For a while, Jiyeon couldn't say anything. Neither could Seongho.

A man who looked about twenty really was standing in the mirror.

Jiyeon got out of bed and put some distance between them.

(Jiyeon) : “Wait.”

Seongho touched his own face.

(Seongho) : “What is this?”

(Jiyeon) : “Are you really you?”

(Seongho) : “That's what I'd most like to know right now.”

Jiyeon narrowed her eyes. Looking only at his face, there was no way she could believe it. Even his voice had changed. It was clearer and lighter than before.

But the way he talked was pure Seongho.

Jiyeon crossed her arms.

(Jiyeon) : “Where did we go on our first date?”

(Seongho) : “Sinchon.”

(Jiyeon) : “What did we eat?”

(Seongho) : “Pasta.”

(Jiyeon) : “Wrong.”

Seongho immediately frowned.

(Seongho) : “We went to eat pasta, and then you said it was too greasy, so we went for kimchi stew.”

Jiyeon's expression stiffened slightly.

(Jiyeon) : “Where did I cry on our wedding day?”

(Seongho) : “In the bathroom by the bridal waiting room.”

(Jiyeon) : “Why?”

(Seongho) : “Because you were nervous.”

(Jiyeon) : “No.”

Seongho thought for a moment.

(Seongho) : “You said it felt strange thinking about walking in holding your dad's hand.”

Jiyeon closed her mouth.

Seongho sounded offended.

(Seongho) : “Is that enough?”

Jiyeon still looked suspicious.

(Jiyeon) : “Where do you keep your emergency cash?”

Seongho answered immediately.

(Seongho) : “Inside pocket of my golf bag.”

Silence.

Seongho's eyes widened.

(Seongho) : “Wait. Why are you asking that?”

Jiyeon slowly nodded.

It was him.

That really was Seongho. Her husband.

She looked at his face again. It was so unfamiliar that it was almost funny.

Seongho moved close to the mirror. He turned his face left. Then right. Then swept his hair back.

(Seongho) : “Wow.”

Jiyeon looked at him.

(Jiyeon) : “What do you mean, wow?”

(Seongho) : “Was I this handsome when I was twenty?”

Jiyeon answered without a moment's hesitation.

(Jiyeon) : “Probably not.”

(Seongho) : “Maybe you're remembering wrong.”

(Jiyeon) : “We have pictures.”

Seongho went quiet.

Jiyeon pulled out her phone and found an old photo of Seongho around twenty. Chubby cheeks. Short hair. A much more ordinary face.

They looked back and forth between the photo and the current Seongho.

(Seongho) : “Find a better picture.”

(Jiyeon) : “Maybe the spring threw in a free upgrade.”

Seongho looked back at the mirror. He seemed a little pleased.

That annoyed Jiyeon even more.

But his face wasn't the real problem.

It was Monday.

Seongho couldn't go to work looking like this. His ID showed a forty-year-old man. So did his employee badge.

Jiyeon sat at the table and opened her laptop.

(Jiyeon) : “What are you going to tell work?”

(Seongho) : “The flu?”

(Jiyeon) : “For how long?”

(Seongho) : “A week?”

(Jiyeon) : “What if you're still like this in a week?”

Seongho went quiet.

For now, he called in and said he had a health issue and needed a few days off. Then they went straight to the hospital.

The receptionist looked from Seongho's ID to his face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

(Receptionist) : “Is this really you?”

Seongho sighed.

(Seongho) : “Yes.”

The receptionist looked at the ID again.

(Receptionist) : “Your date of birth is...”

(Seongho) : “Correct.”

Jiyeon lowered her head beside him.

She was not allowed to laugh.

The tests showed nothing wrong. If anything, the doctor said Seongho was healthy.

His body really was close to that of a twenty-year-old.

His skin.

His muscles.

Even his bloodwork.

Outside the hospital, Seongho said,

(Seongho) : “They said I'm healthy.”

(Jiyeon) : “Congratulations.”

(Seongho) : “If I'm going to be like this anyway, isn't it kind of a good thing?”

Jiyeon glared at him.

(Jiyeon) : “You can't go to work.”

His expression immediately returned to reality.

That afternoon, they went back to the mountain. They searched for the place where Seongho had drunk the water.

But no matter how long they looked, the spring was gone.

They definitely had a photo.

Seongho took out his phone. The wooden sign and stone spring were still right there in the picture.

Fountain of Youth.

One sip is enough.

But in front of them, there were only trees and rocks.

(Jiyeon) : “Maybe a ghost tricked you.”

(Seongho) : “So I drank ghost water and turned twenty?”

(Jiyeon) : “Right now, that's the most believable explanation.”

They came down without finding anything.

A few days later, Seongho was still twenty. Eventually, he asked his company about taking an extended leave. Since Jiyeon was still working, they weren't in immediate financial trouble.

Seongho spent his days at home.

In the morning, he looked in the mirror.

At lunch, he checked stock charts.

In the afternoon, he looked in the mirror again.

When Jiyeon came home from work, she said,

(Jiyeon) : “You look in the mirror a lot these days.”

(Seongho) : “A face like this deserves attention.”

(Jiyeon) : “You're seriously unbearable.”

That weekend, they went to a department store to buy him clothes.

Everything he used to wear was too big now.

Shirts.

Pants.

Jackets.

While Jiyeon looked through clothes, Seongho waited outside the store.

A neatly dressed man in a suit approached him.

(Man) : “Excuse me.”

Seongho turned around.

The man handed him a business card.

(Man) : “Have you ever been interested in entertainment?”

Seongho took the card.

Jiyeon saw what was happening from a distance and walked over.

(Jiyeon) : “What's that?”

Seongho flipped the card over.

Entertainment agency.

Casting director.

He thought for a moment, then looked at Jiyeon.

(Seongho) : “Should I try this?”

Jiyeon laughed in disbelief.

(Jiyeon) : “What are you doing at forty?”

Seongho pointed at his own face.

(Seongho) : “But right now, I'm twenty.”

Jiyeon had no answer.

Seongho looked down at the business card again.

This time, his eyes were surprisingly serious.