She stared at the panel in front of her. The screen was flickering softly, and most of the options were swallowed by a black veil. Only a tiny square stayed lit, showing the first few ways to earn Star Coins:
Hangover: 20 Star Coins
Vomiting: 50 Star Coins
Eating Spicy Food: 20 Star Coins.
The rest of the list was locked.
Yuri's eyes narrowed as she read it again. Star Coins were supposed to be for unlocking cool stuff, but these missions felt totally wrong.
"System, let's talk right now," she said, letting the frustration creep into her voice. "My whole plan is to be a delicate, pure, fragrant goddess. But this list? It's going to turn me into a bloated, drunk hot mess! A star is supposed to watch their figure and diet, not get sick or suffer!"
She kept arguing with her silent helper. "It's not that I hate drinking or spicy food, I love both!, but my face will look massive soon! Plus, this body is made for singing. Spicy food will totally ruin my vocals!"
The System still didn't answer. Yuri's fingers hovered over the screen, and she tried again.
"Singers eat almost no spicy food to keep their cords safe! And hangovers? They totally mess with your face, and a celeb can't afford that!"
The blue screen stayed silent.
"System, you keep making me do things celebrities shouldn't do," she said, her voice dripping with disbelief. But the System just reflected her worried face back at her. A sudden chill went down her spine. Was this some kind of sick, mean joke? She felt stuck between trying to keep her sweet image and the weird reality the panel was forcing on her.
"And by the way, you still owe me 20 Star Coins for the hangover," Yuri said sharply, her patience running out fast.
[Denied. Dizziness was caused by your soul adjusting to the new body.]
Yuri's eyebrow twitched. She muttered under her breath, "I thought you were dead, you thief."
[Ask the Host to explore on your own.]
Yuri took a deep breath. Artists in this world had to spread positive energy, or the country wouldn't let them work. But this System was impossible to deal with. She needed a solid plan if she didn't want to fail. After all, she was the legendary call center agent who always got the sale. She tapped her invisible calculator. She was actually pretty good at being cunning when she needed to be.
"Can I open the blind box now?" she asked, deciding to focus on the good stuff.
As soon as she spoke, a new set of panels flashed before her. Six prizes were displayed:
[Perfect Vocals (Non-Lyrics)]
[Perfect Hourglass Body]
[Title: A Drunkard That Never Gets Drunk]
[Good Day - IU Song]
[Goodbye, My Love - Ailee]
[Special Prize: Piano Poet Frédéric Chopin's Piano Skills]
Her heart raced. Six prizes! It sounded like a total dream. But then, the System cut in and poured ice water over her excitement.
[Please ask the Host to think of pressing the button at the right corner to randomly get a prize.]
"Wait, what? Aren't all six mine?" Yuri asked, confused. She stared at the screen, expecting the System to say yes. Instead, it replied:
[Again, Host, ask you to stop ASSUMING.]
Yuri was silent. This was supposed to be her newbie treasure chest, and she had to rely on a random button press for one prize? Feeling frustrated but determined, she muttered, "It's my blind box. You reward it yourself."
[Ask Host to diligently work hard to earn points.]
Yuri was about to absolutely lose it with this ridiculous System. She stood up abruptly and stomped to the bathroom.
"Gotta wash my hands for luck, then," she whispered, flipping the faucet. Cool water ran over her skin while she mumbled weird words, hoping to shake off the terrible feeling. Her goal was simple: win the Special Prize. The piano skills were the best. With Chopin's beautiful Nocturnes under her fingers, she could change paths, become a respected classical musician, pay off her insane debts, and finally win at life.
She kissed her hands, rubbing them together, begging for just a little luck. "It's up to you!" Yuri muttered, focusing all her energy on pressing the button. A white light started spinning slowly over the prize boxes and finally stopped.
Yuri barely breathed as the light faded. She stared at the prize on the screen and sighed.
"Ugh, this..."
It was, like, the most boring prize out of all the awesome options. While she was thankful, she couldn't hide her disappointment at ending up with the most tasteless one.
"Whatever. Next time, I'll try for the big prize," she whispered, half-smiling despite the letdown.
Suddenly, the prize glowed gold and zipped into her body. A strange itch formed in her throat, making her cough softly. Something inside her had changed, but she couldn't tell what yet.
"Perfect singing is easy, but what exactly are non-lyrics?" Curious, she tapped the prize box, hoping for more info. Nope. The cold, robot voice cut her off again.
[The Host is asked to explore independently.]
"System, you have no conscience! Everything needs to be 'explored'!" she grumbled, annoyed.
She checked the original body's memory. The girl's voice was just normal, nothing special. Yuri hummed a few notes and noticed a huge difference in her sound. That gave her a hint, so she quickly opened Naver and searched for "non-lyrics." She found out it meant singing without real words: perfect humming, whistling (like Mariah Carey's), or simple "oohs" and "aahs," usually for harmonies. They didn't distract; they just blended to make the music richer.
Finally, Yuri felt satisfied. Non-lyrics weren't useless sounds; they were an important part of music.
"This 'non-lyrics' thing is actually kind of interesting," she thought, shrugging. It wasn't the piano, but she was still a little happy.
Curious, Yuri started humming softly, testing her new skill. Then, with a mischievous grin, she even tried a whistle note. The tone was shaky at first, but with every try, her confidence grew. The more she sang, the happier she felt, like the skill was turning into something really cool.