A luxury apartment inhabited only by a tiny fraction of the super-rich in Korea.

Contrary to its sophistication, the floor was littered with all sorts of trash.

Accustomed to such filth, I pushed aside the garbage and headed to the kitchen.

*Clank*

As soon as I opened the fridge, I was greeted by moldy fruits and side dishes in various colors.

And there was a visibly strange plant growing, accompanied by a pungent odor that automatically wrinkled my nose.

“Let’s clean up tomorrow.”

Once again, I postponed cleaning to tomorrow and poured myself a strong drink.

“Sigh…”

I gently sat down on a garbage bag and drank the remaining liquor.

How long do I have to live like this?

I glanced at the trophies scattered in the corner, which were symbols of my past success as an actor.

Lee Seo-jun – XX Rookie Award…

Lee Seo-jun – XX Best Actor Award…

Lee Seo-jun – XX Acting Award…etc….

Fortunately, at the tender age of ten, I discovered my exceptional talent – acting and concentration. And, embarrassing as it may be to admit, I had a keen eye for good scripts.

In fact, it seemed as though the projects that interested me, were the only one’s to make it to the top.

The projects I chose to work with, had always garnered high ratings.

Of course, it also relied on the acting skills of the chosen cast.

Thanks to that, despite my plain appearance, I flourished in every project I took on.

Until I started a joint business with a friend I used to keep in touch with.

“Damn it.”

That trash bastard, who made me what I am today, popped into my mind, and curses slipped out of my mouth unconsciously.

“The investor of an illegal drug factory” is what you’d find if you searched for my name on the internet. The title stuck on to me as a brand label.

“If only I hadn’t befriended a trash like him…”

I was deceived by my friend.

If I had known from the beginning, I wouldn’t have invested at all.

Caught up in a busy schedule, I forgot about the business I had invested in until my name appeared in the news, and I was shocked.

Fortunately, the verdict for me, who had invested a substantial amount in the business, was not guilty.

However, the public did not forgive me. Despite me being deceived, they insisted on harsh punishment.

Even after five years since the incident broke out, the response remained the same.

Although Y&H Entertainment, the company I belong to, told me to take some time to calm down and slowly come back. But even if I returned with a steel plate on my face, the response was never positive.

In short, at the young age of thirty-five, my acting career was completely over.

“Why is my life like this?”

I sighed deeply, one bottle, two bottles.

I kept chugging alcohol like water.

With each empty bottle on the floor, my eyelids drooped a little more.

“Should I stop drinking and sleep?”

I tried to get up, but the world spun around and flipped over sideways.

*Thud*

I fell down, wondering how long I had been lying there.

As the alcohol buzz kicked in, painful memories from the past resurfaced.

“I worked hard and tried to forget everything…”

I suffered from parental neglect and indifference since I was a child.

Even at the mere age of ten, I worked hard just to hear that one word, “well done,” from my parents. But to them, I was just a money-making machine.

Ever since I became a middle school student, I earned money and offered it to my parents, who had abandoned me and left on a trip, only to receive news of their passing.

Back then, I felt no sadness at all.

I didn’t shed a tear.

But why am i tearing up now?

My heart felt hollow, as if nothing would bleed if pierced through.

Why do only bad things happen to me?

What did I do wrong?

“Sob… Sniff…”

I let out the tears I had been holding back, fueled by the alcohol.

And I cried myself to sleep.

***

It was early morning, faint footsteps disturbed my shallow sleep.

*Tap, tap, tap*

The sound drew closer to me and then receded, repeating in a nerve-wracking manner.

*Tap, tap*

The footsteps approached again.

With my eyes closed, I listened intently.

“Appa, the sun’s up.”

A faint voice of a child.

Someone shook my body.

Sensing something odd, I sat up abruptly. Blinking against the receding footsteps, I turned my head.

‘…Am I dreaming right now?’

I froze in place.

A little girl with short hair and shabby clothes crawled under a folding table.

“Who are you?”

“…Appa?”

No, Appa?

Am I still not completely sober?

As I tried to lie back down on the bedding, the short-haired girl who had suddenly rushed over grabbed my clothes.

“It’s morning… you have to get up.”

“Oh, right. I just have to get up.”

As I got up, a small smile bloomed on the girl’s face. It was a smile of innocence that only children can put on.

‘But… where am I?’

Regaining my senses, I glanced around and realized it wasn’t my home.

Tacky wallpaper and plain furniture.

Toys and quaint tableware.

Despite only a small blanket laid on the floor, the place already felt cramped.

Is this a figment of my imagination that somehow feels familiar?

‘First, I should go back home.’

*Crunch*

As I passed by the girl, I heard a strange noise and turned my head.

The girl was picking up pieces of dried seaweed one by one and bringing them to her small mouth.

When our eyes met, she swallowed the seaweed with a gulp and smiled.

“Hehehe, Appa, have breakfast too.”

Wait a minute.

She did call me Appa, didn’t she?

“Appa, aren’t you eating?”

I didn’t mishear.

“…I’m not your Appa.”

“You are my Appa.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not.”

“But you are…”

There was no getting through to her.

Not wanting to word wrestle with the little girl, I sighed deeply and turned away.

‘Let’s just go home.’

As I moved towards the front door to put on my shoes, the girl hurriedly swallowed what she was eating and jumped up suddenly. A hint of unease flickered across her face, making her slightly flustered.

“Appa! Where are you going?”

“I’m not your Appa… Oh, never mind.”

I wanted to correct the girl calling me Appa, but it seemed futile, so I gave up.

“…I’m going home. Take care.”

“But this is your home.”

