Hwa-rin woke with a heavy head and a dull ache spreading through her body.
As she opened her eyes, the world came in fragments.
White ceiling. Blurred lights. A steady, mechanical beep.
Hospital.
She turned her head slightly. Her right hand lay stiff beside her, a needle embedded in her vein, a transparent tube leading to a fluid bag.
She stared at it blankly for a moment, then looked away.
Her gaze shifted to the phone lying on the table beside her.
She reached for it and turned on the screen.
A handsome young man filled the lock screen. Black hair, sharp features, dark eyes that felt too familiar.
"Why is there a man on my phone?" she muttered, her voice hoarse.
She flipped the phone over. A shiny red case stared back at her. Too glossy. Too loud.
Ugly.
She placed it back.
Wrong phone.
She sat up, her gaze lifting to the clock.
Six in the morning.
Her eyes drifted to the calendar hanging on the wall.
Red marks slashed across the dates.
April 12.
She leaned back against the pillow.
And the year—
2026.
"Shit…" She sat up.
"Isn't it 2025?" she muttered.
Before she could think further, the door opened.
A doctor stepped in. The moment his eyes met hers, he froze.
"…You're awake?" he said, more to himself than to her.
"Shouldn't I be?" Hwa-rin replied.
Still shaken, the doctor turned to a nurse. "Call her family." he said, turning back to her,
"How do you feel?"
"Normal," she replied.
"You were unconscious for a whole year."
She nodded. To her, it had felt like only a day.
Who knew I'd been unconscious for a whole year?
"…What happened to me?" she asked.
"Don't you remember? You were in a car accident." he replied.
"…Car accident?"
"Yes. You went into a coma. Every day, your survival was uncertain."
Hwa-rin shook her head. "You must be mistaken. It wasn't a car—"
The door burst open.
A girl with short brown hair and a delicate frame rushed in. Her eyes were red, tears spilling over as she ran straight to Hwa-rin and wrapped her arms around her tightly.
"I thought you'd never wake up," she cried.
"I'm so glad you woke up."
Hwa-rin stiffened, then gently pushed her away.
"Sorry… but do I know you?"
"…Unni… it's me. Your sister, Seo-yeon."
"I… have a sister?" Hwa-rin asked.
Seo-yeon's hands flew to her mouth as she began to tremble.
"Even if you hate me," Seo-yeon continued, "how can you say you don't remember me?"
A dull headache throbbed behind Hwa-rin's eyes. She kept her voice polite.
"You might have the wrong person. I don't have a sister."
"Perhaps she lost her memory," the doctor interjected.
"My memory is fine," Hwa-rin said sharply.
Seo-yeon's voice broke as she turned to the doctor. "She's… she's lost her memory."
Hwa-rin pinched the bridge of her nose.
Seriously?
"Doctor, can I get my phone?" Hwa-rin asked.
He gestured to the table.
She glanced at the red phone again. "That's not mine."
The doctor's eyes softened with pity.
You lost your memory, his expression clearly said.
"…Can I borrow yours?" she added impatiently. "I need to call someone."
He handed her his phone.
She dialed without hesitation.
"Oppa," she said the moment the call connected. "Where are you?"
"…Who is this?"
"Don't joke," she snapped. "I'm at the hospital."
"Ma'am," he replied coolly, "you have the wrong number."
Her jaw tightened.
"Listen," she said sharply. "Some girl showed up and is calling me her sister. Get here."
"…That's exactly what I'd say," Min-ho replied, repeating her words flatly. "Some girl showed up and is calling me her brother."
He might have been teasing.
But Hwa-rin had never heard such a cold, heartless tone from Min-ho.
The line went dead.
Hwa-rin stared at the phone.
"…Is he high on something?" she murmured.
The doctor exhaled quietly. "She seems to be experiencing temporary memory loss and dissociative symptoms."
"What does that mean?" Seo-yeon asked softly.
"It's possible that while in the coma, her mind created a reality that felt real to her." he explained. "And now she has lost touch with reality and believes in the different world she created."
"So… she doesn't remember me?" Seo-yeon whispered.
Hwa-rin handed the phone back.
