THE WHITE COAT

Chapter 0



"What do you want to be when you grow up, Hyun-woo?"

A woman's voice. Soft. Warm. Safe.

I didn't know how old I was in this memory, but I was small. Sitting on a plush rug, gripping a crayon too tightly, coloring something-a sky, maybe? The blue was smudged across the page.

I looked up. She was smiling. Her face blurred, her features indistinct. But I knew.

"I want to be an astronaut," I had said, beaming.

She laughed. "An astronaut?"

I nodded eagerly. "Or a firefighter. Or maybe an artist! But I also want to be a scientist. And a baker!"

Her laughter was light, like wind chimes. "That's a lot of things, my love."

"I can do all of them!"

She leaned down, brushing a gentle hand over my hair. "You can be anything you want. Whatever makes you happy. Just be a good human being."

I held onto those words.

For years, I held onto them.

Until she was gone.



The memory shifted.

Another voice.

Deep. Familiar.

"You're going to be someone great, Hyun-woo."

My father.

He wasn't like how he was now. His voice back then-it wasn't cold, sharp, or suffocating. It was filled with pride.

"You can do anything, son."

He meant it. I knew he did. Back then, he believed in me, just like she did.

But then–

Then she died.

And everything changed.