Chapter 127

How dare you pity me? Me?

Hyunji gripped her phone hard. The knuckles of her thin, bony fingers stood out, and the tips turned white.

To Hyunji, Florence had been a sacrifice prepared for her. A foil to make her shine—someone whose chances in life she ruined so Hyunji could take them. She felt a moral pang, yes, but she thought she had fulfilled Florence’s regrets by achieving things Florence never could.

Even after learning through dreams that Florence was watching her, and that Florence had taken over her body, Hyunji felt the same.

Everything in the world was like that. Life was decided by luck.

Just as her classmate’s life turned out differently only because she was lucky enough to be born to rich and kind parents.

This time, Hyunji was lucky, and Florence was unlucky. That was all.

She felt no guilt. In fact, Hyunji thought it was fortunate she had been told she would die soon. Since she would die anyway, even if something truly unexpected happened, no one could “steal” this life from her. Hurry up and die for me, instead of me.

And yet, the one who should have died dared to pity her?

“I won’t let you get away with this, Florence…”

It was humiliating. To Hyunji, pity was worse than anything. It felt like someone was staring at her naked body and smirking.

Look at that pitiful, scrawny body—did she not have enough to eat? If you look closely, see? That uniform isn’t new at all. Did she steal someone else’s? No, no—hand-me-downs, right? From who? A welfare center? Being poor is one thing, but she could at least wash up. Look at that greasy, matted hair, ugh. Maybe there’s no hot water…

People who studied worse than her looked down on her. No—truthfully, some of them even studied better than she did. Of course they did; they could afford tutors!

Pity drags a person down to the bottom. Hyunji’s fingertips and toes turned cold, and a ringing filled her ears.

“I’ll go back no matter what. I’ve done it once—I can do it twice. You think your life will stay smooth? The moment you break and falter, I’ll take that body back…”

So Florence wouldn’t let her be happy? Same here.

Florence acted like a pure victim, but that wasn’t true. Florence had also ruined and stolen the last five years. Hyunji had built more than Florence ever did in nineteen years—yet Florence snatched it all and shoved it into the mud.

It made no sense to accept everything meekly just because she had killed a single street urchin.

“You won’t live happily either!”

What was so important about that little girl anyway? Children like that were everywhere on the streets. She wasn’t pretty, she couldn’t do anything. Pick anyone on the street at random, and they’d be better than her.

Hyunji’s brief thought—that if she hadn’t killed Marie, Florence wouldn’t have gone this far—vanished the moment she read Florence’s letter. Rage boiled up and burned away even that small regret.

From the start, Florence had never intended to accept repentance or apology from Hyunji and Linus. When she made her plan, she never considered it. She didn’t think they were people capable of sincere remorse. And even if they apologized, it wouldn’t be sincere—and even if it were, what value did a few pitiful words have?

Can humans be redeemed?

Maybe.

But only if they can listen and understand. Only if they can imagine “what if” and empathize with others.

Jang Hyunji and Linus were not such people. From beginning to end, they only ever spoke their own piece. Whether apart or together, it was the same.

‘I’ll live. I’ll survive for a long, long time.’

Hyunji raised her voice and shouted.

“Is anyone there? Anyone there? Ah! Ah! Is no one there?!”

There was a commotion outside the door. Soon, the hospital room door opened and a nurse entered. Seeing Hyunji curled on the bed, panting, the nurse was alarmed.

“Bring a doctor! A doctor! Not a nurse, a doctor!”

“Ms. Hyunji, please calm down…”

“What can a nurse do—bring the doctor! Save me right now, right now, whatever it takes!”

“Ms. Hyunji!”

“I don’t want to die, I said I don’t want to die! I won’t die for you. I have money, I have money…”

Money—yes, money.

Money was everything. Burn treatment had cost a lot, but thanks to a charity’s support, the insurance payout was still large. Risky new drugs or whatever—fine. If there was even a small chance to live, she wanted to try anything. Her desire to live burned hotter than ever.

