The twentieth floor of the Moonlight Cultural Foundation felt completely different from the busy lobby below. It was quieter and more refined.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Yoon Ha-rin stepped into a wide hallway decorated with soft lighting and elegant wooden panels. The walls were covered with framed photographs of historical artifacts and restoration projects funded by the foundation.
Ancient ceramics, royal garments, temple architecture and more. It felt less like a corporate building and more like a museum holding history and culture to life. And telling the untold stories of love and betrayal.
Ha-rin walked slowly down the hallway, trying not to stare too much at everything around her. Yet swept in by the story each one had to tell.
"Wow…" She examined. "Every display looked expensive enough to belong in a national gallery." Ha-rin cried. But then, a young woman in a navy suit approached her with a polite smile.
"Miss Yoon Ha-rin?"
"Yes," She quickly answered.
"Please come with me. The interview will begin shortly." Ha-rin just nodded and followed her down the corridor.
As they walked, she noticed a large glass room at the center of the floor. Inside were several ancient objects displayed on elegant stands. The woman noticed her curious gaze.
"That is part of our private collection," she explained. "Many of the artifacts there are from the late Joseon Dynasty. Some pieces are still being researched."
Ha-rin nodded, though she barely understood half of what that meant. Still, something about the room drew her attention. Slightly, she slowed down, glancing through the glass.
There were several paintings inside, old ink landscapes and portraits of noble families. But in all, one painting, in particular, made her footsteps stop completely.
It was a portrait of a young woman wearing a pale hanbok, rooted beneath a full moon and surrounded by cherry blossoms. Her expression was calm, yet strangely lonely.
Ha-rin felt her breath caught in her throat, her heart beating faster than usual. Something about the painting felt familiar. Too familiar that it kept calling her in.
"Miss Yoon?" The employee turned back, noticing she had stopped walking.
"Oh—sorry," Ha-rin quickly said, forcing herself to move again.
But as she continued walking down the hallway, she couldn't shake the strange feeling crawling through her chest. It was as if she had seen that painting before. Except she knew for a fact that she hadn't.
Meanwhile, two floors above, inside the executive office, Kang Jae-min stood near the wide windows overlooking the city. His office was large but minimalist. Furnished with a dark wood furniture, a long glass desk, and a quiet atmosphere that perfectly matched his personality.
One of his assistants stood nearby holding a tablet.
"The interview candidates have arrived, sir."
Jae-min didn't immediately respond. His mind briefly returned to the girl he had seen in the lobby earlier. The one who had looked directly at him.
Yoon Ha-rin.
He had glanced over the applicant list earlier that morning, but nothing about her profile stood out. Average university, a freelance design worker with no powerful connections or any exceptional achievements.
And yet, for some reason, the moment he saw her, something inside him had stirred. A feeling he couldn't explain and this slightly irritated him.
Jae-min disliked things he couldn't understand.
"Sir?" the assistant repeated. He blinked once and refocused.
"Continue the interviews as planned."
"Yes, sir." The assistant bowed slightly and left the room.
Jae-min turned back to the window. The bright morning sun journeyed across the sky, reflecting off the endless rows of glass buildings. Everything looked normal, ordered and predictable. Yet still, a strange uneasiness lingered at the back of his mind. He's usually a kind who normally had no interest in anything or anyone but this got him bothered.
Downstairs, the interviews had begun. The conference room was quiet, a stark contrast to the buzzing lobby below. She took a seat, straightening her skirt as she took in deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
Ha-rin sat in the waiting area with three other applicants. Each person held a folder filled with documents. The atmosphere was tense. One by one, candidates were called into the interview room.
Minutes passed, then nearly an hour and finally, "Yoon Ha-rin?"
The door opened to her turn. She quickly stood to her feet.
"Yes!"
"Please come in."
Ha-rin walked into the interview room, trying to keep her breathing steady. Three people sat behind the long table. Two executives and one senior researcher. They greeted her politely and began asking questions about her background, her studies, and her interest in cultural preservation.
At first, Ha-rin answered carefully. But as the conversation continued, she slightly relaxed. But when they began discussing historical art restoration, she found herself speaking more naturally.
"I believe historical artifacts tell emotional stories," She explained. "Sometimes we only focus on the political history, but there are personal stories behind those objects too."
The senior researcher leaned forward slightly.
"What kind of personal stories?"
Ha-rin hesitated. She wasn't sure why the thought appeared in her mind so suddenly. But the words slipped out anyway. "Love… betrayal… sacrifice."
For some reason, her chest tightened as she said the words. As if they meant something deeper than she understood. The interviewers exchanged brief glances. After a few more questions, the interview ended.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Yoon," one of them said politely. "We will contact you once the final decision has been made."
Ha-rin bowed slightly.
"Thank you for your time."
She stepped outside the interview room and exhaled deeply. The job interview had gone smoothly, but she couldn't shake the sense that today would be different.
"That… was terrifying." She laughed quietly to herself and began walking back toward the elevator. But as she passed the glass artifact room again, it caught her attention.
The painting. The same one from earlier. The young woman under the moonlight.
Without realizing it, Ha-rin stepped closer to the glass. The hallway was quiet with one else around except herself. She stared at the painting and her heart began beating faster again.
"Why does the woman in the portrait feel so familiar?" She sensed but it didn't make sense at all. The painting had to be hundreds of years old yet the longer she looked at it, the stronger the strange feeling became.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her head. Ha-rin gasped softly. Her hand instinctively pressed against the glass. The moment her fingers touched it, the lights inside the artifact room flickered.
Just once, then again. Ha-rin blinked.
"What…?"
For a split second, she felt the image in the painting move. Not visibly or clearly. But she felt it, as if the woman in the portrait had slightly turned her gaze. Watching her.
Ha-rin immediately stepped back, her heart racing. "That's… impossible, the painting didn't just move." She cried. But the strange feeling refused to fade.
At that exact moment, someone stepped into the hallway behind her. A tall figure which just paused right behind her. She momentary turned, and it was him.
Kang Jae-min.
He had come downstairs for a meeting, but the unusual flicker of lights had caught his attention. His gaze moved toward the artifact room and then, to Ha-rin. She stood frozen in front of the painting. Her hand still slightly raised as if she had just touched the glass.
Jae-min's eyes slightly narrowed and for a brief moment, the air in the hallway felt strangely heavy. Ha-rin turned and suddenly their eyes met again. But this time, much closer and clearer.
A strange chill ran through Jae-min's chest. An unsettling urge he still couldn't make out. His gaze slowly shifted from her face to the painting behind the glass again. And for the first time in years, Kang Jae-min felt something he rarely experienced.
Pain, sadness and unease. Tears involuntary dropped down his eyes.
What is this urge and feeling, that he had no control of?