Rain soaked the streets of Isaran.
Lee-Oh pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders, the thin fabric doing nothing to stop the cold wind slicing through the alleys. His shoes, riddled with holes, squelched with every step. In one hand, he held a paper bag — inside, a single piece of bread. The cheapest one. Stale. But it was all he could afford.
Back at their apartment — if you could call it that — Alex was waiting. She hadn't eaten all day. Neither had he. But Lee-Oh had smiled as he left that morning, whispering, "I'll get something for us, don't worry."
They didn't have rent. No electricity. Their water had been shut off last week. Their future was emptier than their fridge. But they had each other — and Lee-Oh had hope. Somehow.
As he passed under the overpass near the market, he saw her.
A woman, slumped against the wall, soaked to the bone. Her clothes were in tatters, her arms wrapped around her chest, shivering violently. Her eyes locked onto his bag. Then onto his eyes.
"Please…" she croaked, voice nearly drowned by the rain. "Even just a bite."
Lee-Oh paused. He looked down at the bread. It wasn't much. Barely enough for two. And Alex… Alex was waiting.
He took one step forward. Then another. And then, without a word, he knelt beside her, pulled the bread from the bag, tore it in half — and gave her his half.
"No," she whispered as he held it out. "You're starving too."
He smiled — small, tired. "Doesn't matter. You needed it first."
She stared at him, hands trembling, before taking it. She ate slowly, as if tasting something sacred.
Then, the air around them shimmered.
Lee-Oh blinked. The rain stopped — not slowed, stopped, suspended mid-air like frozen glass. The streetlights flared. And the woman before him began to glow with a faint golden light.
He stumbled back. "W-What the—?"
The woman stood tall now, taller than she had seemed. Her rags melted into flowing robes of shifting color. Her eyes turned pure silver.
"You have a pure heart," she said softly, voice now rich and echoing. "One act of kindness, given with nothing in return... That is the currency of miracles."
Lee-Oh's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
"I am bound by the old laws," she continued. "You, Lee-Oh, have earned a wish. One wish. No more. No less."
"A… wish?"
She nodded. "Choose carefully. What your heart truly desires… will shape your destiny."
He stared at the glowing being before him.
One wish.
Just one.
His mind raced — money? Power? Safety? A home? A cure for the aching weight in Alex's chest every time she coughed?
Then it struck him. A single word.
"Luck."
The genie tilted her head.
"I wish… for 100% luck," Lee-Oh whispered. "In life. In everything. For the rest of my days."
The genie's smile widened — and her form began to scatter into golden dust.
"So be it," she whispered.
A golden sigil etched itself into Lee-Oh's chest, glowing once before vanishing.
The rain resumed.
And the alley was empty.
He stood there, alone.
Confused.
Was it real?
He turned around — and that's when he saw it.
A glimmer on the ground.
A silver coin… followed by another… and another… leading down the street like a trail.
To what?
To where?
To something.
Lee-Oh's heart pounded.
He took the first step forward.
Lee-Oh bends down to pick up the coin — but a shadow from behind him steps into view. A voice calls out:
"That coin doesn't belong to you."