Rain poured from the heavens as if the sky itself was crying for him.
Seoul shimmered under the glow of neon lights and puddles. The reflection of a young man trudging down the soaked streets painted a picture both pathetic and poetic. His hoodie was soaked, his sneakers squelched, and his heart—well, that was the part that hurt the most.
Kim Taehun, age twenty-three. College dropout. Part-time convenience store worker. Full-time fool in love.
He stopped under the faint shelter of a closed café, staring blankly at the flickering signboard that read "Love Brews Here."
He laughed bitterly.
"Yeah… it brewed. Then spilled all over the damn floor."
His phone buzzed. He looked at the screen.
> [Sohee]: I'm sorry, Taehun. I think we should stop seeing each other.
The message was already an hour old, but his brain refused to process it properly. He read it again. And again. Until the little heart emoji beside her name felt like a knife twisting inside his chest.
It wasn't just the breakup. It was everything.
The missed opportunities. The failed exams. The parents who sighed more than they smiled when they saw him.
Taehun dropped down onto the wet curb. The rain plastered his hair against his forehead, dripping down his nose. His reflection stared back from the puddle—a tired, ordinary face that had long given up on miracles.
"System messages, status screens, dungeons, reincarnation—hah." He scoffed, voice trembling. "That only happens in web novels."
Lightning flashed in the sky. For a moment, he thought he saw something—a faint grid of light, like pixels flickering over reality itself. But when he blinked, it was gone.
He sighed and looked up. "If there's a god or something up there, can I at least get a refund for this life?"
The thunder answered him with a deafening roar.
Then—silence.
A sudden cold breeze brushed past his cheek. The world around him froze. Raindrops stopped midair. Even the flickering café sign froze mid-blink.
Taehun blinked. "Uh… what the hell—"
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
A translucent blue window popped up before his eyes. He froze. His heart stopped. His soaked hoodie might as well have evaporated from the heat rushing through his veins.
> [Re-Life Program Activated]
[Candidate: Kim Taehun]
[Status: Unqualified Soul Detected – Initializing Purification Process]
"What—what is this? Some prank?" He waved his hand through the holographic screen, but his fingers passed through it like mist.
Then the voice came. Mechanical yet oddly… gentle.
> "Kim Taehun, you have requested a refund for your life."
His mouth fell open.
"I—Wait. That was just a joke! I didn't mean it!"
> "Request accepted. Processing rebirth."
"NO, NO, NO—Hold on—rebirth?! I just wanted to vent!"
The world twisted. The streetlights stretched like ribbons of color, and the ground beneath him shattered like glass. He reached out for something—anything—but his fingers grasped only light.
When Taehun opened his eyes, he found himself floating in a vast expanse of stars. His body was translucent, glowing faintly like starlight.
"Okay," he muttered, voice echoing in the void. "I'm either dead, dreaming, or in the world's weirdest K-drama opening."
A soft chime echoed. Another blue screen appeared.
> [Welcome to the Re-Life Interface]
[Due to karmic imbalance, your soul has been granted a second life.]
[Please select your desired World Type:]
① Cultivation Realm (High Difficulty)
② Fantasy Kingdom (Moderate Difficulty)
③ Modern World + System (Easy Difficulty)
"Wait… this is actually happening?" Taehun rubbed his temples. "Okay, think, Taehun. You read like five hundred web novels. You were made for this moment."
He cracked his knuckles. "Obviously, I'm going with… option one. Cultivation realm! Go big or go home!"
> [Warning: Mortality Rate 98.7%]
He hesitated. "…What about option two?"
> [Mortality Rate 87.2%]
"Option three?"
> [Mortality Rate 59.9%]
He sighed. "Alright, whatever. My life already sucked once, might as well go full hard mode."
He selected Cultivation Realm.
> [Confirmed. Transferring Soul to Host Body…]
[Initializing Template: Mortal → Awakening Phase]
[System Binding Successful.]
A blinding light swallowed him whole.
The smell of grass. The warmth of sunlight. The distant murmur of a river.
Taehun opened his eyes and found himself lying in a green meadow under a vast, blue sky. His body felt light—stronger, somehow. When he sat up, a few stray petals drifted across his lap.
