Chapter 1

Days before Christmas, my parents, who had never once reached out to me on their own, suddenly called, saying they missed me and insisted I come home no matter what.

Thinking my lifelong sexist parents had finally had a change of heart, I was deeply touched and rushed back to my hometown.

But my parents, who were waiting at the station, drove me straight to the hospital.

My brother had been diagnosed with kidney failure. They only wanted me home to be tested as a donor.

When I turned out to be a match, I begged them through tears, explaining that my health was fragile and that suddenly losing a kidney could wreck my body.

But they just scoffed.

"You're just being dramatic. The doctor said you won't die from it. If you refuse, you're no longer our daughter!" they said.

In the end, my entire family pressured me onto the operating table.

After the surgery, my immune system crashed. I caught a severe case of the flu and died alone in that hospital, my heart full of bitterness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back, three days before Christmas Eve.

*****

I rubbed my eyes and checked the date.

I couldn't believe it. I was actually back three days before Christmas Eve.

Back then, my brother was diagnosed with kidney failure just one day before Christmas Eve.

I immediately told my boss I had a family emergency, took the day off, and hopped on the next train back to my hometown.

Ever since I graduated from college and started working, I hadn't gone back home in three years.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go back. Every year, my parents would say working overtime during the holidays meant triple the usual pay, and they'd tell me to just stay and work overtime at the company.

Honestly, I knew that if I went home, all that would be waiting for me was a mountain of chores and nosy relatives gossiping and pushing me to get married. So I just agreed every year without a fuss.

So when my parents suddenly broke down crying and said they missed me, begging me to come home, that was the first time in my whole life they'd ever said anything like that to me.

But in the end, it was just a sweet trap set to blow up my world.

Now that I'd been given a second chance at life, I wasn't going to sit around and wait. I asked my boss for three days off and headed home early.

Mom looked up, surprised. "Jessica? What are you doing back so suddenly?"

She was out in the yard shelling peanuts, and when she saw me, there wasn't even a hint of happiness, just suspicion in her eyes.

Dad heard the commotion and hurried out of the house.

He looked me up and down, his brows furrowing deep. "What's the deal? Don't tell me you got fired. Instead of scrambling for a new job, what are you doing back here?"

One look at their faces and I got it.

They weren't worried about me being unemployed. They were just scared I'd stop handing over my paycheck every month.

I took a deep breath, decided to flip the script, and put on my best pitiful face, like I was about to cry my eyes out.

"Mom, Dad, I just got my test results. I have kidney failure. If I don't get a transplant, I'm done for," I said, my voice trembling.

My words made them freeze on the spot, totally dumbfounded.

"What?" Dad blurted out, his voice shaky.

He instinctively took a step back.

I nodded.

"The doctor said family members are most likely to be a match. You guys will help me, won't you?" I said, my voice trembling.

Mom and Dad exchanged glances, their faces twisting with discomfort.

"Jessica, it's not that we don't want to help you, but we're just too old to go through something like that," Mom replied, her tone distant and evasive.

I squeezed my shaking palms, forcing myself to stay calm.

"What about my brother? He's young and strong. He could be tested, right?" I pressed, my voice still shaky.

"No way!" Mom and Dad shouted in perfect unison.

"Are you out of your mind? Your brother is the backbone of this family, and your sister-in-law hasn't even had a kid yet. How could you just ask him to give up a kidney like that?" Dad snapped.

"Ever since you were little, you've only thought about yourself. Now you want to hurt your brother with this crazy request?" Mom's tone dripped with blame.

I felt a sharp stab in my chest as their accusing eyes bore into me.

I thought that after dying once, I'd finally learned not to expect anything from them.

But hearing those words from my parents, it was like getting drenched in ice water in the middle of winter. I was chilled to the bone with disappointment.

I let out a cold laugh.

"Fine, you don't have to give me a kidney. But you can at least give me the money, right?" I said, my voice icy.

I added, "I've been working since college and sending money home for five years straight. That's almost 70 thousand altogether. Now that I'm sick, you can just give me the money back so I can pay for my treatment, right?"

As soon as I mentioned money, their faces got even uglier.

"Oh, so now we're your ATM? All that money you sent home was spent on our own medical bills ages ago. There's nothing left. And you still expect us to hand over more cash?" Mom and Dad shot back together.

My brother, Tim Young, must've heard the noise, because he wandered out of his room, looking groggy like he'd just rolled out of bed.

"Why are you back? I heard you guys talking about money," he yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Tim added, "Listen up, there's no money for you here! I blew through everything on my wedding, and now your sister-in-law's trying to have a baby.

"If you want cash, go get married and milk his family for a fat dowry. That's your best shot at getting any money."

The three of them stared at me with cold, unfriendly faces, like I was some outsider who'd barged in where I didn't belong.