Episode1

The sound of rain tapping gently against the chapel windows was the only music at my funeral.

No cries.

No prayers.

No one to say they’d miss me.

I watched from the corner of the room—my spirit, transparent and trembling—as people walked past my casket without a word, like they were walking by a stranger. Some checked their phones. Some only glanced at the portrait placed beside the flowers. It was a photo Mio had taken of me last winter. I was smiling like a fool.

Even now, I didn’t know how I died.

The last memory I had was of her—Mio—handing me a glass of juice the night before our wedding. Her smile had been so gentle. Her voice warm.

> “Drink it all, love. You look tired.”

I had. Because I trusted her. Because I loved her.

I was such an idiot.

I floated quietly through the hallways of the funeral home, trying to understand why everything felt so empty. As I passed a closed door—one of the private rooms for the family—I heard something that made my soul freeze.

Laughter.

Her laughter.

I pressed through the wall. Inside, Mio was sitting on a velvet sofa beside a tall man in a black shirt—Shou, the man she always called her "brother."

Only now, he had his hand on her thigh.

> “I’m tired of playing your brother,” Shou said, voice low and husky.

“Me too,” Mio replied with a laugh. “Now that everything’s transferred under our names… it’s all ours.”

I couldn’t breathe—though I had no lungs. My eyes burned—though I had no body.

Shou leaned in closer.

> “You know how bad I wanted to sleep with you,” he whispered. “But I couldn’t. Not while pretending.”

> “Did you ever let him touch you?” he added, his hand now on her waist.

> “Never,” Mio said without hesitation. “He was just a benefactor. A fool. He gave me everything and asked for nothing. That’s why I chose him.”

> “What about the poison?”

“He drank all of it. I told him it was herbal. That idiot trusted me until the end.”

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to tear the room apart.

Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding.

I rushed at them, fists clenched, but I passed through them like air. Like smoke.

> “How could you?” I whispered.

“Why?”

And just like that, I realized… I had no one. No family. No friends.

I had loved Mio with everything I had, and she had smiled while murdering me.

Back in the main hall, the funeral was almost over. The last guests left quickly—faces unfamiliar. No classmates. No coworkers. No distant relatives.

I died, and nobody mourned me.

Until…

An expensive black car pulled up outside. Rain slid off its sleek surface. A man stepped out, holding a bouquet of white lilies in his hand.

Tatsuya.

I knew that face even before the door opened.

He walked in slowly, wearing a long black coat. Wet hair clung to his forehead, and his lips were trembling. He ignored everyone and walked straight toward the casket.

Toward me.

I remembered hating him.

I remembered arguing with him every time I tried to talk about Mio.

He always stood in my way—always glared at me.

I thought he was jealous. A love rival. Someone who hated me.

But now, as he stood in front of my casket, I saw tears fall freely down his cheeks.

> “You idiot,” he whispered, voice cracking. “What did you do to yourself?”

He placed the lilies beside me, knees hitting the ground as he sobbed.

> “I told you she wasn’t right. I told you—every time. You never listened. But I stayed. Even when you hated me, I stayed.”

His hands clenched into fists. His forehead rested against the side of the casket.

> “Because I love you, Akira. I always did.”

The room went silent. My spirit froze.