The drive back home felt longer than it ever had.
Kim sat in the backseat, staring out the tinted window as the city lights stretched and blurred like trembling flames.
Nothing around him felt real.
Mira's fear.
The girl's voice.
That sentence…
"The past you forgot… is returning."
His chest tightened again.
Why did those words feel familiar?
Why did they hurt?
The car stopped in front of the mansion.
Ten servants stood in two neat rows, bowing as the door opened.
"Welcome home, Young Master."
Kim didn't reply — just walked inside, straight to the staircase, not even noticing that his hands were trembling.
1. A House Full of Silence, A Mind Full of Noise
His luxurious room greeted him with warm lights and a perfect temperature.
But tonight, nothing felt perfect.
He threw his bag on the couch and sat on the bed, elbows on his knees.
The mysterious girl's face flashed again.
Those eyes…
So deep, so dark…
And the way she said his name—
"Kim… finally."
Like she had been waiting.
Waiting for him.
Waiting for him to remember.
He whispered to himself,
"Why does she feel like someone I've seen before…?
Someone I should know… but don't."
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
It was one of the maids.
"Young Master, dinner is—"
"I'm not hungry," Kim said softly.
The maid bowed and left.
Kim stood, walked to the mirror, and looked at his reflection.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same normal teenager.
Yet he felt… wrong.
Like he wasn't looking at himself.
Like a stranger was staring back at him.
Suddenly—
FLASH.
A sharp, burning headache shot through his skull.
He clutched the mirror frame with both hands.
Images bombarded him—
A hand reaching toward him…
Someone calling his name…
A girl crying…
A pink ribbon floating in water…
And one whisper.
A whisper that was definitely NOT Mira.
"Kim… you promised."
He gasped, stumbling back.
The vision vanished.
But his heart wouldn't stop racing.
"What was that…?!"
He pressed a hand on his chest.
"Why am I seeing things I don't remember?
Why do I feel like that girl…"
He froze.
"…like she was once more important to me than anyone else?"
2. School — A Day That Should Have Been Normal
The next morning was unusually quiet.
Even the servants sensed something was wrong, but they didn't ask.
They never asked.
Kim didn't talk on the way to school.
He didn't talk while walking through the hallways.
His mind kept repeating the same question—
"What if my dream was never a dream… but a memory?"
As he turned the corridor leading to his class, a voice called out.
"Kim!"
Mira.
Her voice, normally soft and warm, sounded tight, almost scared.
She rushed toward him, grabbed his wrist.
"Are you okay? You didn't reply to any of my messages."
Kim opened his mouth to answer, but before he could—
He heard footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Both of them turned.
A girl stood at the far end of the hallway.
The same girl.
The mysterious one.
Today she wasn't wearing black.
Today she wore the Seoul High uniform.
Her hair gently flowed behind her;
her eyes locked onto him instantly.
Kim felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Mira stepped protectively in front of him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.
The girl didn't even look at Mira.
Her attention was only on Kim.
"Class 11B," she said.
"That's Kim's class.
And now… mine too."
Mira's jaw dropped.
Kim blinked several times.
"What… what do you mean?"
The girl walked forward, slow and steady.
"Transfer student," she said.
"The principal approved it last night."
Kim's heartbeat kicked into overdrive.
Last night?
At the same time Kim was seeing those visions?
Her eyes softened —
As if she understood everything he felt.
"You can't run from me anymore, Kim."
Mira stepped between them again.
"Stay away from him!"
The girl finally looked at Mira…
with eyes that held something heavy.
Regret.
Pain.
Memory.
"Mira…
You of all people should know that he can't ignore me."
Kim felt the floor vanish beneath his feet.
"Mira… knows you?"
He stared at Mira.
She looked frozen.
As if a truth she didn't want revealed had just cracked open.
"Mira… what is she talking about?"
Mira swallowed hard.
"Kim… I… I was going to tell you later—"
The girl shook her head.
"No.
He deserves the truth now."
Kim's breath caught.
"What truth?!"
The girl took one small step toward him.
"Kim," she said softly,
"I'm not a stranger."
She raised her hand slowly and placed it over her heart.
"I am the girl…
you died trying to save."
Kim felt the world collapse.
His ears rang.
His lungs forgot how to breathe.
Mira gasped and covered her mouth.
The girl stepped closer, her voice breaking.
"And you promised me…
that if we ever met again—
you'd remember everything."
Kim whispered, voice trembling—
"I… died…?"
The girl nodded.
"And I came back…
because you're about to die again."
The hallway fell silent.
Too silent.
Kim's knees almost buckled.
His vision blurred.
"What… what are you saying…?"
The girl's expression hardened.
"Someone is trying to kill you, Kim.
And the past you forgot…
is the only thing that can save your life."
A loud metallic clang echoed from the far end of the hallway.
All three turned.
The hallway lights flickered—
once.
twice.
three times.
And then—
A shadow moved.
Fast.
Unnatural.
Silent.
The girl pushed Kim back instantly.
"Stay behind me!"
Kim's eyes widened.
"What is that?!"
The shadow shifted…
forming faint human shape…
with glowing red eyes.
The girl whispered—
"It's here…"
Kim's voice cracked.
"What is?!"
The girl's answer was simple.
Deadly.
Cold.
"The thing that killed you the first time."
Chapter 7 end. But
Chapter 8 coming soon.
CHAPTER END — MASSIVE SUSPENSE DROP
Kim's world has shattered.
A mysterious girl claims he died once saving her.
Mira knows the truth.
A shadowy creature just appeared in school.
Is the past returning to kill him again?