"Thank you. And please stop assuming things."
"You'll need psychological evaluation," the doctor said.
"I will get it for you, sister," Seo-yeon said, her eyes swollen.
You need it more,
Hwa-rin thought.
That's when her eyes fell on the small mirror on the table.
She picked it up in surprise.
Dark mascara framed her eyes. Thick foundation masked her skin. Her lips were painted deep red.
"…Makeup," she murmured.
"You've always had a fear of showing your bare face," Seo-yeon said quickly. "So I came every day to apply your makeup. I didn't let anyone see you."
But she wasn't hearing her, she was just staring at the girl in the mirror.
The girl who everyone talked about.
Who had an accident that day.
Whose mere existence was hated.
Kim Ha-eun.
-----
Later, the room was silent.
The doctor had insisted she rest. Seo-yeon had left, wiping her tears too neatly at the door.
Hwa-rin sat on the bed, breathing slowly.
Her mind racing.
I am Kim Ha-eun?
She remembered Min-ho once mentioning body swaps in manga.
Did I have a body swap too?
If I was inside Kim Ha-eun's body, then where was she? In mine?
Her fingers curled around the red phone.
She unlocked it with her fingerprint.
A headline filled the screen.
Kim Ha-eun Awakens After One-Year Coma, Suffers Memory Loss.
"That was fast," she murmured, and opened the article.
A video played.
Everything from a few hours ago repeated.
Hwa-rin woke up, Seo-yeon sobbing, doctor saying nonsense.
"Was there paparazzi?" she muttered, and scrolled
Comments flooded in.
"She should've stayed dead."
"She was living in another world. LOL."
"Seo-yeon is an angel. She is so beautiful."
"Kim Ha-eun is trash. She should learn something from her sis."
"Why is Seo-yeon even caring about this b****."
"So she was acting after all." Hwa-rin muttered.
She exited the article, and scrolled through other headlines when one caught her eye.
Following April 11's International MMA Loss, Korea Intensifies Training Efforts
Hwa-rin stared at the headline, her fingers tightening around the phone.
That's not possible.
I was certain I had won that fight.
She opened K-Portal and typed,
International MMA April 11, 2025
Just to be sure.
She tapped the video.
Where the host announced Isabella.
She entered the stadium, her bulky frame drawing attention.
"And in the red corner, we have Korea's champion… Park Soo-ah!"
Hwa-rin's hand trembled on seeing that video, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She went and typed again.
Seo Hwa-rin.
And there was nothing, no pictures, no information of her.
She checked all the past MMA competitions she was present in but she wasn't there in any.
It was as if Seo Hwa-rin had never existed.
-----
Hwa-rin lay on the hospital bed, staring at the blank ceiling.
This was not a dream. She was sure of it.
So this was actually happening.
She sighed.
The discomfort on her face grew and she finally stood up.
The feeling of makeup on her face was something she had always hated.
Hwa-rin pushed herself up and walked into the bathroom attached to the room.
The light flicked on. The mirror reflected a face that still didn't feel entirely hers.
She stood there for a moment, unmoving, then slowly raised her hand and pressed her fingertips to the glass, as if testing whether the reflection would move on its own.
Softly, she traced the outline of the face staring back at her.
Then where was the real Kim Ha-eun?
Her hand drifted lower, stopping near the collarbone.
She lowered her gaze from the reflection to her own neck.
Something dull and silver peeked out from beneath the hospital shirt.
She pulled it out.
A familiar silver chain with a small pendant hung around her neck.
Her breathing faltered, just slightly.
Relief came when she saw the necklace was still there, but it was quickly swallowed by the shock.
Why was it here?
A quiet unease stirred in her chest. She loosened her shirt enough to look down at her right arm.
An old scar crossed her skin.
Deep. Familiar.
She stared at it for a long moment, then slowly looked back up at the mirror.
Hwa-rin slowly exhaled and leaned forward, washing her face as water ran freely, taking the makeup with it.
When she straightened, droplets clung to her lashes and slid down her skin. She slowly lifted her gaze to the mirror.
This time, a familiar face looked back at her.
Seo Hwa-rin's face.