Prologue: Rumble
Late at night, the subway racing through the city was surprisingly empty. The complete opposite of the packed chaos at early morning rush hour, when you couldn't even find a foothold. Where had all those people vanished to?
"Where else? They all went home before me."
Ding-dong. "This train will arrive at the final station, ○○ Station, in just a moment. Please exit through—"
The arrival announcement flowed from the speakers. As I stood by the doors, ready to get off, the conductor added that this was the last run of the night.
Commuting on the first train in and the last one out. It was the daily grind I'd repeated for four years since clawing my way into the city through cutthroat competition.
Emerging from the station and climbing to street level, a chilling night breeze swept over my body. I shivered, a chill running down my spine. The headache that had plagued me all day seemed to ease for a moment.
Maybe it was the toll of three years ground down in the city. At first, my early twenties stamina kept me going, but lately, my body was starting to break down piece by piece. Truth be told, I'd never been all that healthy even as a kid.
Today, the headache had been especially brutal. I wanted to take half a day off and rest, but in a company where overwork was the baseline, my boss just handed me a single painkiller.
Thinking about work brought it roaring back, stabbing at my skull like needles. At this rate, I wouldn't even get any sleep. With work tomorrow, I stopped at a nearby convenience store for more painkillers.
While I was there, I figured I might as well grab something to eat. My eyes landed on the liquor fridge. I'd only ever tried alcohol once. Outside the city, it came with insane taxes. As an orphan who'd passed the city entry exam, I'd celebrated with a single drink—and that was it.
It tasted awful, and the buzz felt unpleasant, so I never touched it again. Not that I'd had much chance anyway. Maybe skipping company dinners was the only perk of this job?
The headache intensified, scraping at my nerves like an insistent prod. I grabbed the first can of beer that caught my eye and checked out.
Unlocking the door, I stumbled into my place, stripped off my clothes haphazardly, showered, and changed into something comfy. I unfolded a small folding table on the floor and plopped down.
Chik— Popping open the beer can released a fizz of carbonation. I tossed a painkiller into my mouth and washed it down with the brew.
Puha. Tastes like ass.
Doesn't matter if it's city booze or outskirts swill—it's all just nasty. There's that old saying that beer tastes bad because you haven't tasted real bitterness yet, and once you do, booze goes down sweet. But even scraping the bottom of work-life balance in this city, it still tastes this bitter? Yeah, those boozehounds were just full of shit, strutting around like they owned the place.
The urge to drink vanished, leaving me staring blankly into space. The room felt oppressively lonely, so I flicked on the TV just for the noise.
No subscription meant it was one of those AI-reconstructed old variety shows with fake hosts. It looked like they were visiting people living in nature to mooch meals.
"Nature folk, huh..."
When I'd first arrived in the city, I'd been lost in fantasies of basking in civilization's perks. But three years in, those dreams had shattered.
The city was cold. At least to me. Concrete jungle kids born and bred here could land any job. Their environment, education, connections—it was all worlds apart.
But for outsiders like me, scraping in via exam from the outskirts? There were hard limits. "What can a country bumpkin do in the city?" That tinted lens followed me everywhere.
You could visit the city from the outskirts—virtual tours, reality-synced games, sensory experiences. Enjoy all the content. But full acceptance as a city dweller? Never.
Just scraping by on odd jobs, tasting the city without really belonging. That seemed to be the city's maximum mercy.
Even with that treatment, leaving wasn't easy. Smartphones, internet, transit, culture—sure, the outskirts had them too. But the infrastructure, quality, progress? And above all, the wages were night-and-day different.
Once you tasted civilization, there was no going back.
"...Yeah, that's how it was."
Now? I'm not so sure. Is the city really that great? Or do I just want to believe it is?
Whoa~ What is all this? The MC's surprised voice blared from the TV. It was louder than I thought, so I hurriedly turned down the volume. In a studio apartment, sound leaked to the neighbors.
Glancing at the screen, I saw the "nature person's" home. Perched midway up a mountain, it brimmed with solar panels, satellite internet, and urban conveniences.
A gasp escaped me, just like the MC. An environment rivaling any city dweller's. A relaxed expression you rarely saw in the city. I envied it.
And with the envy came a pounding headache. Irritation flooded my emotions in an instant. Was it the pain, or the envy? Or the booze craving? I chugged the rest of the beer and flopped onto the floor.
Dazed. Surrendering to the haze, I closed my eyes and imagined.
How great would it be to live like that? Become a nature person myself? My job was brutal, but the pay was solid. I'd played around on days off at first, but lately, with no time to spend, I'd saved up nicely. Just grind another 2-3 years, then bail on the city. Houses are pricey here, but building in the outskirts countryside wouldn't break the bank.
The fantasy lifted my mood. Even the headache faded.
Yeah. Life as a civilized nature dweller. Sounds perfect. Heal my wrecked body with nature, all the comforts so no boredom, machines for farming so it's easy. And if I found a girl who clicked with me? Perfection.
Grinning to myself, my mind grew foggy. The throbbing pain vanished, strength draining from my limbs.
Is it raining? Distant thunder rumbled, or so it seemed.
'Ah... gotta turn off the lights. TV too... Can't pass out on the floor or my back'll hate me...'
In that moment, as a new wish took root in the city dweller's heart—
Its owner turned his back on the city forever.
The cause of death? Simple overwork. Utterly mundane in the city.
.
.
.
But just as a bud on a peak will eventually bloom, a wish once formed will come to flower.
A healthy body. An environment shared with nature. Exceptional talent.
All that he'd hoped for.
The wish would come true.
Just in a world stripped of all the technological perks he'd known.
'....Huh?'
With the added condition that he'd be born a girl!
'What the fuck? Hold on. What did you say?'
And so—it came to pass.
Rumble.