Yeonjin fluttered her eyes open, the sunlight glaring at her harshly through an open window not far from where she was.
She groggily wondered to herself why there was sunlight shining on her, wasn't it nighttime?
Then the realisation hit her. Her eyes shot wide open and sat upright. She was asking herself the wrong questions— how on earth was she still alive without sustaining any injuries that she should have gotten?
Yeonjin lifted her hands to the front and stared down at them. They were shorter and stubbier than what she remembered. In a panic, she removed the covers that rested on her, revealing her legs that looked the same as her arms. It was covered in bandages.
Before Yeonjin threw out a curse word, the door burst open and there stood a tall handsome man.
"Who—"
"You're finally awake, Aeliana!!" he spoke with relief, rushing over to her side and giving her a tight hug.
Yeonjin's words died down inside her throat as she heard his words.
Aeliana? Who? Was that her?
Immediately memories flooded into her head. It felt like she was watching a recorded video. After a long while, she finally understood everything that was happening.
She reincarnated into another world.
Unfortunately, Yeonjin couldn't accept it. She couldn't accept the new chance she had received. Not when she knew how devastated her siblings back home would feel once they got the news of her death.
She couldn't move on. The guilt she had was unbearable. To her, she felt like she abandoned them. She didn't think she deserve this new life granted to her. So, she shut herself away in her room, only coming out for meals before shutting herself back.
Her father would always try to get her out but she wouldn't budge. Her siblings hated her since her birth caused the death of their mother so they never cared about what she did, leaving her alone. This continued until she received the news of her father dying in a fatal accident.
Though she never truly interacted with him, she still remembered the smiles she got from him every time he saw her coming out of her room. Without anyone seeing nor realising, Yeonjin cried a bit and prayed he was now at peace.
After her father's funeral, her first brother became the head but she didn't care. He left her as she was and she continued shutting herself in for more years to come.
When she turned seventeen, she had the urge to leave the house for the first time. She didn't have a maid or anyone attending to her as she rejected all who try so she got ready herself and wore a black coat, using the hood to cover her face.
She quietly left and headed to town. After getting lost too many times to count, she arrived. She looked around the lively place. With an expressionless look plastered on her face, she strolled through the town.
Laughter and loud chatter filled the air as she continued strolling. She didn't envy them. She couldn't when she had done this to herself. The only person she can blame is herself yet she felt an aching pain in her heart.
Yeonjin finally had enough of being outside and decided to head back. She also didn't want her brothers or the workers to find out she had left as she knew they would make a big fuss. As she began heading back, she heard a scream.
She turned towards the direction of the scream to find a man holding a dagger at a girl that looked around fifteen.
"Hand everything over!" the man shouted, pointing the dagger dangerously close.
The girl had tears in her eyes as she frantically looked around before making eye contact with her. Yeonjin could see the desperation in her eyes as she silently pleaded for help.
Yeonjin wanted to ignore her but the image of her younger sister overlapped as the two looked closely similar. On instinct, she ran towards the man and pushed him away.
She looked at the frightened girl and yelled, "Run!"
"T—thank you!" the girl whimpered out before she hurriedly ran away for her life.
'I should hurry and leave now—'
"Where do you think you're going!?" the man yelled and without wasting another second, he stabbed her through the chest.
Yeonjin coughed out dark blood mixed with a gurgled scream before falling to the ground, unable to move. She watched as the man ransacked through her pouch with only had enough money for one carriage ride.
He clicked his tongue and kicked her off to the side before scurrying off, escaping.
Yeonjin felt her vision blurring. It brought flashbacks to when she was in this exact position after getting hit by a car. As she watched her blood cover the area surrounding her, she found herself regretting everything.
She should have lived her life. She should have carried the burden together with her as she lived her second life yet she was foolish, letting the guilt eat her entirely, turning her into nothing but a lifeless shell until her very last breath.
Yeonjin regretted her stupid actions. She became a burden to everyone. Especially her father and brothers in this life. She painfully smiled as she looked up at the bright sunny sky. This time, she died in broad daylight and if she was ever given a third chance, she would do things differently than now.
'The sun...feels nice after so long..'
Yeonjin— Aeliana's final thoughts before she succumbed to the tiredness.