Kim Jae-hee was the very definition of an ordinary office worker. Every day, she dragged herself from dawn till dusk, tying up her long hair neatly as she rushed to work. On the surface, she was just another face in the city, but behind that tired smile was a girl who carried burdens far heavier than her small frame suggested.
Her childhood friend, Na-eun, had once almost been sold off by her conservative family to become the wife of an old widower on the mountain. The two girls had run away together, vowing to survive in Seoul at any cost. Na-eun's dream was to study, to make it to university and prove herself. Jae-hee's dream was much simpler—just to keep her friend safe.
But dreams were fragile things.
One bright morning, Jae-hee was suddenly laid off, discarded by her company like she was nothing. The head manager, notorious for his temper, hurled insults at her as if she were less than human. Even when she begged to stay, pride and cruelty slammed the door in her face.
That night, when she returned to the tiny home she shared with Na-eun, a deeper wound awaited her. Na-eun had been swindled—her savings, everything Jae-hee had worked so hard to protect, was gone. The betrayal left Jae-hee hollow. With nothing left but despair, she wandered the streets, clutching a cheap bottle of liquor, the city lights blurring into rivers of neon tears.
Morning came. She awoke by the banks of a wide river, surrounded by the sound of strangers camping nearby. Her head throbbed, her body heavy, but then she heard it—a scream.
A young boy had fallen into the water.
Panic surged through the crowd, but no one moved. Jae-hee's heart pounded. Before she realized it, her feet were already in the icy current. The boy's small body slipped further and further away, and though she swam with everything she had, her strength was no match for the river's merciless pull.
Her arms trembled. Her lungs burned. The boy was safe, but she was sinking. Darkness closed in.
Just before consciousness left her, Jae-hee saw him.
A man in traditional hanbok, his expression calm yet desperate, swimming toward her as if he had been waiting for this very moment. His voice reached her faintly, like a whisper from another world.
And then, everything went black🌝