Chapter 1 — An Ordinary Morning

The sunlight slipped quietly through the blinds, painting golden lines on the bedroom wall.

Billy opened his eyes slowly, still half-asleep. He reached for his phone: 10:00 a.m. Already… He didn’t really want to get up, but his stomach had other plans.

Dragging himself out of bed, he headed straight for the fridge. Inside, his sandwich from the night before sat waiting for him, carefully wrapped. He grabbed it, poured himself a glass of clear Coca-Cola—his favorite drink—and settled at his desk.

Eating and coding had become his morning ritual.

Billy took a big bite of his sandwich, opened his laptop, and dove into the website he was building. The lines of code blurred together as the faint city sounds drifted up from the street below. Hours passed without him even noticing.

When he finally finished, Billy stretched, satisfied with his work. Before heading out, he stopped by the kitchen to greet his mother.

“Good morning, Mom,” he said softly.

“You’re already working? You’ll turn into a real robot one day,” she teased, smiling.

“It’s just for fun, don’t worry,” Billy replied, amused.

The day went by quietly. Before he knew it, the sky was tinged with orange—the afternoon was almost gone. Like most days, Billy decided to go for a walk. He liked wandering the busy streets of Seoul, blending into the crowds, watching the world pass by.

Everything felt perfectly normal… until a sudden scream echoed from an alley nearby.

Billy stopped and watched the scene from a distance. A young woman was cornered by a man who was brandishing a weapon.

I can’t just leave her… he thought, even as fear tightened his chest.

Without thinking, Billy rushed forward. He threw himself at the attacker, trying to disarm him. The man, startled, pulled the trigger. The sharp sound of the gunshot echoed through the night.

A burning pain exploded in Billy’s chest. He collapsed to the ground. The attacker ran off, leaving the woman in shock.

Everything went blurry. The sounds faded, the world turned white.

Am I dead? Billy wondered. Is this heaven?

But no. When he opened his eyes, he saw the sterile ceiling of a hospital room, the steady beep of a heart monitor, and his mother’s comforting face by his side.

He had survived.

But he had no idea how.