“The bones have healed completely, as if by a lie.”
The doctor adjusted his glasses with an expression of disbelief.
On the large monitor, two CT scans were displayed side by side—images that looked nothing like they could belong to the same person.
“Any pain?”
“None at all.”
“Even if I do this?”
The doctor repeatedly touched and bent my arms and legs this way and that.
Then my arm got twisted hard.
“Agh…!”
As I groaned, my mother, who had been watching anxiously from the side, snapped.
“Who wouldn’t hurt if you did that? Even a perfectly healthy person would be in pain.”
“I’m sorry. I was giving it some stimulation, wondering if there might be something wrong with the pain response system.”
The doctor offered an awkward excuse.
“A full recovery immediately after regaining consciousness—this is my first time seeing such a case, so I’m surprised too.”
“Then can I get the cast removed now?”
I asked.
“There shouldn’t be any major problems. Let’s remove the cast for now and observe your progress for a few more days in the hospital.”
“While I’m here, I’d like to get a medical checkup.”
“A medical checkup?”
The doctor asked back, even though he had clearly heard me.
It was a bit out of the blue, admittedly. But what could I do?
I had to survive first.
I was trying not to show it, but I was actually extremely anxious right now.
That even this body obtained by heavenly fortune might be a breeding ground for disease.
It was a young body in its twenties, so I thought surely it couldn’t have a serious illness, but “surely” always stabs you in the back, doesn’t it?
I had experienced it in the previous life that had ended just two days ago.
Top star An Dongjin—
Who would have imagined that at forty-five, he would get pancreatic cancer,
who would have imagined that he would die because of it?
So I had to make sure, now that I had the chance.
I couldn’t rely on the uncertain confidence of a “surely.”
“Why a checkup all of a sudden? Is something hurting?”
My mother’s expression was instantly dyed with worry.
“No, nothing like that.”
As I was wondering what excuse to make, the doctor thankfully stepped in first.
“I think that’s a good idea. Everyone has natural healing abilities, but in Patient Gang Hajun’s case, the recovery is extremely abnormal. As the guardian would remember, didn’t I say before that he was presumed to be brain dead and that you should prepare yourselves?”
“Yes, you did. Oh, just thinking about it makes my heart sink even now.”
My mother replied, her voice thick with tears.
The doctor continued.
“Actually, waking up after a week in that state is a miracle in itself, but the CT shows he’s completely fine now? All the visible wounds have healed too. While this may seem good for now, there could be side effects or aftereffects.”
“Side effects, you say….”
“You don’t need to worry too much already. It’s just that it’s a possibility. It wouldn’t be bad to undergo a detailed examination just in case.”
I nodded vigorously from the side.
Of course, there wouldn’t be any side effects.
Gang Hajun having his consciousness taken over by me was itself the side effect.
Still, the reason I went along with the doctor’s words was simply that I wanted to accurately check Gang Hajun’s physical condition.
Especially the most important thing was whether there was a malignant disease like cancer.
The talk of side effects and aftereffects from the traffic accident was just a convenient excuse for that.
“All right, then. Please do the examination.”
My mother, who had been stamping her feet with a face full of worry, finally consented to the checkup.
**
Five days later.
The health screening results came out.
“Are you really being discharged already? Rest a little more.”
“I’m fine. I’ve rested enough.”
Gang Hajun’s body was perfectly clean.
Meaning there was no need to remain hospitalized in anxiety any longer.
“Aren’t you leaving the music academy vacant for too long? If the director keeps doing that, the employees below will start getting ideas.”
“Is that lousy academy the problem right now? My precious son just came back from the dead.”
Hmm, if I recalled correctly, its scale wasn’t small enough to deserve a “lousy.”
I swallowed my words, gathered my clothes, and headed to the bathroom.
They were clothes that Gang Hajun’s friend Go Hyeonsu had bought a few days ago.
The clothes he had been wearing when first brought to the hospital had become blood-soaked rags and were thrown away.
