Episode 1
It was a traffic accident.
My legs wouldn’t move.
I tried to wipe at the corners of my eyes, but I couldn’t twitch even a single finger.
I didn’t need to check to know. Yeah, I was probably covered in blood.
Damn it.
Why today, of all days?
I’d won an award today.
My first-ever Best Supporting Actor award, after years of being an unknown nobody.
Even though the director had practically screamed at me to wrap up my acceptance speech fast, it was still my first award...
I’d been so happy I thought I might float away.
My consciousness was fading in and out. A broken bone must’ve pierced a lung, because even breathing was becoming hard.
Ah. So this is really how I die.
Laughter bubbled out of me on its own.
To think I’d die like this.
My acceptance speech today had really killed it, too.
Up on that stage, I had said, trembling, “I’d like to be ugly for just one day.”
The actors had laughed. It had been a joke, but their laughter hadn’t felt especially pleasant.
If a truly handsome guy had said that, one or two people would’ve shot him looks that said he was full of himself.
I looked at the precious statue in my hands and said, “Because I’m ugly every single day.”
At that, the audience burst out laughing all at once. And then I stepped down from the podium.
Ah, damn it. If I’d known I was going to die like this, I would’ve said something cooler.
To think “ugly” would become my last words.
The world in front of me grew blurrier and blurrier. Somewhere, I could hear someone singing.
You were born to be loved
Born to be loved? Me?
That was a bit much, considering how ugly I was.
I had never been used to being loved, and I had never asked for it, either.
With this face, I should count myself lucky if people didn’t swear at me.
Honestly, the reason I’d made it this far in life had been my acting, not my face.
And this is the song playing as I’m dying? Are you kidding me?
Siren blared.
Sorry, ambulance. You’re too late.
And that was how I died.
I’d lived decently hard, but it had been a life that ended with the bitter regret of being ugly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The world before me was white. I looked around, only to find—unfortunately—nothing at all.
Hm. Heaven, maybe.
Only natural. I smiled faintly.
If I don’t get into heaven, who will?
Lee Hanjo, the luxury supporting actor.
Another name for me was angel without wings.
When I was alive, I hadn’t just cared about acting; I’d also taken a keen interest in all kinds of social issues. Volunteering and donations had been as routine to me as eating.
If someone like me doesn’t go to heaven, then who does?
I was sincere about volunteer work and donations, you know.
Of course, at first, it had all been for image management.
But once I started, I actually liked it.
There was also the effect that when an ugly actor donated money, it somehow made him seem even more sincere.
So I worked hard at it.
If I’d earned more, I probably would’ve given more. The problem was, I hadn’t earned much to begin with.
There’s a limit to what a supporting actor can make.
I let out a sigh.
If I’d been handsome...
I could’ve taken on more roles. Damn it, why was I born looking like this?
But why isn’t anyone coming?
I waited for the angel who was supposed to appear.
Then, out of nowhere, subtitles floated up in front of me.
State three wishes.
Everything has a price.
I crossed my arms.
What is this song...? Again?
They teased me even as I was dying, and now they were teasing me after death, too? Was this a double, no, triple killing?
“The angel I was supposed to meet still hasn’t shown up, and now this thing pops up instead.”
When did heaven become a contactless service? This was absurd beyond words.
“Three wishes? Come on. No, seriously, I worked my ass off donating and volunteering.”
I brushed at the subtitles with my hand and muttered, “You can’t just settle for this much. If I did good deeds, I should get something proper in return.”
No matter how much I smudged the letters, they didn’t disappear. Instead, the line below shifted slightly.
Three wishes. Compensation for a life lived fairly decently.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Fairly decently”?
Wow, harsh. I was pretty sure I ranked in the top ten percent of decent people!
“I even went to Africa to volunteer, you know.”
It had been for a TV program, sure, but I’d spent a month there, and it had given me some deep insight. My image had improved a lot, too.
I looked back at the subtitles. The text shifted again.
Three wishes. Compensation for a life lived at least somewhat decently.
