Chapter 0
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Prologue: Change
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"Don't you have any dreams?"
"Dreams?"
"Yeah. Dreams."
Seo Han looked at the Team Leader with puzzlement, wondering what flighty nonsense he was spouting.
"Why dreams all of a sudden?"
"Just tell me."
Dreams, huh. Seo Han thought for a moment before speaking up.
"It might sound a bit weird, but I want to be a streamer."
"A streamer? You mean those internet broadcasters?"
"Yes. I like games, and I think being a streamer would be fun."
"I see."
The Team Leader hesitated before opening his mouth.
"The reason I'm saying this is..."
It was a serious story.
The Team Leader said he was retiring a little early to pursue what he really wanted to do.
Seo Han encouraged him. Starting a new challenge at such a late age deserved all the support in the world.
"It's amazing that you're doing that at your age."
"Don't you want to chase your own dream?"
"I'll save up a bit more money before retiring. Around forty, I'll give it a try."
"True, you've got plenty of time."
Thirty-five. It wasn't exactly young, but it wasn't old either. Plenty of room left before hitting a major turning point in life.
Seo Han had even more time than the Team Leader. He'd thought that way for the past eight years—he could afford to take it easy.
But Seo Han's time ran out first.
On his way home from work, a truck blew through a red light and barreled straight at him.
His body floated up, then plummeted amid a wave of excruciating pain.
In that moment, Seo Han sensed his death.
'...Why?'
He didn't want to accept it.
But as that fleeting instant stretched on endlessly, he had no choice.
Seo Han watched his life flash before him, acknowledging it was time to exit the stage. He tried to sort through everything in his heart.
Memories. Lingering regrets. Worries about the future. He organized it all.
But one thing refused to settle, no matter what.
Something so trivial, buried under the petty joys and stresses of daily life, now floated to the surface after everything else was cleared away.
It was a lingering attachment.
'...I should've tried streaming at least once.'
At the same time, Seo Han felt his fading consciousness sharpen abruptly.
"...Where is this?"
A bed covered in a pristine white blanket. Walls adorned with a flower painting that gave off a soothing vibe, and a room kept neat and tidy.
"Hospital...?"
Seo Han had no idea why he was here.
'I definitely got hit by that truck...'
The headlights rushing toward him were still vivid in his mind. His body refusing to obey, his vision staining red with blood—those memories lingered sharp as ever.
As questions swirled, something felt off.
'Why are my hands like this?'
People had always told Seo Han his hands were big and sturdy. They were dotted with small scars from years of wear and tear.
But the dainty hands he saw now were flawless and pale. Soft and squishy, even.
Suddenly, Seo Han realized his body looked oddly small in the patient gown.
Before he could dwell on it, the hospital room door swung open.
A nurse with her hair tied to one side entered, glanced around, and approached him.
"Patient Yoo Seo-hwa."
"...Yes?"
Seo Han stared at her in confusion at the unfamiliar name. But the nurse's gaze was fixed clearly on him.
And then he noticed—his voice had come out strangely high and thin.
Like a little girl's.
"Um, could I have a mirror?"
The nurse handed him one, and Seo Han checked his reflection.
'...Huh?'
A girl stared back from the mirror, looking somewhat weary.
Young enough she might just be starting high school. Long black hair cascading to her shoulders, ash-gray eyes with a hint of decadence.
Beautiful at a glance.
But what really caught the eye was...
'Cat...?'
Pointy, fluffy cat ears perched atop the girl's head.
Seo Han gawked in stunned bewilderment at the girl with what looked like theme-park cosplay ears.
"Miss Seo-hwa. Are you alright?"
"......"
Perhaps because he'd been staring into the mirror with such a grave expression for too long, the nurse spoke in a worried tone.
"...I'm fine."
Seo-hwa said that, meeting the nurse's eyes.
"Um, what did you say my name was?"
Yoo Seo-hwa.
'Yoo Seo-hwa.'
Seo-hwa repeated the name in her mind.
It seemed the gods had decided to grant her a new life. And that life belonged to a little cat-eared girl.
Seo Han quickly resolved to accept this new existence as Yoo Seo-hwa. No point complaining about the gender swap.
She'd thought everything was over, but it wasn't. That alone was enough.
The nurse spoke hesitantly.
"Um, and about Miss Seo-hwa's rare disease..."
'Rare disease?'
Somehow, she had a gut feeling it was an explanation for the cat ears on her head, so Seo-hwa focused on the nurse's words.