Good morning. Well, I say that, but honestly… I’m not a fan of mornings.
What I do love, though, is stretching out lazily by the sunny window. The best part is, I can doze off again right there in the warmth. Life’s meant to be taken easy, after all.
“Mmm~”
Whenever I laze around like this in the morning, the two men I live with start rustling about, eventually stumbling out of their rooms. That’s usually around 7 a.m.
I’ve gotten used to this daily routine, but… there’s something weird about it. Both of them sleep without shirts on.
At least they wear something down there. I guess that’s a relief?
And so, nearly every morning, whether I like it or not, my day starts with an unsolicited topless show from two excessively handsome men.
Some people might envy me. They’re both unnecessarily good-looking.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah.”
The real problem is… both of them adore me way too much.
If I’m sprawled out on the couch, still half-asleep, they take turns coming over to kiss me.
I gladly accept kisses from the owner of this house. But from the freeloading guest? Not so much.
Especially with his bed hair looking like a bird’s nest today.
“Give me one too,” he says, leaning in for a kiss.
I glance away, avoiding his gaze. But I know I can’t hold out for long.
At first, when he tried to kiss me, I resisted. But… you can’t beat a determined man’s strength.
When I refused his kiss, he’d grab my face and shower me with small kisses—everywhere. From my nose, to my eyes, my cheeks, and my forehead—leaving no spot untouched. My carefully groomed fur? Ruined every time!
Lately, I’ve just been giving in and letting him kiss me too. But make no mistake, it’s not because I like it. It’s pure survival.
I fight it as long as I can, but eventually, I press my lips lightly to his cheek and pull away.
His face lights up like he’s won the lottery.
“You like me a little now, huh?”
“Hmph!”
“Then… one more—hey! Okay, okay, I got it!”
I hiss at him as he leans in for another kiss. My patience has limits, and they’re embarrassingly short.
Once the morning kisses are over, that’s when my day truly begins.
But today… what should I do to pass the time? Days alone are so boring.
“I’m heading out.”
“Me too.”
I see the two men off as they leave for work. Well, “see them off” is generous—it’s more like watching them leave from the doorway.
Once I’m alone, I stretch, yawn widely, and wonder how I ended up like this.
Because… I may be a cat now, but I wasn’t always a cat.
What do I mean, you ask? Well… I might tell you. If I feel like it.
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, right? That’s just how cat logic works.
Though honestly, I’m confused myself these days. But believe me… I used to be human.
__________✧⑅˖♡｡∘˚˳°↝^._.^___________________
SCREEEECH!
“No… No…!”
Haein squeezed her eyes shut. She had slammed the brakes, but the car wouldn’t stop. Why?!
But her confusion was quickly drowned by raw terror. The car was spinning, skidding wildly, and she could see death rushing toward her.
The car raced toward the cliff’s edge—unstoppable.
CRASH!
The vehicle smashed through the guardrail, flung off the road, and plunged into the forested ravine below.
The impact came instantly.
The car flipped violently, tumbling down the cliffside. Inside, the world spun so fast she couldn’t tell up from down. Even with her seatbelt on, her body was tossed mercilessly.
Suddenly, through her despair and the whirlwind of terror, something peculiar appeared before her eyes—a small, pure-white bird.
A tiny bird.
Oddly, it stood out vividly in her fear-clouded vision. It was watching her—intently.
“Ah…”
But there wasn’t time to question it. Her fate was already sealed.
The car plummeted, and with it, so did she.
The horrifying certainty of death clawed at her. Her short life flashed before her eyes—but even those memories faded into nothingness.
In the face of death, nothing remains.
Wind howled mercilessly through the shattered window, whipping her hair across her face.
When her vision went black, she stopped even fearing death. It was inevitable now.
CRASH!
The twisted wreck slammed into the ground at the bottom of the ravine with an earth-shaking roar.
Everything around her crumpled in an instant.
The seat she was in, the windows—everything shattered. The force of the fall rattled her entire body.
“Ahh—!”
Her legs, trapped between the mangled frame, felt like they were being crushed. She heard her ribs crack—snap, snap—for the first time.
The sound of her body breaking filled her ears. Crack!
Blood surged up her throat.
Blinding pain, suffocating confusion, and the overwhelming despair of why this was happening.
For the first time, Haein experienced pure, unbearable pain—so intense she couldn’t even breathe.
But soon, even the screams of agony stopped. She’d passed beyond the point where pain could be expressed.
“…!”
The car had plummeted off an isolated cliff. No one would come to rescue her.
She knew, deep down, she wouldn’t survive this.
Thin streams of blood trickled down her cheek like tears. It takes mere seconds for life to slip away.
That’s all it took.
Mom… Mom…
As her consciousness dimmed like a dying flame, only one thought filled her mind—her mother. The person who would grieve her the most.
[Name: Park Haein.]
Something small and white flew into her hazy vision.
Though her sight was blurred with blood, she recognized it immediately—the same white bird from the car.
It hovered, impossibly clear, keeping her from closing her eyes.
[Born: Year of the Sheep, Hour of the Dog. Father: Park Sangin (deceased 10 years ago), Mother: Lee Haeyoung. Correct?]
“Cough… Ugh!”
A voice—not human—spoke to her. Through narrowed, blood-filled eyes, she searched her surroundings.
Only the white bird remained, glowing eerily bright amidst the wreckage.
It was speaking. She had no choice but to accept the absurdity.
