A Love Beyond the System

Everyone noticed I wasn't chasing Ethan anymore.

Including Ethan himself.

After school, he blocked my path, his face a cold mask.

About standing you up the other dayI'm only explaining this once. Believe it or not, it's up to you.

Sophia was cornered by some drunk. I went to help her.

I was wrong not to call you. I forgot.

That day was his birthday.

He was in a fight for Sophia, while I was left stranded at the amusement park for the entire day.

So, he thought I was just sulking about that.

I gave a slight shake of my head. "It's okay."

Then, under his shadowed, unreadable gaze, I quietly stepped around him and walked away.

He didn't know. He didn't know that because he'd abandoned me yet again, the system had declared my mission a failure.

In one month, I would be erased and sent back to my own world.

And this body would be reclaimed by its original owner.

"Avery, let's go home."

The system's voice sighed in my mind as an amusement park attendant reminded me for the third time that they were closing.

"Ethan's not coming. He's with Sophia. He's completely forgotten he was supposed to meet you here today."

My feet ached. I stomped them lightly on the pavement, picked up the cake box, and turned toward the exit.

"Okay."

The hopeful anticipation I'd felt that morning had been worn down to nothing. All that was left was a hollow calm.

Even when the system announced my failure.

"In one month, you will be in a fatal car accident."

"This is the penalty for your failure."

"During the moment of impact, I will extract your consciousness and return you to your world. As for this body, its original owner will regain control."

After delivering the notice, the system vanished.

I pulled out my phone to call a ride, only to see the battery icon flash red before the screen went black.

I didn't have any cash for a cab.

Finally accepting my fate, I started the long walk home along the edge of the road.

Failure had always been a possibility, I knew that. But in this moment, a profound exhaustion seeped into my bones, making every step feel impossibly heavy.

The route from the amusement park back to my house passed by our school.

On a Saturday, the campus should have been deserted. But tonight, on a bench just outside the school gates, sat two figures I knew all too well.

Sophia was holding a small cupcake with a single matchstick stuck in it, flickering like a tiny, pathetic candle.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan" she said, her voice soft. "I only just found out it was your birthday. I didn't have time to get a proper cake."

"This was all I could find. I hope you don't mind"

The boy across from her had a few fresh cuts on his cheekbone, a bandage wrapped around his forehead, half-hidden by his dark, messy hair.

It gave him a kind of reckless, boyish charm.

He didn't seem to find the makeshift birthday cupcake ridiculous at all.

He even took out his lighter and lit the match for her.

"I don't." His voice, usually so cool and distant, held a gentle, coaxing note I'd never heard before.

"I think it's great."

I couldn't help but remember the previous afternoon.

I was in the school's Home Ec room, presenting him with the birthday cake I'd perfected after countless attempts.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

His eyes flickered to my hand, where a fresh blister from the oven was already forming. His tone was sharp with impatience.

"Just looking at your hand is enough to make me lose my appetite."

Embarrassed, I tried to hide my hand in the sleeve of my uniform.

His expression was weary. He walked over, grabbed my wrist, and started dragging me towards the pharmacy down the street.

"What are you hiding?" he snapped. "You get a burn and you don't even think to put something on it? Do you have a brain?"

He sounded annoyed, but his touch was surprisingly gentle as he carefully applied the ointment.

My courage returned. I had to ask again. "Ethan do you like the cake?"

He stared at the blister on my hand, his brow furrowed.

"It's ugly as sin."

Back then, the system had tried to comfort me.

"Don't listen to him. He's just mad you hurt yourself making it. He's just bad at showing he cares, that's all."

My thoughts snapped back to the present.

I stood across the street, a silent observer, watching Ethan soothe Sophia, assuring her that her simple cupcake was more than enough.

And I finally understood.

Even for someone as guarded and difficult as Ethan, when he truly liked someone, he could be gentle.

He would pull in all his thorns. He would protect her pride and couldn't bear to see her disappointed.

I didn't know what Ethan felt for me.

But it definitely wasn't love.

