Evelyn's life was painfully dull and ordinary. She was like a side character in a half-heartedly written web novel— someone with no real impact on the story, always cast aside, used only to highlight the protagonist's growth.
Since Evelyn enjoyed reading such novels, she couldn't help but think she fit the description perfectly.
Even while thieves were still at work, she would rise at five every morning, drink the fruit smoothie she had prepared the night before, and stand before the mirror. The skin beneath her light brown eyes was always dark and bruised-looking, some days nearly black.
Her black hair, worn down by constant straightening, remained frayed at the ends no matter how often she visited the salon.
Her makeup routine was something that could never go over the top. She never wore bold lipstick, never piled on blush, and avoided mascara unless absolutely necessary.
The most dramatic change makeup brought to her face was concealing the dark circles under her eyes.
But why did Evelyn have to wake up at such an ungodly hour?
The answer was simple. To make it to her nine o'clock shift, she had to battle her way through heavy traffic.
She didn't even own a car, which meant she was stuck taking the subway— often took multiple subways. Those suffocating, sometimes nightmarishly crowded trains…
So why go through all this torture, you ask? Really, are you actually asking that? People have to make a living…
Ahem, anyway. Yes, unfortunately, she had no choice but to go to work. Evelyn had failed to reach her dreams and was now just a young woman employed at an accounting firm.
Her salary wasn't half bad, at least. With her monthly pay, she managed to support herself and her younger sister, the entirety of her little family.
Evelyn, after staring at her wrecked reflection in the mirror for a while, took a shower and quickly did her makeup. Wrapping her coal-black hair —whose shine had faded years ago— in a towel, she stepped out of the bathroom.
She tiptoed across the floor so her bare feet wouldn't touch the cold ground and entered her sister's room. Seeing that her sister had once again fallen asleep in front of her computer, she let out a deep sigh.
Adelyn, the only remaining member of Evelyn's family, was a full-time game developer. She was disciplined, hardworking, and intelligent— though perhaps a little too idealistic.
What other reason could there be for someone so smart to still not be making any money? At least, that was Evelyn's opinion of her sister.
She had been working on her game for nearly a year and still hadn't managed to finish it. In fact, according to what she said a few weeks ago, she was still stuck on the first chapters of the game.
Every day she argued with the illustrator friend she had hired for the game's artwork, and when their fights led nowhere, she simply went back to her computer.
In the dark room, Evelyn's gaze fell on the computer monitor that lit up her sister's face. As she wondered how the energy wasted by yet another night of nonstop work would reflect on the electricity bill, she froze when she saw the character on the screen.
The game Adelyn was making was a dating simulator focused on female players. The main character and her six male love interests were all idols in the same group.
Players would step into the role of the main character, who was the lead vocalist, and experience romantic relationships with whichever character they chose.
The story also revealed the darker side of the music industry, which was why Adelyn believed the game would be successful. She spent all her time trying to improve it further.
While designing this game, Adelyn had also asked Evelyn for help. She had consulted her many times about the story and the characters— and continued to do so.
For example, she had asked Evelyn's opinion about the designs and personalities of some of the characters.
As Evelyn looked at the character currently on the screen, she bit the inside of her lip.
Every character in the game had been inspired by people the two sisters knew in real life. The "bad boy" type, Raven, for example, was based on Adelyn's ex-boyfriend.
He was a very manipulative and controlling person— someone who demanded everything be done his way and interfered with every aspect of Adelyn's life. Their relationship had gradually become toxic, and before long, they had broken up.
The reason Adelyn included him in her game wasn't because she still loved him or anything like that.
From what she had observed in other popular dating simulators, there were plenty of players who liked that type of male character. Toxic, manipulative but possesive type... That was the only reason she added him.
Of course, she had altered his personality a little… otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to stand seeing him in the game.
But the character currently staring back from the computer monitor was someone from Evelyn's life.
Or rather… someone who used to be in her life.
Although Evelyn was just an ordinary person with a rather boring life, she had once been someone with dreams.
And at the center of those dreams was none other than Ash Llyod— the very person who had inspired the character she was now staring at on the screen.
You might be surprised, but Evelyn had been quite popular during her high school years. She had been involved with music since childhood, attending music courses with her family's support and taking lessons from accomplished artists up until high school.
Thanks to that, after winning first place in a music competition during her high school years, it hadn't been difficult for her to form a band with her friends.
As the lead vocalist, she was the one who drew the most attention, the one everyone talked about, and everyone believed she would one day become a big star.
Perhaps some people might dismiss it as nothing more than a fleeting teenage indulgence, but one of the band's most valuable members had been the guitarist, Ash Llyod.
At the time, everyone but Evelyn knew that Ash liked her.
After all, why else would he have quit the poetry club he was devoted to and even given up his position as student council president just to join Evelyn's band?
It had taken Evelyn a very long time to realize Ash's feelings for her. Far too long— so long that it became something she would regret.
So long that Ash fell ill with cancer, confined to a hospital bed, and so long that he was no longer in this world.