"Hi there! How have you been?" it asked me.

I just stared at the rabbit.

"Who are you?" I asked the suspicious-looking, talking rabbit.

"And where are we?" I continued.

I had so many more questions, but I didn’t even know how to organize my thoughts. To begin with, the rabbit mentioned that this was not the afterlife. So, where was this? Did I survive even after getting hit by a car?

I looked around again, thoroughly this time, before turning back to the rabbit. It had been staring at me the entire time, its long ears pulled back.

Despite its melancholic expression, it actually looked quite cute.

"…" The rabbit remained silent before finally speaking. "Do you know why you're here?"

"I don’t even know where 'here' is... Did I die? But you said this isn’t the afterlife," I answered, my words coming out as half a question. Everything was confusing me.

"Hmmm... Die, huh? Well, yes and no? You're alive but at the same time, dead? How do I explain this properly...? But before that—while your condition is the reason you ended up here, that’s not WHY you’re here." The rabbit’s answer was vague, filled with uncertainty, as it rubbed its chin, searching for the right words.

Because of that response, I understood even less about my situation. 'Alive and dead'—what did that even mean? Was I in some state where my brain was dead but my body was alive? And where exactly was "this"? Why was I here? The rabbit’s words only made my mind more chaotic. But judging by the way it spoke, it seemed to at least know something.

"Then why AM I here?" I asked, both annoyed and curious. Among everything the rabbit had said, the one thing it seemed to know for certain was the reason for my presence. That was the answer I wanted first—I could figure out the rest later.

The rabbit slowly opened its mouth to explain, "To fulfill a—" but before it could finish, its entire body began to fade until it disappeared completely, leaving me alone in the empty space.

To vanish so suddenly, right before finishing its explanation—it was beyond frustrating. First of all, I had more questions than answers. And second, just when I was about to hear the only answer I could get, it disappeared.

What the hell?!

I started walking aimlessly through the empty white space, trying to calm myself.

Once I had cooled down, I sat and thought about everything I had left behind.

Earlier, my mind had been completely blank because everything had happened so fast. But now that I was alone... I started to remember. Daphny was safe— when I last saw her, she had only suffered a few scratches. But would she really be alright after witnessing everything that happened...?

"I’m so sorry, Daphny..." I murmured, apologizing deeply as I closed my eyes and buried my head in my knees.

Suddenly, I felt something strange. My head shot up, and I saw parts of my body beginning to disappear—just like what had happened to the rabbit.

And then, everything went dark.

"What’s going on?!" I cried out in shock.

After a brief blink, everything changed again. This time, I was floating in midair inside a bedroom that resembled a cabin. I scanned my surroundings and saw a child squatting on the floor amid the messy room. And in front of the child was the rabbit—the same one I had spoken to earlier.

"Where the hell am I?! Who is this kid?!" I asked in a slightly louder voice, my shock evident.

So many things were happening that I didn’t understand. I turned to the rabbit again and rushed toward it, eager to demand an explanation. But before I could even reach it, I suddenly found myself unable to move.

I noticed that the rabbit’s staff—shaped like a hairpin—was leaning against my leg. I assumed it was the reason I couldn’t move... but how? After thinking about it for a moment, I realized the talking rabbit itself was already strange, so the only logical conclusion was that it had used some kind of magic to restrain me.

The rabbit gave me a quick glance before turning back to the child, completely ignoring me.

"This is your Guardian Spirit," the rabbit said to the child.

I was utterly confused.

What was the rabbit talking about? I hadn’t been told anything, and now, all of a sudden, I was being called the kid’s Guardian Spirit?

Guardian Spirit... Was it what I thought it was?

Guardian... Does that mean I have to take care of this kid? Like... actually be their guardian?

My mind went blank. Once again, so many things were happening that I didn’t understand. What kind of development was this?!

Out of sheer confusion, I asked the rabbit. I just needed an explanation with what's going on. The last thing I remembered was getting run over, leaving my crying little sister behind—now, I'm supposed to take care of some kid I didn’t even know?! "What the hell are you talking about? What Guardian Spirit? And why do I have to do that?!"

The boy looked shocked.

