Episode 1
“Are you sure you don’t need me to put you to sleep?”
“Yeah! I can sleep by myself!”
On the surface, it was a fairly mature response. But perhaps that was exactly the problem—the nanny’s expression grew even more serious.
*‘Lorelei… are you having trouble hearing? Why do you keep asking? Should I tell Father to call the physician?’*
Normally, the young lady would have said something like that with an innocent face. But even for her, this reaction was *too* quiet.
“Miss, are you really alright?”
“Huh? Wh-why? What’s… what’s strange?”
“No, it’s just…”
Nanny Lorelei trailed off.
What was strange, she asked?
Everything was strange—from one to ten, all of it.
*‘She hates naps, so why today…?’*
Just moments ago, she had been perfectly normal. That is, until she suddenly flinched as if startled by something.
Yes. It started exactly then—this constant uneasiness, her cautious glances.
“Strange” wasn’t enough. It was suspicious.
When had Sylvia Langerston ever been a child who watched others’ reactions?
Lorelei stared intently at the child lying quietly on the bed.
Sylvia rolled her eyes and avoided her gaze.
“I’m sleepy.”
A lie.
But Lorelei simply nodded and tucked her in, pretending not to notice.
“Alright then. Sweet dreams, miss.”
She couldn’t understand why the restless young lady was lying so still today.
—
* * *
At last, the door closed.
The moment Lorelei left, Sylvia shot upright.
Now alone, she no longer had to be cautious. Her gaze trembled helplessly—confusion, embarrassment, panic—emotions flickered across her eyes one after another.
Then she noticed a large full-length mirror.
Without thinking, she jumped off the bed and ran toward it.
“Ha—!”
Standing before the mirror, Sylvia gasped.
Soft pink hair like cotton candy.
Clear sky-blue eyes.
A child—about ten years old—was staring back at her.
No… that wasn’t right. It *was* her face. Clearly hers.
And yet, it felt strangely unfamiliar, like looking at someone else.
Sylvia stared again.
The pink-haired girl in the mirror stared back in disbelief.
“This makes no sense.”
The girl in the mirror pinched her cheek just as Sylvia did.
It hurt.
So… not a dream.
“I should be in the hospital room.”
Korea General Hospital, ICU, Room 804.
She had spent nearly ten years there—so long that it felt more familiar than home.
But what was this?
The scene before her was completely different from that sterile room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Strange.
As unfamiliar as this place felt, it was just as comforting.
As if…
Yes, as if she had lived here for ten years.
“Did I just lose my mind after being told I’m about to die?”
Sylvia muttered blankly.
She remembered clearly.
‘Yesterday’ had been her twentieth Christmas.
A day said to be filled with love and peace—but the medical staff had given *her* a cruel gift:
She had less than three months to live.
She had grabbed them as they tried to leave.
When she asked if her parents had been told, they said they had already informed them days ago.
*‘And yet… no one came.’*
Twenty years old. Too old to cry over parental neglect.
But she couldn’t stop feeling sad.
*‘It’s not my fault I’m sick… I didn’t want this either.’*
She called them, even knowing they wouldn’t answer.
The phone eventually went to voicemail.
Emptiness. Futility. Regret.
If she had known she would die like this, she would have done everything she wanted.
Instead of clinging to false hope in that small hospital room for ten years…
Tears welled up in Sylvia’s eyes.
“Sniff… it’s so unfair…”
It really was.
“That’s it? That’s how it ends?”
There were no memories after her twentieth Christmas.
Sylvia burst into sobs.
“I think I really died…!”
It was unbearably unfair.
“What did I do wrong?”
Even a lie would have been enough—something like *you’ll get better*, *you won’t die*, *you can still do everything you want.*
Why… why hadn’t they answered the phone that night?
What was so important about Christmas that they didn’t even come to the hospital?
Her last memory of her parents was their annoyed faces—blaming her for being sick.
Overwhelmed, she cried harder.
The commotion brought the maid, Emily, rushing in.
“My goodness! Miss, why are you crying all of a sudden?”
Her kind words only made Sylvia cry more.
She clung to Emily.
“E-Emily… I… I…”
“Yes, miss? What is it? Why are you so upset?”
“I… I died…!”
“What?”
“I died! Those quacks lied! Three months?! What three months?!”
Emily blinked in disbelief.
“Then who am I holding right now? A ghost? You feel pretty solid for one.”
She chuckled softly while wiping Sylvia’s tears.
“Why would you die? You’re perfectly healthy. You’ve never even been sick.”
Emily laid her back on the bed.
“Go to sleep. You’ll feel better after a nap.”
Then she added gently:
“Don’t say things like that in front of Madam. She might faint.”
Sylvia hesitated.
Emily continued:
“Remember when you almost burned your hand on the teacup?”
Sylvia remembered.
Her father had shielded her hand, taking the burn himself.
*‘Are you hurt?’* had been the first thing he asked.
That memory silenced her.
“It was just a nightmare,” Emily said warmly.
“You’ll live a long, happy life. I promise.”
She tucked her in and left.
—
Sylvia stared blankly.
“A dream…?”
Was it really?
No.
She remembered everything—the hospital, the pain, the smell.
“That was definitely me… but this is me too…”
If this were a dream, how could she remember:
* Going on a picnic with her parents yesterday
* Arguing with Lorelei the day before
* Getting scolded for throwing something at Ray
“…Then if neither is a dream…”
Her eyes widened.
Then—
She smiled.
“Wow.”
Maybe God really did exist.
A fair and just God.
She rolled across the bed, hugging herself.
“I’m healthy! Completely!”
It was obvious.
Her previous life had been so pitiful that she was given a new one filled with happiness.
A healthy body.
Parents who loved her.
Things she had never even dared to hope for before.
“I don’t hurt! Not at all! Really!”
She jumped on the bed, laughing.
No pain. No collapse. No struggle to breathe.
Only happiness.
“I feel like I’m flying!”
Emily rushed back in, scolding her—but Sylvia couldn’t stop smiling.
*I’m healthy.*
*I’m really healthy.*