[I am a messenger of the afterlife.]
“Huh…?”
[A reaper, in your words. My job is to guide the dead. Your fate ends today. Come with me to the afterlife…]
The cold, indifferent voice made Haein weakly shake her head—barely.
“No… That’s… wrong…”
The Hour of the Dog was between 7 to 9 p.m., but she was born at 6:05 p.m. She knew her birth time clearly.
“No… I… it’s not…”
She coughed up more blood, her voice growing weaker with every word. Her vision dimmed.
She could feel herself slipping away.
Blood spilled from her mouth as she fought to speak.
Her body was too broken to survive—she knew that.
[Wait… 6 p.m.? That can’t be…?]
The bird, the reaper, sounded genuinely shocked.
Its frantic wingbeats grew louder as it approached.
Suddenly, Haein’s body slipped free from the wreckage—and she felt strangely… comfortable.
The crushing pain vanished, replaced by an unnaturally light sensation.
Her soul.
[What… is this…?]
Her vision cleared—but everything was gray.
A void without direction or sense of space. And at its center, the white bird, staring.
Her awareness sharpened—she realized the bird had forcibly separated her soul.
[…Human, this is awkward.]
“What… did you do to me?”
Did… did you kill me? Haein shouted at the bird—her voice trembling with rage and tears.
[This… this can’t be…!]
Her body—or what passed for it now—was disturbingly light. Like feathers. Like air.
She looked down—her hand glowed faint gray, semi-transparent.
Like a ghost.
She *was* a ghost.
She wanted to faint, but there was nothing left to faint with. Her body, her hands… smoke-like.
[No…]
She clawed at her fading form, sobbing.
This is all wrong…
[Things got… complicated…]
What do you mean?
[Same name, same parents… I grabbed the wrong soul. My bad.]
The bird admitted its mistake—she wasn’t supposed to die.
Her scream of disbelief echoed through the void.
“Put me back! My body…! Fix this!”
[That body’s gone. Your soul only left because your body was already beyond saving.]
The finality in its words shattered her last hope.
[I can… make a new body.]
“New… body?”
It felt like being tossed into an endless ocean. The bird was her only option now.
[I’ll recreate your body—but it’ll take time. At least… a year.]
“A year?! I can’t just… disappear for a year!”
[If anyone found out I messed up, both of us would be erased.]
Haein stared at her faint, translucent body. Her feet floated off the ground—utterly detached from reality.
This wasn’t a prank or a show. No hidden cameras here.
This… isn’t fair…
[You’d rather vanish completely?]
Erased? She couldn’t even comprehend it.
[Be grateful. You’re lucky I intercepted your soul before it crossed into the afterlife. Otherwise, you’d be gone forever.]
She was speechless. This mess—the only one who could fix it was the reaper.
But one year missing? People would notice. Her mother… waiting, searching.
“So, I just… exist like this for a year?”
[Better than becoming a wandering ghost or worse, a vengeful spirit.]
Haein didn’t know whether to feel relieved or horrified.
“I have responsibilities… I can’t… just disappear…”
[All I can do is give you a new body. Take it or leave it.]
His emotionless eyes stared back, unyielding.
She fought to stay composed, but anger flared.
“I can’t stay trapped here! I’ll go insane! Don’t treat this like it’s nothing—give me options!”
The reaper hesitated, flustered by her outburst.
[What do you propose? This space is the only place your soul is safe. You roam Earth, you risk possession or worse.]
They argued, both equally frustrated victims of this cosmic mistake.
In the end, she understood—the reaper would revive her… eventually.
But one year? Practically dead? She was speechless.
“Still…”
Tears refused to fall—ghosts don’t cry.
Her face twisted in silent sobs. The reaper flapped over, perched on her shoulder—oddly solid despite her intangible form.
[It’s a problem. Your soul is… weak.]
Her body flickered like smoke. If she stayed here, she’d fade away completely.
“Help me… please… give me a body… I can’t do this…”
She wanted to live. To be human again. Her mother… waiting.
[A body, huh… there’s something we can use.]
“Really?! A body?!”
[Not your old one… but…]
“It’s not… a corpse, is it?!”
[This isn’t some human drama. It’s more complicated than that.]
Haein reached out, half-hopeful, half-terrified. But the reaper fluttered away, scolding her impatience.
[Building a body takes time. Ten months to create the form—just like human gestation. Even gods can’t skip that.]
“And the other two months?”
[To age it to your current self. We’ll accelerate time in the Celestial Realm. Two months there is twenty years on Earth. So, one year total.]
“And if we grow it all in the Celestial Realm?”
[Then you’d be too divine to survive Earth. Think angels living among humans—it doesn’t work.]
Haein watched her fading form with growing dread.
“Then hurry… give me a body… I can’t stay like this!”
The reaper tore the void open, revealing a pitch-black crow-like form floating within.
[Try this.]
Hesitant, Haein reached out—but her hand recoiled, zapped with sharp pain.
[It’s not compatible? Let’s try this.]
A sleek black cat drifted forward—graceful, familiar.
As it neared, it pulled her soul in effortlessly.
She tensed—new muscles flexed instinctively.
“Meow?” (What the—?)
[Perfect match. No adjustment period needed.]
“Mrrrow?!” (What the heck?!)
A tail bristled behind her. She panicked.
[You were a cat in your past life.]
“Mrow?!” (EXCUSE ME?!)
And so… her second life began—as a cat.
