Echoes

Before the mission, I asked Stefan Goldberg one last time, “Will you marry me?” He was silent for a moment. “Fine.” My heart and the System’s virtual one dropped in unison. We’re screwed. Wasn’t the deal that after being rejected a hundred times, I could finally return to my own world? As it turned out, my panic was premature. On my final mission, I became the sacrificial lamb for his first love. Stefan spent three days by her side before he even remembered me. And when he did, all he heard was that I had died in the line of duty. 1 “Host, there’s really no need to rush.” “It’s your birthday. No one wants to be rejected on their birthday.” The only sound in the quiet hallway was my own breathing. I had just returned from a three-month overseas assignment and, despite my bone-deep exhaustion, I had come straight to find Stefan. There was only one reason. After seven years in this world, I wanted to go home. All I needed was to be rejected by Stefan Goldberg one hundred times, and I could return to my reality. And as luck would have it, the System had just informed me that only one rejection remained. Through the door, I could hear Stefan on the phone. The woman’s voice was on speaker, her sobs soft and heart-wrenching. “Stefan, I know you and Mindy have been together for three years, and I shouldn’t be bothering you, but I just… I couldn’t help it…” Her plea was met with a long, heavy silence. The woman on the other end was Stefan’s first love, Raina Lin. Over the years, she had been the primary reason for most of my rejections. Stefan changed the subject. “When are you coming back? I’ll throw you a welcome-home party.” “In what capacity?” “As your ex.” A brief silence, then her voice returned, laced with a new, defiant edge. “Well, my dear ex, I’m getting married. On the 20th of this month. You’re invited.” Stefan’s tone hardened. He bit out her name. “Raina!” She hung up. The System let out a cheer in my head. [Ooh, perfect! Host, get in there now! While he’s in a bad mood, ask him to marry you!] Normally, I would never choose such a moment to test my luck. But the hope of finally going home was a jolt of life in my weary soul. I pushed the door open and stepped into the darkness. Stefan sat before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, the city lights a glittering tapestry behind him. The glow of his phone illuminated one side of his face, tracing the sharp, perfect lines of his features. When he saw me, he blanked the screen and leaned back, his eyes closed. His voice was sharp. “What are you doing here?” See? The calendar was right there in plain sight, but he hadn’t even remembered my birthday. My palms began to sweat. “I have a mission tomorrow.” In my own world, I was a police academy graduate. So, in this one, I had chosen to be a police officer without a second thought. Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone frigid. “So? Is there something you need?” “Yes. After the mission… will you marry me?” The System exploded in my mind. [YEEEEES! I finally completed the mission! I’m getting a promotion! YES! YES! YES!] My reflection stared back at me from Stefan’s dark eyes. His brow was furrowed, a clear sign of his displeasure. I took a deep breath, lowered my head, and waited for the answer I so desperately wanted. To be honest, after loving him for so long, rejection still stung. But the System promised me money, a lot of money, real-world money I could actually spend. “Fine.” “What?” The System’s cheers came to a screeching halt. I looked up, stunned, meeting Stefan’s impossibly calm gaze. He slowly stroked the side of his phone. “I said, fine.” A few seconds later, the System and I uttered the same visceral curse. “Fuck…” 2 I hid in the bathroom, my accumulated frustration finally boiling over. “You popped the champagne too soon! You’re a real credit to your boss, you know that?!” The System was just as frantic. [It’s all your fault! Why did you have to remind him it was your birthday?! Can’t men just put away their cheap guilt?!] My head was pounding. The relentless overtime had drained every last drop of my energy. I leaned weakly against the sink. The System’s voice was small. [Maybe… you could ask him to sleep with you now?] I let out a cold laugh. “How about I ask him to die for me instead?” If only it were that easy. The architect of this game had plugged every possible loophole from the very beginning. Words like “sleep with me” or “die” were restricted. And the reasons for my requests couldn’t be repeated. After seven years, a marriage proposal was one of the few viable options left. We were at a stalemate. The sound of the faucet echoed in the small space. I sat on the toilet lid, trying to think of another request that would guarantee rejection. Suddenly, my phone rang. An unknown number. I answered, and a gentle woman’s voice came through. “Miss Crawford? This is Raina Lin.” My hand shot out and gripped the edge of the