EDFF 01

Chapter 1

Reincarnation

Good people are rewarded and bad people are punished?
Pure nonsense.
If the world truly operated according to those old storybook morals, things would never have come to this.
“Stupid woman. Why did you overstep your station like that? Did you really think that paltry notebook could bring me down?”
There was no way garbage like him would still be walking freely through society.
There was once a time when So Yeon-hee believed the world was beautiful.
It may be hard to believe now, but she had once known a perfect life.
An upright, incorruptible father and a gentle, affectionate mother.
Two younger siblings who inherited their virtues and grew up bright and unblemished, and a grandmother who, though somewhat patriarchal, was abundantly warm-hearted.
But that harmonious household crumbled in a single moment.
“Dear, Yeon-hee… don’t be frightened. Listen to me. Your father… he’s been taken away by the police.”
Her father, once a successful executive at a thriving conglomerate, was suddenly arrested on charges of embezzling company funds.
Before his trial even began, he took his own life in the detention center.
When the grandmother learned that her cherished son had hanged himself in prison, she collapsed.
Her mother fell gravely ill while caring for the grandmother.
“Thank goodness you’re here, Yeon-hee. Without you, I don’t know how I would have survived.”
Those few words—what weight they carried.
So Yeon-hee quit her school without hesitation.
Working only three or four hours a day, sleeping in fragments, she scraped together money for her mother’s medical bills and her grandmother’s care.
But poverty gnaws at the soul, and that infernal condition wore away at Yeon-hee’s spirit little by little.
“Unnie, I’m sorry. I need to buy pads but I don’t have any money…”
“I’m sorry, older sister. I came out wanting to help the family, but… will a settlement cost a lot?”
She hated her father for destroying the household.
She hated the grandmother for losing her mind after his death.
She hated them all—her mother, worn down by dutiful filial piety and illness; her younger sister, meekly accepting whatever scraps came her way; her younger brother, causing nothing but trouble while claiming to help the family; and the grandmother too.
On the day her mother finally passed, following her grandmother, Yeon-hee thrust a bankbook at her siblings and severed all ties.
“From now on, let’s each fend for ourselves.”
And with that, she left the chaotic city, bought an abandoned house deep in the mountains, renovated it, and lived apart from the world.
Everyone said she could never adapt to such a life, but mountain living proved far better than expected.
Though her body grew weary from endless labor, her heart had nothing to atrophy from.
“Yes, spending the rest of my life quiet and undisturbed wouldn’t be so bad.”
But nearly ten years later, her siblings were found as cold corpses.
When she discovered an old, worn notebook they had left buried deep in a closet among their belongings.
Yeon-hee’s world crumbled once more.
[ The Chairman requested that I assist with the sale of the Samcheong-dong building originally set for inheritance by his fourth son, Ju Ha-jin.
He also asked me to investigate the Saebbit Birthing Center where he was born.
But the Saebbit Birthing Center burned down completely three years ago in a fire of unknown cause, leaving no records behind. ]
It was a diary her father had left behind.
Her father had been helping Chairman Ju investigate his illegitimate son Ju Ha-jin at the Chairman’s request.
‘It was never embezzlement from the start. As a trustee, I was merely handling Chairman Ju’s assets on his behalf.’
Upon learning this truth, her siblings had desperately struggled to posthumously clear their father’s name.
Though they ultimately failed to expose the truth or restore their father’s honor.
By this point, Yeon-hee was consumed with curiosity.
What secret could be so damning that her entire family had to die for it?
Her teeth ground together as rage consumed her. Abandoning the peace she had found in the mountains, she pursued Ju Ha-jin’s secrets.
And when she finally obtained the truth he had so desperately concealed.
She could not hide her disillusionment.
‘For this? Our family was destroyed for this?’
Everything felt empty and hollow. And because of that emptiness, her fury burned all the brighter.
‘If society refuses to punish the guilty, then I will do it myself.’
So Yeon-hee laughed with savage joy as she swore her vengeance.
If the world continued to turn a blind eye to his crimes and true nature, she would force them to see.
* * *
With all preparations complete, Yeon-hee used the diary he so desperately wanted as bait to lure Ju Ha-jin to a meeting.
