They stayed like that for a few minutes before Kang Ji-won finally pulled away, feeling tears fall onto her shoulders.
Cupping Ha-rin’s face in her hands, Ji-won gently ran her fingers over the faint wrinkles on her new mother’s face.
“I love you, Mum,” she said.
Kang Ha-rin smiled, her eyes growing watery again.
“Me too.” She quickly wiped away her tears before pulling Ji-won back into the room.
“Rest a little longer while I prepare dinner, okay?”
Seeing Ha-rin still trying to take care of her despite looking exhausted from work, Ji-won’s heart ached.
So this was what it felt like to have a parent who actually worried about you?
“Mum… Why don’t you let me prepare dinner? You need to rest. You just got back from work.”
Ha-rin smiled softly and patted her cheek.
“No need to worry. It’s the least I can do to make you comfortable.”
Ji-won tried to argue, but Ha-rin refused to change her mind.
She even used Ji-won’s sudden change of heart as an excuse to celebrate.
With a small sigh, Ji-won finally gave up.
“Sure, sure. Do whatever you want,” she muttered, folding her arms and pretending to be annoyed.
Ha-rin burst out laughing at her expression.
This change of heart was quite sudden.
The Kang Ji-won she knew had always been reserved and kept to herself.
Waving happily, Ha-rin headed downstairs to prepare dinner.
Taking a deep breath, Ji-won quietly closed the bedroom door.
She slowly sank to the floor and buried her head between her knees as memories of her past came rushing back.
Her past life had given her almost everything she could have wanted, yet somehow, she had still been missing the one thing she needed most.
Love.
Here, she had almost none of the comfort she once knew.
But she had something she had never truly experienced before—a mother who worried about whether she’d eaten, someone who came home exhausted from work and still wanted to prepare dinner for her.
Ji-won lowered her head.
Which life would she choose?
The question lingered for a moment, but deep down, she already knew.
This was the life she’d always dreamed of.
And it was the life she’d choose.
Again and again.
Was this love?
Maybe that was why the little affection Lee Jun-ho had shown her had once seemed so precious.
She had spent her whole life craving something as simple as being cared for.
But now she understood the difference.
Shaking her head, Ji-won pulled herself out of her thoughts.
Why don’t I explore this world?
Maybe I’ll understand this character and the world better that way.
The thought was enough to get her moving.
She stood up, opened the door, and followed the same stairs she’d seen Ha-rin take earlier.
When she reached downstairs, Ji-won looked around.
The living room was small and almost bare.
An old couch sat against one wall, its fabric faded and torn in places, while a simple wooden table stood in the middle of the room.
Ji-won slowly shook her head.
Was this really the life the original Kang Ji-won had been living?
This is much worse than I expected.
I can’t live like this forever.
Her gaze settled on the only door leading outside, and a small smile appeared.
Once I get out there, I’ll find a way to change our lifestyle.
It’s too shabby.
The moment Ji-won stepped outside, she stopped.
The street looked just as neglected as the house.
Garbage was piled near the roadside, while scraps of paper and plastic were scattered across the uneven ground.
“Don’t the people living around here have any sanitation habits?”
She stared at the mess for a moment before glancing back at the old house.
“My first task is to find a new house,” she muttered.
If Ha-rin was working this hard just to keep them going, then she couldn’t simply sit around and do nothing.
Hmm…
Where should I go first?
How about I take a stroll around the city?
In her past life, Ji-won had rarely travelled far because she hated long walks.
But after receiving the Combat Upgrade, her body felt completely different.
I could probably walk for hours without getting tired.
She took a few steps before another problem came to mind.
But wait…
How do I even find my way around or get back?
I don’t have a map or a phone.
She hadn’t seen a phone anywhere since waking up, so she assumed she didn’t have one.
Then she remembered her photographic memory.
A small grin appeared on her face.
“Let’s go explore the world!”
After a long stroll, Ji-won finally decided she’d seen enough for one day.
The sky was beginning to darken, and the streets were slowly filling with evening activity.
Thankfully, her photographic memory had allowed her to remember every turn she’d taken along the way.
On her way back, a high-end jewelry store caught her attention.
It stood out among the smaller shops around it, its large glass windows displaying rows of sparkling jewelry beneath bright lights.
Ji-won stopped for a moment.
After thinking about it, she decided to take a look inside.
The store was called Kirin.
What she didn’t know was that it catered to the wealthy, and someone like her could hardly afford anything there.
Still, Kang Ji-won stepped inside with confidence.
Almost immediately, a loud, sarcastic laugh came from somewhere inside the store.