“Your home, maybe. Not mine…”

*Gurgle*

I grabbed onto my stomach.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen.

Where’s the bathroom… Is it over there?

Somehow, I felt sure.

“…Hey kid, can I use the bathroom?”

“I’m not a kid… I’m Yuna, but Appa keeps calling me kid…”

There wasn’t time to soothe the whimpering child. It felt like it might happen any moment now.

*Gurgle*

Clutching my stomach, I opened the door next to the kitchen without looking back.

Luckily, it was the bathroom.

“Phew, that was close.”

After taking care of business, I headed to the sink with a relieved heart.

“What, what’s this…!”

The reflection in the mirror, stained with spots, wasn’t mine.

Sharp eyes that gave a striking impression, complemented by thick eyebrows.

Smooth skin without a single blemish.

It was the typical idol face.

‘I’m not this good-looking…’

A shiver ran down my spine.

I forgot about washing my hands and rushed out of the bathroom, frantically rummaging through the cramped room.

***

It didn’t take long to face reality. Embarrassing as it was, as I rummaged through the narrow room, the pain in my knee from hitting the corner of a shelf reminded me it wasn’t a dream.

How much did it hurt then?

Tears welled up, even though I was a grown adult.

No, that wasn’t important.

I meticulously searched through the drawer and unfolded a child’s health record I found.

The daughter’s name was Yuna. Five years old.

Her birthday was on December 31st.

The name of the deceased wife was Kang Minju.

And my name was Lee Jun-seo… 25 years old.

“My birthday is April 1st… It’s the same.”

So today is my birthday?

When I opened the phone I found on the floor, I realized it was April 1st.

Anyway, that’s not important. What’s staggering is that I’ve somehow aged ten years younger.

What’s even more chilling is that this is the exact house I lived in with my parents in my past life.

“Is this just a coincidence?”

I shook my head.

But there was a more serious issue at hand.

The letter I found on top of the drawer.

Lee Jun-seo was planning to leave this world, leaving his own daughter behind. The evidence lay in the multiple sleeping pills on the bedding.

“Ugh, what on earth is going on…”

The letter revealed that he had neglected his daughter, only five years old, completely. He expressed regret for his actions, not bothering to intervene in anything and not even calling out to her.

Look at the little girl now. She doesn’t speak unless spoken to, just like me.

‘How could he have neglected her so much…’

She resembles me when I was young.

It felt personal.

What could a little girl, only five years old, have done wrong?

If there’s any fault, it’s the previous owner of this body.

Isn’t it his fault for not being able to overcome the grief of losing his wife, Kang Minju?

I crumpled up the letter and tossed it into a corner before letting out a deep sigh.

“Sigh…”

The little girl, once again, silently cried, glancing at me.

Oh, come on. My heart is too weak.

I momentarily put the little girl aside and unfolded the passbook I found in the closet corner.

My head is throbbing.

The meager amount in the passbook.

It seemed barely enough to last a week. No, now that there’s the little girl, it looked a bit difficult to stretch it for over a week.

“Appa.”

“…”

I looked straight into the moist eyes of the little girl. Whatever happened, has happened now.

If there’s no way to go back, then I have to take responsibility for raising this little girl, right?

Honestly, living with this body didn’t seem so bad.

In my past life, when I was Lee Seo-jun, every day felt like hell.

The cold gazes of others and the storm of hateful comments directed at me were unbearable.

So I lived depending on strong alcohol.

‘Yeah, maybe this… is a new opportunity?’

I cautiously opened my mouth again, looking at the little girl.

“Yeah, what’s up? Why did you call me?”

“Hehehe. It’s nothing.”

The smile that quickly returned to her face.

No, now I should call her Yuna.

I couldn’t treat her like my own daughter right away, but I was willing to try.

Weakness didn’t suit me. I was always the one to act first and challenge myself.

With those thoughts in mind, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I reflected on my past self.

Wasn’t that guy like a recluse, hiding away at home all the time?

“Haha”

Thinking about my shabby appearance, I found it funny.

“Appa is weird…”

Whether it was the seriousness followed by sudden laughter, finding my changing demeanor unsettling, she began to slowly back away.

***

Feeling the pinch of tight finances, I stepped out with the intention of finding a short-term job. I brought Yuna along because I was worried about leaving her alone at home.

But I couldn’t tell if she was enjoying our outing or not. Her smile didn’t fade since we left the house.

“Appa, where are we going?”

The term “Appa” felt awkward, so I hesitated before answering, looking away.

“Yu… we’re going to the PC Cafe.”

“PC Cafe?”

I tried to call her by name, but the words just wouldn’t come out easily. Feeling self-conscious, I continued to answer her questions.

“I’m going to look for a job.”

“Job. Okay.”

These days, with just a smartphone, you can easily find work from home. So why did we come out?

There were two reasons.

One was that I wanted to freely roam the streets without hiding my face.

The other was my current phone.

In my pocket was a phone I’ve only seen a long time ago, a relic from a bygone era. With this phone, I couldn’t find short-term work from home.

‘Using a phone like this in today’s world…’

I didn’t want to pull it out in front of others.

It felt embarrassing.

*Tap, tap*

Wandering through the changed shops, I stumbled upon the PC Cafe. Just one more traffic light to cross, and…

As I picked up speed towards my destination, a familiar name from the adjacent shop caught my attention, accompanied by breaking news.

– We have breaking news just in. Actor Lee Seo-jun was found dead in his home this morning. Further investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of death…

‘Of course…’

I had suspected as much, but hearing about my own death in this manner left me feeling awkward.

“Appa?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I moved my legs, which had stopped without me realizing it, and crossed the street.