kissing amid the playful cheers of the crowd.

That wedding had been the final lifeline the system gave me.

Now, it too had slipped through my hands.

Back then, when I entered the body of a three-year-old child, I signed the system’s contract: within twenty years, as long as I captured the heart of any one of the three male leads, I would return to my original world.

But twenty years had passed, and I had not succeeded.

Perhaps this was the ending fate had arranged for me.

I left the hall and walked toward the crowded overpass.

The system told me that after reporting my failure to its superiors, it would erase me.

I stared at the endless stream of cars below.

My mind replayed the faces of the three male leads over the past two decades—always twisted with contempt whenever they looked at me.

All of them had scorned me for the same reason: Faye Summer.

She was the dazzling heroine of this world, the one every man loved.

The system once consoled me, saying that because she carried the heroine’s halo, the male leads could not help but fall for her.

I tilted my head toward the heavy, clouded sky. Was it because I was an outsider here, a vicious supporting character meant only to set off the heroine’s brilliance, that I was destined for such an end?

So be it.

At this point, what else was there to think about?

I would die regardless.

Dazed, I stepped into traffic.

If I were to be erased, better to leave behind a broken body than to vanish silently. Let them bury me despite their hatred, swallowing their disgust as they lay me to rest.

In the next instant, the screech of brakes tore through the air as a harsh, all-too-familiar voice followed.

“If you want to die, Luna, then do it where no one can see you. Don’t disgrace yourself in public.”

I looked up and saw him—my half-brother..

Peter Northstar was my only remaining family in this world.

I had no one else to rely on.

It was his small gestures of care and fleeting warmth that made me trust him completely and believe he was the only person here who would ever treat me kindly.

But at some point, he fell under Faye’s spell.

Because she claimed that I had led others in bullying her at school, Peter believed her without question.

From then on, he began to hate me.

Peter dragged me into his car, drove to a deserted road, and yanked me out. Then he slapped me across the face.

“If you’re going to kill yourself, then do it where no one can see. Otherwise, someone else will have to clean up your mess after you’re gone.

“Here’s a good place. If you want to die, then do it now. Don’t waste my time.”

My ears rang from the blow, but I forced myself to stay upright.

Of course. This wasn’t the first time I had tried to kill myself in front of him.

He must have grown accustomed to it by now.

Back then, his heart and eyes were for Faye alone.

I only wanted to know that he still cared for me as family, that he would hear me out—I never truly wanted to die.

So now, he felt certain I was bluffing again, just as before.

“Why are you here anyway? Weren’t you at Faye’s wedding just now?

“Was it because you were worried about me?”

I stared at him, my eyes brimming with hope even as my voice carried a bitterness I could not hide.

I had seen him at the wedding just moments ago. Could it be he had followed me out of concern?

Though he had disappointed me countless times, a part of me still clung to that fragile dream.

But the words Peter spoke next shattered the last of my hope.

“Don’t delude yourself. I didn’t come here for you. I was only fetching a set of jewelry for Faye.

“Who would have thought I’d find you acting like a lunatic?

“I’m warning you, Luna—don’t use such tactics to get my attention. Don’t even try to win my sympathy.”

I smiled sadly as I looked at his vicious expression.

So I had been foolish enough to believe he had truly come out of concern for me.

It was nothing but another hollow dream.

Hadn’t I long known that Peter was hopelessly in love with Faye?

For years, he groveled at her feet, yet she had only ever loved Michael.

So he had stood by, willing to watch her fall into another man’s arms, and still busied himself with her wedding, striving for perfection.

He loved her down to his very bones.

I no longer wished to endure this.

I turned and walked toward the railing.

Still convinced I only sought his attention, Peter leaned against the car with arms crossed, his voice dripping with scorn.

“Get on with it so I can collect your corpse.

“Faye won’t be pleased if I’m late!”

I hastened my walk at his words.

I let the river water rise over my nose, my ears, my eyes.

I felt the air slip away as suffocation closed in, and I surrendered myself to it.

If I were to leave this world like this, surely they would feel at least a trace of regret.

Just then, someone yanked me out of the water.

A sharp, ringing blow landed across my face.

Peter had struck me again.

“What are you trying to achieve?

