The first thing he noticed was the strong smell of beef and curry powder. The smell baited him into opening his heavy eyes, revealing the hospital room he was in.
Woojin was momentarily shocked; he hadn't expected his departure to be so quick and forgettable. One second he was in the dimensional pocket ready to go, the next second he was already here.
He looked around the hospital room. It wasn't a singular room, he could tell there was another bed beside him. Curtains were pulled over to separate them and give some privacy.
He looked to his left and there it was, a delicious smelling meal waiting to be eaten.
A foam to-go container with massaman curry, xiaozhan rice, and healthy berries, of which he noticed goji berries and jujubes. Woojin hooked his brow as though he noticed something.
At that time, Sixty finally spoke up. A child's voice spoke in Woojin's mind, while the lizard poked it's head from behind a fake plant.
"Okay, Host, the mission has officially begun. It is most important to know the original story. You can see it from any perspective you want! The favorite? The love interest? The world?" |
Sixty was evidently very excited about his choice. Gim Woojin didn't think about it much before answering: "The favorite."
In an instant, Woojin fell unconscious.
A story unfolded for him to experience with his every sense. Images depicting the favorite's greatest successes, words written across his eye's view like captions, a narrator's gentle voice stating grievances and hopes, Woojin could even smell the environment at times. It was complete immersion, only restricting him from interacting with this world.
The tale was one about a weakling triumphing above those cruel to him, winning the heart of his 'soulmate' through dramatized romance. Seasons worth of this man's whole life, perceived fully by the World's Conscious through his eyes.
Sixty explained the roles of important people as they were introduced.
In this world, the main character, or 'Favorite Person', is Fù Genji, the illegitimate 3rd son of Fù Ruoshan. Fù Ruoshan is a respectable businessman, the head of the Fù Family, one of the top 5 wealthy business families in the country. He has two other sons, Fù Qiong and Fù Kai, both older and far more likely heirs.
However, they were only obstacles for Fù Genji.
Fù Genji didn't belong in his father's house. It was watched over by his two wives, neither ever seeing him as more than a parasite in the home. Their sons followed after them, Fù Qiong showed contempt, Fù Kai showed disinterest. The illegitimate son had no one besides his father, who guided him to become an overconfident man.
Fù Genji learned he could buy whatever he wanted and could screw over anyone he wanted, not having to worry about what anyone would think. He planned to live carefree like that forever, but met a very important woman at his highschool graduation.
He met the love of his life, Péng Hai-Rong. The middle daughter of the Péng Family, the lowest of the 5 families, just below Fù. Although ranked below, they are often treated higher in business circles. She's even more prideful than Fù Genji, and belittled him when he asked her out, saying he wasn't good enough.
Fueled by his rage, he wanted to destroy her family. His idea was denounced by his father, and mocked by his stepmothers and Fù Qiong. Thus, convincing him to become strong enough to both destroy the Péng Family and, more than he ever thought he would, it convinced him to fight for the heir's seat.
The only way he'd be considered is if his brothers were no more. First to go was Fù Kai's mother, Fù Aihe, originally Rén Aihe.
She was a nervous and introverted woman, always with her son, a maid, or alone. She never liked or trusted Fù Genji, especially as he got older. Yet, she fell into his trap and died in a car accident.
The normally high-spirited and outgoing Fù Kai was heartbroken. He became similar to his mother; isolating himself except from a select few. Two of those few were Fù Genji and Máo Qi, his personal servant.
Fù Genji wormed his way into his brother's heart; He coaxed him and was there for him; He listened and let him cry. They both lost their mothers now, they could understand each other. To get his full trust, Fù Genji bribed Máo Qi, who Fù Kai trusted most.
With Máo Qi supporting their brotherhood, Fù Kai let his guard down. Trusting Fù Genji, he told him a secret.
Fù Aihe was the unwanted daughter of the Rén Family, a family that was equivalent to an ant in comparison to the big 5. But, it was still a business family. She had certain skills and made a huge profit from a partnership no one knew about. Everything of hers was given to him.
A profit-agreement with a business from the Sūn Family, the money from her surprisingly long-term history of being their investor, all continued to Fù Kai. He was nervous to take care of her company and didn't want to destroy her hard work. So, Fù Genji was welcomed as the COO to help him.
Despite his long history of brilliant work ethic and management skills, Fù Kai believed his was unprepared. His skills weren't completely polished, and with Fù Genji's help, they never would be.
He exploited every way he could to make sure Fù Kai never accomplished his potential. It worked.
With perfect timing, Fù Kai got into a terrible "drunk" car accident. He survived, but killed 2 people and injured his legs. Everyone knew about it, and his life as heir was destroyed. Even his mother's company had it's ownership given to Fù Genji, who took it 'for him'.
