"Normally, we'd report this as identity theft, but the blood type and genetics from your re-sampled blood perfectly match the Kang Moon-soo autopsied 15 years ago."
"Oh…"
"Are you really him?"
"Yes, I'm Kang Moon-soo. You may not believe me, though."
What an absurd situation, having to prove I'm me!
A novel experience.
Also,
'This is insane!'
An ID lists your aptitude next to your name.
So, stealing an ID is treated as faking an aptitude, carrying severe penalties.
It means I might not only fail to escape this world (dream) but could end up judged by the law and thrown in jail!
Dangerous.
"To be honest, my aptitude isn't health medicine but genetic engineering. I take pride in being part of Elmolance."
"…"
Why was the doctor suddenly saying this?
"So, I'm confident in my medical knowledge and skills. Based on my judgment, I'm 100% certain you're not a cloned human but the real Kang Moon-soo."
"Oh!"
"Welcome back to the living world from the underworld, Mr. Kang Moon-soo."
"Uh, yes."
I never died, though!
"I'm curious how you've maintained your appearance from 15 years ago, but from now on, it's out of my hands, so I'll pass the baton."
"From now on? There's more?"
"It's not the police, so don't worry. It'll be a big help when restoring your canceled ID."
"I can handle it myself…"
"If you want to be treated as a clone and have your human rights violated, you can leave right now."
"…Hahaha! Looks like I can't handle it myself. Doctor, what should I do next?"
I decided to follow the hospital's judgment completely!
***
The next step, or the person to receive the baton as the genetic engineering doctor mentioned, came much later than expected.
It was now 3 a.m.
While everyone slept, I was walking through the dimly lit hospital corridors.
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo, this is it."
"Thank you."
Was this a coincidence?
Or fate?
Guided politely by the nurse, I arrived at a hospital lab where Choi Kang-min's attending physician was waiting.
"Come in! Come in!"
She was sitting at a desk, staring at a computer monitor, and greeted me with a warm, welcoming expression.
"Hello."
"I wanted to meet you right away, but passing off a surgery to someone else is illegal, so I had no choice."
"It's fine—"
Growl.
My body didn't seem fine, though!
Maybe because I hadn't eaten during all the tests, my stomach was screaming for food.
"Oh my! I'm sorry, Mr. Kang Moon-soo. You missed meal time waiting for me. Would you like some snacks?"
"I'd be grateful to have them!"
Free is always good!
Everything at Elmolance Hospital was top-notch, but this room was on another level.
'So much stuff.'
A built-in display case, packed with trophies and medals, took up one entire wall.
The opposite wall was covered with hundreds of framed certificates and licenses…
They were so dazzling that the hospital's top-tier appliances and furniture looked almost shabby.
"Does this raise your trust in me a bit?"
"Yes? Oh, yes."
"I have more trophies and medals in storage, but the room's small, so I settled for this. It's enough to gain trust from patients and visitors."
"It seems so."
The room felt cramped, likely due to the medical equipment, including a bed.
Especially,
'Raising jellyfish?'
A cylindrical glass tank, big enough for a person, was filled with translucent jellyfish about 5mm long.
"Turritopsis nutricula."
"…Pardon?"
"The scientific name for those jellyfish. In this country, they're called small guardian tower jellyfish."
"I see."
Jellyfish, whatever their name. My interest fizzled out instantly.
"These jellyfish live forever, like phoenixes."
"So they have a long lifespan?"
"No, they truly live forever. When their bodies are damaged or near death, they revert to their polyp stage. Like a Möbius strip, they can live indefinitely. Even after I die, these jellyfish will keep going, assuming my successor maintains the tank."
"Whoa…"
My faded interest surged back!
"As you might have guessed from the Turritopsis nutricula, I'm very interested in you, Mr. Kang Moon-soo."
"Me?"
"A man reported dead returned after 15 years, still looking young. Doesn't that remind you of the immortal Turritopsis nutricula?"
"Oh!"
"That's why I wanted to meet you, Mr. Kang Moon-soo. As soon as I heard, faster than anyone else! I canceled all my appointments to make time."
"You didn't have to…"
That's a lot of pressure!
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Seo Hye-joo, Vice Director of Elmolance University Hospital."
"Wow! You're a big deal."
"Not really. It's just proof I've lived according to my aptitude. I don't transcend time and death like you or wield mysterious powers like Magic Boy. I'm just an ordinary human."
Magic Boy.
A term that keeps popping up in this world (dream) that resembles my Earth.
"You say ordinary, but you haven't aged a bit, Vice Director."
"Have you seen me before?"
"Uh… I saw your picture online by chance."
"…I see. My youth is thanks to Elmolance, the leader in medical science. I can't revert to youth like Turritopsis nutricula, but I can hold onto it as long as possible."
"I see."
For someone like me, whose only asset is my body and who barely affords cheap multivitamins, it's a distant story.
