For a Happy Ending, To the Next World!
……………
The ragged edge of my empty consciousness.
A chemical fog spun by drugs.
The horrific sensation of my self slowly wearing away.
All of it vanished in an instant.
“Kuhk—!”
My whole body convulsed from the sudden awakening. It felt just like coming back to life after CPR. I sucked in air deep into my lungs. I couldn't believe I was alive, that I could breathe.
My vision slowly came into focus. This was—
The café. The same spot where I'd been chatting with those three women about romance before becoming Han Minseo.
What the hell... is this?
I reflexively lifted my hand and looked down at it. It wasn't the bony, skeletal hand of Han Minseo's body from before I lost myself. It was my hand. My original, healthy hand.
But what about those sensations I'd felt just moments ago? They were too vivid to dismiss as a daydream. Resting my head on Choi Seori's lap as the drugs clouded my mind. The agony of my self shattering into pieces and fading away.
Yet here I was, back. That much was certain.
So what the hell was that? Did I have some kind of mental breakdown? Or was it just a dream?
The time I'd lived as Han Minseo. The twisted relationship with Choi Seori. Lee Seo-ah's downfall, and my own mental death. All of it was too sharp and clear to call a dream.
My gaze drifted to the table. Steam was still faintly rising from the coffee cup.
It's still warm...?
Realization pierced through me. In this reality, not even enough time had passed to take a single sip of coffee. No matter how long I'd lived as Han Minseo.
Dream or reality—whatever it was.
“Oh my. You're back already? That ended quicker than I expected.”
At that moment, the woman with the overwhelming figure sitting across the table spoke up. A mocking smile played on her lips as she propped her chin on her hand, staring at me.
“How's it feel? [Eternal Care], huh? Pretty touching ending, wasn't it?”
Touching?
I was so flabbergasted I couldn't even speak. That hellish lifetime, touching?
“It's romantic. Until death did them part... or maybe not even death could tear them apart.”
She seemed to enjoy critiquing the hell I'd endured.
“Destroying your mind with drugs to keep you by her side forever. The pinnacle of true possessiveness. As expected from a woman who caught my eye.”
“Yeah, it was pretty entertaining. Your struggles, I mean.”
The luxury-clad woman elegantly lifted a teacup that I didn't know when she'd ordered. She took a sip and continued.
“Especially that last bit when you screamed [Just die already!] at Choi Seori. Even I clenched my fist.”
These women...
What the hell were they? I'd wondered countless times, but they definitely wielded some supernatural power. Probably gods or demons or something.
“I was disappointed. Choi Seori was great, but you? Meh.”
The voluptuous woman spoke again.
“If you'd just loved her to the end, you might've gotten a happy ending somehow. But all you did was try to run away.”
“Run away? That wasn't love—it was insane obsession!”
She smirked at my retort.
“Obsession is just one form of love. You just couldn't accept it.”
The luxury-clad woman clapped her hands.
“Alright, break time's over. Shall we start the next stage?”
Next stage?
Chills ran down my spine. Did she mean I had to relive Han Minseo's life?
“Wait a second.”
The sharp-suited woman intervened.
“You're not thinking of sending him to the next world without explaining anything, are you? That would be deeply unfair to the one undergoing the trials.”
She looked at me, a flicker of sympathy in her expression.
“You didn't choose one of us three goddesses. You completely rejected one. That's why the offended goddess imposed this trial on you.”
……………
I fixed my gaze on the sharp-suited woman. She seemed the most likely to give me at least some basic info.
“Who the hell are you people? And what did you do to me?”
As the suited woman opened her mouth to answer, the luxury-clad one cut in first.
“Can't you tell? We're goddesses. God. Dess. Es.”
It was too surreal to brush off as a joke—not after what I'd just been through. They'd made me live someone else's life in a parallel world, and yet no time had passed here in reality. No human could pull that off.
The suited woman added an explanation.
