I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 55: The Girl Who Fell Before the World Changed (I)

Chapter 55: The Girl Who Fell Before the World Changed (I)

And somewhere inside those towering walls— something had already noticed her arrival.

***

(Back to Si Hon)

"ಠ_ಠ... That’s it?" I said flatly.

Seorin covered her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.

Then—

"...Nah. Just joking," she said, shoulders shaking slightly.

"It’s actually pretty different. Want to know the real story?"

"...ಠ_ಠ Yeah."

A familiar floating window appeared beside us.

「ಠ_ಠ Damn... that’s a weird way to get here... but also... not possible...」

Seorin giggled softly.

"Well... yeah. Guess someone new is about to hear my story."

She looked at me.

"Do you want every detail?"

I shrugged lightly.

"Sure... we’re still far away anyway... right?"

The System added lazily:

「ಠ_ಠ ...I’m bored too, so sure.」

Seorin laughed again— but this time, it was soft.

Not teasing.

Not sharp.

Just... quiet.

I shifted toward the floating window.

Then quickly cleared my throat.

"...Aren’t you a System? How are you bored?"

「(=｀ェ´=) Just start already.」

Seorin nodded slowly.

"...Alright," she said quietly.

"If you really want to know..."

She looked ahead into the endless white fog of Snowfall Mountain.

And for the first time— her voice didn’t sound like a joke.

***

(Seorin — past)

Seorin sat lazily in her chair— a gaming chair, slightly tilted back, one leg folded under the other as bright colors from an open world game reflected across her beautiful, majestic, unfairly pretty face.

Even the pixels on the screen seemed blessed just to exist within her line of sight.

Her character stood on a cliff inside the game world, wind blowing dramatically...

Meanwhile, in real life— nothing dramatic was happening at all.

Which, frankly, was a tragedy considering someone as visually stunning and narratively important as Seorin deserved background music at minimum.

"Aigo~ Man," she muttered to herself, tapping the controller lightly with fingers that could probably be classified as a national treasure.

"I wish I’d get isekai’d or something... ෆ⁠╹⁠ ⁠.̮⁠ ⁠╹⁠ෆ hmmp~"

She sighed, paused the game, and slowly stood up— her movements smooth enough to make it look like the air itself politely moved out of her way.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

No parents.

No siblings.

No noise from the TV.

Just silence filling the house like an empty loading screen— a stage clearly waiting for its main character to begin her story.

She walked toward the front door, opened it, and looked down the stairway outside.

For a moment... she just stood there.

A perfectly framed silhouette of effortless elegance and mild boredom.

Waiting.

"Hmmp... Nothing," she mumbled, disappointed, before closing the door again with the grace of someone who would absolutely get a slow-motion shot in a drama.

In the kitchen, she placed her phone on the counter and walked to the refrigerator, her reflection briefly flashing across the metal surface— a reminder that yes, reality had truly gone all out when designing her face.

Cold air brushed her skin as she opened it.

She grabbed a bottle of water, twisted the cap, and drank—

Even something as ordinary as drinking water looked suspiciously like a commercial when she did it.

Then suddenly— spill.

Water splashed across the floor.

"...Agh! Oh my god~ how did I even spill that...~!!" she shouted, staring at the spreading puddle with the dignity of someone who was far too pretty to be betrayed by basic physics.

A beat of silence.

"...Well... good thing nobody’s here," she muttered.

"Mom, Dad, and the three gremlin kiddies are all on vacation..."

She sighed and walked toward the sink to grab a towel, her expression settling into that naturally photogenic mix of annoyance and elegance.

Right then—

BRRRRING.

Her phone vibrated loudly on the counter.

She froze.

Because of course the universe would choose this exact moment— when she looked particularly cinematic— to trigger plot progression.

"Ara? Oh, my... wait— crap! Is the event today?!"

Her eyes widened, dark and shining with sudden realization.

"I forgot!!"

She rushed toward the counter—

Her foot stepped on the spilled water.

Slip.

The world tilted violently sideways—

as if reality itself had decided that someone this beautiful, majestic, and narratively significant could not possibly remain in such a boring world any longer.

***

(Back to Si Hon)

「ಠ, _｣ಠ」

"ಠ_ಠ... Wow... so... uh... you just repeated the story... and added some self-glazing."

I muttered while walking through the thick fog.

"ლ(´ ❥ `ლ) Ayy... that’s... real though..."

I sighed, pinched the bridge of my nose— then sighed again, harder, like my soul paid extra for it.

"Take this seriously... You know what? Just continue your story. And at least tell it normally... not like every five seconds you sneak in a paragraph about how beautiful you are."