Embarrassed by his brother, Fù Qiong sent Fù Kai to recover abroad. Máo Qi and tons of money went with him, and he was never heard from again.
At this time, Fù Genji learned of his love rival, Gōng Mo. On the battlefield of love, there could only be one winner.
Fù Genji wanted to surprise Péng Hai-Rong with Fù Kai's successful company, showing her he had more worth than she assumed. Only for her to roll her eyes, and say her heart already belonged to Gōng Mo.
It had been a few years, but he was still haunted by her words. Hearing about this 'Gōng Mo', he instantly felt jealousy. Rightly so, as Gōng Mo was exactly what he wasn't.
As the only son of one of the 5 Families, directly above Fù Family , Gōng Mo was raised with wealth and power. He is also the heir to his family. His skills obviously had to be better than an illegitimate 3rd son's.
Furthermore, he was kind, considerate, and bit shy. He wasn't arrogant, but didn't underestimate himself either. He was Péng Hai-Rong's dream lover.
The only thing in Fù Genji's favor was that Gōng Mo showed no romantic interest in Péng Hai-Rong, they were barely friends at the time.
The Gōng Family were the most recognizable of the 5 families, but the least influential and didn't have deep roots like the two families below them. They were known as somewhat cowardly, only associating with those below them, not above. Gōng Mo was different, he preferred to make friends above him and dismiss those below. Péng Hai-Rong's and Gōng Mo's friendship was purely because Péng Hai-Rong came to him.
Learning this, Fù Genji knew he needed to be stronger, sooner. Unbeknownst to him, his goal had changed from destroying her to impressing her.
There was almost a lucky break for him. Between Fù Qiong and Fù Genji, an argument wasn't necessary. Fù Qiong was the only heir to his mother's family, the Gú Family. Although not infamous, they were still major in certain professions.
Fù Qiong's mother was the only child of the current head, Gú Qinmei, who kept her family name. Gú Qinmei's only child was him. According to tradition, he was the heir. It was a good way to join the two families.
Fù Genji, however, hated it. He still wanted to destroy Fù Qiong and Gú Qinmei.
Instead, he focused on the family. Not many of the Fù Family businesses believed he was fit for the job. In fact, some were strongly against it.
If he supressed them or fired them that would only make his reputation worse, so his father finally had to teach him right.
After a nurturing father-son bonding montage, several years had passed.
Fù Genji actually had more talent then Fù Kai, with his talent of business trained, the Fù Family saw a rise in power. Those who weren't sold on him had no choice but to be; he did an amazing job.
His features were also completely mature now, and his temper like it never existed. He dazzled the female workers at his main business headquarters, he could even bend a man.
None of that mattered though, because it was just appearances. Inside, Fù Genji was restless and bloodthirsty. As soon as he reputation reached it's peaked, he paid someone to poison Gú Qinmei.
As the only child of her family's main branch, she had been poisoned before, so she resisted death. However, his plans weren't to kill her.
Knowing someone was after his mother, and guessing who, Fù Qiong was preparing a counterattack.
Not long after, Péng Hai-Rong became Fù Genji's secretary. She was absolutely shocked to see him anew; like a whole other man. Her impression of him instantly changed, at the very least, he was dateble.
Loving her reaction, Fù Genji did a lot of subtly showing off in a calm and collected way, as if it was too natural. Over the course of a few months, Péng Hai-Rong fell in love with him.
Then, as if remembering there was Gōng Mo, she ranted all about their 'relationship' to Fù Genji.
As it turns out, shy wasn't all he was. He was also oblivious and couldn't tell flirting apart from being friendly. Over the years, he rarely made a move, despite them getting closer. To Péng Hai-Rong, this was an insult.
Yet, she kept their friendship ambiguous. It wasn't until she heard about Gōng Mo partnering with Fù Qiong did she completely lose interest. The brothers were obviously disconnected, and her boss was Fù Genji, why would he team up with Fù Qiong?
There were two reason she was unaware of. 1st, it was business. A partnership was beneficial, and the Gú Family and Gōng Family could benefit from each other. 2nd, Gōng Mo had fallen in love with her. He had a business mind, love was difficult and new. He had no idea how to show his feelings, so he didn't.
Everyone knew Fù Genji wanted her, so he was jealous she decided to work directly under him.
Fù Qiong offered him a private deal, mentioning her mother's almost assassination and the proof he gathered. They would work together to topple Fù Genji. He would finally confess to her, and his partner would get revenge.
Behind the scenes, Fù Genji wore a satisfied smile. As they waited for the right time, so did he.
Finally, the proof was published while his company was about to make a deal with a relative from the wealthiest and most infamous of them all, the Luó Family.
Killing a person purposefully was obviously a crime, even moreso for it to be a person of status. Attempted murder was the same. Eyes were all on Fù Genji and after the poisoning incident, made-up crimes were piled on top. Students from highschool, mostly exes, tried to join in as well.