sink. At my silence, Raina let out a soft, triumphant laugh. “You probably don’t know me very well, but that’s alright. I know you very well.” “I’ve eaten the lunches you made for Stefan. I’ve worn the white shirts you washed for him. The last time he left your birthday celebration to come find me, he still had a strand of your hair caught on his tie clip.” I leaned against the cool porcelain of the bathtub, my voice like ice. “And?” Raina laughed again. “Are you genuinely stupid, or just pretending? Don’t you get it? Last year, on your birthday, I gave him my first time. This year, I chose your birthday to come back, and he forgot all about you. Do I really need to spell out who Stefan Goldberg truly loves?” I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Seven years had etched fine lines around my eyes. The eyes that once lit up at the mere sight of Stefan were now filled with a weary numbness. I took a deep breath. “No, you don’t. Because Stefan is going to marry me.” The other end went silent. Then, Raina’s voice turned sharp. “You don’t have to say things like that to spite me. You can’t win against me.” Stefan was knocking on the bathroom door. I hid the phone behind my back, swung the door open, and asked in a soft voice, “Will you come with me to try on wedding dresses tomorrow?” Stefan froze for a second, then wrapped his arms around me. His voice held a rare, gentle indulgence. “Of course. On our wedding day, you’ll be the most beautiful bride.” I hung up the phone, fighting back a wave of nausea as I accepted Stefan’s kiss. Raina, I thought, you’d better not let me down. 3 That night, I waited a long time, but no call came from Raina to Stefan. His fiery kisses trailed across my skin. Stefan seemed particularly aroused, but at the last moment, I pressed a hand to his chest, stopping him. “I have a mission tomorrow. Let’s just… leave it at this.” He was clearly unsatisfied. But I pushed him away, turned my back, and pulled the covers up to my chin. Stefan was silent for a long time before sighing. “Alright.” The sound of the shower started a moment later. The System voiced my own worry. [Did you come on too strong? Did Raina give up?] “I doubt it.” From what I knew of Raina, she would rather die than give up on Stefan. … The next day, the weather was gloomy. When I woke up, Stefan was, for once, not already gone. He was sitting at the dining table with me. The clinking of cutlery was the only sound in the living room. Stefan broke the silence. “After this mission, you should transfer to a desk job. You’ll be my wife; you don’t need to work so hard.” The System buzzed in my head: [I want a fried egg. A fried egg!] I kept my eyes down, slicing a piece of ham. “Okay.” Stefan continued, as if dictating notes to his secretary. “I’ll be at the office on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The rest of the week, I’ll be home with you. I don’t want you coming to my office to find me.” The System wailed: [No cheese! I want noodles!] I smiled faintly. “Okay.” Stefan frowned. He watched me finish my milk, push back my chair, and start to walk away. “Mindy.” I turned back. “What?” Stefan stared at me. “You’ve never been this obedient before. What’s wrong today?” Honestly, I hadn’t heard a single word of his pointless monologue. “Nothing.” I smiled. “Maybe it’s just the impending good news.” Stefan tugged at his tie, the straight line of his lips betraying his inner frustration. See? He was a hundred times against marrying me. A corner of my mouth lifted. “Hey, Stefan. Aren’t you going to wish me a safe return?” He snapped back to the present. After a moment, he said, “Return safely.” “Thanks.” I turned and walked out. System: [Ugh, so boring. I really thought he was going to refuse to say it.] 4 In the seven years I’d been here, the city had been relatively safe. Violent crimes were rare. It figured that on my very last assignment, I’d run into one. A vicious kidnapping. The kidnapper demanded thirty million in ransom and a van for his getaway. When I arrived on the scene, a light rain was falling. My colleague, Yara, was sitting on the stairs, her eyes red. “Mindy, the negotiator is already in there. The kidnapper is demanding a hostage exchange.” “A hostage exchange?” “Yeah… because the current hostage… is a pregnant woman.” A heavy silence fell over the team. In a situation like this, if the kidnapper agreed to a swap, one of us had to go in. “So… has a choice been made?” Yara bit her lip. “He wants a woman.” There were only two female officers on the team: me and Yara. Her husband was a detective who had been injured recently and was still in the hospital. I unholstered my pistol and handed it to her. “I understand. I’ll do it.” The System shrieked in my head: [Host, this isn’t a joke! If you die by accident, you can’t go back!] But I couldn’t let Yara go. In these seven years, Yara had been with me far more than Stefan ever had. We were the best