Chapter 1
It was his birthday... his 30th birthday, when he decided to visit the old library downtown. An ordinary day with no plans at all. Minji grew up with just his mother; as an only child, he never knew his father. People in town assumed his mother had been a mistress who fled after a wealthy man got her pregnant. Yet, his mother never let those rumors bother her, always smiling and ignoring them.
Minji never questioned his mom about her past, and she never offered any details. That's simply how it was. She passed away when he was 25, taken by illness. He grieved deeply, but regret lingered too—he wished he'd asked her what had really happened when she left for Seoul at eighteen.
Now, Minji understands that being alone in an unfamiliar city, with no one by your side, can push someone to make difficult choices. Whatever his mother may have done to survive, she never neglected him. She loved him wholeheartedly, and perhaps, if he'd been more curious, she might have shared her experiences and pain with him.
They were close, but not close emotionally. He helped her, but his mother was a quiet woman. Sometimes, he'd catch her standing in the foyer, watching the rain with a sad, faraway look in her eyes. She would stand still until the sky grew dark, then apologize for not paying him more attention.
Their life was simple. His mother taught him everything she could to prepare him for the life she was able to provide—no more, no less. He learned to clean, to cook for himself when she worked nights. From an early age, Choi Minji was independent.
At her funeral, an older man arrived in a sleek, foreign car. He donated a substantial amount of money, which distant relatives used to cover the hospital bills and her funeral costs. Minji was too lost in grief to fully understand at the time.
He never saw that man again.
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On his 30th birthday, Minji planned to finally borrow a historical book he'd been eyeing for a long time—a mystery that intrigued him. He remembers getting a paper cut, a small drop of blood falling onto the library floor. A sudden dizziness swept over him, and then everything went black.
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Minji is 30, but waking up with no face nearly sends him over the edge. He screams like a child when he glimpses his reflection in a mirror. It feels surreal to have a body but only a blank face—like something out of a game he once saw.
The question-mark face sends a chill down his spine. He has no idea what's going on, but what's even stranger is that everyone here has the same question-mark face. They talk, they eat, they live ordinary lives... but none of them have a face. And that unsettles him even more.
He wakes up in a small room that seems to be an apartment. The place is bare: a single bed, one chair and table, a toilet, a small kitchen, and a single sofa. Nothing special—just some instant noodles in the cupboard.
Choi Minji is utterly lost.
End of Chapter 1