Chapter 1: A Villain's Wretched Beginning

The smell of stale alcohol hit Ryu Seo-woo's nose as soon as he opened his eyes. His head throbbed like someone had taken a mallet to his skull, and his throat burned with a raspy dryness that made him wince with every shallow breath. Blinking against the dim light filtering through the cracked blinds, he propped himself up on one elbow and immediately regretted it.

"What the...?" Seo-woo whispered, his voice scratchy and unfamiliar.

Empty soju bottles and crushed cigarette packs littered the peeling wooden floorboards. The walls of the tiny room were bare except for a single, crooked frame holding a photo of three wide-eyed boys. Seo-woo's eyes darted to the picture. It looked familiar but distant, like something from a half-remembered dream.

Then it hit him. Like a freight train.

"Serenade Me, My Angel."

"No way..." Seo-woo muttered. He ran a trembling hand through his blonde hair, only to stop short when a lock of it fell forward into his vision. It wasn't black, like it had been before the plane crash. It was bleached blond, fried to a crisp, and hung limply in uneven chunks.

He scrambled to his feet—stumbling over empty cans and a half-eaten cup of ramyeon—and stumbled toward the cracked mirror above a rust-stained sink. What stared back at him was not the Ryu Seo-woo he'd known for twenty-six years. It was the gaunt, unkempt face of a man whose body had clearly seen better days. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes bloodshot, and his lips chapped. And the worst part...his voice. His throat constricted as he tried to hum a note, but what came out was a harsh, grating sound that made him flinch.

"I really...transmigrated?" he whispered. The realization settled heavily in his chest. This wasn't his body. This was the body of the sub-villain from the BL novel he'd read last month, a minor character destined for misery and early death.

In the novel, Ryu Seo-woo, a C-list singer, has a bad reputation within his company for being a bully. He bullied the main character, Jin Yu-jin, who was a newcomer. Jin Yu-jin was said to be a better singer than Ryu Seo-woo. However, Ryu Seo-woo was more famous than the newcomer, Jin Yu-jin, so he didn't care. Ever since Jin Yu-jin joined the company, Ryu Seo-woo has been compared to him and developed an inferiority complex. The problems stemming from his inferiority complex led to a decrease in his resources and an increase in his haters.

The creak of a door pulled him from his spiraling thoughts. He turned to see three little boys standing in the doorway, their identical faces twisted in a mixture of suspicion and disgust.

"You're awake," the boy in the middle said, his voice cold and too mature for a five-year-old. "Finally. We thought you were going to waste the whole day sleeping again."

Seo-woo stared at them—the triplets. Seo-jun, Seo-min, and Seo-jin. In the novel, they were described as prodigies, each with IQs off the charts and personalities that were far too sharp for their age. They were also victims of their father's neglect—a father who was now, apparently, him.

"You...you're..." Seo-woo stammered, unsure of what to say.

"Don't talk to us like you don't know who we are," snapped the boy on the left—Seo-jin, if he remembered correctly. His small arms were crossed over his chest, and his glare could have frozen fire. "Just because you decided to act like a father today doesn't mean we'll forgive you."

Seo-woo's throat tightened for an entirely different reason. Their words cut deeper than he'd expected. Of course, they hated him. The original Ryu Seo-woo had done nothing but drink, gamble, and yell at them since the day he lost his singing voice. He'd never once shown them kindness. It was a miracle they hadn't already run away.

"I...I'm sorry," Seo-woo said, bowing his head. The apology tumbled out before he could think it through.

All three boys blinked, their expressions shifting from anger to confusion. Clearly, they weren't used to hearing those words.

"What?" Seo-min, the boy on the right, asked cautiously. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'm sorry," Seo-woo repeated, looking at them earnestly. "For everything. I...I know I've been a terrible father. But I want to change. Starting now."

The room fell silent. The triplets exchanged wary glances, their brilliant young minds clearly trying to dissect his sudden shift in behavior. Finally, Seo-jun, the boy in the middle, narrowed his eyes.

"We'll see," he said, crossing his arms. "But just saying sorry isn't enough. You have to show us you mean it."

Seo-woo nodded. "Fair enough." He had no idea how he was going to fix this mess, but he wasn't about to let their story end the way it had in the novel. If nothing else, he owed it to them—and to himself—to try.

The sound of the triplets' retreating footsteps echoed faintly as Seo-woo sank back onto the stained mattress. He buried his face in his hands, heart pounding as he tried to process the situation. Was this really happening? Was he stuck in a novel world, destined to follow a doomed character's fate?

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to think. He remembered every scene from Serenade Me, My Angel. The sub-villain, Ryu Seo-woo, was irredeemable: a failed singer who spiraled into self-destruction, alienating everyone around him. His only lasting legacy was his three sons, who were adopted by the novel's protagonists after his tragic demise.

But now... now he had the chance to change it all. Right?

As Seo-woo gritted his teeth, determined to figure out his next steps, a sudden chime rang out, startling him.

"What the...?" he muttered. In the next instant, a translucent screen appeared in front of him, floating in the air like something out of a video game. His jaw dropped as he read the text displayed:

STATUS WINDOW

Name: Ryu Seo-woo

Age: 27

Health Status: Poor (Excessive Alcohol Consumption, Malnourished)

Financial Status: Debt Accumulated (2 months rent overdue, additional personal loans outstanding)

Talent Skills:

· Singing: S+ (Condition to Activate: Complete 50 quests) (0/50)

· Parenting: C

· Cooking: C-

· Charisma: B

Quests Available:

· Prepare a meal for your children (Reward: +10 Parenting, +5 Health Recovery)

· Go for a walk with your children (Reward: +5 Charisma, +5 Health Recovery)

Seo-woo's mouth went dry.

"A... status window?" he whispered, reaching out to touch it. His hand passed through the glowing screen, but the text remained clear. His eyes darted over the information, lingering on the "Singing" skill. S+? That was his original talent, his pride and joy. But the condition... quests?

Before he could make sense of it, a loud, insistent banging rattled his door.

"Ryu Seo-woo! Open up!" a gruff voice yelled. "You haven't paid rent for two months! I'm not running a charity here!"

Seo-woo's stomach sank. Of course. If the novel's timeline was accurate, this was the landlord, notorious for his temper and lack of patience.

"Just my luck," Seo-woo muttered, glancing between the status window and the door. He had no money, three skeptical children, and now an angry landlord to deal with.

"Time to get to work," he whispered, rolling up his sleeves. If he wanted to survive—and thrive—in this world, he'd have to start from the very bottom.