Solo Leveling: Banishment of the Anomaly

Jake stood frozen in disbelief, the world around him shifted into an eerie stillness. The colors drained from the landscape, leaving everything in black and white, frozen in time. His heart raced, and confusion washed over him. His teammates—Da-Sol, Yoon-Ji, Eun-Bi, Jae-Sung, and Min-Soo—were motionless, suspended in mid-action. The goblins, twisted and grotesque, were frozen as well. It was as if reality itself had come to a sudden halt.

He, then, looked down at his hands, expecting to see Joo-Hee's slender, delicate fingers. Instead, they were his own—his real hands from the world he once knew. He staggered back, overwhelmed by the sight. "What in the world is happening?" he wondered, trying to make sense of the strange, frozen reality around him.

As Jake stood there, wrestling with the confusion and guilt that had plagued him since he inherited the forgotten past of Joo-Hee's memories, a figure appeared. Slowly, from the corner of his vision, a girl with orange hair approached.

It was a familiar silhouette—one he had seen countless times in mirrors, in his phone, and now, standing before him—Lee Joo-Hee.

She smiled softly, her orange hair flowing gently despite the world being still. Jake's breath caught in his throat. This can't be real… I must be hallucinating, he thought as he tried to reason out the weird phenomenon, anxiety building inside him. His heart pounded, his body tensed, and guilt gnawed at him, pulling him back a step.

Joo-Hee, however, didn't falter. She stepped closer, her eyes warm and kind, as if understanding everything Jake had been feeling. Without a word, she reached out and gently wiped the tears from his cheek with a soft, comforting touch. Her fingers were warm, tender, not at all the product of a fevered imagination.

"Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice as soft and kind as her touch.

Jake's lips trembled, and he could barely respond. "I'm… I'm sorry. Because of me, you—" His voice broke, unable to finish the sentence as the guilt crushed him. The weight of the life he had inherited, the memories, the hardships, all pressed down on him, suffocating him.

But Joo-Hee didn't let him retreat. She closed the distance and embraced him, her arms gentle, her presence comforting. It wasn't an illusion at all—it was really her. The real Joo-Hee.

"I should be the one saying that to you," she whispered, her words soothing like a balm for his soul. "You did nothing wrong. This… maybe this is just my fate."

Jake shook his head, unable to hold back the flood of emotions that had been building inside him. "I… I saw everything. I saw your past. The pain you went through, the way you cared for Jin-Woo, how you—" He choked on his words, tears slipping from his eyes again.

Joo-Hee smiled as she gently patted his head, her fingers weaving through his hair, offering the kind of comfort only she could give. "It's okay," she said softly, trying not to cry. "You don't have to carry that burden. You've already done so much for me… for both of us. I've seen everything, from the hospital until this very moment. I'm actually glad you didn't use my body for any evil purposes."

Jake's shoulders shook as the weight of Joo-Hee's life and memories hit him like a tidal wave. It wasn't just the fear or the trauma—it was the love she held, the kindness she embodied, and the way she had faced the world despite everything it threw at her.

He couldn't help but cry, the tears flowing freely now, not out of weakness, but from the overwhelming sadness and gratitude he felt for her.

"If someone else saw me right now, they'd probably think I was being childish for crying this much," Jake muttered through his sobs. But to him, it felt like he was reliving every moment of her pain, her struggles, and her triumphs—all in a single, crushing instant, as if he were experiencing it firsthand.

Joo-Hee only smiled as she continued to hold him. "You can let it out. You're never alone, you know," she whispered, her voice filled with a gentle understanding that made Jake cry even harder. Her words were like a soft melody, soothing Jake's trembling heart, and in that moment, it all became too much for him.

And then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, Joo-Hee added, her lips curving into a smirk, "So... am I still your type?"

Jake froze, his tears halting for just a second as he blinked in surprise. His face immediately flushed with embarrassment, his cheeks burning red. He hadn't realized she could remember the remarks he had made when he was showering, thoughts he had assumed were safely locked away in his mind.

"Wh-what—?!" he stammered, his voice cracking as he tried to compose himself, the sudden shift in the atmosphere catching him completely off guard.

Joo-Hee chuckled softly, her smirk widening as she playfully poked his cheek. "I remember everything, especially when you complimented my body, you little pervert," she teased, her tone light but full of warmth. "Though I don't mind that much—after all, technically, you're a girl now too." Joo-Hee then smiled and chuckled beautifully.

Jake couldn't help but feel flustered, his emotions now swirling between grief, embarrassment, and a strange sense of comfort. "I… I didn't think you'd…" he muttered, still blushing furiously, unable to find the right words.