"Whoa… this is—" He looked around, eyes widening. "—not Seoul."
Mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks hidden behind clouds. Strange birds with jewel-colored feathers flew overhead. And far away, he could see floating islands shimmering like mirages.
"Okay," he said, standing up and dusting off his tunic. "So… I really got reincarnated."
He checked his reflection in a nearby stream.
The face staring back wasn't entirely unfamiliar—still Kim Taehun, but younger, sharper, and, dare he say… handsomer.
"System," he said experimentally. "Show me my status?"
> [Name: Kim Taehun]
[Realm: Mortal]
[Cultivation: None]
[Title: The Refund Seeker]
[System Functionality: 2% Operational]
"Refund Seeker…? That sounds like a shady online store."
> [Main Quest: Begin the Path of Re-Life]
[Sub Quest: Find Your First Cultivation Technique]
[Reward: Basic Cultivation Manual + 10 System Points]
"System Points? That's… currency, right?"
> [Yes.]
"Can I use them to buy food?"
> [No.]
"Can I use them to buy love?"
> [Processing…]
[Error: Love is not available in the System Store.]
He sighed dramatically. "Figures."
A rustling came from the nearby forest. Taehun turned quickly, heart pounding. A girl emerged—long silver hair tied in a braid, dressed in flowing azure robes that shimmered faintly with qi.
She looked ethereal, like she'd stepped straight out of a cultivation drama.
Her eyes widened when she saw him. "A mortal? Out here?"
"Uh… yeah," Taehun said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just moved in, actually. Real estate prices were… reasonable."
She frowned. "You're not funny."
"I was told that often," he replied solemnly.
The girl sighed and reached for a sword hanging at her waist. "Leave now. This forest belongs to the Azure Moon Sect. Stray mortals are not permitted beyond the river."
"Azure Moon Sect? Oh, great. The world's already segregated by fancy names."
He raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll go. Don't stab me. I bruise easily."
The girl hesitated, looking at him again. There was something odd about this mortal—his aura flickered strangely, like a hidden power lay dormant inside him.
"What is your name?" she asked cautiously.
"Kim Taehun."
"Kim… Tae… hun." She repeated the name awkwardly, her tongue unused to foreign syllables. "You have a strange name."
"I get that a lot."
Before she could respond, a roar thundered from the forest. A massive boar with obsidian tusks burst from the trees, its eyes glowing red with demonic qi.
The girl drew her sword. "A demonic beast—! Stay back!"
Taehun's body froze, instincts screaming at him to run. But something else—a voice deep within his mind—whispered:
> [System Alert: Host in mortal danger.]
[Emergency Feature Activated: 'Beginner's Luck (Temporary)']
His vision flashed white. Time slowed. The beast charged forward, tusks inches from the girl—
Taehun grabbed a fallen branch and swung with all his might.
CRACK!
The branch shattered… but so did the boar's tusk. The creature stumbled, dazed. The girl didn't hesitate—her sword sliced clean through its neck, ending the battle in one graceful motion.
Taehun blinked at his trembling hands. "Did… did I just…?"
The girl stared at him, astonished. "You… struck a beast with no qi?"
He smiled weakly. "Yeah. Beginner's luck?"
By the time the sun began to set, the girl had reluctantly agreed to let Taehun follow her back to her sect's outer village.
Her name, he learned, was Yue Rin—a disciple of the Azure Moon Sect, famous for her swordsmanship and her cold attitude.
Taehun, on the other hand, was famous for being… well, confused.
As they walked, he grinned. "So, do I get a medal for slaying my first demon boar?"
She looked at him flatly. "You broke a stick."
"…It was a legendary stick."
Yue Rin sighed. "You're insufferable."
He chuckled softly. "Yeah, but at least I'm alive."
And somewhere, deep within the hidden circuits of his mysterious system, a notification quietly chimed:
> [Hidden Condition Unlocked]
[Affinity with Female Cultivators +10%]
[System Progress: 3% → 5%]
As night fell over the mountains, Kim Taehun—the man who once begged the heavens for a refund—took his first step on a road that would lead to gods, love, and chaos itself.