partners. Yara threw her arms around me, sobbing. “Mindy, I’m so sorry. I know you’re about to get married, I’m so sorry, but my husband… he’s still in the hospital…” “I know.” I patted her shoulder, then turned and walked into the rain. It was an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. Through the misty rain, I saw the woman in the kidnapper’s arms. Her pale face couldn’t hide her beauty. Long, dark hair was plastered to her temples, her large eyes filled with a pitiful terror. She clutched her stomach protectively. “Please, save me! I’m pregnant! I’m carrying the Goldberg family heir…” My heart skipped a beat. System: [It’s Raina.] Our eyes met through the curtain of rain. I couldn’t describe the feeling in my chest. The kidnapper viciously cut her arm with a dagger, and blood began to flow. “Get over here now! Or I’ll send her to hell!” Raina’s eyes widened in terror as she looked at me. “Mindy, please! I can’t die! Stefan will go mad! If he finds out you didn’t save me, he’ll hate you for the rest of his life…” So, she knew who I was. I glanced back at Yara. And sighed. I turned and walked toward the kidnapper. The moment the cold blade was pressed against my neck, Raina stumbled into the safety of the police perimeter. It was just me and the kidnapper. “The van I asked for!” Before I got in, my captain gave me a meaningful look. According to the plan, they would track the vehicle. I just needed to find an opportunity to help them take him down. I was bound and thrown into the passenger seat. At the last moment, I saw Stefan break through the police line and catch a fainting Raina in his arms. 5 The car sped down the empty highway. The ropes bit into my flesh, raw and bleeding. The last police car disappeared behind us in the rain. The kidnapper chuckled. “Don’t bother looking. They’re not coming for you.” “What do you mean?” He turned on the radio and started humming a tune. A news report was playing—an interview with Raina. Her words were panicked and disjointed. “I heard the kidnapper say they were meeting up in the south district! Please, you have to save her!” But we were racing north. Soon, all police resources would be diverted south. The kidnapper took me to a dilapidated shack in the countryside. He pulled out his dagger. “Miss Lin is much prettier than you. I have no idea what Mr. Goldberg sees in you.” Even if I were a complete idiot, I would have figured out by now that he and Raina were working together. I dodged his blade. “Please, just let me make one phone call.” The kidnapper sneered. “To who? Your captain? In your dreams.” “To Stefan Goldberg.” At that, the kidnapper laughed. He kicked me hard. “Officer Crawford, are you some kind of lovesick fool? Do you really think you mean anything to Stefan Goldberg?” He grabbed my hair and shoved my phone in my face. “Fine. I’ll indulge you.” A few rings, and the call was disconnected. The kidnapper grew more excited. He dialed again. Stefan hung up again. He seemed to be enjoying this, staring at my face, trying to catch a flicker of despair as he repeatedly dialed and was rejected. But I disappointed him. Enraged, he plunged the dagger into my back. A searing pain shot through me, and I let out a muffled groan. He pressed his face against my neck, his voice trembling with excitement. “Let’s play a game, shall we? Tell Stefan Goldberg your location. If he can’t get here in thirty minutes, you’ll bleed to death.” Warm liquid streamed down my back, soaking my uniform. The phone finally connected. Stefan’s voice was ice. “What is it?” My teeth were chattering from the pain. “He’s in the north district—” “Who?” “The suspect. He kidnapped me. I’m with him.” Stefan was silent for a moment. “Mindy, is this some kind of joke?” I coughed up a mouthful of blood, my words slurring. “Stefan—” “Enough.” It was the first time Stefan had ever spoken to me with such a sharp, cutting edge. “There are some things I’ve never told you. Raina is my bottom line. Don’t use this to test my feelings. If you’re jealous, then you can stay in your precious north district. I never asked you to be a hero for her.” A sickening squelch. The kidnapper stabbed me again. It hurt. “It hurts,” I gasped, clinging to the phone like a lifeline, my voice breaking into a sob. “Stefan, will you marry me? Please, just come find me now, please?” Stefan was silent for a beat, then his voice came back, cold and merciless. “Raina’s pregnant. Everything I said before… is off the table.” [Ding! Mission Objective Achieved: Rejected by the male lead 100 times.] [Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission.] [Calculating rewards…] [Calculation complete.] [Mission Reward: 80 million. Severe Injury Compensation: 30 million. Total: 110 million. Special Bonus Talent Unlocked: Police Intuition. Countdown: 3 seconds to world departure. Welcome back to reality. We wish you a happy life.]

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