𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭

ch 1

What is the meaning of life?

That, to Baek-Hyun, was an easy question. You live life to have fun. You go out with your friends and feel the adrenaline rush through your body when you sneak out of school. You take a walk outside and take a deep breath of crisp air. You get the courage to go ask out your crush, either to end up sulking with the boys or smiling with your new girlfriend. You wear those lucky socks and score the biggest soccer goal of your life, becoming the school MVP for the month. You live life to experience life.

Of course, life wasn't as easy as anyone wished.

Baek-Hyun had a chronic illness. Because of this, he would spend one week out with friends--maybe even two weeks if he was lucky--and one week back at the hospital. But his luck was terrible, even with the lucky socks his friend gave him; he never spent longer than a month outside before he would find himself back in a familiar hospital bed. He felt like he was missing out on half of his life despite being only 17, and, in the back of his head, he knew he would miss out on the rest of his life because of the figure of death that loomed over him, inching closer and closer every day.

Well, he was right.

Baek-Hyun died.

He died and went to someplace he was sure physics couldn't explain, meeting a strange robotic voiceover who said he would live another life. The boy was too disoriented at that moment to truly process anything, but here he was now in a foreign room in a foreign body with a foreign digital-looking screen floating in front of him.

{ Welcome back to South Korea, Lee Minho, } the system spoke. Baek-Hyun, now Minho, blinked once, twice, before pinching his new hand. He felt pain. He was awake.

"...What the actual fuck."

{ Is the room not to your liking? }

Furrowing his eyebrows, Minho grumbled, "No, not at all. It's not like I'm more shocked about the fact that I died and revived more than this amazing room!" Sarcasm practically oozed down his mouth.

{ I see, } the system noted. It morphed into the shape of a crow and cawed. { This is the shape I will take in this world. We can communicate via telepathy for privacy. }

"Is your form really the most important thing at the moment?" Minho hissed, swiping a hand at the crow only to miss. It flew out the open window and sat on a branch of a nearby tree.

{ I believe it was the safest course. There will be visitors soon. }

The boy sighed. The crow was technically correct. When Minho awoke, the first thing he saw were nurses screaming. Whether it was from fear or joy he couldn't tell, but they said that they would tell his parents that he was awake. Those parents could be barging in at any moment now.

On cue, the bedroom door swung open, and in walked the nurses with two people Minho assumed were his parents. A sharp pain ran through his heart. He wondered how his own parents were doing. Were they coping well with his death?

{ These are Lee Hyun-Woo and Lee Chaewon. They are your parents in this world. }

"And I'm Lee Minho," the boy thought, watching as the parents ordered nurses to bring water and medicine.

{ Correct. }

"How are you?" the father questioned as he walked up to the bed where Minho sat, still keeping his distance. There was an odd sense of coldness in his words that caused Minho's spine to crawl.

"I'm better now, thank you," the boy gulped. He took a good glimpse at his new father while taking a sip of liquid medicine, admiring the old yet handsome man. His greying black hair looked fashionable, and his piercing red eyes made Minho look away. He was surprised to see such an unusual eye color outside of manhwas; his father was what a true villain always looked like in them.