Chapter 01 …
This world is filled with cruel and inexplicable things.
Sun-oh had learned that brutal truth with her whole body not long ago.
For example—how someone with unbelievably terrible luck could lose their entire family in a single accident and be left all alone.
“Ah, noona. What are you doing? Snap out of it.”
At the familiar voice, Sun-oh blinked her unfocused eyes.
“Did you drink that alcohol? Did you?”
But how many people in the world ever get to reunite with their dead family?
The face in front of her slowly came into focus.
“Can you hear me?”
Or how many get the chance to enter a book to bring their dead family back?
“Are you dozing off with your eyes open?”
The one pestering her right in front of her eyes was her younger brother, Yoon-han.
The youngest of the three Kang siblings, five years younger than Sun-oh.
A perfectly ordinary high school boy obsessed with soccer and basketball.
A brat who strutted around every Valentine’s Day and White Day after receiving unbelievable amounts of candy and chocolate.
And… the only younger brother who had died before her just two weeks ago.
“……”
This world really was cruel and bizarre.
But no matter how strange the world was, things like this did not happen to just anyone.
The chance to resurrect one’s family—no, such a miracle wasn’t something that could happen to just anyone.
“Hey! Noona! Kang Sun-oh!”
As the realization hit her—that she had just been granted that miracle—light flashed sharply in Sun-oh’s sunken eyes.
“Yoon-han.”
Sun-oh quietly called his name. The reality of her own voice vibrating in her throat sent chills across her entire body.
“What. Seriously, did you drink? Why are you calling people by name without the surname? Tsk. But you don’t smell like alcohol.”
Even as Yoon-han leaned in and sniffed near her, Sun-oh’s body stayed rigid.
The words written in that book were real.
“Kang Yoon-han!”
Sun-oh suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug, startling the boy so much he flailed wildly.
“What the— why are you doing this? Are you crazy?”
Even his frantic reaction made her want to cry from relief. But she had no time to cry now.
After letting him go, Sun-oh quickly looked around.
The scenery was unfamiliar. It looked like the bustling street market of a martial-arts movie, vividly reconstructed.
Swallowing dryly, she looked at the clothes she and Yoon-han were wearing.
Both of them were dressed like extras in a wuxia novel. Not only would they never wear something like this in real life—they wouldn’t even see clothes like these.
And yet Sun-oh didn’t panic. As if she already knew this strange world.
“…Where is everyone? Mom and Dad?”
At her calm question, Yoon-han’s expression grew even more baffled.
“Why are you acting weird? Mom and Dad went on a delivery trip. They left two days ago, so they won’t be back for a while. We have to sell everything by ourselves.”
The casual reply made Sun-oh’s heart drop back into place. Her parents were alive as well!
Then the only one left was…
“…Then what about Oppa?”
At that, the confusion in Yoon-han’s eyes froze.
“…What? Where’s hyung? What are you even talking about?”
A chill shot through Sun-oh’s heart again.
It was the same freezing cold that had flowed through her veins the day she heard of her family’s sudden death.
Exactly two weeks ago, Sun-oh’s entire family had died.
It happened on their trip.
A drunk truck driver had killed every one of them—her parents, her older brother Ji-woon, and her younger brother Yoon-han.
Only Sun-oh survived because she had stayed behind to revise her graduation thesis. Before she could even grasp what had happened, the funerals were already over.
A few days later, while she still drifted through a haze between dream and reality, a letter arrived.
From her older brother Ji-woon.
If you’re reading this letter, go straight to my room and open Phoenix Chronicle, Volume 1.
It’s a gift I prepared since you couldn’t come on the trip. Sorry we left you behind, little sis!
Phoenix Chronicle.
She knew that book. A year ago, Ji-woon had recommended it — an Eastern fantasy novel.
A world where the balance of yin and yang had collapsed, monsters appeared, and a being called the Phoenix—equal in power to the Emperor—was chosen through a grand competition. Aside from being unfinished, it had been fascinating enough that she couldn’t put it down for days.
But after losing her family, a fantasy novel? Sun-oh had let out a hollow laugh, but still opened the book as Ji-woon had asked.
She thought maybe he had left behind some silly prank, unaware of his impending death.
But on the first page was a line she had never seen before.
Enter the book and become the Phoenix.
If you succeed, your family will be restored.
If you are ready, turn the page.
She stared at the strange calligraphy for a long time.
She knew what the Phoenix was—the powerful figure chosen in the competition, equal to the Emperor.
But enter the book? Become the Phoenix? Revive the family?
“Hah… insane…”
Scoffing at the absurd prank, she suddenly realized something chilling.
Ji-woon—or whoever wrote that message—knew her family was going to die.
Her heart, dormant for days, began to squeeze tightly. After two hours of staring, she finally reached out and turned the page.
And when she opened her eyes, she was here.
A place where she didn’t know if it was dream or reality—but where her family was still alive.
Maybe this really was the book world described on that page.
Yoon-han was in front of her, her parents were out on a delivery run, and—
“Kang Yoon-han. Where is Oppa?”
Please. Her heart raced painfully fast.
Please…
Finally, Yoon-han replied with an exasperated, bewildered face.
“He’s at home.”
The heart that had jumped to her throat returned heavily to her toes.
Ha…
They were alive. All of them. That alone was enough—she now had every reason to stay here.
“Let’s go home.”
“What? Why? Right now?”
“I need to see Oppa. I have to ask him something.”
Without waiting, she turned to walk out of the shop, not even knowing which direction to go. Alarmed, Yoon-han grabbed her arm.
“You have something to ask hyung?”
“Yes.”
Sun-oh answered firmly. No matter what Ji-woon told her, she was ready. Nothing could be more shocking than seeing her dead family alive again.
“What are you talking about! Hyung can’t answer anything!”
Her face hardened.
“…What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, noona?!”
Furious, Sun-oh grabbed Yoon-han’s shoulders tightly.
“You don’t remember? Tell me properly!”
Her intensity made him shrink back.
“H-Hyung is… he’s in a coma right now.”
What?
Her earlier thought—that nothing could shock her more—collapsed instantly.
Sun-oh froze for a moment, then suddenly shoved him aside and sprinted away. After running blindly for a long while, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and grabbed Yoon-han by the collar.
“Where’s our house? Lead me!”
Completely overwhelmed, Yoon-han stammered.
Ugh… my sister really has gone insane…
They headed straight home.
Panting heavily, Sun-oh finally stood before Ji-woon—the beginning and the answer to all of this.
Her older brother lay completely still, as if dead.
“Hah… hah… Seriously, what is this… why all of a sudden…”
Out of breath from being dragged all the way home, Yoon-han collapsed beside the bed.
“Why is this happening? Since when?”
“What…? Geez, it’s been over a year… hah… aren’t you out of breath?”
“Why… is this happening?”
Sun-oh’s voice lowered sharply, and Yoon-han flinched again.
“Ah—scary. Okay, fine, I’ll tell you. Just stop staring. So… huff… hyung was trying to become a superhuman or something. I think it failed. Ugh, I didn’t want to talk about this again…”
Sun-oh’s breath stopped.
“…Superhuman?”
