Chapter 1
WHEN COLD TURNS WARM
Chapter 1 — The Woman Who Hated Children
“Your Honour, my client did not commit the crime.”
Jennie stood confidently in the courtroom.
Her black suit was perfectly pressed.
Her hair was perfectly styled.
Her expression?
Absolutely terrifying.
The opposing lawyer cleared his throat.
Jennie slowly turned toward him.
“If you have evidence, present it.”
He opened his file.
“If you don't…”
Jennie smiled.
“Please stop wasting everyone's time.”
Silence.
The judge adjusted his glasses.
“Counselor Jennie, please continue.”
Jennie nodded.
She loved three things in life.
Winning.
Money.
And being left alone.
Especially being left alone.
Children were definitely NOT on that list.
In fact, Jennie had a personal rule:
Never get emotionally attached to anything that can scream, cry, or ask for money.
Unfortunately, children qualified for all three.
---
After winning the case, Jennie walked out of the courthouse.
Her secretary hurried behind her.
“Ma'am!”
“What?”
“You have twelve missed calls.”
“From whom?”
“Your mother.”
Jennie immediately stopped walking.
“Tell her I'm dead.”
Her secretary stared at her.
“Ma'am…”
“Fine. Tell her I'm in a meeting.”
“She knows you're outside the courthouse.”
Jennie sighed.
“Tell her I'm emotionally unavailable.”
“She already knows that.”
Jennie looked at her.
“Why do I pay you?”
“To tell you things you don't want to hear.”
“Excellent. You're doing your job.”
Her secretary smiled awkwardly.
“Your mother also said you haven't visited home in three months.”
“I've been working.”
“She said you're always working.”
“I am.”
“She said you need a family.”
Jennie looked horrified.
“I have a family.”
“Who?”
“My company.”
Her secretary stared at her.
“…That's not a family.”
“It pays my salary. That's enough.”
---
That evening, Jennie stopped at a convenience store.
She was buying coffee when—
“Excuse me!”
She looked down.
A little boy was standing beside her.
He was holding a chocolate bar.
Jennie stared.
The boy stared back.
“Are you rich?”
Jennie's eyebrow rose.
“Why?”
“You look angry.”
Jennie looked at him.
“That's because I am.”
The boy nodded thoughtfully.
“My dad says people who are angry all the time need a girlfriend.”
Jennie nearly choked on her coffee.
“Go find your father.”
The boy pointed behind her.
“That's him.”
Jennie turned.
A tall man was walking toward them.
Kai.
Messy hair.
Casual clothes.
A grocery bag in one hand.
And the exhausted expression of a man who had apparently been negotiating with children since sunrise.
“Minho!”
The boy ran to him.
“Appa!”
Kai picked him up.
“Didn't I tell you not to wander away?”
“I wasn't wandering.”
“You disappeared.”
“I was buying chocolate.”
“With whose money?”
Minho pointed at Jennie.
“Her money.”
Kai looked at Jennie.
Jennie looked at the chocolate.
Then at the boy.
Then back at Kai.
“I did not buy him anything.”
Minho gasped.
“Amma would have bought it.”
Jennie froze.
“Amma?”
Kai immediately looked embarrassed.
“Sorry. He sometimes calls random women—”
“She's pretty.”
Minho interrupted.
Jennie stared at him.
Kai covered his son's mouth.
“Okay. We're leaving.”
As Kai walked away, Minho waved.
“Bye, scary lady!”
Jennie watched them disappear.
She muttered,
“Children are strange.”
She had no idea how strange her life was about to become.
---
That night, Jennie drove home.
Rain poured over Seoul.
Her phone rang.
Mother.
Again.
Jennie answered reluctantly.
“What?”
“Jennie.”
“Yes?”
“When was the last time you were happy?”
Jennie frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“Just answer me.”
Jennie looked through the windshield.
She couldn't remember.
Her mother sighed.
“You have everything. Money. Success. A good career.”
“I know.”
“But you have no one to share it with.”
Jennie didn't answer.
“You're becoming cold, Jennie.”
Jennie smiled bitterly.
“Cold people don't get hurt.”
There was silence on the phone.
Her mother's voice softened.
“That's not true.”
Jennie looked away.
“I'm tired, Mom. We'll talk tomorrow.”
She ended the call.
For several seconds, she simply sat there.
Then she started the car.
The road was slippery.
Visibility was poor.
A truck suddenly appeared in front of her.
Jennie's eyes widened.
“Wait—”
She slammed the brakes.
The car spun.
Glass shattered.
Her head struck the steering wheel.
Everything went black.
-A moment of silence-
Jennie opened her eyes.
White ceiling.
White curtains.
White walls.
She blinked.
A hospital?
She tried to sit up.
“Where am I?”
An old man sitting beside the window slowly turned toward her.
He was dressed strangely.
Almost like someone from another era.
Jennie frowned.
“Doctor?”
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
The old man smiled.
“Someone who has been watching you.”
