The Rejected Man's Rise

I straightened my tie in the cramped office bathroom, staring at my reflection.

I barely recognized the man staring back.

Once, I had been confident—sharp suits, tidy hair, easy smiles.

That was when I did not have a proper job.

Now, years of overtime, stress, and neglect had left me overweight, pale, and hollow-eyed.

I’m just 28, but my hair was already thinning at the temples. Dark circles hugged my eyes like shadows that refused to leave.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the nerves.

“I have a decent job. My pay is good. I’m qualified for marriage.” I told myself.

But all these rehearsals did little to nothing to calm the storm of doubt in my chest because I knew in the back of my mind that even the single moms in my neighborhood were ignoring my fat ass.

“Just say it,” I muttered to myself. “Just say it, Caleb. It’s only your heart on the line. The worst she can say is…”

My lips pressed together.

I walked out of the bathroom. Slow and steady, trying to not appear nervous.

At my desk, my blonde colleague, Sherry, leaned over her designs.

Her brown hair spilled like liquid silk over her shoulders.

She glanced over and smiled at me.

It was just a faint smile, but it boosted my confidence.

I would fight the world to keep that smile next to me for life.

Taking a deep breath, I approached her. “Sherry… Can we talk for a moment?” My voice sounded weaker than I intended.

Sherry straightened up, her eyes patient but distant. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

My palms grew slick with sweat.

I have known her for five years, ever since I joined this company.

I’m sure she likes me.

I adjusted my tie one last time, staring at the office floor.

“If you forgot what’s on your mind, you can tell me later,” Sherry said.

“Sherry, I… I like you,” I blurted, voice shaking slightly. “I’ve liked you for a long time, and I can’t keep it in anymore.”

The words hung in the air.

Sherry didn’t even blink.

I put my hand in my pocket and took out a box that had the rings.

She immediately held my hand and tried to push the box back into my pocket. She looked around, as if she hoped that nobody was watching.

But many eyes were already watching.

“S-Sherry…” my voice cracked.

“Don’t do this, Caleb,” Sherry hissed in a low voice. “You are a good friend, but I don’t feel that way about you. I’m sure if you hit the gym, you’ll find someone in your league.”

The rejection hit me like a sledgehammer.

I forced a nod, swallowing the lump in my throat, and muttered, “You are not joking, right?”

I just had to make sure that she was being serious.

“Of course,” she replied in a low voice. “Don’t ever do this again.”

I walked back to my desk, my legs feeling like lead.

Sherry grabbed her bag and left.

It seems I ruined her day.

Some female employees just went past my desk, giggling and smirking. Some male employees came to me and told me that I never had a chance.

I didn’t even bother to react to their insults. I was just too lost and shocked that the person I imagined my whole future with just rejected me.

Burying my head on the desk, I silently let the tears come out.

Later that afternoon, I went to the cafeteria.

I sat down at an empty table.

Sherry also came, but she sat at another table and was eating a sandwich.

I found myself chewing the burger, but it did not taste good, and it was not going down my throat easily.

Normally, I’d eat this burger in two bites, but today was different.

One of our colleagues, Mike, a tall and slender man, approached Sherry and asked, “Will you go out on a date with me?”

My heart felt squeezed when she smiled at him and nodded without hesitation.

The remaining burger in my hands dropped and fell on the plate.

My chest tightened like never before.

I got up and left the cafeteria and then the company building.

I took a taxi and got home.

I lived in a single bedroom flat as it was affordable.

There was a fat crow waiting at the front gate. I randomly fed it scraps, so it must be waiting for me. It hovered around my head, cawing relentlessly.

I was in a pissed off mood, so I swatted it with my briefcase.

It flew away and landed on a branch in the distance.

“Not today!” I yelled at the crow. “Go away. If possible, don’t come back.”

I then dragged myself into the small apartment I’d barely maintained in the last few years.

I tried to loosen the tie, but it didn't happen.

I stopped in front of the mirror, which wasn’t big enough for my whole body to fit. It was a cheap mirror I bought long back in a back alley market.

The face in the glass looked dull, tired, broken, unremarkable and almost unrecognizable.

The cheeks that puffed from stress, and the uneven stubble that made me look like a buffoon… there was nothing in the mirror that I could appreciate.

No wonder Sherry did not accept my love.

My eyes teared up at the sudden realization of how worthless I have become.

“I hate you!” I shouted at the one in the mirror, then grabbed the mirror with both hands and smashed it on the floor, shattering it to pieces.

Some of the broken glass pieces pierced me and made me cringe in pain.

All the glass pieces melted and merged into my skin. “Krgh!” The remaining pieces on the floor also turned into light and penetrated my body.

I was momentarily blinded by the light.

“What… what the…” I stammered, stepping back.

A voice echoed, sharp and direct. “You who hate yourself have awakened the Dream Lover System.”