Chapter 2 - Not this time

xx months earlier

When Chunhee learned of his tragic past lives, he was profusely sweating and couldn't breathe. His eyes were full of tears, not out of pain, but out of anger and frustration. He was beyond mad he felt like killing all the people who have wronged him. Apparently, the faces of those people were also present in his current life. Especially that man. That person. That horrible creature who always led him to his death.

Yujin.

It didn't matter what identity, role, status, family, race, he had. It was always that name and face. Yujin.

That man just won't leave Chunhee alone. In every life Chunhee lived, Yujin always seemed to follow and let him taste a bit of happiness for a second, only to let him taste the bitter taste of all the negativity in this world the next.

First life: Chunhee was a scholar whom Crown Prince Yujin adored and fancied. They fell in love but Yujin was blinded by greed, he eventually married a powerful woman to gain many supports to ascend the throne. Not only did he had a queen, the courtiers condemned Chunhee too and accused him of treason and hanged him to death.

Second life: Chunhee was a young priest, admired and praised by almost everyone. Yujin was a follower who chased the priest and secretly lusted after the priest. They fell in love and did the unforgivable sin. One day, Chunhee woke up unclothed and full of marks, he was accused of being unholy and evil. He was hated by everyone, bullied, and publicly stoned to death.

Third life: They were military comrades and loved each other secretly. But during the battle, Yujin suddenly left, abandoning Chunhee in the middle of the war. Chunhee fought until his last breath, his heart broken and he died with six bullets all over his body.

Fourth life: Yujin was a foreign teacher and Chunhee, a loyal student. They had a forbidden relationship but their love was extremely passionate. But then one day, Chunhee found out Yujin had a wife and a child. Chunhee went to chase after him, running, calling out to him. A car suddenly came and hit Chunhee, causing his death.

Fifth life: Chunhee and Yujin both came from noble families. They loved each other since they were kids, but the society wasn't welcoming to the idea of same-sex relationships. Conflicted with his own feelings and sexuality, and pressured by the whole society, Yujin killed himself. Yujin's family learned about his relationship with Chunhee through Yujin's diaries and put all the blame on Chunhee. The next day, Chunhee was brutally attacked and killed by Yujin's family dogs.

Unfortunately, even in his sixth life, Yujin was still in Chunhee's life. Don't even mention life, he was even the person closest to Chunhee's heart. The Creator seemed to be mocking him, giving him the same person as his love interest again and again, only to suffer and meet his ultimate end afterwards.

In his current life, Chunhee was named Han Chunhee, 17 years old and was engaged to Park Yujin, the only grandson of the owner of the K-Park Empire which was also the largest corporation in Asia. Meanwhile, Chunhee was the youngest son of the owner of the Han Hotel Group, another big conglomerate and also a shareholder of the K-Park Empire. Because Yujin and Chunhee's parents were close friends since childhood, they agreed to have their children marry each other someday. The Hans only had two children – Chunhee and Hanna. Because Hanna was still too young, they naturally chose Chunhee. The Parks only had Yujin and so they immediately agreed the boy to be paired with Chunhee.

In this era and world, same-sex relationships were already normal and not too surprising anymore. Engagements among same-sex couples, especially among the rich who would want to secure their lives through marriages were pretty normal. Whether there would be an heir or not, as long as the other party was of the same status or held a special place in the society, people wouldn't say a word of hate.

In this sixth life, Chunhee and Yujin grew up as close friends along with the other sons of big corporations and businesses. This, however, did not merely indicate a romantic relationship development. The plot god may have chosen this path for the two of them to have. But only Chunhee knew the deepest darkest secret that lied in these two characters' fate.

Just like the past five lives, this life would have a tragic end too. Chunhee was bound to die the moment Yujin found his true love. That was right. When Chunhee finally cut the red strings of fate, he was able to take a peek of the future of the present Chunhee and Yujin.

In this life, it was true that Yujin and Chunhee would fall in love. Naturally, it was all because of family connections and politics. The two lonely hearts found comfort from one another. From preschool to high school, the two were inseparable and eventually one of them would confess that they were in love with the other since a long time. Chunhee gritted his teeth as he saw this scene, he was the one who would confess. He was the person who chased after Yujin, giving him all his love and admiration.

They would date a few years and would enjoy life until Yujin would finally take the position in the company and Chunhee, taking over his family's business too. Only then the marriage would happen. But then on the wedding day, Chunhee would discover one devastating truth: Yujin had an affair with another man. That man was no other than a close friend of Chunhee. Because of too much heart ache from the betrayal and pain, Chunhee would run away with a face full of tears and head up to the building's rooftop. Screaming and crying with a broken heart, he would then jump and die. This was where his character would end.

Upon seeing this future event, Chunhee's mind went blank. Then his face went livid. He clearly couldn't see the reason why the plot god wanted to kill him again and again. But he wasn't compliant to this storyline at all. Chunhee and Yujin falling in love... only to be ruined by a plot twist where Yujin's heart was taken by someone else. What kind of story was this? Wasn't this entirely a piece of bull crap?

Chunhee's face turned gloomy while recalling the horrifying image of him dying, his skull cracked while he lay down on the ground on his own pool of blood. He shuddered and couldn't help but feel agony and sorrow for himself. He clearly resented this image where this dying loop never seem to end. Why must he suffer all this unfair treatment and unreasonable deaths?

Fisting his hands, Chunhee decided he wasn't going to be a cannon fodder this time. He wouldn't die at a young age, he wouldn't tragically fall without grace and honor. He wouldn't let the plot god abuse him again and again. Not this time!