I pulled my gaze away, ready to leave.

But then Sophia spotted me. "Chloe? What are you doing here?"

Ethan turned, his eyes landing on the cake box in my hand.

He froze for a split second, and I saw the flicker of realization in his eyes. He remembered.

Sophia saw the box too. "Oh, you must be looking for Ethan, right?" she said, a little too brightly.

"I heard you were supposed to celebrate his birthday at the park today. I'm so sorry. You got stood up because of me."

Her apology was a thin veil, a performance she'd perfected over time. It was as if she was used to Ethan dropping everything and everyone for her, especially me.

And I was just supposed to take it. Maybe throw a little tantrum for a day or two, then go right back to chasing him like a lost puppy.

I shook my head, denying her first question.

"I was just passing by."

Ethan's jaw was tight, his gaze fixed on me.

Sophia just smiled, clearly thinking my words were a pathetic attempt to save face. She gestured towards the box.

"Well, since you brought the cake anyway, we can celebrate now. It's not too late."

As she reached for the box, I stepped back, shaking my head again.

"It's gone bad. You can't eat it."

I pressed my lips together, my voice quiet.

"It's it's getting late. I should go home."

"Bye."

Sophia looked genuinely surprised. In the past, I would have used any excuse to stick to Ethan's side. Now, I was willingly giving them their space.

I took a few steps, clutching the ruined cake, then remembered something.

I turned back, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment as I looked at Sophia.

"Excuse me, but could I borrow twenty bucks? My phone's dead and I can't call a cab."

"I'll take you."

The words shot out of Ethan's mouth the second I finished my sentence, fast and tight with some unreadable tension.

I acted as if I hadn't heard him.

Sophia stammered, "Uh yeah, sure." She fumbled in her purse and handed me a bill.

"Thanks. I'll pay you back at school on Monday."

I took the money and left.

The entire time, I never once looked at Ethan.

Maybe it was because I knew I was going home soon.

That night, I dreamed of my life in the real world.

I was in the college library during a break between classes, crying my eyes out over a novel.

My roommate looked over, confused. "Isn't that supposed to be a rom-com?"

I sobbed, my words catching in my throat. "Not for him not for Ethan, the second male lead."

"His life is just so tragic."

"He's been in love with the main character, Sophia, since high school. But he came from nothing, so he was too proud and insecure to ever tell her. He becomes this huge business mogul by the end, but he never confesses. He just watches over her from a distance."

"And the worst part? In high school, he was constantly bullied by the story's vicious, spoiled rich girl, Chloe."

My roommate handed me a tissue. "Your name is Avery, and her name is Chloe. Kinda close."

I slammed my hand on the table. "And I am deeply ashamed of that fact."

That very night, I woke up inside the book, in the body of the character I despised most.

The system's directive was simple: Win over Ethan.

That year, I was the person he hated most in the world.

Mission difficulty: SSS.

The system scanned my ecstatic expression. "The difficulty is off the charts, and you're this happy?"

"Because I can change his story! I can fix his miserable youth!" I bounced on my toes, my bangs flying. "I'm going to give him all the best things in the world. I won't let him suffer for one more second."

The system had no faith in my mission. It said it would just wait for the clock to run out and send me back.

I spent two years trying to melt Ethan's icy exterior. Eventually, his affection meter climbed so high that even the system thought victory was within reach.

But in the end, I still failed.

And really, I had no right to blame him. He was always in love with Sophia. It was only natural that he would do anything for her, that he would put her first, always.

It's a simple truth I only managed to grasp now that I was no longer in love with him myself.

After spending the entire previous day out in the wind, it was no surprise when I woke up with a cold.

I'd just taken some medicine when my phone rang. It was one of Ethan's friends.

"Hey, Chloe. Ethan's doing a do-over for his birthday today. At the amusement park, the one you guys were supposed to go to. You coming?"

Ethan never cared about things like birthdays. I knew what this wasan attempt to make up for what happened.

My voice was thick with congestion when I spoke. "You guys have fun. I'm heading to the library today."