One after another, he was accused of things he couldn't get away with. He was 'in need of support'.
Péng Hai-Rong hesitated and, using her family as an excuse, abandoned him. Fù Genji didn't think bizarrely of that behavior, he didn't expect or need her help.
Yhe next day, Fù Qiong was caught in a scandal.
The brothers hardly had contact growing up, you'd expect Fù Genji not to know much about his big brother. However, it was Fù Qiong who had ignored him, not the other way around.
He was still in highschool when he discovered his brother's secret, but he didn't think anything about it. It wasn't until growing up and experiencing the world and business circles did he understand how big of a secret it was:
Fù Qiong was in a life-long loving relationship with his childhood friend, Chen Yue—a man.
In the upper class families of Sania, the most unacceptable thing was homosexuals. Adopted children weren't blood children, without blood children, who would continue the family? Most, if not all, upper-class parents would rather die than not have their family genes continued.
Fù Qiong was not interested in women though. He 100% intended to marry his partner.
This information cause a storm in the Gú Family, even Gú Qinmei, his mother, couldn't look him in the eyes. As the drop of a hat, eyes went from Fù Genji to Fù Qiong.
What was worse: burning your morals and eating your sins, or, homosexuality?
The answer in Sania: Homosexuality. Unlike sins, it couldn't be fixed.
The partnership between Gōng Mo and Fù Qiong fell through, their companies stopped having anything to do with each other, and Fù Qiong was shunned by everyone he knew.
Fù Genji felt he succeeded in ruining the mother and son relationship, so his last actions were reassurance: Gú Qinmei died in a highway pile up, and Fù Qiong lost an arm in the same pile up.
Once the Gú Family learned about one unlucky and one lucky, they kicked Fù Qiong to streets with not enough for even one year's hotel rent.
He spent all of the money for a flight and left Sania with Chen Yue. Just like Fù Kai, he was never heard from again.
Gōng Mo was in shock during the whole ordeal His company was being bullied by others because he 'couldn't tell right away.'
He was so busy fixing everything, he didn't notice the ring on Péng Hai-Rong's finger not even a month later.
After destroying Fù Qiong and the Gú Family's reputation, Fù Genji proposed to her. With a smile so charming it should've been a demon's, he was irresistible.
His crimes were either forgotten, forgiven, or swept under the rug.. The Gú Family could only silently fall, while the story continued on.
Péng Hai-Rong readily agreed to help Fù Genji with Gōng Mo. She wanted to avenge him too; she almost lost her fiancee to jail afterall. That was too far.
When the day came that Gōng Mo could stand with a tall head again, she confessed to him. Her feelings were those she used to have, but were now nothing but lies. To her genuine surprise, he shyly confessed as well.
The two began dating. She wasn't over affectionate, but delightfully basked in Gōng Mo's praise. He held her like a prize and showed her off everywhere, to everyone.
Her status as the Péng family's forgettable middle daughter naturally changed, and they were a "deeply loving" couple.
This went on for two whole years before she found out enough details and secrets to fully collapse Gōng Family, to the point none of their friends in high places could save them. It was a long two years for her and Fù Genji's relationship, with occasional tension.
The tension stemmed from Péng Hai-Rong's 2 children. While Gōng Mo thought both were his, Fù Genji was aware one was his. He felt betrayed she had the enemies child, but the conflict did not last forever.
With a little guilt and the remnants of a grudge, she showed Fù Genji everything. Just like that, he destroyed Gōng Family from the inside out. Gōng Mo, being as smart as he was, placed the pieces and solved the puzzle.
Realizing he was betrayed, instead of going to Péng Hai-Rong, he went to a member of Luó Family, the strongest of the 5, and begged for help. Quite obviously, they did not help. Gōng Family was too small compared to them, they would get nothing from saving it or him.
He was thrown back to a waiting Fù Genji, with his wife and children standing with him.
Seeing the scene from Fù Genji's perspective, it looked as though the children were hiding behind him, away from the scary man they once lived with. Péng Hai-Rong turned away, huddled close into his protective arms, a mixture of fear, loathing, and guilt, creating a weird sense of empathy for her.
While Fù Genji was staring coldly at the man who 'stole his wife and beat his children'; he looked both angry and disappointed.
Somehow, Gōng Mo was the biggest bastard in the world.
Fù Genji didn't handle Gōng Mo's death personally. He paid someone to kidnap him and drop him off in a bad neighborhood. There, he was beaten to death.
Fù Genji, Péng Hai-Rong, and their children, Fù Mei and Fù Li Jie, went on to live in absolute peace until he died in his sleep at 81.
Fù Mei and Fù Li Jie never learned one of them had a different father. The Sania wealthiest and infamous families changed into a new top five, Fù Family as a strong second.
.
.
.
