"Achooo"

Hearing a sudden sneeze from behind I turned around.

Breathless.

The last thing I can remember was a single word. I was left truly breathless and stunned.

Looking around now; however, that scene that played through my mind can only leave me puzzled.

Sitting before me is an old man sipping some tea looking towards me like something disgusting he'd rather never see again in his life.

Silence.

We just stare at each other without voicing a single word.

After a while it started to feel really awkward so I decided to break the ice.

"I know I'm handsome but you don't need to stare so many daggers."

"Tch."

After the old man clicked his tongue and retorted back "Handsome? Fudge your ugly duckling face! I've seen pigs more attractive than you."

I am truly shocked, how can this old man not understand the greatness of I. My looks so majestic they could have countless ladies fall to their knees is worship. I must really give this rude old man a good talk about life.

The old man as if he saw through what I thought snorted to himself with scrunched up brows. "What the hell is so good about this narcissistic mortal brat?"

"Narcissistic? Who is?" I can only ask with complete confusion in my eyes.

The old man seemingly decided to ignore my question while he asked "you know you're dead right?"

"Dead? Who? Are you talking to yourself old man? Have you gone senile? Do you or I look dead to you? Do you need someone to change your diaper?"

This old man really seems to have a loose screw.

Veins began tto bulge on the old man's forehead as he then took deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"If it wasn't for my daughter I'd definitely wipe your soul out of the cycle of reincarnation."

"Brat you have three choices."

"Number one I annihilate your soul, which would be the most preferable choice."

"Number two you enter the cycle of reincarnation now and never come back."

"..."

"I thought you said there were three choices."

"I changed my mind, it's two now so just choose one."

"But how can I reincarnate? I'm clearly not dead."

"Says the moron who died because he was so shocked he forgot to breath."

"..."

"What?"

I can only blink like an innocent child not understanding what he was just told.

"I said you're lower than a pig. At least a pig can remember how to breath."

Now that I think about it, the last word I remember before seeing this old man was; breathless. After that, all of a sudden I was in front of this old man.

Now that I think further back though; when I turned around after hearing that sneeze, what came into my sight was an unmatched beauty that could have no equal.

A figure that would drive any man with senseless maddening dreams. A complexion so fair and refined it could bring shame to the heavens. Rippling eyes like a lake reflecting the starry sky. Merely looking into them would leave your heart racing at hundreds of miles per hour with your soul threatening to leave your body. Her lips were pouted slightly after having just sneezed. It was a picturesque scenery unlike any other I had ever seen before. It was enough to make me think my life was complete just having seen the woman before me. It was a sense of unknown fulfillment never felt before in this unrelenting and cruel world. The sun setting behind her truly made her look like a holy goddess that could not be defiled. If I had to say it. It would be love at first sight. I was left breathless.

Then we come back to the present situation.

"Damn it how dare you think such damned things about my daughter, come over here quickly so I can wipe those memories clean and toss you into the cycle of reincarnation!"

The old man suddenly opened his eyes wide as if something terrible was about to happen.

"Quickly boy come over, come over, this senile old man was only joking. See? I have some candy here. Don't worry, it won't hurt you. Come take it and eat it quickly without any further delay." For some reason the old man's gaze turned very warm towards me like he were seeing his own kin.

Inexplicably, I feel a great sense of dread as he held out a red and blue candy towards me.

"Father! What are you trying to do to him?!"

A voice anxiously cried out from the sliding door behind me.

"Tch. So close."

"Hahaha what are you talking about my darling daughter? I'm just getting acquainted with this thing you brought."

The door slid open as a melodious voice sounded out and declared "he's not a thing!"

"My daughter you should really reconsider! If you give a man an inch he will take a mile! Especially when the man is lower than a pig. I understand you feel remorseful about your moment of carelessness letting out a sneeze and losing your cover for a moment resulting in some insect catching a momentary glimpse of you. Sure, your beauty left him stunned senseless making him forget to breath and causing him to pass into the afterlife early, but can that really be blamed on you? It is absolutely not your fault! Besides who cares if some random insect dies?"

Turning around to gaze upon the woman; unlike before she had a white semi transparent gauze covering her face. It seemed like she was rather annoyed at what her father just said.

"Isn't it all your fault that I'm still single at this age?!?!"

Her voice seemed to be laced with a bit of anger and a tinge of resentment.

"My darling daughter this cannot be blamed on me, it's just those ants are not worthy of my darling daughter. Besides can you really say any man has caught your eye in all these years?"

"That may be so but if it weren't for you keeping males at a distance and scaring any who had such thoughts towards me away, do you think I would still be single?"

"Father, this is the last straw! The one I want to be with is who I'll be with, you will not interfere in my love life any longer! If you do, I will cut all familial ties with you!"

I really wish I had some popcorn right now. This would make for a great drama scene.

"Y-y-y-y-you unfilial daughter! How could you say such a thing." The old man seemed to be on the verge of tears.

The daughter seemed to not care about his heartbroken complexion as if she had seen it an uncountable number of times already.

"Father I'll forget about the first two shameless options you posed to him for now. Now tell him what the third option is."

The old man seemed to be grinding his teeth while staring daggers at me. It was like he could not wait to rip me into shreds.

"Your third option is to m… ehem, ehem, excuse me. Your third option is you can make one request of me. Now choose wisely as you only get one request. I'll let you know, it can be absolutely anything. Whether it be money, fame or power. I can grant anything to you no matter what it may be."

"Father! What are you talking about? That's now we agreed on! You said it would be three options! Two you decided while one was what I decided myself!"

"Silence! How can we merely give him 3 options decided by us. It was your mistake that he died after all. What if he doesn't like any of the three choices we decided on. Therefore he should be given more freedom of choice!" The old man proclaimed it as though he were a righteous sage fighting against injustice.

"I can ask for anything?"

"Yes."

"Really? Absolutely anything?" I looked towards his daughter for a brief moment before looking back towards the old man again.

The old man furrowed his brows like he felt this was going in an undesirable direction with an ugly face he again repeats "yes."

"But don't push things to far. Learn some moderation. It's a good trait to have. You'll live a much longer life if you do little friend."

"Father! Stop trying to inadvertently threaten him!"

The daughter looks towards me and says in a gentle consoling voice "your death was my fault after all, no matter what you ask, we will definitely fulfill your request."

"Old man, this is my last confirmation. Anything goes, right?"

With the grinding of his teeth and a nasty expression on his face he squeezes out a "yes" once again under his breath.

"I want your daughter to be my slave."

"What?!?! You insignificant ingrate mongrel!"

A boundless killing intent filled the air as the old man looked ready to pounce towards me and bite me to death yet he somehow managed to hold himself back.

The daughter looked towards me like she were disappointed about something.

I then gave voice to an arrogant laugh as I said "I'm kidding old man, I just wanted to enrage you since you've been calling the handsome I a pig and insect this entire time."

"Rather than asking something of you old man, I have no interest in anything you could ever give me."

I stood up and walked towards the daughter until I was standing right in front of her. We stood face to face and I could see the outline of her eyes looking directly into mine. Annoyed by the gauze obstructing my view of her visage I raised my hand and lifted it upwards.

I stared directly into her eyes and finally made my real request.

My next words was not a request. It was a statement filled with conviction as I would accept no other answer but a yes. My entire destiny truly seemed to be completely changed by a simple sneeze. Whether it was a fortune or a calamity I may never know. All I knew were my next words.

"I want you to belong to me. I want you to be my wife. To be with me till the ends of time. Marry me."