The field behind the school sloped gently toward a thin line of trees, their leaves whispering under the mild afternoon breeze. Blankets were scattered across the grass in uneven patches of color—navy, sunflower yellow, faded red with cartoon bears printed at the corners. Someone had brought a portable speaker, and an old pop song drifted through the air.
A group of boys wrestled near the edge of the clearing, shoes kicked off, ties loosened. One of them tripped and rolled down the small incline, dragging two others with him. Laughter burst out, loud and shameless.
"Hey! Don't crush the food, idiot!"
"You crushed it when you sat on it!"
"I did not—shut up!"
Near the center, a few girls carefully arranged paper plates, trying to keep the wind from flipping them over. A thermos of tea made its rounds. Someone had packed homemade fried chicken; someone else brought fruit skewers shaped like little flowers. The scent of grilled meat mixed with fresh grass and citrus.
"Who made this?"
"My mom. She woke up at five."
"Tell her I love her."
A couple of students lay flat on their backs, hands folded behind their heads, watching clouds drift across the sky. They pointed lazily.
"That one looks like a dragon."
"It looks like your haircut."
"Bruh."
Teachers stood at a distance, pretending not to watch too closely. One of them sipped coffee from a stainless cup and sighed in quiet contentment.
Further away, near the thicker trees, the shade gathered in cool patches. The laughter from the field reached there softened, filtered, distant.
One tree stood a little apart from the others, its branches stretching low and strong. Perched on one of them sat a girl in the same school uniform as the rest. Her shoes dangled a few inches above the trunk, toes barely brushing bark.
Long, silky black hair spilled down her back in a heavy curtain. Threads of white wove through the darkness—not many, but enough to catch the light when the sun slipped between leaves.
A book rested open in her lap. One hand held it steady. The other lightly pressed a page corner, as if unsure whether to turn it or not.
She didn't look toward the field. The wind moved her hair gently. A few strands lifted, then settled against her shoulder. From below, if anyone bothered to glance up, they would only see her silhouette framed by leaves.
She lowered her gaze to the book but didn't read. Her fingers tightened slightly against the paper.
Her voice slipped out, barely louder than the rustle of leaves.
"I don't like what I am."
The words seemed to disappear before they fully formed. She swallowed, throat dry.
"I don't like what I am or how I think."
"I don't like what I am becoming."
Her grip on the book shifted; the page crinkled.
"I don't like how I look at people and feel nothing."
A pause. The wind moved again.
"I don't like how I stand in a crowd and still feel alone."
Her shoulders dipped, almost imperceptibly.
"I don't like how I smile when someone talks to me."
Another small breath.
"I don't like how it feels fake."
The laughter from the field rang out again—bright, careless.
She spoke more softly.
"I don't like how everyone else fits together."
Her thumb brushed against the edge of the page.
"I don't like how I don't."
Silence lingered between each sentence, stretching thin.
"I don't like how tired I am."
"I don't like waking up already exhausted."
The book slipped slightly in her lap, she steadied it without looking.
"I don't like that I can't explain it."
"That I don't know when it started."
A swallow.
"I don't like myself."
The noise from the field rolled through the trees in waves. The girl closed the book, the pages met with a soft clap.
For a moment she kept her hand resting on the cover, fingers pressed flat. Then she lowered it beside her.
Slowly, she rose to her feet but didn't look toward the field. Her voice came out quiet, but clear enough to break the silence around her.
"I hate everyone."
But as she said that the wind stopped.
Then—
A blinding light tore across the sky. At first it looked like the sun had exploded, a sharp white glow cutting through the blue. Every head in the field tilted upward.
"What the—?"
"Hey, what is that?!"
Students shielded their eyes, squinting into the brightness. The light grew wider. Stronger. It gathered above them.
For one frozen second, the entire field held its breath. Then the sky split, and a massive beam of white light crashed down.
It slammed into the ground with violent force.
BOOOOOM.
The earth shook and the students screamed..The sound vanished inside the roaring impact.
Light swallowed everything.
And then—
Darkness. Absolute darkness.
Inside that endless black, a small voice broke the silence. The voice of the same girl.
"Huh… what happened… where am I?"
The words drifted through the void. A moment later, something flickered in front of her.
Letters formed out of thin air, glowing faintly:
"New vessel successfully found."
Another line appeared beneath it.
"Process of reincarnation started."
More text followed, appearing one after another.
"Cause of death: Unknown but related to the world about to get reincarnated in."
"Name: Sumi Hana"
"Age: 17"
The glowing letters paused. Then the final line appeared.
"Process completed."
Silence returned. The girl's voice echoed again, shaky with confusion.
"What on earth is going on… reincarnation… cause of death?"
A short pause.
"Who? Am I… dead?"
Her breathing quickened.
"But I'm still—"
Her words cut off. A sudden warmth spread around her. It wrapped around her body, gentle but firm, pulling her deeper into the darkness as everything faded once more.
Something warm pressed against her eyelids. She frowned and slowly opened her eyes.
That was the first thing she saw was endless green. Tall trees rose around her, thick trunks wrapped in vines. Bushes crowded the ground, wild and untrimmed. Sunlight slipped through the canopy in thin golden streaks.
She pushed herself up on her elbows, breath uneven. Her clothes were still the same school uniform. The fabric was slightly wrinkled, but untouched. Her long black hair spilled over her shoulders. She pulled a strand forward with trembling fingers.
And there—those familiar white strands woven through it.
Her hands looked the same too, slim and pale. Faint crescent marks where her nails had pressed into her skin earlier.
"What is going on… where am I?"
Her voice sounded small in the open air.
She stood up slowly, turning in a full circle.
She only saw trees and bushes. Thick roots curling out of the soil and no sign of her classmates.
She was alone.
Her heartbeat began to thud louder in her ears. Not far from where she stood, a small pond reflected the sky above. The water was still, barely disturbed except for a dragonfly skimming its surface.
She walked toward it carefully, shoes crunching against dry leaves.
At the edge, she knelt down and looked at her reflection.
Black eyes stared back at her. Pale skin, almost colorless against the green background.
Her long hair framed her shoulders, white strands stark against the darkness.
"Something is off… what was that light… and where is everyone…"
A faint glow flickered near her shoulder. She stiffened. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed it—a tiny blue circle of light floating in the air. It shimmered softly, no bigger than a coin, glowing like a small star pulled from the night sky.
It drifted lazily around her head. Her brows drew together.
"What… is that?"
The light paused in front of her face, pulsing gently. She hesitated, then slowly lifted her hand and reached toward it.
The moment her fingertip touched the blue glow—
It burst outward.
A transparent screen unfolded in front of her, sharp and rectangular, hovering in midair. Symbols and clean white letters lined its surface, bright and crisp, just like the game interfaces she used to see in fantasy RPG videos.
Her breath caught.
"What the…"
The screen displayed a single line in bold letters.
"Enter Your Name."
She stared at it, mind racing.
'This surely isn't a dream…'
The forest felt too real. The air was humid. A bead of sweat rolled down her neck.
'Is this another world like those webnovels?'
Her chest tightened.
'I heard reincarnation before coming here… but I'm still the same.'
Slowly, she raised her hand. A faint keyboard of light appeared beneath her fingers.
She swallowed and wrote:
"Sumi Hana."
For a brief second, nothing happened. Then the screen flickered and the text shifted:
"Invoking Interface Unlocked."