“You’re not to die unless I tell you to!”

He dragged me upward as he spoke, his voice harsh and commanding.

“I’m warning you—your mother did not give you life so you could just throw it all away!”

Mother had been the only person in this world who had ever treated me kindly.

But she was gone, and with her death, I had no attachments left.

It was time for me to leave as well.

Since I had failed to die this time, and the system had yet to get back to me, I found some excuse to send Peter back home.

Yet he continued to lecture me incessantly.

“All this just because Michael got married? If you truly loved him, then you should wish him well. Just like I did to Faye.

“That is what real love is!”

But I had never loved anyone in this world.

Every approach I made was born of purpose.

Every target I pursued was nothing more than part of my mission.

I returned home and picked out a knife.

I didn’t want to wait any longer.

If I was going to die either way, it seemed better to go on my own terms.

After all, there was no one else at home, so I wouldn’t be disturbing anyone.

Lying on the bed, I stared at the ceiling.

I traced imaginary lines in the air with the knife in my hand and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at myself.

I had spent twenty years playing this game, always hoping for an escape.

Time, when you looked at it closely, wasn’t all that long.

It passed in the blink of an eye, like a needle through fabric.

But it wasn’t short either.

I had experienced so many unexpected events.

I remembered when Mother remarried, and I was brought into a stranger's home.

Peter had been the one to approach me first, making me trust him completely.

For the first time, I felt I had someone to rely on in this world.

With him, I could live freely, carelessly, and he always had my back.

So, to repay that kindness, I did everything I could to be good to him.

To craft the image of a devoted younger sister, I would skip meals in elementary school and save my pocket money, all so I could buy him limited-edition figures.

When he schemed against others, I covered for him.

When he had stomach pains at 3 a.m., I would buy him medicine while enduring my own menstrual cramps, staying up all night to take care of him.

When he wanted the newest limited-edition watch, I worked through the summer, saving every penny to buy it for him.

I thought, with us so dependent on each other, this was a bond no heroine could ever take from me.

But unfortunately, the heroine’s effect was far too powerful.

Even Peter, a mere supporting male character, was drawn to Faye.

The moment she appeared, she stole the only family bond I had left in this world.

In the end, I didn’t care.

I was a person destined to die.

Everyone dies eventually. It’s just a matter of time.

I cut my wrist and watched as the blood trickled slowly.

I felt the life drain from my body, dizziness overtaking me.

I just wanted to die quietly.

I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

To make it look like a suicide and avoid any investigation by the police, I left a note.

[I willingly take my life. Please don’t mourn for me.]

But I doubted anyone would care.

After all, I was far too annoying.

My mind grew increasingly foggy as I reflected on my miserable life.

No matter how hard I tried to pursue my mission, every time Faye made an appearance, everyone was instantly drawn to her and repelled by me.

Just as I thought I could finally leave this dreadful world, I heard the slam of a door.

I felt someone carefully bandaging my arm, and with great effort, I forced my eyes open.

“Have you lost your mind, Luna?”

The man in front of me was Collin Compton, my former tutor. He was seven years older than me.

He had been one of the system's assigned targets.

I remembered when my grades were poor in high school, and my so-called father hired a student from a prestigious university to be my tutor.

At the time, I was desperate to improve my studies, and the system had suggested he was a potential suitor.

So, I used my desire to learn as an excuse to get close to him.

I knew his primary focus was academics, so I crafted a strategy.

I designed a persona as a clumsy beauty, and I clung to him every day.

He even introduced me to his parents.

He said I was the first girl he had ever taken home to meet them.

As expected, his affection for me grew quickly and steadily.

Just when I thought I might finally survive, Faye appeared before me once again.

She shared all of Collin’s interests.

The moment she saw me, she trembled in fear and curled up in his arms, crying.

“I don’t know what I did to make Luna dislike me so much.

“She’s been leading the bullying against me at school. I need to take meds every day just to fall asleep, and I’ve even developed depression.”

Collin had held Faye tightly as though they were long-lost lovers reunited.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you,” he had said heroically.

That day, Collin had slapped me across the face in front of Faye.

He told me to leave and that from then on, I should treat him like a stranger.

He warned me never to bully Faye again.

And so, my mission was doomed to fail once more.