I heard the guy's voice get farther from the receiver. "Yo, Ethan, Chloe says she's not coming."

A few seconds passed. Then, I heard a short, sharp laugh, laced with mockery.

"Her loss."

His reaction wasn't a surprise. Ethan had never been patient with me. This half-assed birthday party was the most he was willing to bend.

I couldn't stop a few coughs from escaping.

The guy on the phone noticed. "Whoa, Chloe, you sick? Okay, okay, never mind then. You just rest up."

Right before he hung up, I heard him ask someone else, "Hey, where'd Ethan go?"

Another voice replied, "Looked like he was heading to the pharmacy."

"Pharmacy? Why? Didn't he just get his cuts looked at?"

"Beats me."

I went to the library with Noah.

Noah. The original Chloe's childhood best friend.

He was also the only person in this world who knew I wasn't who I seemed. Not long after I arrived, he saw right through my act.

He'd cornered me, studying my face with a smirk. "Don't even try to lie. You can't fool me. No one knows Chloe better than I do."

After I confessed everything about the mission, he was only surprised for a moment before accepting it. Maybe it was because I was wearing his best friend's face.

For the past two years, he'd been incredibly good to me. He was one of my most important friends in this world.

On the way to the library, I told him about my failed mission.

"So you're saying you're leaving? In a month?"

"Yep. The real Chloe is coming back. You'll be reunited with your childhood sweetheart."

The canvas messenger bag slung over Noah's shoulder swayed with his steps, tapping rhythmically against his back. He just smiled, not responding, his eyes holding a flat, unreadable emotion.

We didn't leave until the library was closing.

Noah's house was right next to mine. I stopped at his gate, about to say goodbye.

But he was staring straight ahead, his gaze fixed on my front door.

I followed his line of sight.

And met Ethan's dark, intense stare.

He was wearing a black windbreaker that made his pale face seem even colder. The cuts on his cheekbone and jaw added a hint of untamed aggression to his look.

In his hand was a small plastic bag from a pharmacy.

I snapped back to the present and turned to Noah. "Well, you're home. I'll see you later. Bye."

He understood I didn't want him involved. He didn't ask any questions, just nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

The click of Noah's front door closing echoed in the quiet street.

Ethan's gaze slowly tracked me as I walked toward him, my fingers clutching the strap of my book bag.

"Did you need something?"

He ignored my question. "Aren't you sick?" he countered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You seemed perfectly fine, laughing it up with him."

As if on cue, a tickle in my throat forced a pair of coughs out of me.

The mockery in his eyes faded slightly.

I sniffled. "If there's nothing else, I'm going inside."

He shifted his body, blocking my way. A chill radiated off him, making my shoulders tremble. I wondered how long he'd been standing out here in the cold for his clothes to feel like ice.

"Why are you running all over town with him when you're sick?"

He shoved the pharmacy bag into my arms, his face a grim mask.

"And about the other day. Standing you up."

"I'm only saying this once, so you can believe it or not."

He wasn't one for apologies, so his explanation was clipped and concise.

"Sophia was getting harassed by a drunk. I went to help her. But I forgot to call and let you know, and I made you wait. That was my fault."

I couldn't remember Ethan ever bothering to explain himself to anyone. I was surprised he'd come looking for me, but that was it. No other emotion stirred.

I held the bag of medicine back out to him, tilting my head up to meet his eyes. "Thank you, but I can't take this. I can buy my own medicine."

"As for the other day, I accept your apology."

"Is there anything else? I really need to go home."

Ethan's lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes locked on mine as if silently demanding, What the hell is wrong with you?

After a moment of silence, I took it as my cue to leave. I murmured a quiet goodbye and slipped past him into the house.

Once I was back in my room, I peeked through the window. He was still standing there, motionless.

Then, as if a bitter realization had finally dawned on him, he let out a cold, humorless scoff.

He tossed the bag of medicine into the nearby trash can and walked away without a backward glance.

I guess he finally got the message. This wasn't me sulking. This was me giving up. For good.

