The heat had become unbearable by late afternoon.
Seina walked along the roadside with slow, uneven steps, her backpack hanging heavily from one shoulder while sweat clung to her skin beneath her clothes. The asphalt radiated warmth back into the air in visible waves, making the distant road shimmer under the fading sunlight.
Her throat burned.
Every breath felt dry.
Cars occasionally passed beside her, loud and fast enough to shake the air before disappearing again into the endless stretch of highway. None of them slowed down. None of them cared.
The cicadas screaming somewhere beyond the guardrails made the silence inside her head feel even worse.
She hadn't eaten properly since yesterday.
The little money she had stolen from her father's wallet was gone now — spent on train fares, cheap food, water, anything that kept her moving south toward Mokpo.
Now there was nothing left.
No money. No phone. No plan.
Only distance.
Seina wiped sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt and kept walking.
The sun hung low behind thin clouds now, painting the sky in pale orange and gray. Her legs hurt badly. Every step sent dull pain through the soles of her feet, and the backpack straps had rubbed her shoulders raw hours ago.
When she finally saw the small convenience store near the road ahead, relief mixed immediately with hesitation.
The building looked old and slightly worn down, attached to a tiny gas station with faded signs and cracked pavement. Fluorescent lights glowed faintly through the windows.
Cold air. Water. Food.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
Seina slowed near the parking lot.
The automatic doors slid open as a customer exited carrying cigarettes and canned coffee. A wave of cool air escaped from inside the store, brushing briefly against her overheated skin before vanishing again.
She stared through the glass for a moment.
The cashier stood behind the register looking down at his phone. Middle-aged. Tired expression. Barely paying attention.
A refrigerator filled with drinks hummed softly near the back wall.
Water.
Just one bottle.
Maybe something small to eat.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her backpack.
No money.
The thought sat heavily inside her chest.
For a second, she almost turned around.
But another image surfaced immediately afterward:
Blood beneath her parents' bodies. The news broadcast. Her face on television.
She had nowhere to go back to.
Her stomach cramped again.
Seina lowered her head and entered the store.
The cold air hit her instantly, making goosebumps rise across her damp skin. The inside smelled faintly like instant noodles, heated plastic, coffee, and old air conditioning.
The cashier barely glanced up.
"Good".
Seina walked slowly toward the refrigerators near the back while trying not to look suspicious.
Her pulse had already started speeding up.
The glass doors reflected her face faintly as she stopped in front of them.
She looked terrible.
Tired eyes. Sweaty hair sticking against her forehead. A girl who looked like she'd been running for days.
Maybe she had.
She opened the refrigerator carefully and grabbed a bottle of water.
Cold.
Her fingers almost shook from the feeling alone.
Next shelf. Triangle sandwiches wrapped in plastic.
Her stomach tightened painfully again.
"Don't think about It... Just do It".
Seina glanced toward the cashier.
Still distracted.
The television mounted near the ceiling played quietly above him, some daytime news program mixing with the low hum of fluorescent lights.
She slipped the sandwich beneath her oversized jacket with stiff, nervous movements.
Her heartbeat immediately doubled.
The plastic packaging felt enormous against her ribs, impossibly obvious.
Everyone can see it.
But nobody reacted.
The cashier remained behind the counter.
An older woman near the microwave stirred ramen absentmindedly without looking at her once.
Seina grabbed another bottle from the shelf instinctively before stopping herself.
"No. Too much... Don't be stupid".
Her mouth felt dry again.
She slowly started walking toward the exit while holding the water bottle in plain sight.
One bottle looked believable.
Maybe she could pretend—
"…the investigation surrounding the deaths in Seoul continues…"
The voice from the television cut through her thoughts instantly.
Seina froze.
The cashier finally looked up properly.
The television continued speaking overhead.
"…authorities are still searching for a seventeen-year-old girl called Im Sei-na…"
Her blood went cold.
The cashier frowned slightly.
His eyes moved from the screen— to her face.
Recognition happened slowly.
Then all at once.
Seina saw it immediately.
That small shift in expression. The sudden attention.
The cashier straightened slightly behind the register.
"You…"
Panic exploded inside her chest.
Before he could finish speaking, Seina turned and bolted toward the door.
"HEY!"
The automatic doors slid open violently as she rushed outside into the brutal heat again. Behind her, something fell loudly inside the store.
"HEY! STOP!"
