Ari

My name is Kim Ahri Gaumond. I am a simple employee who usually spends most of her time working, doing charity work, or attending treatments. I never really had a chance to give myself a break since I am not an outgoing person.

For the first time in my 30 years of life, I decided to finally give in to my dream of having an international vacation not related to work. I may not be outgoing, but I still wanted to experience a life of leisure in a faraway land.

My destination was the City of Love, Paris. Romantic, isn't it? If one were to ask if I was going to travel with my boyfriend, I would say, "Hell no, because I am traveling alone, but not lonely."

Yes, I know it was awkward for a single person like me to travel to the City of Love alone, but I didn't care. I just wanted to travel overseas, hoping to finally find my soulmate elsewhere despite my special condition.

The reason I have been single since birth is that I have an extreme fear of men, causing me to work only in a company run by women. It took me years to adapt to my condition. I was homeschooled and never had a chance to attend a regular class ever since my family discovered my illness. I have been diligently undergoing therapy and medication, but it hasn't actually cured me of my phobia until now.

Living in constant fear was actually tiring and depressing, so I decided to go on a vacation on a whim. My mother and my doctors were all supportive of my travel plan, but my manager was really shocked. She was extremely opposed to my travel plans, so she went to ask the general manager instead. The higher-ups granted me a leave of absence immediately upon checking that I had already finished my current tasks ahead of schedule.

I was given a week's paid vacation since I had never used my vacation leaves since I entered the company. The company diligently promotes work-life balance, so it's only natural for them to grant vacation leaves as long as the tasks at hand were handled ahead of time. My manager was just an exception because she loves to dump her work on me, especially if it was regarding the charity events that the company was supporting.

I had already prepared my stuff the night before the scheduled flight, so I woke up at 4 in the morning to prepare myself to set out early and check in at the airport. I rode a cab and took a nap on the way since it would take me at least an hour or two before we could arrive at the airport.

It was still early when I arrived at the airport because it was a must to check in at least two hours before the scheduled flight. My heart was pounding really hard when our flight number was called. I was nervous but excited at the same time, especially when I walked down the runway.

I only availed of an economy class seat, so I would be sitting next to a stranger, and it made me so anxious knowing that the person who would sit next to me might be a man. I chose a seat next to the window so that I could see the view despite being anxious. I took my medication upon boarding the plane because a man was seated beside my designated seat, and I didn't want to look awkward.

I was so excited when the plane started to run. The flight attendants were diligently reminding everyone about the safety reminders during the flight, and I double-checked everything, from the seatbelt to the emergency kits that were being demonstrated by the flight attendants. I pulled up the hood of my jacket, wore my headphones, played music at a loud volume, and took a nap after the announcements.

Suddenly, I felt an extremely unpleasant feeling that woke me up from my nap. I thought it was just my phobia, so I ignored it and kept my eyes closed. I was shocked when I opened my eyes—there were hijackers aboard the plane.

My mind was in a state of panic, and my heart was beating fast. One of the hijackers pointed his gun at me and demanded, "Give me all your belongings, including your jacket!"

He pressed the gun roughly against my forehead. Trembling, I muttered to myself, "Rest in peace, my happy travel."

Why am I so unfortunate?

The hijacker yelled with a horrifying tone, "What did you say?" My heart skipped a beat, and I trembled in fear. I instantly obeyed the man's demand, but as I pulled down my hood and removed my jacket and headphones, I suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

The hijacker grabbed my pale and numbing face, then looked intently at me while smirking with his lustful eyes. I tried to struggle as I screamed in my mind, "Gosh! Not now!"

Suddenly, I vomited on his face as I fainted in fright, thinking, "Sorry, Mom, I think I won't be able to come back home alive."

Rest in peace, my dear life.

This may be the end.

I didn't know how he reacted after I fainted, but I felt like my body was thrown aside, and an old woman held me while trembling and mumbling as if praying—using a language I wasn't familiar with.

I still couldn't feel anything due to numbness, but the last thing I remembered was that the plane suddenly lost control as the pilot was shot dead, and I fainted again due to hyperventilation and panic. I didn't even know if I died in a plane crash or from cardiac arrest triggered by my condition.

"Well, rest in peace, my dear self, rest in peace," I thought to myself.

Damn it!

Why me?

Why am I so unlucky?

I still regret not being able to find love in my past life. I was so frustrated, so I screamed while I was in the Abyss, "Oh, dear God, what sin did I do to deserve such a life?"

I only wanted to finally live a normal life and finally find the special someone I could share the rest of my life with.

But why?

Why do you detest me so much to the point that I am unable to find my soulmate and experience what love is?

Why?

I felt like I was in a river of darkness before suddenly being sucked into a wormhole. Then I woke up in a dark, cramped, and damp place. "Am I alive, or is this the afterlife?" I thought to myself.

It was so slimy, but I could hear some people mumbling and chatting from a distance outside this wall-like thing. I felt like I was trapped in a capsule or shell. It was warm and comfortable for some reason, despite the sticky slime surrounding me. I tried stretching out as much as I could and felt like I was breaking out of some kind of shell.

It was so tiring trying to break free that I fell asleep once in a while. I couldn't tell how long I was in the cramped enclosure since I couldn't tell if it was day or night—all I knew was that it took me at least a few days. Finally, I broke out of the shell and realized that I was inside an egg. I looked around and saw a few more eggs clustered together. Each cluster varied in number, though the size was random.

I was too tired to crawl out of the shell, so I laid down on my tummy like a baby to rest. My tiny, chubby arms made me realize that I had become a baby.

Where am I?

Why did I come out of an egg?

Did I die and be reborn into an unknown world?

I screeched, "Ooodjee [OMG]!" then asked frantically, "Wah iihh hee [what is this]?"

My voice came out like gibberish, so I was frustrated and realized that I had really turned into a baby. I tried to crawl out of the shell, but I was gasping for air due to exhaustion after trying so hard a few times. I yawned a few times and almost fell asleep.

"Daeet [dang it]!" I shouted frustratingly as I lay flat on my tummy.

Sleepily, I looked at the eggshell parts that I had broken and noticed that I was placed on top of a blue furry animal pelt blanket and was isolated from the other eggs. I heard footsteps approaching, but I couldn't see the face of the person clearly as I uncontrollably shut my eyes to sleep. Though half-asleep, I could hear a commotion while I was being held by a familiar yet firm warmth. From the side, I could hear a woman's voice arguing with the crowd as the person holding me stayed silent yet caressed my hair as if reassuring me that everything would be okay.

I couldn't understand what they were saying because they were speaking a language that was not familiar to me. The only thing I knew was that they were arguing about me. I dozed off a few times before I was able to wake myself up. When I opened my eyes, I angrily looked at all the people surrounding us.

"Ewoeeh ek [What is going on here]?" I screamed, scolding everyone with all my might. I was suddenly taken aback when I realized that everyone around me was not human. At that very moment, I finally realized that I had been reborn into a world that only exists in novels—a world full of beastmen.

Silence surrounded the room when the beastly creatures looked into my eyes. They all suddenly bowed down, praising us in words I couldn't even understand, before roaring enthusiastically.

Gosh!

This jerk of a god really was playing tricks on me. Why was I transmigrated into a world like this? Why did these beastly creatures treat me like a pest for a few moments and bow down in front of me the next second? Were they crazy, or was I crazy?