The final chords of the music faded from my earbuds, leaving behind a profound, ringing silence. My heart was still racing, drumming a wild rhythm against my ribs, but as the adrenaline of my impromptu dance slowly began to ebb, the reality of my environment rushed in.
We were standing hundreds of meters above the city. The wind, completely unobstructed, swept across the Namsan observation deck with a biting, icy edge.
"Achoo!"
I sneezed softly, my shoulders instinctively curling inward as a violent shiver wrecked through my frame. The delicate, shimmering silk of my peacock saree was beautiful, but it offered absolutely zero protection against the harsh Korean night. I rubbed my bare arms vigorously, the heavy metal bangles chiming as my teeth began to chatter.
"Oh, it is so cold," I muttered to myself, wrapping my arms around my waist. "Stupid, Sana You survived the exams and police training, but you forgot to check the weather app and bring a coat to the mountains."
I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing to brave the chill for a few more minutes, when suddenly, the freezing wind was cut off.
A heavy, sudden warmth draped over my shoulders. It was a long, thick winter coat, engulfing my shivering frame in an instant cocoon of insulated heat. The fabric smelled faintly of expensive cedarwood, clean laundry, and something uniquely masculine.
My breath caught in my throat. I spun around, my hands automatically coming up to grip the lapels of the massive coat.
Standing right behind me, completely silent, was a towering figure. He was dressed entirely in black—baggy jeans, a heavy hoodie pulled up over his head, a dark baseball cap pulled low over his forehead, and a black face mask obscuring the lower half of his face. Only his eyes were visible, dark and intensely focused, reflecting the amber lights of the tower.
It was him. The man from the park. The "friend."
"The world can be a freezing, unforgiving place, but sometimes, grace arrives not as a grand gesture, but as a quiet stranger offering their warmth in the middle of the wind."
"Annyeonghaseyo," he said, his voice muffled by the mask. It sounded slightly deeper, a little rougher than I remembered from the park. "It is very cold tonight."
I immediately stepped back, suddenly hyper-aware of how close he was, and offered a deep, respectful bow, the oversized coat slipping slightly off one shoulder.
"Hello!" I said, my voice vibrating with a mixture of residual cold and overwhelming excitement. "I... I didn't hear you approach. How are you?"
He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his hoodie, his broad shoulders rising in a subtle shrug. "I am well. I see you found the place easily."
"Yes, yes I did," I nodded frantically, clutching the coat tighter around myself, immensely grateful for the warmth. I looked up at those dark, magnetic eyes, my heart swelling with an emotion so large I barely knew how to contain it.
"I don't even know where to begin," I breathed, taking a step closer, my words tumbling out in a rush of pure gratitude. "I am just... I am so incredibly happy. I met him. I actually met Woonseok. He took my letter, he smiled, he spoke to me... It was the most beautiful moment of my entire life."
I paused, looking at the masked man, my eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you. Thank you so much for making my ultimate dream come true. It was the very last wish on my absolute dream checklist, and you made it happen. You have no idea what you have done for me. You gave a girl from India a memory she will cherish until her last breath."
He stood perfectly still, the wind tugging at the drawstrings of his hoodie. For a long moment, he didn't say a single word. His dark eyes seemed to trace the outline of my face, softening in a way that made my breath hitch.
I quickly reached into my clutch, my fingers finding the small, crinkled paper bag I had carefully carried all the way from the streets of Insadong.
"Here," I said softly, extending my hand to offer him the bag. "I bought this for you. Inside is a small box with a silver star pendant."
He looked down at the small bag in my hand, hesitant.
"It's nothing expensive," I added quickly, suddenly worried he might reject it. "But... you brought me to my star today. So, I wanted to give you a star in return. To say thank you, Mr...."
I stopped, realizing the glaring flaw in our entire dynamic.
"Mr. ...?" I repeated, tilting my head slightly. "You know my name. Woonseok told you everything, I'm sure. But I don't know yours. Can I please know the name of the person who changed my life?"
