Chapter Text
You awoke to a mechanical voice greeting you cutely, [Greetings, Host!].
Nevermind where that disembodied computer-like voice came from, you looked around with wide eyes. A second ago you were eating fries while waiting for the traffic light to turn green but now you were standing in a soulless room with white walls and a white floor. There was no sign of a door or piece of furniture anywhere.
[Host seems confused] the voice pointed out the obvious.
Maybe you were so shocked that you couldn’t bring yourself to freak out. With a steady voice, you asked aloud, “Um … who are you? And where am I?”
There was a ding inside your head almost like the voice was expressing delight at being acknowledged. [Answering the Host, I am the Secondary Character Grievance Delivery System No. 00143 and currently, you are in the White Space.]
You didn’t know what to say.
To start … “Okay, why … why am I here?”
[Host has died and because you fit the criteria, you are now here with me!] It sounded very happy and very proud of its explanation.
A vein throbbed in your skull as your patience waned. You wanted to hit this … whatever this thing was.
[Huhu,] it sounded like it was sobbing [Host is being mean to me, I am not a thing!]
Oh, did you say that aloud?
[Yes!] It yelled [Host and the Secondary Character Grievance Delivery System No. 00143 are now bound, like two fated lovers, so please be more gentle with me.]
“ ... ”
[ … ]
“... Look, Secondary System number whatever,” you spoke as you paced around the spacious room, “I clearly remember buying French fries from a stand near work and waiting to cross the road. I close my eyes for a moment and now that I open them I’m here. I don’t remember dying.”
[Ding. Please direct your attention to the screen.] A flat screen made of light flashed right in front of you and it began playing a first-person film. It didn’t take long for you to see the familiar red traffic light and your apartment building from across the road. This was a recording of your memories.
The memory played as you remembered it, with you even eating the fries and checking your phone. But then a volleyball bounced into the road, an event which you could not recall. Suddenly, a little boy, probably no more than six years old, ran forward with arms reaching for the ball. The light was still red and a six-wheeler truck was speeding right towards the kid. You dropped your things and dove forward. You threw him out of the way then the screen went black.
You put a hand over your mouth. Did you really die?
[Yes, the Host’s body was crushed under the truck and died instantly.] The oblivious system agreed with a light, childish tone.
“No, I can’t be dead. I’m not dead, I’m still ... ”
[Ding. The Host’s body definitely died, but the soul is immortal and so here you are.]
“No, wait! If I really am dead then what’s my purpose coming here?” This so-called White Space and this annoying, bodiless, insensitive system were too shady.
[Huhuhu, the Host called me shady...]
“Tell me the situation again, and don’t be stupid when you do it.” Who had time to be polite when they were dead?
[Q.Q]
After “crying,” the system finally explained: [Most souls are moved to limbo after death. There they are judged whether they reincarnate as a newborn human or a newborn animal, with no memory of their past lives. In special cases, one soul out of 300 trillion is chosen to bind with systems such as I.] Seeing your unimpressed expression, the system hurriedly expounded, [The fiction-loving, food-obsessed otaku Host selflessly sacrificed her life for someone else but still has many regrets and a powerful tie to her original world. It just so happens that Lord God was searching for new recruits and found your soul before it could enter limbo. After reviewing your life, Lord God assigned you to the Secondary Character Grievance Delivery System No. 00143 ].
You tapped your foot.
[Q^Q] The system shivered. [Er, many systems exist to prevent the destruction of different universes--]
“And judging from your name, these universes are fictional?” Otherwise, the term secondary character would be asinine.
[In a sense, yes. What may be classified as a soap opera drama or a game in your reality could actually be a thriving universe in another, hence, the saying ‘writers are gods’. These alternate worlds are extremely fragile compared to yours and one wrong move may lead to its collapse. However, this system is not concerned with world-saving.]
“Let me guess, you and your chosen Host are in charge of avenging the secondary character?”
[Ding! Ding! Host is super-smart]
This idiot system ... “Then that contradicts with your previous statement about fictional worlds being extremely fragile, doesn’t it? Even if you’re not concerned with world-saving, wouldn’t the act of going off script alone tamper with the story and therefore destroy the reality? Why would such a system exist in the first place?”
[...]
[.......]
The system with no body wanted to roll around hitting its head and pulling its hair. Why did its new Host ask so many questions? And why did it sound like you were insulting its existence?
[Host, please spare this system! I really don’t know anything! The information I’ve shared was pre-programmed.]
“So you truly are just a system with no mind of your own.”
[QAQ]
“What do I get for ‘avenging the secondary character’?”
The system perked up with the change of subject. [Ding. The Host can return to her original world. Rest assured, even if the body has died, Lord God can reverse time and make sure you survive.]
“And if I reject?”
[Then Host will be sent to limbo to be judged whether she will be reborn human or a cockroach. Your memories will be wiped clean either way.]
“I see.” You went quiet.
[What will the Host do?]
You smiled. “If there’s a chance I encounter beautiful men then obviously, I accept.”
[Ding! The Secondary Character Grievance Delivery System No. 00143 formally welcomes you as its new Host!]
“But first things first,” you crossed your arms. “I’m giving you a new name.”
[Ding. Ding. Yes, of course! Host and this system are now bound, Host can assign me whichever name you choose. I even have a book for naming babies--]
“Uwak.”
[?^?]
“Your new name will be Uwak. It’s Tagalog and means ‘raven’ or ‘crow’.”
