Kill Him Nine Times Chapter 01
The system gave me only one task:
“Become his girlfriend, and you can return to your world.”
I called Matteo to the edge of the apartment rooftop.
“Matteo, can I be your girlfriend?”
Matteo looked at me, a thin, contemptuous smile on his lips.
“Why would I ever let a pathetic, clingy girl like you be my girlfriend?”
I reached out and shoved him.
Matteo fell from the roof, a mess on the concrete below.
Love you, Matteo. See you in the next loop.
I turned to the system.
“I killed him. This part of the story is over.”
“Get the next loop ready.”
“If I do this enough times, he’ll say yes eventually.”
…
Screams erupted around me.
I stood on the rooftop and looked down.
Matteo lay on the ground, blood slowly pooling beneath him.
His eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky.
The terror on his face hadn’t yet faded.
As if, even in death, he couldn’t believe I was the one who had pushed him.
The system screamed in my head.
“How could you kill him without asking me?”
I was calm.
“You didn’t ask me when you dragged me into this world.”
My life in my own world had been just fine.
I went to sleep one night and woke up here.
The system had been thrilled, telling me I was one of the lucky few.
It said it would let me experience a different kind of life.
It even tried to persuade me with other people’s stories.
“Look, the girl next door went to Montana, married a rancher, and got to raise his seven children.”
I said, “That sounds like trafficking a girl to the middle of nowhere to be a free nanny for some widower’s seven kids.”
It immediately tried again.
“Then look at this one. Someone went to the Alaskan wilderness, survived the gold rush, and helped a man strike it rich.”
I said, “So you threw a girl into the wilderness and made her a free housekeeper for some ex-con.”
The system shouted, furious.
“That’s not trafficking!”
It forced me to win Matteo’s heart, to trail after him like an obedient dog.
If I didn’t obey, it punished me.
I followed Matteo for five years, all for the chance to go home.
But his affection for me never budged past fifty.
I couldn’t see an end to it.
I was tired.
If Matteo wouldn’t love me, I would kill him until he did.
His friends were already rushing onto the roof.
Someone shouted, “You killed Matteo!”
“You’re going to pay for this!”
They wouldn’t get the chance.
Just as they ran toward me, the world began to crack.
Everything shattered like glass, then pieced itself back together.
The second loop began.
A sharp female voice rang in my ear.
“If Matteo tells you to drink, then drink. What’s with the act?”