Hyun was a diligent office worker who led a quiet, routine life. One day, he was driving to visit the burial site of his parents, who had died seven years ago in a tragic accident. The anniversary of their death always weighed heavily on his heart, and he made this pilgrimage every year to honor their memory.
As he navigated the winding mountain road, lost in memories of his parents, fate intervened cruelly. A truck ran a red light at a busy intersection, and Hyun's world went black in an instant.
When consciousness returned, Hyun found himself disoriented and confused. He was sitting in what appeared to be his car, but something was fundamentally wrong. His hands—once calloused from years of office work—were small and smooth. Panic set in as he realized he was in the body of his ten-year-old self.
Stumbling out of the vehicle, Hyun discovered he was no longer on a familiar road. Instead, towering ancient trees surrounded him, their canopy so thick that only scattered beams of sunlight penetrated to the forest floor. The air smelled different—cleaner, wilder, filled with scents he couldn't identify.
As he wandered deeper into the mysterious forest, trying to make sense of his situation, Hyun came upon a heartbreaking scene. A magnificent white tiger lay motionless on the ground, its fur stained with blood. Beside the fallen creature, a small white tiger cub whimpered and nudged its mother's still form, clearly distressed and alone.
Hyun's heart went out to the orphaned cub. Despite his own confusion and fear, he approached slowly, speaking in gentle tones. The cub, perhaps sensing a kindred spirit in this strange human child, allowed itself to be comforted. Hyun carefully gathered the small creature in his arms and carried it back to his car. That night, as they shared what little food remained in the vehicle, Hyun tried to process everything that had happened. The cub, which he decided to call Snow, curled up beside him as they both sought comfort in each other's presence.
Sleep brought dreams—vivid, startling visions that felt more like memories than fantasies. In his dream, Hyun saw his father's old leather diary, the one he had always dismissed as a collection of fantastical stories. But now, the words seemed to burn with truth. The diary spoke of a parallel world called Murim, where martial arts and cultivation allowed people to achieve incredible powers. According to the entries, his father had once died in a forest and awakened as a ten-year-old boy—not in Murim, but in Korea. He suspected their family's connection to that world might not be severed forever. Hyun awoke with a start, his heart pounding. As dawn broke through the strange forest's canopy, Hyun realized that his father's "fantasy" stories might not have been fantasy at all. With Snow by his side, Hyun began to walk deeper into the forest. He would face whatever trials awaited, no longer as a lonely office worker, but as a ten-year-old boy with a tiger companion and the seeds of an incredible destiny beginning to unfold.