[Both birds are very clever! It is a great name.]
You nodded, “Yes, I hope by naming you after them you can become smarter.”
[...]
[...!]
Host has known the system for less than an hour and yet you have broken its heart dozens of times now. Uwak wanted to go on strike.
Uncaring of the system’s plight, you stretched your arms upward. “I want to know, how many worlds must I go through before I can return?”
[Ding. That depends on the Host’s performance in each world. Please direct your attention to the screen.] A light screen appeared again, this time showing the criteria and grading for each world.
[The grades you can achieve by doing your mission are listed from lowest to highest: C, B, A and S. Each character has different requests and therefore success differs for each world. You must achieve a hundred S-graded missions in order to return to your original world.]
[Host, please remember that you must keep your character settings above 80%. That means--]
“I know. It means that I can’t act too differently from the original personality, right? I understand.”
[Does Host have any further questions?]
“Do I have access to any special abilities?”
The system ding- ed and the light screen disappeared as the White Space morphed into the inside of what appeared to be a convenience store. You would’ve mistaken it for just another 7-Eleven if not for the ... unusual products.
[The Host can purchase items in the system store using reward points, which are awarded after each mission. Many variables affect the amount you’re given, such as the mission difficulty and your overall performance.]
You gazed over the fridge and saw a green bottle marketed as “The Little Mermaid’s Voice in a Bottle. One sip and you can make any man, woman, or sea creature do your bidding!” It was priced at ... 25000? Talk about stingy.
[Rest assured, using an item to achieve a task will not affect your grade.]
“Okay.”
[Does Host have any further questions?]
“No more.”
[The system has already received information on the next world. Would Host like to transmigrate now?]
After saying yes aloud, your figure floated in the air.
[Synchronizing souls ... ]
The convenience store dissolved back into the White Space and a young woman hovered in front of you. Her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped together almost like in prayer. This was the second female lead.
[Sharing character memories ... Sharing novel details … ]
[Reminder: so that our readers will not get confused, the secondary characters will always be named MC.]
The White Space’s walls, ceilings and floor began to play different snippets of the woman’s memories.
This lady before you was named MC just like you and she had the unfortunate fate of being engaged to the male lead, Lucifer. Unfortunate because they belonged in the world of “The Tyrant CEO has a Soft Spot for Me,” a typical Cinderella romance novel about a working-class college student who meets and falls in love with the eponymous CEO.
Our female lead was named Lotus, who is young, wide-eyed and honest. This hardworking student recently became an intern at MC’s office and worked as her personal assistant. However, no amount of Lotus’ prettiness or personal integrity could make up for her clumsiness; she often spilled coffee, got lost while doing errands, and spaced out.
This klutziness is essential to the plot because Lotus gets lost while delivering coffee to the MC and bumps into her fated one, Lucifer. Not knowing that this was the Devil Tyrant of the Business World, she offers to clean his suit for him and buy him lunch as compensation. For some reason, this moronic male lead agrees. Lotus takes him to a fast food restaurant where she cuts the food of an elderly struggling with his meal. This machine of a man witnesses her kindness and his interest deepens. He learns that Lotus is working for the MC but fails to mention the engagement.
From then on, he begins to pursue her, asking her to eat with him, surprising her with bouquets and personally escorting her home from school in his limo. At first she refuses but eventually relents, touched by his persistence.
For a time, the two were on cloud nine.
But then MC found out about them. Shocked by Lucifer’s infidelity, naturally, she goes to confront him but he brushes her off, so she meets with the girl. MC addresses her problem; that she is Lucifer’s fiancé and politely but firmly asks Lotus to break up with him. Lotus, being the oh-so-holy person that she is, cuts off contact with Lucifer.
Lucifer finds out the reason why his beloved Lotus began giving him the cold shoulder so he officially breaks off the engagement. This bastard then proceeds to propose to Lotus in public and guess what, she actually agrees and they get married in a spectacularly funded wedding. They have their honeymoon abroad where they make mind-blowing love so many times that she ends up pregnant after three days.
While all this happened, the second female lead’s family business crumbled, the MC was inexplicably labeled a homewrecker, and her parents criticized her for not working hard enough to hold onto Lucifer. She was disowned, ostracized by the public, and then evicted from her home. Unable to deal with these life-changing events, MC threw herself off a bridge.
Nevermind that Lotus wasn’t even out of college during the events of the novel, nevermind that the 30-something male lead was a work-obsessed, scandal-hating man who was likely a virgin, and don’t ask why the boss of a respected company would agree to go to a McDonald’s with this complete stranger when he has a thousand responsibilities at his own office on his own floor with his own meticulously-made lunch waiting for him. Let’s ignore that insanity and instead ask this: why kill the second female lead so harshly? What did she do other than be righteously mad at this complete stranger for stealing her fiancé?
[Initiating transfer ... 30%, 42% ... ]
As you tread through the novel’s plot, you can’t help but think to yourself: how stupid was the author who wrote this?
[... 59% ...]
The light in the White Space dimmed until you could no longer see anything.
[... 99% ... Transfer complete.]
[Ding. World of “The Tyrant CEO has a Soft Spot for Me” welcomes you. Mission Difficulty: Novice.]
[Main Mission: Save and protect grandfather’s company. Side Task: Prevent the male lead and female lead from getting together. Time limit: one month. Friendly reminder from the system: keep your character settings from collapsing.]
[Good luck, Host.]