Morning arrived slowly inside the hospital room.
Soft light slipped through the thin curtains, spreading gently across the quiet space. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, mixed with the distant sounds of nurses moving through the hallway. Everything felt calm—almost too calm.
Claire had already woken up for a while.
Her eyes were open, staring quietly at the pale ceiling above her. The bandage around her leg still ached slightly, but the pain felt distant compared to the thoughts filling her mind.
The dream.
No… it wasn't just a dream.
It was a memory.
Claire slowly turned her head toward the window, watching the sunlight brighten the room little by little.
Miko's face appeared again in her mind.
The candlelight.
The dinner table.
His gentle smile when he told her he loved her.
Her chest tightened faintly.
So it was real…
Before she was reborn… she had been dating Miko.
A soft breath escaped her lips as the realization settled deeper into her heart. For so long, her memories of the past life had been incomplete—broken pieces scattered through her mind.
But now one piece had returned.
And it changed everything.
She had once loved someone else.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the blanket.
Then… what about Randy?
The quiet sound of a chair moving made her shift her gaze.
Her mother was sitting beside the bed, watching her with a gentle but worried expression. The moment Claire turned her head, her mother's face softened with relief.
"You're finally awake properly," her mother said warmly.
Claire blinked slowly.
"Mom…"
Her voice was still weak, but it was clear enough.
Her mother quickly reached for her hand.
"You gave me such a fright," she said softly. "When they called and said you were brought to the hospital… I couldn't even think straight."
Claire looked at her quietly.
For a moment, she simply held her mother's hand, feeling the warmth and concern in it.
Then her eyes slowly moved across the room.
Randy was there too.
He stood near the window, leaning slightly against the wall as if he had been there for a long time. When their eyes met, he straightened a little.
Relief flickered briefly across his face.
"You're awake," he said quietly.
Claire nodded faintly.
But her gaze lingered on him longer than usual.
Her mind was still drifting through the memory of the dream.
Miko's voice.
Miko's promise.
The warmth she had felt sitting across from him that night.
Claire lowered her gaze slowly.
So that was the past she had forgotten.
A part of her life before everything ended at twenty-two.
She wondered if Randy noticed the change in her expression, because he stepped a little closer to the bed.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"My leg hurts a little," Claire replied softly.
Her mother sighed gently.
"The doctor said you're lucky. The injury looks worse than it actually is."
Claire nodded again, though her thoughts were clearly somewhere else.
Her mother studied her face for a moment.
"You look like you're thinking about something," she said.
Claire hesitated.
She couldn't explain it.
How could she tell her mother that she had just remembered a love from a life that no longer existed?
So she simply shook her head.
"It's nothing."
But inside her mind, the memory continued to replay.
Miko's voice saying he loved her.
The future they once talked about.
And the quiet happiness she had felt sitting across from him.
Claire slowly turned her gaze toward Randy again.
A strange feeling rose in her chest.
If those memories were real… then the life she was living now was different from before.
Completely different.
Because in that memory—
Randy wasn't there.
Claire stared at him for a moment longer, her thoughts becoming more complicated.
Then another memory surfaced.
Randy's whisper beside her hospital bed while she was unconscious.
"Claire… I know you were reborn. I was too."
Her fingers tightened slightly against the blanket.
Now that part of his words felt heavier than before.
Claire inhaled quietly.
She turned her head toward him.
"Randy…"
Her voice was soft but steady.
Randy looked at her immediately.
"Yes?"
Claire watched him carefully, as if trying to read something hidden behind his calm expression.
Then she asked slowly,
"Yesterday… when I was unconscious…"
She paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"Did you say something to me?"
Randy's eyes darkened slightly.
The quiet hospital room suddenly felt even more still.
And Claire's heart began beating faster as she waited for his answer.
For a moment, Randy did not answer.
The quiet hospital room seemed to hold its breath. The faint ticking of the wall clock sounded unusually loud as Claire waited, her eyes fixed on him.
Randy's expression remained calm, but there was something guarded in his gaze.
He walked a little closer to the bed, stopping beside her.
"You shouldn't be thinking too much right now," he said gently.
Claire frowned slightly.
"That wasn't an answer."
Randy let out a quiet breath, running a hand through his hair as if weighing his words carefully.
"I'll tell you," he said at last.
Claire's eyes sharpened immediately.
"But not now."
She blinked.
"Why not?"
Randy glanced briefly at her bandaged leg before looking back at her face.
"Because you just woke up," he replied calmly. "Your body still needs time to recover."
Claire looked unconvinced.
"You're avoiding the question."
A faint smile appeared on Randy's lips, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Maybe."
Claire narrowed her eyes slightly, studying him. That calm expression of his always made it difficult to know what he was truly thinking.
"So when?" she asked.
Randy leaned his hands lightly against the edge of the bed.
"When you're discharged from the hospital."
Claire raised an eyebrow.
"And then?"
Randy's voice softened slightly.
"I'll take you somewhere."
"Somewhere?"
"A place where we can talk properly," he said. "Without interruptions."
Claire stared at him for a moment, clearly dissatisfied.
"You're making it sound mysterious on purpose."
"Maybe I am."
She sighed quietly and looked away toward the window. Outside, the sky was clear and bright, but her thoughts felt heavier than ever.
Her memory of Miko.
Randy's strange words.
And the accident that had suddenly happened.
Everything felt tangled together in ways she couldn't yet understand.
After a moment, Randy spoke again, his voice quieter this time.
"Just focus on getting better first."
Claire glanced back at him.
"You promise you'll explain?"
Randy met her gaze steadily.
"I promise."
His answer was simple, but something in his tone made her believe him.
Still, curiosity continued to swirl in her mind.
"Where will you take me?" she asked.
Randy smiled faintly.
"You'll see."
Claire sighed again, realizing she wouldn't get any more answers today.
Her body suddenly felt heavier as the lingering exhaustion from the injury returned.
Her mother reentered the room just then, carrying a small cup of water.
"You two look very serious," she said with a gentle smile.
Claire quickly shook her head.
"It's nothing."
But Randy remained silent.
He watched Claire quietly as she drank the water her mother handed her.
A strange mixture of relief and worry lingered in his eyes.
Because he knew something Claire didn't yet fully understand.
The moment she recovered…
And the moment he finally told her everything…
Nothing in her life would remain simple again.