“At least somewhat”?
The wording was getting meaner by the second. Was that just my imagination?
“This whole contactless setup is cold, too. No wonder nobody feels safe dying.”
I complained, but the subtitles didn’t change.
I grumbled and looked at them again.
Wait, what was I...?
You were born to be loved.
I reached a conclusion at once.
Bullshit.
If I’d really been born to be loved, I wouldn’t have had a face like this.
State three wishes.
Still, this part wasn’t bad. But in Korea, you had to listen until the end.
Everything has a price.
I folded my arms and fell into thought.
A price, huh...
Well, nothing in this world was free. I looked at the subtitles and asked, “What kind of price are we talking about, and how exactly does it work?”
The text changed again.
I cannot tell you.
Well, wasn’t that a friendly attitude.
If you won’t tell me, how am I supposed to choose?
Still, I kept staring at the letters. Truthfully, there was only one thing I wanted.
My face.
But the fact that there was a price attached nagged at me. I read the message once more.
State three wishes.
A grin crept onto my face.
“Three wishes, huh.”
There was a wish I’d always wanted to make someday, if I ever got the chance.
“My first wish is to have a wish measured in trillions.”
That was something I’d always thought whenever I looked at a genie’s lamp.
Wasn’t Aladdin supposed to start by asking for a lot more wishes?
If you’ll grant anything, why only three?
Well, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.
Honestly, I expected to be rejected. But the subtitles moved.
I shall grant it.
However, as the price of your good deeds, causality will be adjusted.
Everything has a price.
I narrowed my eyes.
Causality? That sounds like a land mine...
Still, a wish measured in trillions didn’t sound bad.
Besides, how big could the price really be? There can’t be many people as kind as me.
Honestly, even with limited means, I’d helped plenty of people, both at home and abroad.
When a typhoon hit, I donated for the typhoon. When an earthquake hit, I donated for the earthquake...
At first I’d done it for image management on social media, but later even that stopped mattering. I’d genuinely started doing good because I liked it for its own sake.
So even if I didn’t say it out loud, the world had a way of finding out on its own.
Anyway. I should at least put up a basic defense.
I said to the subtitles, “My second wish is for good health.”
This was very important. No matter how much money you had, it was useless without health.
I shall grant it.
The subtitle thing was pretty cool.
And then, of course...
One wish left.
I spoke slowly. My voice trembled on its own.
“...I, I want to be generally handsome.”
Even as I made the wish, I was excited.
How wonderful would that be?
I’d play every leading role in the world.
And then I’d make a fortune.
With that money, I could donate generously to people who were struggling.
Whether it knew my feelings or not, the subtitles shifted.
I shall grant it.
At that moment, as if it had been waiting for this, a tremendous gale suddenly swept through.
Lee Hanjo, a good human who always helped others. Based on your good deeds and the laws of causality, a new life has been approved.
This is the reward for a life lived in goodness.
Do not forget.
You were born to be loved.
Something suddenly dropped away beneath my waist. In an instant, I felt myself falling somewhere beyond control.
The world shook before my eyes. I raised my arm to shield my face.
You were born to be loved.
That was the end of the subtitles. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in another world.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The first thing I felt when I woke up was a bone-cutting cold.
Damn it! Am I in Antarctica?
No matter how tightly I curled up, the cold wouldn’t go away. Just as I was about to scream, I realized something.
M-my head won’t move.
I couldn’t hold my head up. The only thing I could do was twitch a few fingers.
What is this? Why is this happening?
Subtitle guy! My wish definitely included good health, didn’t it? Then why did my body feel paralyzed?
And why the hell is it freezing to death out here?!
My cheeks stung from the cold wind. Worse, I couldn’t see anything around me.
What do you mean, good health? Bullshit!
I screamed as tears streamed down my face.
Is anyone there?!
But what came out of my mouth was a completely different cry.
“Waaahhhhhh!”
For a second, I was the one who was shocked.
W-what?!
I was so startled I thought I might get the hiccups.
That sounds like a baby crying.
I tried making another sound.
