Kim Winter, or at least, that's what they told her. A blonde with long wavy hair, a slim, petite body, with pearly white skin—a complete opposite of her own dark long hair, average skin complexion, and toned body.
The eldest daughter of one of the wealthiest families in South Korea. A life of privilege—a world away from the muddy trenches and the ever-present threat of death that felt so much more real.
Lying in this ridiculously large bed, a heavy cast down her leg and a throbbing ache burning in her ribs, it felt like she was wearing someone else's skin.
In the room—her room, the woman who claimed to be her mother fussed around her, offering tea and murmuring gentle words, but she was watching her like a hawk.
Then the door swung open, and a young woman walked in. Kim Minji, her younger sister, the sister she had absolutely no memory of.
"Unnie, how are you feeling?" She walked closer to the bed, but stopped a few feet away.
She watched her, trying to find some, just a tiny bit of recognition, some hint that Minji could see the soldier hidden beneath the surface. But there was nothing.
"I'll be back later baby, you should try to rest more." Her mother said, giving a quick nod to Minji then leaving the room.
She gestured around the luxurious room, the dark silk sheets, the ridiculously expensive artwork hanging on the walls.
"Can you tell me about... about me. About Kim Winter?"
Minji raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You're being... nice. Usually, you'd be screaming at someone for just breathing too loud."
She eyed her, staring blankly waiting for her next words.
Then she rolled her eyeballs on her before she spoke.
"Okay. Fine. You're a racer, unnie. A damn good one. Cars, speed, adrenaline—that's your thing. And...you're involved in the family business. Daddy dearest is grooming you to take over."
"The family business? What kind of business?"
Minji shook her head and averted her gaze on the floor, "Unnie, you really need to stop focusing on things you can't remember. You were in an accident. You need to focus on getting better and getting back to your life."
"Please? Can you please tell it to me? I want to know about my life...tell me about the racing. Tell me about the business. Tell me about that girl... Yu Jimin."
Minji's eyes darted away. "Yu Jimin unnie... you went to school the same as hers. You dislike her so much—no, you basically hate her. You...teased her. A lot. You and your friends...made her life pretty miserable. And, you almost killed her."
There, there it goes again, her heart racing just as the mention about the near-death experience of the unknown girl. Because of Winter Kim. Because of her. This is gettin' more complicated by the minute.
"Teased? What are you talking about?"
She sighed deeply, "You bullied her, unnie. You made her life literally hell, just because you could. And on the track... you almost killed her. That accident? You were racing her, pushing her, trying to break her. You almost become a murderer, unnie."
She frowned.
So this body...this Kim Winter, bullies other people for entertainment?
The thought sat heavy in her stomach. It clashed so violently with the memories she had—the camaraderie of her unit, the weight of responsibility, the constant struggle to protect the innocent.
Could she really be inhabiting the body of someone so...cruel?
"That's... that's messed up," The lieutenant said, the words coming out rough. "I don't... I don't understand why anyone would do that."
Minji watched her. "You did?" there was a clear sarcasm in her tone. "You enjoyed it. You and your friends, you thought it was hilarious."
"But... why?" Winter asked, the question directed more at herself than at her. "What did she ever do to me?"
She shrugged. "Does it matter? You didn't need a reason. You were Kim Winter. You could do whatever you wanted."
Power, privilege, and a complete disregard for the well-being of others. It's a toxic combination, and the thought that she was capable of doing it so carelessly...it made her sick.
"So..." she trailed slowly, carefully, "what happens now? Is Yu Jimin... is she okay?"
Minji hesitated, gaze softening slightly. "She's...recovering. Physically, at least. She's still pretty shaken up, though. Everyone is. You almost destroyed her life, unnie."
The guilt crashed over her. The owner of this body almost killed someone. She bullied her, tormented her, and then nearly ended her life. And she's not even the same person. How can she face that girl again?
"I...I need to see her. I need to apologize. I need...to try, make things right."
She stared at her, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What? You want to apologize? To Yu Jimin? Seriously, unnie, what is going on with you? The old Kim Winter would sooner die than apologize to anyone, especially not to Jimin."
"Well, maybe the old Kim Winter was a terrible person, maybe this... accident... maybe it gave me a chance to be someone different. Someone better."
Minji shook her head, "You're probably dreaming, unnie. You can't just erase the past. You are who you are. And you, Kim Winter, are a bully. A spoiled, reckless bully. Jimin unnie probably hates you to the bone."