Jennie's expression hardened.
“That sounds incredibly creepy.”
He laughed.
“You're dead.”
Jennie stared at him.
“…Excuse me?”
“You died.”
“I obviously didn't.”
The old man pointed at her.
“You're talking.”
“Yes.”
“That's because you're not exactly dead anymore.”
Jennie slowly stood.
“What does that mean?”
“You were given another chance.”
“Why?”
“To learn something you never understood.”
Jennie folded her arms.
“And what's that?”
The old man smiled.
“Love.”
Jennie stared at him.
Then laughed.
“You've got the wrong person.”
“Perhaps.”
“I don't need love.”
“You'll have one month.”
“One month for what?”
The old man didn't answer.
The room suddenly became dark.
Jennie felt herself falling.
“WAIT!”
---
“AMMA!”
Jennie opened her eyes.
A little girl was shaking her shoulder.
“Amma!”
Jennie screamed.
“DON'T TOUCH ME!”
The girl jumped back.
A little boy stood beside the bed.
He was holding a stuffed dinosaur.
Both children stared at her.
Jennie looked around.
This wasn't a hospital.
This wasn't her apartment.
There were toys everywhere.
A pink schoolbag.
Children's drawings.
Family photographs.
She slowly got out of bed.
Her feet felt different.
Her hands felt different.
She walked toward the mirror.
And stopped.
A woman's face stared back at her.
Not Jennie's.
Jennie touched her cheek.
The reflection did the same.
“No…”
She looked down at her body.
“No, no, no, no…”
The little girl watched her.
“Amma?”
Jennie spun around.
“Who are you?”
The girl's mouth dropped open.
“I'm Yuna.”
She pointed toward the boy.
“And he's Minho.”
Minho waved.
“Hi, Amma.”
Jennie's eyes widened.
“Why are you calling me Amma?”
Yuna looked confused.
“Because you're our mother.”
Jennie slowly sat down.
“No.”
Yuna frowned.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I am not a mother.”
Minho raised his hand.
“You are.”
Jennie pointed at him.
“Who told you?”
“You did.”
Jennie stared at him.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Jennie covered her face.
“This is a nightmare.”
Yuna looked at Minho.
“Amma forgot us.”
Minho's lower lip trembled.
“Did Amma hit her head?”
Jennie immediately felt guilty.
She had no idea who these children were.
But they looked genuinely worried.
Before she could say anything—
The bedroom door opened.
A man's voice came from outside.
“What's happening?”
Jennie turned.
Kai walked inside.
The same man from the convenience store.
He stopped.
Jennie stopped.
Both stared at each other.
Kai's eyes widened.
“Jennie?”
Jennie frowned.
“How do you know my name?”
Kai looked confused.
“Jennie?”
She pointed at herself.
“Yes.”
Kai looked at the children.
Then at her.
Then back at the children.
“Yuna…”
“Yes, Appa?”
“Your mother is acting strange.”
Jennie shouted,
“YOUR MOTHER?!”
Kai blinked.
“Yes.”
Jennie grabbed the nearest pillow.
“WHO IS THIS WOMAN?!”
Kai stared at her.
“You.”
Jennie looked at the mirror.
Then at Kai.
Then at the children.
Then at the mirror again.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“I've become someone else's wife…”
She looked at the two children.
“…and mother.”
Minho smiled.
“Amma, can I have breakfast?”
Jennie slowly turned toward him.
“Your mother has just discovered that she has two children.”
dded.
“Okay.”
“And you're worried about breakfast?”
“Yes.”
Jennie stared at him.
The boy stared back.
Kai suddenly laughed.
Jennie glared at him.
“What's funny?”
Kai covered his mouth.
“Nothing.”
“You're laughing.”
“No.”
“You absolutely are.”
“I just…”
He looked at her face.
“…I've never seen you this confused.”
Jennie narrowed her eyes.
“Who are you?”
Kai's smile disappeared.
“I'm Kai.”
“Relationship?”
He stared at her.
“Your husband.”
Jennie's jaw dropped.
Yuna whispered to Minho,
“Amma is going to faint.”
Minho whispered back,
“Should I call someone?”
Jennie pointed at Kai.
“You're my husband?”
Kai nodded.
Jennie pointed at Yuna.
“She is my daughter?”
“Yes.”
She pointed at Minho.
“And he's my son?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“WHY?!”
Nobody answered.
Then Minho raised his hand.
“Amma?”
“What?”
“Can we still have pancakes?”
Jennie slowly closed her eyes.
One month.
The mysterious old man had said one month.
She had no idea what would happen after that.
But one thing was certain.
The woman who had built her entire life around avoiding emotions—
was now trapped in a house with a husband…
two children…
and absolutely no idea how to be a mother.
And somehow…
this was only the beginning.
What's going to happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Comment if you like it.
This is a new series. Hope it makes a good impression in your heart. It's a funny, fantasy, family, friendly story. Of course it has a moral value. What moral value do you take it from here?