They had kept them because they could have become keepsakes had things gone wrong, but after seeing me wake up and walk around fine, they disposed of them immediately.
“Let’s go now, Mother.”
Having changed clothes, I slung a rather bulky bag over my shoulder.
And gently took the hand of the mother I had finally gained after thirty-nine years.
It was early afternoon when we arrived home.
My father, who had left work early taking a half-day, came to meet me.
“Welcome home.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You came back from the dead and grew up. To think I’d hear you call me Father.”
After sharing a light hug with my father, I naturally headed to Gang Hajun’s room.
Ah, right. It’s my room now.
It was definitely my first time here, yet it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
That was possible because Gang Hajun’s memories remained.
If that weren’t the case, I would have had to pretend to have amnesia from the start.
“Because of those damn ‘memories,’ when I first opened my eyes, I thought I was Gang Hajun.”
Of course, there had been difficulties.
I had even suffered identity confusion.
It happened as Gang Hajun’s memories and my own collided violently.
In that fierce confusion, Gang Hajun’s memories gradually lost their ground.
It was an adaptation period that passed in merely a few tens of seconds, but it was fierce in its own way.
Currently, Gang Hajun’s memories remained only to the extent that they didn’t interfere with my identity.
Like a vivid dream from the night before continuously lingering in my head.
I had no intention of forcibly shaking off the faintly remaining memories.
They would help me adapt as “Gang Hajun” rather than “An Dongjin.”
I was already doing so.
I set my bag down in a corner of the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
As I quietly looked around, a full-length mirror next to the wardrobe caught my eye.
My still-unfamiliar reflection was visible within it.
A vague impression without a single notable feature.
An ordinary appearance that inspired neither particular liking nor dislike.
A mischievous smile permeated it, making me look at least two or three years younger than my actual age.
Though he could be somewhat blunt, my father doted on his youngest son,
and his dependable older brother who was eight years older.
Growing up spoiled by them, it was no wonder.
Of course, that would change from now on.
The son who was merely young, the younger brother who was merely cute—they existed nowhere now.
“I can start over.”
I muttered as if making a vow.
For a moment, fragments of my past life swept through my mind, but I forced myself to shake my head.
It would be a lie to say I had no lingering attachment to life as An Dongjin.
The reputation I had built with difficulty over sixteen years had become bubbles overnight—wasn’t that only natural?
But I couldn’t afford to only look back. The opportunity given to me was too precious.
“…….”
I quietly looked at my weakly outstretched palm.
It overlapped with the grotesquely withered one from my previous life.
A week had already passed, yet it was still vivid.
The frustration of the moment my entire world came crashing down.
How could I forget that?
The sense of deprivation of having my forty-five-year life stolen by mere cancer,
the sense of loss that I would never be able to act again—they were indescribable.
Death had come suddenly, without time to prepare.
The physical pain was nothing compared to it.
The fact that I could no longer dream of a future was more terrifying and despair-inducing.
“Hss—”
I clenched my fist tightly and took a deep breath.
“Ha….”
And exhaled.
I steeled my resolve.
This was undoubtedly an opportunity given by God.
An invitation to fully perform the acting I couldn’t finish in my previous life, using the body of acting hopeful Gang Hajun.
From now on, there is no “Top Star An Dongjin.”
There is only “Actor Gang Hajun.”
I would build a new future as Gang Hajun.
I couldn’t be satisfied with merely reclaiming the fame from my previous life.
I would become a global top star who surpassed him.
I felt sorry for the real Gang Hajun, who had fallen into a coma due to the accident and had his consciousness taken by me, but I decided not to think about that anymore.
After all, if it weren’t for me, it would have been a life destined to die.
“In exchange, I’ll take good care of your family.”
I promised.
Even though I thought it would never reach Gang Hajun.
**
That evening.
Ding-dong—
A guest had arrived.
We were just about to have dinner.
My mother got up, checked the intercom, and opened the front door.
“Hello, Mother. I’m here.”
