***
Before waking up in the unfamiliar body, he was Park Se Min.
At 15, Se Min was a kind-hearted boy, the type who couldn't walk past someone in need without offering a hand. Raised by his mother, who taught him to always see the good in people, he lived a modest life. His father had passed away before Se Min was old enough to remember him, leaving his mother as his entire world.
But at 18, that world shattered.
One rainy evening, his mother had given what little food they had to a desperate man. Instead of gratitude, the man turned violent, enraged by the meager portion. He stabbed her before fleeing into the night. Se Min was at school when the call came.
His teacher's somber face was all it took for dread to claw at his chest. He rushed to the hospital, each step weighed with fear. But he was too late. His mother was gone.
At her funeral, grief and anger intertwined in his heart. Standing by her grave, he made a promise to himself: I won't help anyone ever again. I won't end up like her.
Years passed, and at 25, Se Min had become the opposite of the boy he once was. Hardened by life, he worked at a company where his three years of effort went unnoticed. His colleagues despised his arrogance, and his girlfriend had left him, tired of his coldness.
Alone in his apartment, staring at the walls, he often wondered: What would my mother say if she saw me now? Would she be disappointed? The question lingered until one night, standing on a rooftop, he decided to find his answer in the void.
Back in the present, Se Min-or the young man now trapped in Min Soo's body- stared at the bathroom mirror, his unfamiliar reflection distorted by tears. His hands, trembling with rage and despair, slammed against the glass.
"Why?" he shouted, his voice breaking.
"Why didn't you let me die? Please, God, I just wanted it to end!"
The mirror cracked under his fists, blood trickling down his knuckles. He sank to the cold tiled floor, burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then, amidst the silence, a voice whispered in his ear.
"Your life is not over yet. It's starting now, my son."
His breath hitched. That voice-so gentle, so familiar. He froze, the weight of recognition crashing over him. It was his mother.
Tears poured down his face as he whispered, "Mom?"
The voice faded, but her presence lingered, wrapping around him like a warm embrace. For the first time in years, Se Min felt a glimmer of something he thought he' d lost: hope.
He wiped his tears, stood shakily, and washed the blood from his hands. Staring at the fractured mirror, he whispered to himself, "Maybe this is my chance. A chance to start over. To be someone better."
With a deep breath, he straightened his back, steeling himself. If this is my second life, I won't waste it.
As he stepped out of the bathroom, the bustling classroom noise returned. The girl named Hanni stood nearby, her worried eyes following his every move.
"Min Soo, are you okay?" she asked softly.
He hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah... I think I will be."
But inside, he knew one thing for sure: his journey had only just begun.
***