“To be more precise, she's the goddess who mainly governs family. I'm in charge of victory. And...”
She pointed at the voluptuous woman, her demeanor oddly distant.
“This one's the goddess of love.”
Goddesses...
I wouldn't have believed it before living—and dying—as Han Minseo. The love goddess, chin propped up, looked at me and said,
“Now that introductions are done, let's get to the point. You'll keep living as different people in different worlds until you pass the trial I set.”
“Trial?”
“Yeah. Until you succeed. Or until your soul can't take it and vanishes completely.”
There wasn't a shred of mercy in her voice.
The family goddess interjected.
“Don't worry too much. I'll lend you some power so your soul doesn't fade too easily. At least one human will feel like they can retry forever. Of course, it's not truly infinite. Keep looping, and eventually it'll crumble to ash.”
“So how do I pass the trial?”
“Simple. Achieve a happy ending with someone who loves you.”
Happy ending?
The horrific end I'd just endured flashed back. My mental death, pickled in drugs, reduced to Choi Seori's doll.
“How the hell am I supposed to get a happy ending with a woman like Choi Seori?”
The love goddess giggled at my question.
“That's why it's a trial. If it were easy, it wouldn't be one.”
Insane...
This wasn't a trial—it was punishment. Like the giant doomed to roll a boulder up a mountain forever. Eternal hell looping.
Despair nearly buckled my knees. What the hell was I supposed to do?
Seeing my hopeless expression, the victory goddess spoke up.
“I'll give you a bit more specifics, though it's minimal info. It wouldn't be a trial if it were completely impossible.”
“First, as you heard, you'll live as different people. The world, your identity, who loves you—all completely random.”
“Second, in any world, if you win true love even once and reach a 'normal, happy ending', the trial ends, and the curse from the love goddess lifts.”
Her info was bare-bones, just elaborating on what the others had said. But something felt off.
“What do you mean by 'normal, happy ending'? So just accepting crazy women's obsessions isn't enough?”
The love goddess burst into mocking laughter.
“Didn't you say with your own mouth that 'normal people' don't deal with regret, ruin, or obsession? Obviously, it means the kind of 'normal' love you think of.”
Son of a...
This wasn't some myth where a careless word became a ridiculous curse. Normal love, healthy relationships, mutual respect and trust. Even ordinary people struggle to find that ideal—and now I had to build it with someone like Choi Seori.
Extremely difficult. Near impossible, even.
“Explanations over. Time for the next stage.”
The love goddess stood up.
“No, wait! I still have questions—!”
Snap.
With the flick of her fingers, my vision shattered like broken glass once more. The café scenery fragmented and scattered into darkness. The three goddesses, the table, the coffee—all gone.
And endless darkness swallowed me.
……………
Consciousness yanked me awake.
The first thing I saw was a worn, slightly grimy ceiling. Old plastic panels dotted with yellowish stains.
Rumble, rumble.
Rhythmic vibrations shook my body. An engine roared in my ears.
A bus...?
I turned my head. Outside the window, green rice paddies whipped by. Power poles, small farmhouses, and greenhouses occasionally crossed my view.
Yeah. An intercity bus. I was sitting by the window.
Beep—
“Attention passengers. We will soon arrive at the final stop, Huhaeri Bus Terminal.”
Huhaeri?
A bizarre name I'd never heard before. Probably another parallel world almost identical to my Earth.
First things first, get off and figure out who I am and where this is.
The bus doors opened. Me and two others got off—an old lady and an old man, who went their separate ways. The bus spewed exhaust and departed.
As the engine noise faded, I was left alone at the stop.
This was a quiet rural village. Rice fields stretched into the distance, nestled in a small valley ringed by mountains. A few old shops and the village hall lined the roadside.
Okay, now what? First, figure out who I—
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder. A soft but firm grip.
And with it, a woman's shocked voice rang out.
“Ah... Dad!?”