Her shoes slammed against the pavement as she sprinted across the parking lot.
The water bottle nearly slipped from her hand.
Run.
The sound of the cashier shouting behind her became distorted beneath the roaring panic in her ears. She heard the store door open again.
Then another sound.
A phone being grabbed.
Police.
Seina's breathing turned sharp immediately.
The road stretched endlessly ahead beneath the darkening sky, open and exposed with nowhere to hide. Cars passed too quickly. Too visible.
Then she saw the trees.
A forest stretched along the side of the highway ahead, dense and dark beneath the fading sunlight.
Without thinking, Seina jumped over the guardrail.
The slope on the other side was steeper than expected. Her shoe slipped against loose dirt, nearly sending her crashing forward before she caught herself against a tree trunk.
Branches scraped violently against her arms and face as she forced herself deeper into the woods.
Behind her, distant shouting echoed from the road.
"Someone call the police!"
She ran harder.
Leaves crunched beneath her feet while roots twisted dangerously across the uneven ground. Thin branches clawed at her clothes and hair. Insects buzzed loudly through the humid evening air.
The deeper she ran, the darker the forest became.
The sounds of the highway slowly disappeared behind her.
Still she didn't stop.
Her lungs burned painfully now.
Every breath felt too small.
Her backpack bounced heavily against her spine while sweat stung the scratches on her arms.
Eventually the shouting vanished completely.
Only insects remained.
Seina finally slowed after what felt like forever, bending forward sharply with her hands against her knees while she struggled to breathe.
Silence.
No sirens.
No footsteps.
Nobody following her.
The realization brought relief for exactly two seconds before another thought hit immediately afterward.
She had no idea where she was.
Seina looked around slowly through the growing darkness.
Trees.
Only trees.
Every direction looked identical beneath the fading blue light of evening.
"…great," she muttered weakly.
Her legs trembled beneath her weight now that the adrenaline was fading. Blisters burned painfully beneath her shoes, and her throat still felt unbearably dry despite the water bottle clenched tightly in her hand.
She unscrewed the cap quickly and drank.
The water was warm already.
Still, it felt like survival.
She wiped her mouth afterward and forced herself to keep moving.
The forest swallowed night quickly.
Soon moonlight became the only real source of light left, pale and uneven between the branches overhead. Shadows stretched unnaturally between the trees while every sound seemed amplified: leaves moving, wood cracking somewhere far away, insects screaming endlessly.
Several times she turned suddenly because she thought she heard footsteps behind her.
Every time, there was nothing there.
Her exhausted mind kept creating shapes between the trees.
Someone watching. A silhouette standing motionless. White eyes in the dark.
But whenever she focused properly, only empty forest remained.
The memories from the loop still lived somewhere deep inside her body.
Seina wrapped one arm around herself while continuing through the darkness.
The air smelled damp now.
Wet earth. Leaves. Water.
She stopped walking immediately.
Listened.
There.
A faint flowing sound somewhere ahead.
A creek.
Relief washed through her so quickly it almost hurt.
Seina followed the sound carefully through the trees until the forest finally opened into a narrow clearing beneath the moonlight.
Water reflected silver across smooth stones.
The creek was small and shallow, flowing quietly through the darkness like liquid glass.
Seina dropped to her knees beside it almost immediately.
Cold water touched her skin as she splashed her face repeatedly, breathing harder each time. Dirt and sweat ran down into the stream while freezing water dripped from her chin and neck.
For the first time all day, the heat loosened slightly around her body.
No blood.
No hallucinations.
Just water.
She sat down heavily beside the creek afterward, too exhausted to remain standing.
The forest around her was eerily silent now.
No police. No people. No city.
Only darkness and flowing water.
Seina stared down at her reflection trembling across the surface of the creek.
She barely recognized herself anymore.
A tired girl. Dirty clothes. Fear in her eyes.
Wanted for murder.
The thought felt unreal even now.
Days ago she still had a home.
Now she was hiding in forests stealing food while walking toward a city hundreds of kilometers away for the sake of a girl who had already died more times than she could count.
Her chest tightened painfully again.
Thalya.
Even after everything…
Seina lowered her gaze toward the water.
"What am I even doing…" she whispered quietly.
The creek continued flowing beside her.
"Who are you?"
The voice came from somewhere behind her.
Seina nearly jumped violently from the ground, terror shooting through her entire body as she spun toward the darkness between the trees.