She smirked and looked at me.

"I am beautiful though."

I didn’t answer.

Just quietly looked away, choosing peace over argument.

"...Just continue."

「Agree.」

"Okay!!!"

***

(Seorin — I swear last time, oh. It’s night btw.)

"A-awee..." Seorin mumbled.

Seorin’s eyes fluttered open to a white ceiling and a single bulb light glowing above her.

"...Huh...?"

She slowly pushed herself up— and a sharp pain stabbed through her head.

"Ah!"

Her hand flew to her temple.

Something warm... sticky...

She pulled her hand away.

Blood.

"F-fuck...? F-fuck!! Oh my god— am I gonna die?! Am I actually gonna die right now?!" she cried, her voice shaking in pure panic.

Her phone kept ringing in the counter.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

She didn’t even look at it.

Right now, survival felt more important than whatever event was happening.

Stumbling to her feet, she rushed toward the bathroom and pushed the door open with trembling hands.

The phone kept ringing outside the bathroom.

She ignored it completely.

Survival instincts: zero.

Panic level: maximum.

There it was.

The mirror.

Big.

Ready to expose all bad life decisions.

She looked at her reflection

And froze.

A girl stared back at her.

Short black hair, messy from the fall. Clear dark eyes, wide with shock. A blue jacket slipping slightly off one shoulder.

Even pale from panic...

And even with blood slowly tracing down the side of her face...

She still looked unfairly beautiful.

The kind of beauty that felt accidental.

Unpolished.

Real.

"...Okay but... why do I still look good in a crisis..." she whispered in disbelief.

Then the pain throbbed again.

"OW— WAIT THIS IS NOT THE POINT—"

She quickly turned on the faucet and splashed water over her face and hair.

Cold water ran down, washing red color unto the sink.

Her hands trembled as she pushed her hair aside—

There it was.

A cut on her temple.

Not deep.

But deep enough to be terrifying at 100% panic mode.

Her lips quivered.

"(ᗒᗩᗕ)... Am I... gonna die...?!"

The bathroom stayed silent.

Sobbing quietly, she grabbed a towel and pressed it against her head before stepping out of the bathroom.

For some reason... the phone was still ringing.

Not loudly.

Not urgently.

Just... patiently.

Like it had all the time in the world.

She walked toward it in small, shaky steps, tears still clinging to her lashes, and slowly picked it up.

"This... this stupid event..."

she muttered under her breath.

But when she looked at the screen—

It was black!

Completely black...

"...Huh?"

No shiny random color.

No light.

No reflection...

Just darkness.

Then— the screen flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Words slowly appeared, against the pale black of the screen.

「For this to work... you need to go above... the building.」

She sniffed, eyes still wet.

"ಥ_ಥ... huh...?

What is this thing talking about... did I get a virus...?"

Her voice sounded small even to herself.

After a second, she simply shrugged— too tired, too scared, too overwhelmed to care.

She tossed the phone onto the living room couch and dragged her feet upstairs, still holding the towel against her head.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Each stair creaked softly, like the house itself was watching.

Inside her room, the silence felt heavier.

"...Man..." she whispered weakly.

"I... I’m actually gonna die... ಥ_ಥ... If I’m gonna die anyway... I wish I had a perfect snack... Where did I even put all my snacks..."

Her eyes drifted toward the bed— the bedsheets printed with a round bear face that looked far too cheerful for a potential last moment of life.

She walked over, leaned down, and peeked under the bed.

Nothing.

No chips.

No chocolate.

No emergency survival cookies.

Just dust... and betrayal.

"(≧Д≦) THIS IS SO UNFAIR...!! I’m about to die and my snacks are still missing?!"

Her voice cracked between outrage and despair.

Still clutching the towel, she slowly stood up and mumbled,

"...I wish I had a skill that could detect snacks within ten meters... That would be so overpowered..."

A shaky sigh left her.

Her fingers loosened.

The towel slipped slightly— and strangely... she felt a little better.

"...Maybe... I’m just overreacting..." she said quietly.

She glanced at the cabinet mirror.

The blood had already stopped dripping.

"...Yeah... hehe... I guess I really am just overreacting..."

A pause.

"...But... I should check... just in case..."

Relief— thin and fragile— pushed her toward her gaming desk.

She sat down in her familiar chair, the one place that always felt safe, and powered on her PC.

The screen glowed to life in the dim room.

She opened a browser and went to G##gle.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before slowly typing:

"Does... getting hit on your head kill you?"

Search.

Loading...

The spinning circle felt unusually dramatic— like the universe itself was thinking carefully about her fate.

「Search Results: Yes」