BACK FROM THE DEAD

CHAPTER 14: THE VILLAGE

*Pain. Night. Silence.*

That’s all I remembered.

The truck. The jump. The old man saying _“Your time is up. You’ve been good. Now you need to go home.”_

Then nothing.

Then… warmth.

I opened my eyes.

Not to white ceilings. Not to machines beeping.

To wood. Bamboo walls. A thatched roof. The smell of smoke, dirt, and something bitter.

I was on a straw mat. A thin blanket over me. My chest hurt. My ribs hurt. My head felt heavy.

And above me… an old lady.

She had to be in her 70s. Face like carved stone. Hair tied in a white cloth.

In her hands: another white cloth. Warm. Steaming.

She pressed it to my forehead. Slow. Gentle.

“You’re awake,” she said in a thick mountain dialect. “5 days. We thought the river gave us a corpse.”

5 days.

I tried to speak. My voice was dust. “Where… am I?”

“Gangwon-do,” she said. “Deep in the mountains. No road. No signal. No phone. No internet. Nothing.”

She dipped the cloth in a bowl of dark liquid and pressed it again.

Herbal medicine. The smell hit me: mugwort, ginseng, something sharp I didn’t know.

Around her were bundles of dried herbs. Bowls. Stones with markings.

Spiritual stuff.

I looked down at myself. I was 24. Not 19. Same body from the truck. Same scar on my chest from the crash. Not the bullet from 24.

Memories slammed me:

19. Korea University. Phoenix Corp with Mom. Married to Taewook. Contract, but I told Mom I loved him.

The old man. The truck. Dying.

I died at 19 to come back to 24.

And I did.

“Water…” I croaked.

The old lady gave me a wooden cup. Warm. Tasted like herbs and honey.

“You were in the river,” she said. “Men threw you in. No pulse. Cold. Blue lips. My son pulled you out.”

Men. Minho’s men. They thought I was dead and dumped me.

Because at 19, I stopped him. I made Taewook record him. I made sure he couldn’t touch Taewook’s uncle’s property.

So everything I corrected at 19… it worked in this 24.

“You have fire in you, child,” the old lady said. She was tying the white cloth around my head now. “The spirits said you’re not finished. That’s why you came back.”

I closed my eyes. Spiritual time mode. Not a dream. Not science.

Real.

“I need to go,” I said. “To Seoul.”

The old lady laughed. Soft. “To Seoul? Child, nearest town is 3 hours walk. No cars come here. No buses. Only feet.”

3 hours.

I sat up. Too fast. Pain shot through me. But I was alive.

She handed me clothes. Old. Clean. Too big. And a wooden stick.

“And this,” she said, placing 20,000 won in my palm. “For food. The bus. That’s all I have.”

I stood. Legs shaking. Scar burning.

“Why did you save me?” I asked.

She looked at me. Eyes old. Kind. Same eyes as the man from my dream.

“Because you’re supposed to fix what’s left,” she said. “Now go.”

I walked.

3 hours through mountains. River beside me. No people. No signal. No sound except my feet and birds.

_2:00 PM. Town._

First thing I did: found an internet cafe. Hands shaking.

Typed: `Cha Soyeon`

Headlines:

`PHOENIX CEO PRESUMED DEAD AFTER CRASH`

`KANG TAEWOOK OFFERS 1B WON FOR INFORMATION`

`EX-BOYFRIEND MINHO: “SHE WAS MENTALLY UNSTABLE”`

Minho. Jihye. On camera. Smiling.

Because I died before I could put them in prison in this timeline. So they’re free. For now.

I bought a bus ticket. 4 hours to Seoul.

On the bus, I leaned my head against the window.

5 days in a village. No phone. No network. No one knew I was alive.

But I was.

And everything I fixed at 19 was waiting for me.

The bus pulled into Seoul at 6PM.

I walked into Kang Tower barefoot. Borrowed clothes. Hair wet. 20,000 won gone.

Receptionist screamed. “Mrs. Kang?! You’re— you’re supposed to be—”

The elevator opened.

Taewook.

5 days older. Beard. Wrinkled suit. Eyes red.

He saw me.

And froze.

For 2 seconds, the whole lobby was silent.

Then he ran.

He grabbed me. Both arms. Like he was afraid the floor would swallow me again.

“You’re alive,” he said into my hair. Voice breaking. “You’re alive. You’re not a ghost.”

I finally breathed.

“No,” I said. “I’m your wife. And I came back from the village.”

He pulled back. Held my face. Thumbs over my cheeks.

“5 days,” he said. “I tore the mountains apart looking for you.”

Joon ran up. “CEO, Minho and Jihye are live in 20 minutes. Saying you ran away with company money.”

Taewook didn’t let go of my hand. “Good. Let them talk.”

He led me to the car.

And as we drove through Seoul, I pressed the warm white cloth the old lady gave me to my chest.

The spirits sent me back.

Now it was time to finish it.