The owner of the voice trying to sound cheerful was my friend, Go Hyeonsu.
“You’re here?”
Despite the affectionate greeting, my mother’s expression was somewhat stiff.
It was different from usual.
“I don’t see Yeonjun.”
“He’s probably at his own place with his wife and kids.”
“He didn’t come… I wondered if he might, since it’s Hajun’s first day home. Ah, this.”
Go Hyeonsu held out the fruit basket he was carrying.
“You bought something like this? How formal.”
Mother took it and placed it on the shelf next to the sink.
She didn’t seem very pleased.
“Have you eaten?”
Father asked Go Hyeonsu.
Click—
As always, Mother opened the rice cooker first.
“I’ve eaten. Hey, Gang Hajun. I’ll wait in your room, so eat slowly and come—”
Thud.
Mother cut off Go Hyeonsu and placed a new rice bowl in the empty spot.
“Eat? When do you ever eat? You starve yourself every day. Come and sit.”
“……Thank you.”
Go Hyeonsu scratched the corner of his mouth with an embarrassed face and sat down.
Father, who had been smacking his lips over the grilled hairtail, showed a worried expression.
“Hyeonsu, your cheeks have gotten hollow these past few days. Won’t losing weight so suddenly affect filming?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Eat up heartily. You’re a grown man.”
“Yes. Haha.”
Go Hyeonsu, who had been laughing awkwardly at Father’s affectionate nagging, glanced at me and then patted my arm with a flushed face.
“How’s your body?”
“As you can see, perfectly fine. You visited me in the hospital all the time and now you’re acting timid.”
“Wouldn’t you be the same? It happened because of me.”
Go Hyeonsu seemed to be feeling guilty.
“What do you mean, because of you? Did you break the truck’s brakes?”
“Well, no, but….”
“Don’t think about using that as an excuse to not take me to the set. Just eat, quickly.”
Hearing my last words, Mother put down her spoon.
“You’re going to follow him again?”
“Yes. I have to.”
I answered deliberately, as if it were only natural.
Go Hyeonsu was an actor.
He was in his thirteenth year, excluding the blank period due to the military.
Compared to his long career, his recognition was low, but he steadily worked on projects.
Currently, he was filming a supporting role in the soon-to-air drama *Money Bubble*.
Since middle school, when Gang Hajun first met Go Hyeonsu, he had followed him to filming sets.
It wasn’t for no reason that he had dreamed of becoming an actor.
In that time, he had become quite acquainted with several PDs and directors, and had frequently appeared as an extra.
He had never taken a role bigger than a minor part, but it was a well that Gang Hajun had been diligently digging in his own way.
There was no need to abandon that and deliberately search for new ground.
In these tough times, where it was hard to draw even a single drop of water even if you attacked one spot with your life.
When you have nothing in your hands, the best thing is to quickly adapt to your surroundings.
“What if you get into another accident doing that?”
Mother looked back and forth between me and Go Hyeonsu with a disapproving gaze.
Mother had never liked Gang Hajun following Go Hyeonsu around.
She had wanted him to become a respectable office worker like his father at a public enterprise or his older brother at a major corporation.
And in the midst of that, he had gotten into a major traffic accident at a filming set of all places.
It was natural for her to be displeased.
“It’s not like that kind of accident is common. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
Not that I had any reason to bend my will.
“Hey, if you’re going to be cautious about your body just because you had one accident, you can’t do anything. You’ve been discharged perfectly fine, so don’t make a fuss.”
Fortunately, Father was on my side.
“……Sigh.”
Mother forcibly swallowed the scolding she was about to give and instead let out a dissatisfied sigh.
Then she put her more-than-half-full rice bowl into the sink water and went into the master bedroom.
“She’ll get over it. Don’t worry too much, both of you.”
Father continued eating.
But Go Hyeonsu, who had already put down his chopsticks, couldn’t concentrate on the meal.
He bit his thumbnail between his lips and darted anxious glances around.