Maybe because I'd been the most persistent and the most public of all his admirers, no one seemed to notice when I suddenly, quietly, gave up on him.

During gym class, the guys were playing basketball. Both Ethan and Noah got injured in the same play.

The second I heard, I rushed to the nurse's office.

Ethan wasn't just a brutal fighter; he was a skilled one. He almost never lost.

In the last two years, his reputation had grown to the point where it kept the local troublemakers at bay. It also earned him a legion of followers who admired his strength.

In the nurse's office, a crowd of guys swarmed Ethan. Noah, on the other hand, was practically alone, with only the gym captain offering a few half-hearted words of concern.

One of Ethan's friends saw me and grinned.

"Whoa, whoa, Chloe. Ethan's fine, you don't have to look so panicked. Don't you have any faith in your crush?"

Ethan's expression was tense. He didn't even look up.

I couldn't believe that even his closest friends hadn't noticed that I'd stopped hovering around him.

I pretended not to hear them and walked past the group, straight to Noah.

"Is it bad? Should I get a pass for you to go to the hospital?" After all, Noah had taken care of me plenty of times when I was sick.

The silence in the room wasn't peaceful. It was thick with a tense, strained energy that suffocated all other sound.

Noah glanced dismissively at Ethan's back.

"It's nothing. Just hurts a bit."

He offered a small smile, looking at me helplessly. "But I don't think I can get back to class on my own. Could you help me out, Chloe?"

I nodded. Noah slung his arm over my shoulders, and I helped him limp out of the room.

After that, it seemed like everyone finally got the hint. The jokes about me and Ethan stopped.

A few days later, the system reappeared without warning, bringing a new mission.

"I pulled some strings to get this for you," it said. "If you succeed, the car accident you're scheduled to have will be completely painless."

The system continued, "Your senior Graduation Showcase is next week, right?"

To avoid interfering with final exams, our school held the event early in the second semester.

"I hear each homeroom is only allowed to submit one act. Avery, all you have to do is secure that performance slot for your class. That's it. Mission complete."

The next day, I saw the sign-up sheet. Besides me, three other people had put their names down.

Sophia was doing a piano performance. The arts committee representative was singing a solo. And another guy was planning to do a stand-up comedy routine.

Like the arts rep, I signed up for a solo performance. It was the only real talent I had.

To be fair, the class president announced that the four of us had to record our full performances.

We would play them for the entire class during homeroom, and they would vote for who would represent them at the showcase.

The vote ended in a stalemate. Sophia and I were tied for first place.

The class president wrung his hands. "Is there anyone who hasn't voted yet?"

Someone piped up, "Ethan hasn't. He's absent today."

So, the president decided we'd hold a re-vote in three days between just me and Sophia.

Noah was fuming. "The class is split right down the middle between you two. The only person left to vote is Ethan. And do we even need to guess who he's going to pick? It's obviously Sophia."

We were sitting by the large glass window of a boba tea shop.

Outside, cars sped through the intersection, their force a palpable blur. The thought of my impending "accident" sent a shiver down my spine.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't scared.

I clutched the warm cup in my hands. "I want to try."

"Try what?"

"To convince Ethan to vote for me."

Back when I was in love with Ethan, trying to please him was second nature. Now, just initiating a conversation felt awkward and strange.

The day before the final vote, as soon as the bell rang, I gathered my courage and walked to his desk.

"Uh do you have a minute?"

He was leaning back in his chair. He slowly lifted his gaze to mine. "You need something?"

I nodded twice.

Just then, a light, cheerful set of footsteps approached.

"Ethan!" It was Sophia. "Will you come with me to feed the stray cats after school tonight?"

A wave of disappointment washed over me. I lowered my head, ready to walk away.

"Can't tonight," Ethan said, his voice flat.

Sophia seemed genuinely taken aback by his refusal. It was a rare sight. She quickly recovered, her lips curving into a smile. "Oh, okay then I'll just go by myself."

