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Chapter 1- Transmigrated

"Ring"

A sound from a bell woke up Elise from sleeping on the bus. It's almost her stop and luckily she wakes up in time. She goes out on the bus and quietly walks to the dark alley. Her place is on the next street, two minutes away from the bus station. It was a fifth-floor apartment building and she lived on the fourth floor with her family.

It's late-night of December, the snow gives a very frosty vibe that makes her shudder from the coldness. She thinks of a warm dish from home but she remembered that her family was not at home. Two days ago, her parents informed her that they won't be at home for one week. She was only told this morning when she checked her phone and there were messages from her parents sent to her. She was looking forward to this day because a week from now will be her birthday.

It was dawn when her parents and younger sibling quietly sneaked out and went to god knows where. They just simply informed her that they left the house without even asking her if she liked to join them. Just a quiet escape and some noises she heard earlier but chooses to ignore then she woke up and read their messages.

She's a neet. A person who does not have work or is unemployed and in her twenty-eight years of prime. If you're a normal person you will also think that an almost thirty years old lady without savings or a job is pitiful and weird. Some people would think she was beyond saving but there were reasons for it, but they would think of it as an excuse.

Elise's first job was in her first year in college. She was a part-time office secretary who works five hours a day, work in the morning then study in the evening. She worked like this for almost three years without a break just to support her study but it wasn't enough when she reached senior college, her expenses on school became more expensive and her work and class schedules collided all the time. It was the hardest time of her life but Elise endured it. After asking a friend for another job, Elise had to work on the weekend. Her salary from her tour guide job was not enough but it helped her school expenses. Elise lives discreetly just to graduate from college.

Her parents on the other hand give up on supporting her study. They said that her smart little brother is more profitable than her who only had an average brain. Elise ignored them and strived harder. Thanks to her resistance she was able to graduate from college.

After graduation, Elise resigned from her part-time job. It was the most fulfilling thing she achieved in her life. She was much happier, Elise found a job after a month of searching and stayed at the company for a year. There was an incident where her co-worker kept harassing her to the point that she was scared of entering her workplace.

She became stressed over time and couldn't finish her job properly, huge anxiety developed her and that made her lose confidence. Elise's mentality becomes different and after careful thinking, she sacrifices her precious job. She ended it.

Weird enough after quitting, Elise's burden became lighter not until her family refused to support her decisions. For them, it was total crap that she resigned from her good job. It became a disappointment and Elise's anxiety widened. She found a job afterward but unlike the first one, her staying from one job to another became difficult. She developed panic attacks. A year becomes months and months then days... Elise changing jobs became frequent and her family stopped caring for her.

She understands very well that her family wasn't at fault because she chooses not to tell them her burden. It was easy for her to act naturally to the eyes of people even though she was not fine. It became a scary habit but developing it was part of Elise's life.

The elevator opens and she hurriedly goes inside. She eats quickly and prepares herself to go to bed. Elise checks her phone for messages but nothing from her family, just a message from a friend asking if she goes home safe. She replied with a smiley. Elise fell asleep feeling numb from the coldness.

--

Early in the morning Elise is awakened by the ringtone of her phone. Someone is calling her and she lazily picks it up. by extending her arm without opening her eyes.

"Elise?" a person with an energetic voice call her name.

"Who's this?" she asked in a hoarse voice

"Heck. It's pretty, smart and your precious cousin Dina. Wake up now sleepy head." After hearing it, Elise opened her eyes.

Dina is Elise's cousin who's close to her but Elise did not like her. Elise has had an inferiority complex since they were in high school. Elise and Dina are the same age, they were childhood friends and Dina was always there for Elise helping her even though recently Elise avoided her because of her inferiority complex. Dina is a successful doctor. She's the definition of beauty, her skin is white and smooth while her face is round with two big black eyes and she has a smart brain. Elise realizes their gap became sensitive in her presence but Dina is good at pursuing Elise. She helps her just like a psychic, she knows when Elise feels upset.

"What do you want?"

"Meet me near your place. Let's eat up!"

Another thing that was weird about Dina was when Elise caught her talking to stray cats and her obsession with healthy foods especially vegetables. She also has this outgoing aura that drains Elise everytime they were together. She likes inviting Elise to eat. Whenever Dina likes it they would meet and eat then talk about Elise's situation.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

--

Elise ended the call several times but Dina kept calling her that Elise had no choice but to get up. She hurriedly takes a bath and brushes her teeth because Dina keeps messaging her after not answering her call. Elise was annoyed early in the morning but had no choice because her cousin won't let her off the hook.

A fine restaurant near the apartment is a place where they will meet. Elise wears her favorite mint hoodie and black track pants. It's an out of place fashion to a formal restaurant but Elise does not care. She goes inside and sits in front of Dina facing her.

"I'm here. Let's eat now." Elise said in a low voice.

"Hmm, why are you in a hurry?" Dina asked her with her black eyes getting bigger.

"because I still want to go back to sleep!" Elise exclaimed, annoyed.

"Hmm, but I won't let you....."

"Tch."