Goddesses Who Spoil Aren't Forgiven!
Days had passed since Yeoreum's death.
In Kim Bom's house, in the room with the shrine. She was huddled in the corner. Her lips, untouched by even a sip of water, were cracked and white. Her eyes were bloodshot, but no more tears came. She had long since passed the point where she could cry.
Two photos sat in the middle of the room. One was of her father, who had left the world twenty years ago. The other was Yeoreum's, prepared as a mortuary portrait.
How long had she stayed curled up like that? Suddenly, the air in the room changed. The temperature dropped slightly, turning chilly. Kim Bom lifted her head.
Her father was there. In a translucent form, he gazed at his daughter with a sad expression. His mouth seemed to move, but no sound came out.
Kim Bom's parched lips parted. But her surprise was fleeting. She quickly scanned the space beside her father's spirit.
It was empty. Yeoreum's soul was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah……."
A strange sound leaked from her throat—indistinct, impossible to tell if it was laughter or a sob.
"So that's how it was."
The corner of her mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.
"Dad and Miss Yeoreum were the same person after all. The same soul. That's why only you appear."
It was the final proof. The ultimate, decisive evidence for the truth Kim Bom had clung to so desperately.
But the joy of confirmation lasted only a moment before a deeper despair crashed over her like a tidal wave.
"In the end…… I'm the bitch who killed Dad twice."
Once twenty years ago, and once more today. Both times, it was Kim Bom's own fault.
The first for failing to stay by his side, the second for holding on too tight.
Kim Bom crawled to the shrine and looked up at the photos. Her father was smiling. Yeoreum was smiling too.
"I'm sorry…… Dad."
With her resolve set, she pulled out the silver hairpin she used for her shaman work. Its tip was sharp and sturdy. This would be enough…… to sever it.
The wretched life of the wretch who had devoured her father twice.
Kim Bom's loathsome existence.
"I'll follow right after."
There was no hesitation. She raised the hairpin to her throat.
In her final moment, Kim Bom's expression was one of peace.
The memory of collapsing from a heart attack, the sensation of my face slamming into the asphalt, even Kim Bom's wails—all of it lingered vividly in my mind.
And…… the scent of coffee.
This time, there were no convulsions or screams. I simply opened my eyes.
The same lighting, the same music, the same table, the same still-warm coffee cup.
But every muscle felt like it was weighed down by lead. It wasn't physical fatigue. More like my soul itself was exhausted.
I looked across the table. As expected, the three goddesses were seated there, each with a different expression.
Victory Goddess first. She had her arms crossed, looking down at me.
"Fleeing until a heart attack. Hardly a heroic end."
Her cold assessment flew at me.
"……Though your terrified rabbit-like dash was kinda cute."
I didn't have the energy to argue. It was true, after all.
"I thought it was pretty entertaining, personally."
Family Goddess chimed in. Somehow, she had a cake in front of her that she was poking with a fork.
"Karma's a bitch, right? Trying to ditch the woman who brings you home-cooked meals every morning. De facto marriage counts as family too. A betrayer who abandons his wife deserves to pay the price. Just like my husband."
When she said "husband," Family Goddess stabbed the plate hard with her fork. The porcelain cracked like wet clay, the fork plunging straight in vertically.
"The [normal love] you wanted so badly. Is it really that hard?"
Love Goddess spoke last. Her voice dripped with mockery. She reapplied her lipstick as she continued.
"Confessing to a woman who thinks you're her father's reincarnation. Spiritual incest! Guess that counts as normal love for you?"
"………."
I didn't want to respond. I picked up the cup. Time for a sip of coffee at least.
But—there was a lipstick mark on the rim.
"Oh, I took a sip. It was decent enough."
As I stared blankly at the mark, Love Goddess smirked with her eyes.
"Wait, that was mine……."
"Don't act so precious. It's just coffee. You spread your legs for those women like automatic doors."
Three seconds ago she'd been smirking; now her face soured into a pout.
I had no idea what her deal was. Women are hard to understand, but Love Goddess was on another level—utterly inscrutable.
Right. This isn't the time to fuss over coffee.
I couldn't waste this precious time on coffee talk. Instead, I threw out a different question.
"What happened to Kim Bom?"
Silence fell. The three goddesses exchanged glances.
"No need for you to know. For your mental health, ignorance is bliss."
Family Goddess answered.
"……Understood."
I didn't press. I could guess well enough. She probably ended up in utter misery. Maybe even worse than I imagined.
My chest tightened. Kim Bom was insane, tried to imprison me, and in the end, I died because of it.
Of course, my death wasn't solely her fault. We each chose what we thought was best from our perspectives.
In the end, Kim Bom never escaped her delusions. Not even at the last moment.
Could I have saved her? Was there another way? What if I'd approached it differently from the start?
"Oh dear."
Victory Goddess spoke up abruptly.
"Your focus is already starting to waver. But remember one thing: keep failing, and you'll wear away to nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"Your soul. Its edges are fuzzier than before. Even with the power we've lent you. This is beyond our expectations. Human souls can't handle this kind of ordeal. It's crumbling faster than we thought."
"What happens if my soul wears away?"
"It turns to ash and vanishes. Then…… nothingness. No reincarnation, no rebirth. Total annihilation."
A chill ran down my spine.
"So stop dwelling on the past and focus on the next world. Your trials aren't over yet."
"In that case, I have something to say too."
All three goddesses turned to me at once.
"This ordeal you call a trial—it's been unfair from the start, hasn't it? The moment I possess a body, my opponent is basically set, and she's someone incapable of normal love."
My voice rose steadily.
"Choi Seori, Kim Bom. How the hell am I supposed to have a normal, happy romance with them? And when I realize it and try to run, you kill me off."
"So?"
Love Goddess propped her chin on her hand.
"It's like…… telling a giant to roll a boulder up a mountain. An impossible task from the outset."
Family Goddess burst out laughing.
"Oh, that giant? Don't misunderstand. That was punishment, not a trial. Unlike you. The task Love Goddess gave you isn't impossible."
Her words hit me hard. Had I really made the wrong choices, dying in both worlds because of it?
"Well, your point has some merit."
Unexpectedly, Family Goddess nodded.
"Running is a valid option, but in those first two worlds, it was too hard to pull off. Your unmanly bodies didn't help."
She tapped the table with her finger.
"Just so you know, we didn't pick your partners. We don't intervene that far, and we won't. But for the next world, we'll make sure you're in a more masculine body. At least physically, so you can run or fight back."
A masculine body.
I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but it had to be better than Han Minseo or Yeoreum.
Love Goddess raised a finger. Space rippled faintly—the preparation to send my soul to the next world.
"Wait a sec."
Victory Goddess spoke up suddenly.
"I saw what you were reading before meeting us. The high schooler with powers heading to Egypt with his grandpa and friends to save his mom."
Totally out of left field for this situation.
"Oh…… Starlight Crusaders? What about it……."
"It was pretty fun. Especially the end, where the protagonist awakens the same time-stop ability as the final boss and wins. Looked like he was about to get crushed by construction equipment on the bridge, but he freezes time and slips out. Then a brutal fistfight, and he cleaves the boss in half."
That fucking……!
It was the exact spoiler from the pivotal part I was at. Blood surged through me in reverse.
Sure, it was over thirty years old, but still—too far! I was in the middle of it!
"You can't just spoil that! What the fu—"
But my protest cut off before it finished. Maybe for the best. Profanity was about to fly.
My vision cracked like a spiderweb. With the sound of shattering glass, the world splintered apart.
"Fucking spoiler—!!"
My furious shout scattered into the broken void.
And so, I plummeted into the third world.