Joo-Hee's laughter was gentle, and for the first time since entering her body, Jake felt a glimmer of lightness in the air. Despite the overwhelming emotions, her playful remark had managed to ease the tension, if only for a moment.

"I'm glad you've been taking care of things," Joo-Hee said, her voice softening again as she looked at him with genuine affection. "You've done more than I could have asked for. So don't be so hard on yourself, okay?"

Jake, still flustered but comforted by her words, nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what to say, but he knew one thing for certain—he wasn't alone in this journey, not with Joo-Hee by his side, even in spirit, or so he thought.

The conversation with Joo-Hee brought a genuine smile to Jake's face, the warmth of her presence flooding his heart. He gazed at her, feeling a deep sense of connection. Now I know why I was so attached to Lee Joo-Hee, to the point of wishing to be her. She's the girl I dreamt of having in my life. Jin-Woo is really lucky; if only he had seen Joo-Hee's feelings earlier, before her death, then maybe—just maybe—things could have turned out differently.

Jake's heart ached at the thought. He could feel the weight of what might have been, the love that remained unspoken between Joo-Hee and Jin-Woo. It was a bittersweet realization, one that fueled his determination to honor her memory.

The world around them remained still, but in that moment, Jake realized that Joo-Hee's spirit had been with him all along, guiding him, watching over him. And now, as she comforted him, it felt like a part of her was finally saying goodbye.

The silence that followed was thick, laden with unsaid words, shared emotions, and the undeniable truth that Jake had inherited not just her memories, but her will. And yet, in her arms, for the first time since entering her body, he felt truly seen.

And in that still, colorless world, as Joo-Hee held him, Jake finally allowed himself to mourn her and talk to her.

Jake and Joo-Hee sat together, suspended in time, talking like old friends reconnecting after lifetimes apart. The heaviness in Jake's heart gradually lightened as they exchanged stories. Joo-Hee now knew Jake's full name, Jake Garcia, and where he came from—though Jake kept the truth about her existence as a fictional creation to himself.

It felt too cruel, too heartbreaking to reveal that her entire life was just a story written by someone else. For this moment, he wanted to preserve her dignity.

They laughed and shared moments, and for a fleeting while, Jake felt as if he were in a relationship with the girl he had always admired. So this is what it feels like to have a girlfriend, he thought. How ironic, indeed, that he was inside the very girl who embodied everything he ever wanted for a girlfriend.

But the light-heartedness didn't last. Joo-Hee's smile faltered as a tear slipped down her cheek. Jake's heart clenched when she said, with a mix of sadness and acceptance, "Take care of Jin-Woo for me, and please… live well."

She smiled one last time, a smile so pure it made Jake's chest tighten with pain. "Bye, Jake," she whispered.

"No, WAITTT!!" Jake's voice cracked, his hand shooting out in desperation. But she was already fading, smiling while her tears streaming down her cheeks, her figure dissolving like delicate maple leaves caught in a breeze. Her once vibrant orange hair drifted away in fragile wisps, slipping through his fingers.

He tried to grasp them, to hold onto her for just a moment longer, but his hands closed around nothing. She was gone, and with her, everything that felt familiar and warm. The space around him cracked and shattered like fragile glass, leaving Jake empty and alone.

And then, just like that, it was over.

Jake blinked, disoriented, finding himself once again in the dungeon. His heart still racing, his breaths ragged, but everything around him continued as if nothing had happened. The battle raged on, his teammates fighting goblins with no sign that time had ever stopped. It was like the moment had been a dream, a cruel, fleeting illusion.

But for Jake, the weight of it was real—too real. His legs buckled beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to hold back the tears that now flowed freely. He sobbed, raw and broken, the crushing weight of grief, guilt, and loss burying him alive.

The girl whose life he had stepped into, whose memories he had inherited, was unexpectedly gone forever, and he was the only one left to carry it all.

He whispered into the empty air, his voice trembling, "Yes… you... you're still my type, fool."

But the words felt hollow, like an echo lost in the void. There was no one left to hear him. No comforting presence, no soft laughter—just the cold, unforgiving reality of a world he didn't belong to.

A world where he was trapped in someone else's life, someone else's story, and the person he wanted to protect the most had already faded away.

Jake knelt there, alone in the chaos, as the tears continued to fall—tears for the life he had taken, for the love she could never confess, for the future she would never have. And no matter how hard he tried to push the pain away, it clung to him, a heavy shadow that refused to let him go.