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo, I'll be direct. How did you come back from death?"
"I don't know."
"I was told you were wandering in front of Room 1906…"
"That's right."
"May I ask why you were looking for Mr. Choi Kang-min?"
"The last face I remember is his."
Not a lie.
"Fascinating…"
"Me?"
"Yes. Because Mr. Choi Kang-min is one of Elmolance's top five shareholders. My employer, essentially."
"…"
Choi Kang-min was a global tycoon.
***
The Choi Kang-min I called "Bro" was lying in Room 1906 like a vegetable, with less than 100 days to live.
In contrast, the Choi Kang-min of this world (dream) became a corporate magnate after his father's tragic death.
"Twenty years ago, when Magic Boy first appeared, everyone was wary. But Mr. Choi Kang-min's bold investment in him conquered the global market."
'The two Choi Kang-mins are so different.'
As I thought this, a question popped into my head.
"Um…"
"Call me Vice Director."
"Vice Director."
"Do you have a question?"
"Yes. Do you know Choi Kang-hoon?"
"I do. If you mean Mr. Choi Kang-min's half-brother."
"Yes. Do you know what he's doing?"
Forced to train as his father's successor because his half-brother fell into a coma, I was curious about his aptitude and current job.
"He's still in prison."
"…What?"
"You look like you had no idea."
"Of course! Why is he in prison?!"
'Choi Kang-hoon in prison?!'
I couldn't believe it.
"He killed his father and was caught by Magic Boy while fleeing."
"…"
"He also killed his secretary, leading to aggravated charges and the application of the Magic Boy Special Act, resulting in a life sentence. He's been serving for 20 years."
"That's impossible…!"
A guy who wouldn't hurt an ant killed his father?
Something was terribly wrong.
"Interesting. You don't remember that incident at all?"
"That incident?"
"The time of your death was 15 years ago. And the day Choi Kang-hoon was tried and imprisoned was 20 years ago."
"Oh!"
Chronologically, Choi Kang-hoon went to prison, and five years later, 'Kang Moon-soo' died.
So, I should normally know about an incident that happened before my death.
But I don't. Of course I don't.
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo, you were Choi Kang-hoon's lawyer."
"Me?"
"Yes. It caused quite a stir when a man whose aptitude wasn't even law took on the case pro bono and outwitted professional lawyers."
"No way… that was me?"
"Correct."
"…"
In this world (dream), I must have been quite a figure.
"The trial, which lasted four years, fizzled out with your death, and from then on, Choi Kang-hoon faded from the media spotlight."
"…"
Choi Kang-hoon's imprisonment.
The death of lawyer Kang Moon-soo.
The stench of a dirty conspiracy reeked.
Why?
'I trust myself.'
No matter how close we were, if Choi Kang-hoon truly killed his father, I wouldn't have defended him.
It's definitely a frame-up.
"It seems you didn't just transcend death, Mr. Kang Moon-soo. Your physical age reverted to your late teens, and your memories seem to have gone back too."
"…"
Completely off the mark, but if Vice Director Seo Hye-joo wanted to believe that and accept it, it saved me the effort of convincing her.
More importantly,
"Vice Director."
"You're curious about how you died, right?"
"Yes."
"Bad luck. An alien spaceship crashed onto the law firm where you worked."
"What?"
I was far more impressive than I thought, and my death was beyond imagination!
"Defeated by Magic Boy, the alien spaceship happened to crash in the heart of the city. Many lives were lost in that accident."
"…"
Connected to Magic Boy again.
'Choi Kang-hoon, Kang Moon-soo.'
My mind cleared coldly.
Magic Boy, Choi Kang-min.
Seen separately, it's a coincidence, but once I assumed they were the same person, all the coincidences clicked together like puzzle pieces, becoming inevitable.
"So that's how I died."
"Hear me out to the end."
"Yes."
"Miraculously surviving, you were rushed to Elmolance Hospital for emergency treatment. But you didn't make it through the night."
"It was too late."
"No. A broken rib slightly punctured your lung. It was inconvenient but not life-threatening."
"…"
"The records listed an absurd cause of death: an alien endemic disease."
"That's not funny at all."
It felt like a sharp blade was pressed against my throat, sending chills down my spine.
"Your revival at Elmolance Hospital wasn't a coincidence. You died here."
"Yes."
Thank you for keep missing the mark!
"And thanks to our autopsy, we have all the data from back then. From your genes to your tailbone. We have enough to prove you're the real Kang Moon-soo."
"I see."
The explanation didn't fully sink in.
"I actually wanted to ask the resurrected you."
"Ask what?"
"You've probably guessed."
"…"
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo, you said you don't remember, but I'll ask anyway. Who killed you?"
"…"
I couldn't answer because I'm not the 'lawyer Kang Moon-soo' who died 15 years ago.
'But.'
Even if I don't know, I feel like I do.