BACK FROM THE DEAD

Back from the Dead* The wedding dress was red. Not white. I remember the silk clinging to my skin. The cold barrel of the gun. My fiancé, Choi Minho, smiling as he pulled the trigger. “You were never good enough, Cha Soyeon,” he whispered. Then there was blood. Then nothing. I died at 24. Betrayed by the man I loved. Betrayed by my best friend, Lee Jihye, who helped him frame me for fraud. I was alone when I died. So why… “Miss Cha? Miss Cha, can you hear me?” I gasped. Air ripped into my lungs like fire. I opened my eyes. White ceiling. Hospital smell. A heart monitor beeping fast. A nurse’s face hovered over me. “Thank God. You’ve been in a coma for 3 days. You fell down the stairs.” Coma? Stairs? I lifted my hand. No scars. No bullet wound. My skin was soft. Young. I grabbed the mirror on the tray beside me. The face staring back was mine. But 19. No makeup. No dark circles. No dead eyes. 19. Five years ago. Before Minho. Before Jihye. Before I ruined my life trusting them. My hands started shaking. I wasn’t in heaven. I was back. Back with 5 years of memories. Back with every secret they told me. Back with the chance to make them beg. “Doctor!” the nurse called. “She’s awake!” While they checked my vitals, my brain was already running. Minho was 24 now. Still a junior in his family’s company. Still dating Jihye behind my back. Still planning to steal my mother’s company shares after we married. In my past life, I gave them everything. My trust. My money. My future. Not this time. “Miss Cha,” the doctor said, “do you remember what happened?” I gave him the weakest smile I could manage. “I fell. My head hurts. Can I go home?” He frowned but signed the discharge papers. I was lucky. In my past life, I stayed 2 weeks. This time, I was leaving today. My mother was waiting outside. She looked 5 years younger too. Alive. “Soyeon-ah!” She hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” I hugged her back and for the first time in 5 years, I cried for real. Not because I was hurt. Because I had her again. That night, I sat in my old bedroom. My laptop, my diaries, my childhood. Everything was still here. I opened my phone. 2019. Minho had texted me 20 minutes ago: _Soyeon, you okay? I’m worried. Let’s have dinner tomorrow?_ Dinner. Right. The night he would slip something in my drink and start the plan to ruin me. I deleted the text. Blocked him. Then I opened Kakao and searched one name. *Kang Taewook.* Minho’s uncle. 32. CEO of Kang Industries. Cold. Ruthless. Hates Minho. Hates drama. Hates me, because in my past life I was the stupid girl dating his nephew. He was also the only man in Seoul powerful enough to crush Minho overnight. I needed him. And I knew exactly where he would be at 9PM on a Thursday. --- *Kang Tower. 48th Floor.* The receptionist stopped me instantly. “Do you have an appointment?” “No,” I said. I was wearing my university hoodie and jeans. I looked 19. Broke. Harmless. “I need to see CEO Kang. It’s an emergency.” “Miss, everyone says that. Leave.” I took a deep breath. Then I said the one sentence I knew would get me past her. “Tell him Cha Soyeon is here. Tell him I’m pregnant with his nephew’s child.” Her eyes widened. She picked up the phone instantly. 2 minutes later, the elevator dinged. A man in a black suit walked out. Cold aura. Sharp suit. Eyes like ice. Kang Taewook. He looked at me like I was trash on his floor. “You’re the girl dating Minho. You’re lying.” I lifted my chin. I wasn’t 24 anymore. I wasn’t scared of him. “I’m not pregnant,” I said, loud enough for the whole lobby to hear. “But I will marry you if you let me. Because in 5 years, your nephew will ruin your family, your company, and me. And I’m done letting him win.” The lobby went silent. Taewook’s jaw ticked. For 3 seconds, he just stared at me. Like he was deciding if I was crazy or dangerous. Then he pressed the elevator button. “Come up,” he said. “You have 10 minutes to explain why I shouldn’t have you arrested.” I followed him in. The doors closed. Game on, Minho. This time, I was the one writing the ending.