Anxious about his own exposure, Ju Ha-jin appeared at the agreed location in a panicked rush.
Yet his arrogant nature got the better of him, and from the start he began hurling threats.
“How dare you pull something like this on me. Are you out of your mind, or just reckless?”
As Ju Ha-jin vented his irritation, Yeon-hee calmly laid out everything she had prepared to say.
“Clear the name of our father, who died wrongfully. Prove that the embezzlement charge was false. And confess that you murdered my siblings and made it look like a traffic accident.”
“You’re still dragging on about that man who hanged himself? And your siblings? Ha! You have evidence? Do you think people will believe your word?”
With a dismissive snort, Ju Ha-jin stepped closer to Yeon-hee and flicked her forehead.
“Putting you away is no trouble at all. If you understand me, hand over that diary and disappear quietly. I’ll make sure you’re compensated generously.”
At his predictable response, she let out a low laugh.
“Ju Ha-jin. Even if you take this evidence from me, you’ll never become the successor to the Cheonha Group. A murderer as the company’s next chairman—it’s unthinkable.”
“No matter what you say, the Chairman has already chosen me as his successor. That fact won’t change!”
At his unwavering composure, Yeon-hee’s smile turned cold.
“Is that so? Even after you find out you’re a cuckoo?”
“…What?”
“You’re not the Chairman’s son. Not a drop of So blood runs through your veins—you’re a complete stranger. Your mother was quite something too. To make one birth record disappear, she burned an entire birthing center.”
“…”
“Oh, and before you think of killing me to silence me—it’s too late. I’ve already released all the truth to the world.”
She smiled broadly and pulled out her mobile phone, showing him the screen.
– Saebbit Birthing Center Fire Incident
– Ju Ha-jin Cuckoo
– Ju Ha-jin Identity Laundering
Upon seeing his sordid secrets plastered across the real-time social media trends, Ju Ha-jin’s eyes trembled violently.
In one fluid motion, he seized her by the collar and screamed.
“What the hell is this? What have you done?”
“You’re the criminal. Why are you asking me?”
“You insane bitch! I’m going to kill you!”
He began to strangle her, his movements frenetic and uncontrolled.
She struggled desperately to break free, but she was no match for him.
‘So it ends like this.’
Dying was unjust, yet strangely, her heart felt at peace.
If she died here, Ju Ha-jin’s guilt would only deepen.
No amount of bribery could cover it up now.
Tens of thousands of people were watching his crime unfold in real-time broadcast—how could he possibly escape?
From the corner of the rooftop, hidden among weathered potted plants, the red light of a camera blinked steadily. Yeon-hee gazed at it and smiled quietly.
Hot tears streamed down her pale, contorted cheeks.
‘Can you see, Father? I’ve proven your innocence.’
But… what did any of it matter now?
It wouldn’t bring the dead back to life.
Emptiness washed over her, and her vision began to blur.
Death was approaching quickly.
And then—
* * *
“…Sister?”
A child’s voice, clear and bright with that distinctive childish lilt.
“Sister! You finally woke up!”
Somehow, that voice felt familiar.
‘…Who? I definitely know this voice.’
Yeon-hee forced her eyes open with great effort, following the sound to its source. Then—
‘…Huh?’
There stood the younger sister she had never dreamed of seeing again.
Rejuvenated by about twenty years, transformed into a ten-year-old girl.
“You… are you really Yeon-su? Is it really you?”
“Is there a fake Yeon-su too? You’re so worried, but what on earth are you talking about!”
At the hesitant question, So Yeon-su shot back as if incredulous.
Then, deeming the conversation beneath her, she turned and called out loudly to the rest of the family.
“Mother! Father! Sister has woken up! Come quick!”
Hearing words she believed she would never hear again fill the room, her heart pounded wildly.
A faint hope bloomed even as fear and anxiety tangled within her. Just as those emotions swirled—
“Yeon-hee!”
Her mother rushed into the room, calling her name.
“Yeon-hee! What were you thinking eating poisonous mushrooms! Hm? If something happened to you, how would your poor mother survive!”
Poisonous mushrooms? Me?
Before she could process the bewildering accusation alongside the joy of reunion—
A flood of unfamiliar memories suddenly crashed through Yeon-hee’s mind.
“Remove General So Jin from his post! Seize all the So Clan’s assets! Exile him to the borderlands!”
It was the process by which the So Clan—a prestigious family that had produced generals for three generations—fell into ruin.
And now these were the memories of the eldest daughter of the So household, So Yeon-hee, in her new body.