"..." I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was the ceiling of my room — a light blue ceiling with little drawings of clouds. A room fit for a three-year-old child.
I sat up in bed, and memories of what happened the night before flooded my mind. Just remembering it sent a chill down my spine.
"What was that?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
And then—
"ARRRGGHH!!" I screamed.
'My head... It's going to explode!' I clutched my head in both hands, rolling on the bed. It felt like several knives were stabbing straight into my brain. The pain was so unbearable that I began to drool.
I'm going to pass out.
That's when my mother burst into the room.
"Kyo? What's happening? Kyo!" she cried in panic.
I looked at her, and our eyes met — hers filled with pure desperation.
"Kyo, what are you feeling? Kyo? Robert!" my mother screamed as loud as she could for my father and ran out of the room with me in her arms. My father rushed out of the bathroom, his body covered in soap foam.
He panicked too and dressed as fast as he could. His clothes got soaked, but that didn't matter.
My mother held me tightly, pressing her hand against my head.
After that, she ran out of the apartment with my father, both of them trying desperately to calm me down.
I don't remember anything else after that — I passed out.
####
"Hm?" When I opened my eyes again, my vision was blurry. It took a moment to clear up. Once it did, I saw a bright white ceiling — and I felt cold.
This isn't my home.
Then I heard a voice.
"You're awake?" It was my mother's voice.
"Mom…" I called softly. She leaned closer, smiling as her eyes met mine.
"It's okay, I'm right here. How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"
"...It doesn't hurt anymore," I answered.
"Good. You can rest a bit more if you want — Mommy's just going to talk to the doctor, okay?"
"Doctor? Am I… in a hospital?"
"Just rest, alright?"
After saying that, she stepped away. I heard the door close soon after.
Still feeling a bit dizzy, I sat up in the hospital bed and looked out the window. "That's pretty high up… fourth floor? Fifth?" Then I turned my gaze toward the door — and the eerie silence of the room settled in.
I don't like being alone.
I never did.
In my past life, I used to be alone all the time, and I hated it.
Here, that feeling only grew stronger.
'Should I call Mom?'
No, calm down. She's talking to the doctor.
What happened to me? Why did I feel so much pain the moment I woke up? Was that not a dream? Was that thing really in my room? Was that voice real?
'That voice said I'd wake up with a terrible headache.'
Was that something supernatural?
I lay back down and closed my eyes. When I opened my arms wide and looked up again, I wasn't greeted by the white hospital ceiling — but by something strange floating above me.
"Hmmm…"
I stared at the thing, confused.
"Is this… a status window? But it's different."
I'd read plenty of stories before — mostly Korean manhwas with portals and protagonists who had systems. It was not my favorite type of story, but I had read a few.
"But this isn't right."
Usually, a "Korean system" has levels and stats like strength, agility, dexterity, and so on.
But this one was completely different.
[ // System // ]
Name — Kyo Evans
Appearance — S
Writing — S
Music — S
Acting — S
Martial Arts — S
….
Beyond these, there was an endless list of other things — all marked with the letter "S."
'If I remember correctly, S is usually the highest rank…'
Does that mean all of these are S-rank?
Appearance, Writing, Acting…
I noticed they were all related to the entertainment world — except "Martial Arts."
Then I remembered what that woman said before I passed out.
[ You must become a star — the brightest star in this world. ]
Beautiful words that now made perfect sense.
"This is insane…" I muttered, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, the translucent window had disappeared.
When I said "System" aloud with my eyes still open, it popped up in front of me again — like a holographic screen.
'Interesting.'
I had received a status that couldn't be improved — because everything was already maxed out.
Isn't that incredible?
####
POV: Third Person
The doctor sat across from the couple, clipboard resting on his lap. The distant echo of footsteps in the hallway was the only sound breaking the tense silence of the room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Evans," he began calmly, his voice steady and composed. "We've received the results of Kyo's tests."
Haruka tightened her trembling fingers around Roberts's hand. Her heart pounded in rhythm with her memories — Kyo's smile, his laughter, the way he ran around the house.
"We found a small tumor in his brain," the doctor said, pausing briefly.
Haruka felt the air leave her lungs. Her once-serene expression shattered into disbelief. She couldn't comprehend the words that had just come out of the doctor's mouth.
Roberts felt as if a bullet had gone straight through his head. His mind went blank — then filled with pure panic.
But the doctor continued, his tone softening.
"It's a benign tumor, and thankfully, it's located in an area that can be operated on safely. With surgery, Kyo has an excellent chance of making a full recovery."
Haruka covered her face with her hands as tears slipped through her fingers. Roberts wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his own tears falling freely.
"He's going to be alright," the doctor said gently, offering a reassuring smile. "Your son is going to be fine."