Is anyone there?
The sound that came back to my ears was brutally cruel.
“Waaahhh!”
Ah. Damn it!
By now, I understood the situation.
Ah, I’m a baby?
I swallowed hard.
Sure, whatever. I’d died, so I could be reborn.
But why am I freezing to death the second I’m born?!
Shouldn’t I be in a warm room, feeling my mother’s touch, since I’d done so many good deeds?
The cold wind made my nose ache terribly. I forced myself to think calmly. I was already a baby with a weak immune system. At this rate, dying was only a matter of time.
And I can’t even hold my head up. I don’t think I can crawl, either...
Damn it. This was basically an express train to the Yellow Springs.
For a moment, I felt so wronged I could have burst. I screamed with everything I had left.
Somebody save me!
Of course, what came out was only a child’s wail.
“Waaahhhhhh!”
What else could a baby do besides cry?
...Damn it.
The problem was, even that was starting to exhaust me.
Am I going to die twenty minutes after being born?
Just when the crying was growing weaker from sheer fatigue, when my head was spinning and my consciousness was sinking lower and lower...
I can’t let this happen...
I couldn’t give up like this. I gathered the last of my strength and managed to cry out.
“Waa... ahh...”
And then it happened.
Someone lifted my body.
“Sister! There’s a baby here!”
It was a child’s voice.
Child or not, that was my savior. I was so grateful I could’ve cried for real.
“Oh, Lord! How could this happen?”
“This baby’s cheeks are freezing!”
Something warm wrapped around me. I let out a pitiful cry.
“Ngh...”
“Oh, dear Lord, poor little thing. He must be so cold he doesn’t even have the strength to cry properly.”
“Sister! There’s something around the baby!”
The sister held me tightly and said, “Noah, could you bring that to me? I need to get this poor baby somewhere warm first.”
“Yes, Sister!”
Soon after, we went inside the building.
After shaking outside for who knew how long, I was still cold.
I moved my lips, which were slowly thawing out.
I think I’ve got the gist of it.
Some woman—my birth mother, I guessed—had abandoned me near the orphanage run by this sister.
Damn it.
No, I’d been reborn because of my good deeds, and now I was an orphan?
I didn’t need to be born into a silver spoon family, but I should at least have had an ordinary home.
I felt so wronged that tears came to my eyes. I gripped the sister’s clothes tightly and scrunched up my face.
“Oh, you poor thing.”
The sister patted me gently.
“It’s all right, little one. You’re safe now.”
Hic.
“Why would anyone abandon a child this young? If they were going to do it, they should’ve at least waited for warmer weather...”
Exactly.
Somehow, being comforted only made me feel more aggrieved. I clutched at the sister’s hem and whimpered.
“Hiiing...”
Maybe because I was a baby, my voice was pretty adorable.
“It’s all right, little one. Warm now, isn’t it?”
It really was warm. Soon, a pleasant heat spread across my cheeks. Still sniffing, I burrowed into the sister’s arms. She instinctively patted my back.
“It’s okay, little one. Everything’s okay now.”
Thank you, Sister. May you be blessed.
“There, let’s try this.”
The sister immediately pressed something to my mouth. I drank it down greedily without thinking.
“There you go. Such a good eater.”
Only then did I realize I was drinking formula.
...
Only then did it sink in. I had been reborn, and I really was an orphan.
This is a total scam, isn’t it?
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, the sister kept stroking the corners of my eyes.
“Oh dear, baby. Don’t cry. Oh my!”
The sister looked at my face and gasped. For a while, she didn’t move at all.
“...I’ve never seen such a pretty baby. Good heavens!”
I even forgot to keep drinking the formula for a moment.
Pretty? Me?
The matron kept patting my back and said, “Your eyes are so big, and your nose is so beautifully straight! Even the children on TV aren’t this pretty.”
Suddenly, I remembered the subtitle that had seemed like such a scam.
...I, I want to be generally handsome.
That was what it had said beneath the line:
I shall grant it.
Huh. Well, look at that.