The Glitch He Refused To Forget

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As an experienced lead in the smut fiction genre, I had been diligent, fighting through the night with the male protagonist.

When the System finally came online, it shrieked:

[What in Gods name are you doing, Host! This is a Pure Redemption Romance! You two are supposed to be virgins until marriage!]

In a panic, the System took advantage of the male leads deep sleep and frantically wiped all his memories.

It was only then that I learned the truth.

The System had malfunctioned and sent me to the wrong world.

And the real heroine of the Redemption story was already knocking outside the flimsy apartment door.

The next second, my wrist was clamped in an iron grip.

Cain, his memory forcefully scrubbed clean, opened his eyes and looked at me, cold and lethal:

Who are you?

I froze, completely thrown. I had no idea how to answer.

The System was screaming in my head:

[I told you to run! I told you to leave! Now look! Hes awake! How are you going to explain this mess?!]

Feeling a wave of injustice, I mumbled back, Its your fault for sending me here! I thought Cain was my target.

The Systems voice went impossibly high:

[And you slept with him?! Are you insane! This is the broody, pathologically obsessive male lead with a severe germ complex! In the early plot, if the heroine touched his finger, hed scrub himself raw!

[Do you think every world is like your trashy smut novels where everyone just sleeps around? Hes tainted! What is the actual heroine supposed to do now?!]

I opened my mouth to respond.

The knocking at the door became more insistent.

Cain? Are you home?

A gentle, sweet female voice.

It was Delaney.

The original, designated heroine of this timeline, Cains canonical partner.

Cains brow furrowed. The grip on my wrist eased slightly, but only slightly.

Delaney

He whispered the name, his expression shifting into one of profound pain. He seemed to be fighting to recall something, or maybe fighting something that was being recalled.

After a moment, his expression slowly settled. A soft, almost unconscious tenderness crossed his features.

Hold on a second, Im getting dressed, he called out, raising his voice for the person outside the door.

Delaneys clear, light laugh sounded through the thin door.

No worries! I brought you breakfast. Hurry up and get ready, didn't we plan to go sketching today?

Sketching?

Cain rubbed his temple, a flash of pure confusion in his eyes. He looked at the scattered art supplies and paints strewn across the floor. The easel was still standing, holding an unfinished canvas. A woman in a white dress was lying on the grass, propped up on her elbow reading a book.

Only, the womans face was a blank space, unpainted.

Cain stared at the canvas for a long, silent moment.

Then, he abruptly turned and gave me a chilling once-over.

He spoke one final, frigid sentence:

Take it off.

I blinked.

Take take what off?

Cain pursed his lips in annoyance and pointed at the dress I was wearing.

It was the gift hed bought me during our date yesterday. Working for minimum wage at a corner store, he must have saved for ages to afford it.

The System shrieked with renewed urgency:

[Take it off, Host! That dress is the official memento of the heroes first meeting! He cherishes it!]

In the original plotline, Delaney, a bright and vibrant girl, was meant to approach the brooding hero, gradually warming his cold heart. Cain was meant to be distant, only giving her the white dress as a courtesy for her birthday.

The pivotal scene was when they went sketching outdoors. Cain set up his easel, ready to paint the landscape, and Delaney, in the white dress, would start dancing nearby.

Cain, catching her figure in his peripheral vision, was meant to fall instantly and eternally in love.

From that moment, Delaneys one-sided crush would evolve into a mutual, destined love.

Thus, this white dress was critically important to the cannon.

Caught between the System's frantic demands and Cain's cold, utterly alien gaze, I started to panic. My hands fumbled as I tried to pull the dress off.

I turned around, only to realize the hem of the white dress was thoroughly stained with painta large, ugly smear of dried color.

My mind went blank.

Oh no.

The System nearly went ballistic:

[You, you, you I have never worked with such a profoundly inept Host! Do you know how important that dress is? Later, when hes rich, he spends a fortune at an auction to buy it back after the villain steals it! The heroine herself protects it like a relic! And you stained it?!]

Im Im so sorry, I stammered, giving Cain a weak, awkward bow. Ill buy you a new one. I promise.

My hands were suddenly stilled by his.

...Forget it. Dont bother.

Cain frowned.

Its just a dress. It doesnt matter.

Delaney knocked again.

Ready yet? The pastry I brought you is getting cold!

Cain inhaled sharply, calling out to the door:

Sorry, Delaney, I I twisted my ankle. I wont be able to go sketching today.

