Prologue — The Boy Nobody Chose

The rain poured heavily over the quiet streets of City F, washing away the dust from the small town but never the cruelty in people's hearts.

Among thousands of people lived a boy who had never known what a family felt like.

His name was Kim Taehyung.

An orphan.

Twenty-two years old.

Dark brown skin.

Curly black hair that was always messy.

Round glasses that hid his tired eyes.

A chubby body weighing nearly 80 kilograms, making him an easy target for ridicule.

He wasn't the handsome prince people dreamed about.

He wasn't popular.

He wasn't rich.

He was simply... ordinary.

Or perhaps, to everyone around him, even less than ordinary.

Since childhood, people judged him before knowing him.

"Look at that fat guy."

"He's so dark."

"Who's going to like someone like him?"

"He doesn't even have parents."

"He's disgusting."

Those words became part of his everyday life.

At the orphanage...

At school...

At college...

No matter where he went, someone always found a reason to laugh at him.

Yet Taehyung never hated anyone.

He believed that if he was kind enough, worked hard enough, and loved sincerely enough, someone would eventually accept him.

That hope kept him going.

During college, he met Choi Minho.

Minho smiled warmly, talked to him kindly, and called him his best friend.

For the first time, Taehyung thought fate had finally shown him mercy.

Then came Lee Hyunwoo.

The most popular senior in college.

When Hyunwoo confessed to him, Taehyung couldn't believe it.

He knew people whispered behind his back.

He knew others laughed whenever they saw them together.

But he trusted Hyunwoo.

He trusted Minho.

They were his whole world.

He skipped meals to buy them birthday gifts.

He stayed awake all night helping them with assignments.

Whenever they needed money, he worked part-time jobs without complaint.

He gave everything he had...

Never expecting anything in return except their friendship.

Until one evening...

Taehyung returned early to the dormitory after finishing his part-time shift.

As he walked past an empty classroom, familiar voices reached his ears.

"...I can't believe the bet lasted this long."

Someone laughed.

"You deserve the prize, Hyunwoo."

Another voice joined in.

"I honestly thought he'd figure it out."

Taehyung stopped walking.

His heartbeat quickened.

The laughter continued.

Hyunwoo's voice sounded clearly through the half-open door.

> "Fall in love with Kim Taehyung for six months."

> "That was the challenge."

> "Who knew he'd actually believe I loved him?"

The room erupted in laughter.

Another voice spoke.

"What about Minho? Wasn't he supposed to be his best friend?"

Minho chuckled.

"Please."

"Being friends with someone like him is embarrassing."

"I only stayed close because of the bet."

"I couldn't stop laughing every time he thanked me for being his friend."

Someone asked,

"So... did either of you ever feel guilty?"

Hyunwoo scoffed.

"Guilty?"

"Have you seen him?"

"Fat."

"Dark."

"Poor."

"An orphan."

"Who would genuinely date someone like that?"

The laughter grew louder.

Each word pierced Taehyung's heart like a knife.

His legs trembled.

His breathing became uneven.

His vision blurred as tears filled his eyes.

The gifts he had bought for Minho and Hyunwoo slipped from his hands and crashed onto the floor.

The voices inside instantly fell silent.

Without waiting for them to come out...

Taehyung turned and ran.

He ran through the campus.

Through the rain.

Through streets filled with flashing headlights.

His chest hurt.

His heart felt as though it had shattered into thousands of pieces.

He had no family.

No home.

And now...

Not even the two people he loved the most had ever been real.

He cried harder.

"I... was that easy to fool...?"

"I was... just a joke..."

He stepped onto the road without noticing the speeding truck racing toward him.

A deafening horn echoed through the night.

Bright headlights blinded him.

For a brief moment...

Everything became silent.

BANG!

His body was thrown into the air before crashing onto the wet pavement.

Warm blood spread across the road as the rain continued to fall.

Taehyung's fading eyes stared at the dark sky.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"So..."

"This..."

"is how my life ends."

"I never had a family."

"I never had a real friend."

"I never... experienced genuine love."

"If..."

"If I ever get another chance..."

"I won't waste my kindness on people who don't deserve it."

"I'll live... for myself."

His eyes slowly closed.

Darkness swallowed everything.

...

Then—

A warm light appeared.

A mysterious voice echoed in the endless darkness.

"Kim Taehyung..."

"Open your eyes."

"Your story... has not ended yet."

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