Woonseok's Perspective
She was standing right in front of me, wrapped in my oversized coat, looking up at me with eyes so full of genuine reverence that it physically hurt my chest.
When she handed me the small paper bag, my fingers brushed against hers. The spark of static electricity mirrored the wild, erratic thumping of my heart. A silver star. She had bought me a silver star, completely unaware that she had just spent the last twenty minutes dancing under the actual sky, outshining every constellation above us.
But then, she asked the one question I had entirely failed to prepare for.
"Can I please know your name?"
Panic, cold and sharp, flooded my veins. My mind went completely, utterly blank.
A name. I need a name. Any name. I couldn't say Park Woonseok. I couldn't use Min-ho's name. I needed something common, something simple.
"Ah," I stalled, deliberately pitching my voice lower, making it slightly gravelly to mask the smooth, melodic tone she had just heard in the green room an hour ago.
I looked at her wide, expectant mahogany eyes. My brain misfired entirely.
"My name is... Woonbae," I blurted out.
Woonbae? I screamed at myself internally. Woonbae?! Out of the thousands of names in the Korean language, you picked the one that sounds exactly like your actual name, just with a different ending? Are you an idiot?
Sana blinked, her head tilting slightly. "Oh. Woonbae. I got it." She offered a warm, bright smile. "Thank you so much, Woonbae Sir."
I winced behind my mask. Hearing the formal "Sir" attached to the ridiculous, made-up name felt like a knife to my conscience.
"Just Woonbae," I corrected quickly, pulling my hands from my pockets and gesturing toward a wooden bench overlooking the glittering city skyline. "Please. No, 'Sir'. Just Woonbae is fine."
Sana's smile widened, her eyes curving into beautiful, happy crescents. "Okay. Just Woonbae. I am so glad I finally get to meet you properly, Woonbae."
"A lie is a heavy garment to wear, but when it is the only armor keeping you close to the person you are falling for, you will gladly carry its weight."
I walked over to the bench, the cold wind whipping around us, and sat down on the slatted wood. I kept a polite distance, leaving enough space for her. Sana followed, gathering the heavy folds of my coat and her shimmering peacock saree, and sat down beside me.
For a moment, we just sat in silence, looking out over the sprawling, neon-lit expanse of Seoul. The Han River was a dark ribbon far below, the bridges glowing like strings of gold.
My mind was racing. I had her here, sitting beside me in the dark. I was just a guy named Woonbae, hiding behind a mask. But I couldn't keep this charade up forever. There was a ticking clock on this entire fantasy, and I needed to know exactly how much time I had before the hourglass ran out.
"So," I began, keeping my altered, gravelly voice steady as I looked at her profile. "You traveled very far. How much time... how long are you staying here in Korea?"
Sana let out a soft, wistful sigh, her breath curling into a faint cloud of white mist in the freezing air. She pulled the lapels of my coat closer to her chin.
"I came here for a week," she answered, her voice tinged with a sudden, quiet melancholy. "It has already been three days. So... I only have four days left."
Four days.
The words hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.
"Four days," I repeated softly, the reality of the timeline settling heavily over my shoulders.
"Yes," she nodded, turning to look at me, her dark eyes reflecting the city lights. "After that, I have to go back. Back to my district, back to my uniform, back to my responsibilities. But honestly? It's okay."
She looked back out at the horizon, a serene, peaceful smile resting on her lips.
"South Korea was my ultimate dream destination," Sana murmured, the wind carrying her words away into the night. "To see this city, to walk these streets, to meet him... I have done it all. Even if I only have four days left, it feels like I've lived an entire lifetime of happiness in just three."
I sat perfectly still, my hand gripping the edge of the wooden bench so tightly my knuckles turned white under the streetlamp.
She had four days left. Ninety-six hours.
Ninety-six hours before the fierce, beautiful officer from India boarded a plane and vanished from my life forever. Ninety-six hours to figure out how to tell her that the idol she worshipped and the masked man she was sitting next to were the exact same person—without breaking her heart.