Soon, the classroom emptied out. Ethan stared ahead, not looking at me.

"Spit it out. What is it?"

I quickly pulled a tube of ointment from my bag. "I saw the cuts on your face haven't healed yet, so I bought this"

It was a clumsy attempt at bribery. My motive was so transparent that I squeezed my eyes shut after I said it, bracing for his mockery.

But his expression didn't change. He took the tube, turning it over in his hands.

An idea struck me.

"I could I could put it on for you?"

His response was to hand the ointment back to me.

I pulled a chair over and sat beside him. Dabbing a cotton swab with the cream, I carefully applied it to his cuts.

The only sound in the classroom was our quiet exchange.

"Ethan, turn your head a little."

"Is this a cut here, too?"

"Yeah."

"This one hasn't scabed over yet. Is it going to sting?"

"No."

After I finished, I tried to figure out how to bring up the vote.

He cut right to the chase. "Just say it. What do you want from me?"

Caught, my face flushed with heat. I took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. "The vote tomorrow can you vote for me? Getting that spot is really, really important to me."

I was terrible at this. "Are you hungry?" I stammered. "I can, uh, I can buy you dinner."

As I rambled on about buying him a new computer or a gaming console, he cut me off.

"Chloe."

He stared at me, and after a long moment, his deep voice resonated beside my ear. "You want my vote? Answer one question."

"What is it?"

"Do you like Noah?"

I shook my head. "We've only ever been friends. Does that have anything to do with your vote?"

He didn't answer, but the chill in his eyes seemed to thaw.

He stood up, looking like he was ready to leave.

I bit my lip. "So will you vote for me tomorrow?"

Ethan stretched his neck, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and strolled out of the classroom.

"Yeah," he said, his voice a low drawl.

Before homeroom, my deskmate looked at me, bewildered.

"Why are you so happy? You're practically buzzing."

I just smiled, not saying a word. Because I'm going home, pain-free.

The bell rang. The class president walked to the front to count the votes.

"Oh, right," he said. "Before I start, Ethan, you voted this time, right?"

I turned to look at him, my eyes crinkling with a smile I couldn't contain.

Our gazes met for a split second before he abruptly looked away.

"I voted."

A terrible feeling started to bloom in my chest.

The president counted the ballots, one by one. Every second stretched into an eternity of torment.

"Okay, that's all of them. The votes are in."

"With one more vote, Sophia wins."

A radiant smile spread across the girl's face. "Thank you all so much for your support."

The president nodded. "I'll go submit your act after class."

My fingers went slack. The pen I was holding clattered to the floor, the sharp sound drawing a few glances.

In the quiet room, a sudden snort of laughter broke the silence.

"Are you kidding me? Look at her face. What is she so shocked about?"

"It was always going to be Sophia. It was a sure thing."

"I know, right? She's been chasing him for two years. Does she seriously still think she means more to Ethan than Sophia does?"

"It's actually pathetic. I could die laughing."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, a dull, throbbing ache. I ignored the piercing whispers, my eyes fixed on the back of Ethan's head.

Why? Why would you promise me, only to break it? Is it fun to mess with me like this?

The final bell felt like a reprieve. I practically fled the classroom.

Noah followed me out, grabbing my wrist. "Chloe, don't be upset."

His eyes were red with anger. "I'm going to go find that bastard and settle this!"

"Don't." I pulled him back, my voice hoarse. "Just let it go."

"How can I let it go? Why does he get to screw with you like this?"

I shook my head, a tear finally escaping and rolling down my cheek.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Noah."

"I'm I'm leaving soon anyway."

Noah froze. He looked at me, the anger in his eyes slowly melting into a look of helpless sorrow. "But you can't just let him get away with it."

I wiped away the tear, forcing a smile that was more painful than a grimace. "It's okay. Let's just call it one last act of foolishness before I go."

Two years of devotion, shattered into dust in a single moment.

I thought I didn't care anymore. But I was wrong. To be given a promise, only to have it ripped away by him it still hurt. It hurt so much I could barely breathe.