I hadn’t meant to scare him, but first of all, I'm just an ordinary 21-year-old college student. I had no idea how to raise a child. Assisting with childcare at the orphanage was completely different from raising one myself.

And most of all, at the orphanage, I had known the children firsthand. I grew up alongside them until I turned eighteen. Once I became a legal adult, the orphanage no longer had the duty to take care of me, so instead, they employed me to help raise the younger kids. But even then, I only followed instructions from the director and staff—I never took full responsibility for raising a child. Taking care of a kid I barely know is completely different from what I had done at the orphanage.

While I was busy panicking, the boy looked dejected, and the rabbit turned to me.

"You can't refuse. It’s unfortunate you weren’t briefed…" the rabbit said before continuing. "While spirits are free, this boy is the only contractor for you. You can’t decline."

Spirit? Contractor?

What the hell was this rabbit talking about now? And I wasn’t briefed... about what?! Was there something I was supposed to know? What's going on? Was there a different, magical meaning to the word ‘Guardian’? Everything was becoming even more confusing.

As questions piled up, I noticed the boy looking at me with shining eyes. Then, in a whisper, he said, "A spirit… only for me?"

As if responding to that soft question, the rabbit gleefully answered, "That’s right! You two are bound by fate, after all!" Then, turning to the boy, it continued, "So, would you like to make the contract now?"

This time, I was sure the rabbit was purposely ignoring me. My irritation grew. The boy, who had been looking at me excitedly moments ago, now looked worried as he glanced between me and the rabbit— obviously noticing my displeasure.

My scowl deepened further.

I didn’t hate the kid so I don't want to upset him. But the rabbit was different, I was starting to get seriously annoyed with it. It still hasn’t given me the answer for the question earlier before he disappeared, and now his saying random shit I don’t understand.

And judging from the rabbit’s reaction I assume I don’t any choice here, and I was right.

"You won’t be able to summon any other spirits if you refuse this one," the rabbit said to the boy. "Every time you try to summon a spirit, she will be the one to always appear. So, unless you make a contract with her, no other spirits will respond to your call boy. Fate is strong.”

I stayed silent. Since the rabbit was ignoring me, there was nothing else for me to say. And interrogating the child wouldn’t help either—I didn’t want to frighten him.

The boy was quiet for a moment before finally nodding to the rabbit.

The rabbit then who waved its wooden hairpin, making a thin yellow string appear out of thin air. The string then wrapped itself around both of our left index fingers.

"State your names to finalize the contract," the rabbit instructed.

Since I had no choice, I gave in. I exhaled sharply, expressing my annoyance, before following the rabbit’s instructions.

"Acel Sweets," I said curtly.

"Raquel Cappet," the boy followed.

And as if by magic, our names came out of our chests and twirled in the air before his name sunk itself on my chest and my name to his. And just like that, I could feel something was engraving itself on me.

Out of shock, I touched the area the name came through until suddenly, pain came crashing on me.

“What the?!” was all I could stutter.

I could feel my heart tightening, as if being squeezed tight. The pain was so unbearable that I tightly gripped on my chest before falling to the ground.

The child named Raquel became surprised and worried as he ran from where he sat to my side. I looked at him, and his worried expression then reminded me of the little sister I left behind after the accident – he had the same expression.

As I recalled Daphny, the pain in my chest slightly eased, but only slightly. The pain was still unbearable. I wanted to shout, but my gaze was already starting haze. I was clearly about to lose consciousness, but before I did, I heard what the rabbit had to say…

"Relax. She’ll be fine. This happened because she wasn’t fully willing. It’s a rebound."

And there it was, another question. What is the rabbit talking about now? A rebound for what? And just like all my other questions, there was no answer.

Because I had already lost consciousness due to the immense pain I was experiencing.

~~~~~~

I then opened my eyes. I don’t know how many hours have passed, but it was obvious the sun had already risen. I tried to move but something heavy was holding onto my hand, so I looked at my hand only to see the child I met before, sleeping soundly as he tightly gripped my arms.

Not wanting to wake the child, I decided to stay still as I looked around.

And sure, I was still in the same room where I appeared midair. I rubbed my temples with my free hand and then frowned.

“Where the hell is going on? And where even am I?” I simply muttered.