Hearing this, Delaney immediately sounded worried:

Oh no! Is it bad? Should I take you to the clinic?

Just open the door so I can see!

Cain lied without batting an eye:

...No need. I havent even washed my face yet. Im sorry you wasted a trip.

Okay, Ill leave your breakfast outside the door. Eat it, okay? Im heading out now!

The sound of quick footsteps retreated down the hall. My shoulders, which had been tight with tension, finally relaxed.

Cain tossed me a cheap, worn-out jacket of his own.

Put this on, and get out.

I held his jacket. It smelled of that generic, cheap laundry detergenta familiar scent from the real six weeks we had spent together.

Seeing me hesitate, Cain gave a cold, cynical laugh.

Planning to walk out like that without a jacket? Youve got hickeys all over your neck. Dont you want the whole city to know you just left a mans bed?

I looked at him. He was completely, utterly a stranger.

So this was Cains true self, the person beneath the love-lorn mask: coldly detached, bordering on cruel.

My fate, I suppose, has always been a bit rough.

For as long as Ive been a "Host," Ive been relegated to the shallowest of smut worlds. The higher-level Systems wouldn't touch me. I was too slow, too prone to making mistakes.

The only missions they assigned me were the "no-brainers"the spicy, low-stakes erotica where I just had to show up and perform. The Systems told me, You dont have to think, just lie there.

When I finally got the script for a Redemption Romance, I was genuinely elated.

I read the script over and over and executed every key event perfectly. Cains affection for me grew exponentially.

I started to daydream: Maybe someone as ordinary as me could be a savior, a light in someone elses darkness?

Then came the novels climax.

The hero and heroine had a fight, and the heroine was scripted to fake her death to "test" him.

The night before the "death," the script went blankit was meant to be an open-ended scene. As an experienced smut-world Host, I took the initiative. I spiked Cain's drink and claimed him for the entire night.

Thats when the System finally showed up, late and frantic.

It told me it messed up. I was in the wrong world. The real heroine was Delaney, not me.

When it found out I had slept with the hero, it lost its mind, screaming at me for ruining everything.

Cain opened the door to see Delaney was long gone. The pastry she brought was still steaming on the ground.

I looked at the wisp of white steam and felt a wave of dizziness.

So thats how a Redemption Romance works.

The heroes wait, they fall deeply in love over time, and they have a gentle, beautiful first night in a rose-petal-covered penthouse.

But last night, in this shabby apartment, I had rushed and ruined it with Cain.

It was his first time. He was clumsy and inexperienced, and he hurt me.

But he was also deeply, profoundly moved.

He had tears in his eyes, sobbing that he would be devoted to me forever.

I was moved, too. I had finally met a real love interest, and I wanted to stay in this world forever.

But it was all a mistake.

The System had to forcefully wipe Cains memory to salvage the plot.

My efforts were undone.

He had forgotten me completely.

The System dragged me back to reality:

[Stop wallowing! Look at your new script!]

It threw a new section of the narrative at me.

To explain my presence in the apartmentthe "bug"the System had forcefully implanted a new memory into Cain.

The new story went like this: Cain loved Delaney but didn't know it yet. He saw Delaney out with another guy (a "Rival") and got jealous. He went to a bar to drink his pain away and ran into a cocktail waitressme. I happened to have a slight resemblance to Delaney. Cain, drunk and confused, slept with me. Afterward, he was overwhelmed with shame and disgust, scrubbing himself repeatedly. But this terrible mistake helped him realize his true feelings for Delaney.

[See? Not bad, right?]The System preened. [Thank God Im an old-timer; I managed to cover the tracks for you.]

I sniffed, not saying a word. I silently wrapped the jacket around me, ready to leave.

My stomach, however, chose that moment to let out an embarrassingly loud growl.

Cain, who was getting dressed, paused and glanced at me.

Jeez. Youre such a pain.

I rubbed my stomach and muttered under my breath, Its your fault. You kept me up all night

... He tossed me a stale pastry. Eat it, and then go.

Cain finished dressing and stood in front of the mirror, examining himself. He touched the hickeys on his neck, looking confused.

The System crowed in my head:

[Hes surprised by his accidental loss of virginity! He must feel horribly guilty! Delaneys affection score is about to skyrocket!]

[Wait no!]It suddenly shrieked. [I rewrote his entire memory file! Why is his affection score for Delaney still zero?!]