“Please calm down.”

“Let go, let go—let go…”

“You were fine just a moment ago…”

But the more Hyunji thrashed, the more her arms and legs hit the bed and the wall. For her own safety they couldn’t let go. Yet Hyunji suddenly froze at the nurse’s words, like a wounded animal taking a bullet. Grabbing the nurse’s wrist, she asked:

“What did I do?”

It was precisely a few hours ago.

“You even went out for a bit. Yura was very worried about you.”

“…Went out…”

“Yes, and you finished the discharge process too.”

“Me? Discharge?”

“You must be confused after waking up. You said you would go home. We prepared for you to be discharged tomorrow morning, Ms. Hyunji.”

The nurse soothed her gently. But this was no time to feel reassured by a gentle touch.

“Discharge? Where would I go if I’m discharged? I’m not leaving!”

“But the process is already…”

“Don’t be ridiculous—does this hospital kick patients out? What if I go out and just die? Are you trying to kill me?”

The nurse’s lips parted in distress. Sometimes patients became confused, yes—but only hours ago, Hyunji had clearly said she wanted to leave. Aside from pain management, there was nothing more the hospital could do, and a patient’s wishes came first—so the discharge was already done.

“Then we can move you to a six-bed room for now, and once a single room opens up, we’ll move you back—”

“A six-bed room? You want me in a six-bed room? Why? I have money—why should I?!”

“The person on the waiting list moved in when you asked to be discharged…”

“This is my room—my home! Get out, get out right now!”

Of course they didn’t just leave. The nurse called for help; several people came and held Hyunji down. She thrashed in outrage—then inhaled and steadied herself.

“Let go. Fine—just let go for now…”

If she lost her temper, she would lose. First, she needed to check what Florence had done while in her body.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I had a nightmare, that’s all. I’m sorry. Please let go.”

She trembled her voice, acting pitiful—just like when she lived as “Florence.” Luckily, the nurses backed off. By morning she would leave anyway, and if she went somewhere else to die, that was, in a sense, a relief—so they didn’t want to interfere further.

Checking the date, she saw it had been only one day. In just a single day, that foolish girl couldn’t have done anything big.

‘Where would I even go…’

The old house that had burned wasn’t a home.

‘I’ll go to a hotel for now. Then I’ll find a better hospital. No matter the cost, I’ll beg them to save me. Actually, this is good—this damn hospital…’

Hyunji opened her banking app to check her balance.

Not a single coin remained.

“This can’t be…”

What could that foolish girl know about this world? With just a few months, could she do anything?

With shaking hands, Hyunji tapped at her phone and found a text message. The number was unknown, but a chilling hunch ran through her.

「It’s good you’ve finally come to your senses. If you die, I’ll handle the funeral.」

It was from her uncle. Attached were a photo of a familiar yard, a bag gaping open and spitting out money, and a screenshot showing her account balance at zero.

“Florence, I’ll kill you!”

Give it back. Hand it over. Give back what’s mine.

Don’t use my money as you please. It’s mine. It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine…

In her dreams, a woman’s scream had shouted the same words.

Hyunji looked in the mirror. Brown hair, sapphire-blue eyes, creamy skin without even an acne mark, let alone burn scars, a slim, long figure… The beautiful woman she had dreamed of was in the mirror.

This is me.

Give me back my body.

From now on, I will live as “Florence Love Seymour.”

It’s mine! It’s my name!

She touched the mirror and smiled sweetly. Now it’s mine.

Hyunji turned lightly away from the mirror. The smile floated before her eyes.

The woman who stepped two paces away from the mirror wasn’t Hyunji—but Florence. At some point, Florence was the one smiling. She lowered her eyes, then lifted them to look at Hyunji. Her lips moved.

How do you feel? Do you understand my heart a little now?
I only spent money of yours—but you took everything from me.
Don’t you think you have a right to feel wronged?

Leaving Hyunji’s wail behind, the Florence in the mirror began to walk.

And then—she vanished.