Gim Woojin could swear his head was bashed in by a brick. "What the hell.." He murmured with great difficulty. Sixty spoke soothingly to explain something.
"Don't worry, the pain will fade completely in a few hours. It hurts because you just learned information of the future! That is how the story is more-or-less supposed to go. Understand?" |
For a moment all Woojin heard was mumbling, then he registered the words. His previous curses were now doubled. THAT, that petty, spite-driven revenge romance, was how the story has to go? As if reading his mind, Sixty added in a serious tone:
"Remember, we are doing this mission to satisfy the World's Conscious. If it dislikes the end result, whether it is exactly the same or not, you will be held accountable.
While the competition won't kill you, I can't say that about the Worlds' conscious." |
Gim Woojin didn't say anything, there were too many words to be spoken. Who would join this competition if they knew they die if the "world's conscious" was unhappy with even the original plan!? Surely this isn't a scam to kill people, right?
He slowly frowned, grieving more and more on the inside. He didn't want to die, but could he really live..
Jumping from the plastic plant to Woojin's small pillow, Sixty looked up to him and spoke again.
"Host, this is why you have me! It's my job to make sure the World's Conscious is happy with you, I'll make sure to help you. Now, just focus on the mission! This one shouldn't be too hard." |
Gim Woojin nodded, then flinched; it hurt to move his head. In a moment of distraction, he realized the food was still there. It wasn't hot like before, but he wasn't disgustingly cold. So, he began eating it.
As he did, he tried to focus and assess this mission. The system said it would be easy... So, it should be?
No, he can't trust mere words from a weird creature-thing that kidnapped him. He had to think about what he knew. Speaking of, Woojin looked around the hospital again.
Where was he? How and why is he in the hospital?
Aside from the massive headache he just got, there was no pain or anything. The food given to him had very nutritional advantages, and some of it should be rather pricey..
He lifted the blanket he was under and froze in shock.
His legs.... They were so scarred!
It didn't hurt, but it looked like it should. His lower waist had a long singular scar, like metal stabbed right through it. His left leg looked like it was an invention of Frankenstein's; the amount of stitches and off-coloring was sickly. His right leg didn't bend correctly, and was attached to something to keep it straight, though it too had yet-to-fade bruises. Why am I so banged up? He asked the system through his thoughts.
"You finally ask! I was getting a little impatient. Host, let me tell you about your body!" |
Woojin scrunched his brows, a little confused.
"You have entered the body of 24 years-old Shî Bao. Shî Bao died completely unrelated to Fù Genji and his victories. In fact, he was the non-blood in-law relative of the Luó Family, who died with his parents in a plane crash.
The world's conscious choose him as the body you'd fix the story in. All of your bodies will be picked by the World from a character that died early in the story's timeline with little-to-no relation to the main character.
In this world: Shî Bao was just unlucky in the crash and slept for 3 years. His dad, Shî Aiguo, died, and his mom, Wán Juan, became braindead. He is in the care of his mother's elder sister, Wán An. Don't be surprised when you see her!" |
Oh.. what?
Shocked again! Gim Woojin couldn't keep a straight face listening to Sixty. From confused he became more and more stoic and expressionless, his feelings were still tangled.
Everything was still processing..
Sixty spoke again.
"The virus system has been detected recently. We are not sure what it has changed yet, so we must figure it out and put things back on track!" |
"Right.." Woojin had completely forgotten there was a virus system. As of now, he could only think about how long this mission would be. The "story" itself lasted from when the main character was born till the second he died, at 81 years old.
He only got rid of all his "enemies" at round his mid 30s to early 40s. After that, it was all slice of life and heart-warming moments. A good 40 years of nothing.
Woojin groaned at that thought. Where's Shî Bao's mother? If she was braindead, she was as good as dead. Did her family pull her plug?
"Wán Juan is in a private room. Ah! Host, I just received a gift from the World's Conscious!" |
Sixty spoke happily. He glanced to it's lizard body, What is it? It stayed silent for a moment, presumably looking at the gift. Then, it responded, a big smile in it's voice.
"This world is very generous! We have been given two gifts. The first is Shî Bao's memories and talents. This will come in handy! The second is for me; a glitch map. Instead of waiting for news of the virus system's effects, from this moment on, I will be shown the location where events go wrong. We can track the system this way!"|
Sixty's excited voice rang. With it, Gim Woojin was given Shî Bao's personal memories.. He really did have nothing to do with "main characters." From what Woojin understood, Shî Bao never even met anyone from the Luó Family, and only met Wán An a few times as a child.
He put aside the finished meal and glanced to the machine he was hooked to. Remembering his friend's story of being in a hospital once, he looked for the 'call staff' button.
After pressing it, he took a deep breathe and laid back down. With half-open eyes he looked hazily at the door, waiting.
He had a lot to figure out about this world, no more time to delay.