A sigh escaped her lips. Maybe Minji's right. Maybe she's just fooling herself. But she can't just accept that. She can't believe that she's stuck being this...this unbelievable human being.
She closed her eyes, trying to find some peace in the chaos swirling inside her head. It's no use. The memories of the war, the faces of her comrades, the weight of her responsibilities... they're all still there, as vivid as ever. A proof that she's not just some spoiled heiress, that there's something more to her than this life of privilege and cruelty.
"Maybe I can't erase the past. But I can try to make things right in the future. I might not be the original owner of this body, but I'm here now. And I refuse to let her completely ruin everything."
She opened her eyes, meeting Minji's skeptical gaze. "Look, I don't know why I'm here. I don't know why my soul ended up in this... this modern world, in this body, of all bodies. I've given up trying to figure it out. It's probably some cosmic joke. But I can at least try not to be a complete garbage person, right?"
Minji just stared at her, her eyebrows practically disappearing into her hairline. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "You're... you're acting really weird, unnie. Seriously. Are you sure you didn't hit your head harder than we thought? You sound like you're about to join some kind of self-help cult."
Her sister shivered. "Okay, I'm officially creeped out. I'm going to go tell Mom you're talking crazy again. Maybe she'll call the doctor and get you some more meds."
With that, Minji turned and practically fled from the room, leaving Winter alone with her thoughts and the unsettling realization that she has absolutely no idea what she's doing. But one thing's for sure, if she's going to make any kind of difference in this messed-up life, she's going to have to do it alone. And she had a feeling that it's going to be a long, uphill battle ahead of her.
~•~
A few days later, on this life, the absurdity of it all still hadn't worn off. She was Kim Winter, heiress, total nightmare to anyone who crossed her...and now, apparently, a walking, and talking question mark to everyone she met.
She'd spent the last few days trying to piece together, trying to catch up on what this Kim Winter's life was all about.
She learned about smartphones and social media, about the dizzying speed of modern technology nowadays.
She learned about the family business—some giant corporation that owned half of Seoul, it seemed—and her role in it, which was basically to show up, look good, and generally look impressive.
The more she learned, the more she realized how screwed up this whole situation was.
This life was built on money, power, and appearances. It was a world where you could buy your way out of anything, where feelings didn't matter, and where being a decent human being was apparently optional.
And everywhere she went, people acted like she'd sprouted a second head even though she was just strolling, observing, while seated on a wheelchair.
The staff were terrified of her.
Her 'mother' kept giving her these worried looks, like she was waiting for her to snap and start throwing things. And Minji? She just avoided her, claiming she had a 'migraine' every time she came and started having a small talk.
"You're just... so different," her mother said the other day, over a ridiculously fancy tea. "You're being... nice. You're asking questions. You're not, you know, screaming at people."
She sighed, stirring her tea. "I'm trying to be better, I know I messed up. I have a lot to fix."
The older woman just stared at her, like she was speaking a foreign language. "Kim Winter doesn't apologize," she said, shaking her head. "Kim Winter gets what she wants."
And that was the problem, wasn't it? She wasn't Kim Winter. Not the real Kim Winter. And everyone knew it. They could see it in literally her eyes—that is if she remembered how Minji reacted, it turns out that the owners eyes were brown, not ocean blue. And in the way she moved, in the way she didn't immediately demand a private jet to fly her to Paris for a new handbag.
She was an imposter, trying to fake her way through a life that wasn't even hers.
~•~
The Kims, or her parents, as they insisted on being called, had been adamant about her staying home until the cast came off. Honestly, she thought they were just as happy to keep her locked away as she was to be there. Less chance of her doing something... un-Kim Winter-like, she guessed.
But the day finally arrived. The doctor sawed off the cast, declared her ribs mostly healed and gave her the green light to resume 'normal activities.' Which, in this life, apparently meant going back to school.
She insisted. She needed to see the girl, Yu Jimin.
"Are you sure about this dear? You're still recovering.
Winter forced a smile, trying to project an air of confidence she definitely didn't feel. "I'll be fine, Mother. I need to get back to my life, right? Besides, I can't stay cooped up here forever."
She saw how the older woman reacted to how she addressed her.
Deep down, though, she was a mess.
What would Yu Jimin say? What would she do? Would she even be there? And what about the other students? Would they treat her like an outcast or would they just be waiting for the old Kim Winter to resurface?
The thought of facing them, of facing the consequences of her actions or rather, the actions of the girl whose body she now inhabited, made her stomach churn. She hadn't felt this nervousness since...well, since her first combat mission.
And that was saying much.