The System was completely stunned. It went offline to contact its superiors to check the data.

I quietly bit into the pastry, and my face immediately crumpled. Seeing Cain reach for another one, I lunged and snatched it away.

Dont eat that!

It has carrots! You cant eat carrots!

Cain was violently allergic to carrots. Hed once accidentally consumed a small piece and suffered anaphylactic shock. I had spent night after night at the hospital at his bedside.

Cain immediately dropped the pastry, his expression one of pure bewilderment.

How how did you know Im allergic to carrots?

...I guessed.

I was afraid the System would come back online and berate me if I delayed any longer. I finished getting dressed and quickly yanked the door open.

Cain followed me, insistent.

Who are you? Do you know me?

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the side:

Cain, you finally came out! Oh, who is this?

A fresh-faced girl with a high ponytail was standing at the threshold.

It was Delaney. She had circled back for some reason.

Delaney stood tall in her crisp white dress, pure and innocent.

I was bundled in Cains oversized jacket, disheveled and frantic.

Cain frowned. Why are you still here?

I used the brief moment of distraction to slip past them, running without looking back.

Behind me, Delaneys voice was breaking:

Cain, who was that? Why was she coming out of your place?

You need to explain!

Talk to me! Aren't we friends? Why are you being so cold to me today?

I ran, head down, my heart aching.

I knew my part was over.

This was a Redemption story, meant to be beautiful, innocent, and pure.

And I, a heroine from a smut novel, had no business here.

I darted into the street.

A large truck suddenly swerved around the corner and smashed into me. I was thrown violently into the air.

In the distance, Cain paused for a split second, then bolted toward me, screaming like a madman.

Noooo!

I closed my eyes.

The Systems voice rang out in my head, a sound of profound relief:

[Mission accomplished. World narrative repaired. Host, you will now be sent to your next smut world.]

I think I was unconscious for a long time.

When I woke up, I was in a shabby, familiar rental apartment.

I bolted upright, a gasp of emotion escaping my lips:

Cain! Are you here?!

The room was empty. No one was there.

My fevered brain slowly started to calm down. I realized this wasn't Cains apartment now.

I looked around.

The familiar closet, the faded curtains

And the small, slightly chipped trinket on the bedside table.

This was the subterranean apartment I lived in when I first arrived in this world.

Wait a second.

That means

I was still in Cains world?!

[Yes, that is correct, Host. Youre still here.]

The System suddenly came back online, startling me.

It huffed, [I was trying to send you to the next world, but after you were hit by the truck, that boy, Cain, went absolutely insane. He wouldnt let go of your body. His obsession was too strong; I couldnt extract you.]

So where where am I now?

The System continued:

[Cains obsession interfered with the transport. Instead of sending you out, I accidentally sent you forwardsix years ahead.]

I was silent. Six years.

[For the sake of the mission, I had to completely wipe Cain's memory again. That finally settled him down. But my energy is completely depleted, I can't send you anywhere else.]

I asked urgently, What about Cain? How is he now?

[Hes great. Two memory wipes and the constant presence of Delaney, the proper heroinehes thriving. Hes a tech mogul now.

[Oh, his affection score for Delaney is at 99. Once it hits 100, Delaney completes the mission, and youll finally be released from this world.]

I finally understood.

I was redundant. I just had to wait for Delaney to finish the job.

All I had to do was lay low.

Having lost my heroine status, I was just an ordinary person in this world now.

Regardless, life had to go on.

The System fixed my injuries. I rested for a few days, then went out to look for a job.

I walked the streets all day with no luck. I was, however, struck by the sheer number of advertisements.

Delaney.

She was now a huge movie star, famous across the country. Her giant digital billboards were everywhere, even in this small, overlooked section of the city.

In the picture, she was impeccably made up, smiling radiantly into the camera.

The System, viewing her through my eyes, sighed contentedly:

[This world is almost over. Good.]

[Those two little lost souls, Cain the tech new-money genius and Delaney the sweetheart actress, finally got their happy ending. Theyll be blissfully happy for the rest of their lives.]

My throat felt tight.

Yes they will be very happy.

I wandered for a long time. As the sky darkened, I finally realized where I was.

This was an abandoned warehouse district, slated for demolition. It was deserted and dilapidated.

I stood in front of an entrance marked Antiques & Salvage, next to a dark, descending stairwell.

The floodgates of memory burst open

This used to be a hidden underground fight club.

And this was where I had first met Cain.