Hye-won sat down on the bed next to Yoon Jae-ha. His hand ran over his face, making his already messy hair even worse.
He looked completely disoriented, which wasn't surprising. It was one thing to suddenly be nineteen again, but to wake up in Han Hye-won's body? No wonder he was a mess.
Hye-won herself had cursed the heavens when she realized what happened. But still—there was no way she could just ignore seeing her pretty face again after so long.
She nudged his shoulder.
"Turn around."
"Huh? Why?"
"Your hair's a mess. It's bothering me."
At her words, Yoon Jae-ha obediently turned his back. She reached out, running her fingers through the tangled hair that reached all the way to his shoulder blades, straightening the knots.
Suddenly, his shoulders flinched. Why? Was it the shock of such an intimate gesture after seven years apart? But it was her own hair…
'It's my hair. I'll do whatever I want with it,' she thought, stubbornly continuing.
That's when his deflated voice came, weak like a balloon losing air.
"They screwed up again, didn't they?"
If he meant the grim reapers, then yes, unfortunately, they did. Whether in this world or the next, it seemed there were slackers everywhere. Did grim reapers even get paid? Probably.
Hye-won gave a short affirmative hum, and Yoon Jae-ha let out a sigh so deep it felt like it could drill through the floor and down to the earth's core.
"I should've known when they 'accidentally' killed me… Whatever. It's already done."
Hye-won sympathized. She'd had her own meltdown over that just this morning.
"But hey… is your brother always like that?"
The sudden mention of her brother made her frown. Han Jung-won, her older brother—the overworked office slave who called himself an ant.
If she remembered correctly, since she was still a senior in high school… Jung-won had just finished his military service and was enjoying college life in Seoul. So why…?
"Why? He should be in Seoul."
"He came home for the weekend. I was sleeping, and suddenly someone was poking my leg. I opened my eyes and nearly passed out—Jung-won was standing right there."
"That guy, honestly… He probably woke you up to find something for him, right? I don't even need to guess."
"Still, even for siblings, isn't that crossing a line?"
His voice was flat, but disapproval was clear.
True, Han Jung-won could be annoying, always pulling stupid pranks. Being around him was exhausting. But she'd grown used to it over the years. It was practically tradition at this point.
"Really? I never thought much of it."
"You're going to be an adult next year. You deserve privacy. He shouldn't be barging into your room whenever he feels like it."
"…Okay, you've got a point."
"Of course I do. I'll give him a proper warning. You make sure it stays that way, even later."
"Yeah, alright."
The conversation was starting to feel more like a lecture, but he wasn't wrong, so she let it go.
Even if they were close siblings, it wasn't exactly appropriate to sneak into a grown woman's room without permission—especially not for trivial things like turning off lights or asking for ramen, which he did constantly. Not that she'd ever agreed to his requests.
"Don't just let it slide. Got it?"
The way Yoon Jae-ha spoke reminded Hye-won of work, like when the head writer tore apart her script, pointing out flaws mercilessly.
Was he always this blunt? Her head drooped instinctively.
As she absentmindedly played with her hair, her hand dropped to her lap, but his low voice called her attention again.
"For the next 49 days… we'll have to live like this, switched."
"Seems that way."
"Hye-won."
"Yeah?"
"Look at me."
When she lifted her head, Yoon Jae-ha's face, tidied up somewhat, came into view. Even in the gloomy atmosphere, she couldn't help but admire how pretty she looked.
Had she always looked this good? Or did Yoon Jae-ha's presence inside her make her see herself differently? A sneaking suspicion crept in.
"Won-ah… you know… even so, I'm glad I get to see you like this."
His words made her chest tighten with old sorrow.
They had been together from the very beginning. Before the embarrassment of naked bodies, before their first kiss.
Yoon Jae-ha had been half of her. Without him, Han Hye-won's life was incomplete.
And when he'd disappeared, so did her happiness.
Nothing was fun. No matter who she was with, she felt bored. Everything that had once been joyful with Yoon Jae-ha lost its color.
Yeah… these past seven years without him had been utterly miserable.
"Me too."
"…"
"I missed seeing you too… Guess I really did miss you all this time."
The sincerity in her confession rang clear. Maybe the universe had given her this ridiculous chance out of pity—for the lonely, miserable Hye-won.
"So let's—"
"Won-ah… can you hug me?"
…Huh?
"I missed you so much. Not a single day went by when I didn't think of you. So… can I hug you, just once?"
Yoon Jae-ha clutched her large hand, his eyes wide with pleading sincerity.
Hye-won's mind flashed back to the highway, to how desperately he had clutched her hand that day.
Yeah… this was about solidarity, surviving this chaos together. Just a hug between comrades—no need to overthink it. She was twenty-seven, not some naive teenager.
"Okay, but we'll have to adjust for the height difference."
Awkwardly, Hye-won grabbed his shoulders, startled by how slim they felt under her palms. So fragile, like she might break him with too much force. Her limbs moved stiffly, like an early prototype robot.
"Won-ah, bend your waist a little," Yoon Jae-ha instructed gently.
Grumbling under her breath, Hye-won awkwardly bent down. Immediately, slender arms wrapped around her neck, and his tiny body pressed against her chest.
Even through his thin pajamas, she could feel the rapid thudding of his heart.
She wrapped her larger arms around his delicate waist, pulling him in. His sigh was warm against the skin of her neck.
"It feels so weird… me being you, you being me…"
"Yeah… it's weird."
"I always imagined I'd be the one hugging you… never thought I'd be the one getting hugged, Won-ah."
He clung to her neck like a koala, but he was light as a feather. The difference in physical strength between them as man and woman hit her hard.
Her mind drifted to the past—to how he'd always carried her bags so casually. She'd been grateful back then, but seeing this body now…
'Come on, Hye-won. You've relied on him for years. It's only right to be thankful.'
Chiding herself internally, Hye-won hugged him tighter. Their bodies pressed close, radiating warmth.
The shared secret between them created a strange, unspoken bond—a connection deeper than simple friendship.
The reassurance of his warmth, his heartbeat—maybe that's all she needed.
"Won-ah."
"Yeah?"
"…Wanna kiss?"
What the actual hell…?!