Light rushed back like a tidal wave.
Ha-rin gasped—the force of it knocking the air out of her chest.She clutched at Jae-hyun instinctively.
He caught her before she fell.
"Easy," he murmured."You're safe."
But the moment her eyes opened—she knew he was wrong.
Nothing about this place was safe.
They weren't in the chamber.They weren't in any garden, village, city, or memory they knew.
They were standing in a corridor of mirrors.
Endless mirrors.Stretching infinitely in either direction.Each one tall, cracked, shimmering like a surface trapped between time and dream.
Ha-rin's breath hitched.Her fingers dug into Jae-hyun's sleeve.
"Where… where are we?"
Echo flickered in weak static above them.
"…Unknown loop.""Not in system.""Not in memory logs."
Jae-hyun frowned sharply.
"What do you mean 'not in system'? Every loop belongs to something."
Echo trembled—almost scared.
"This loop… shouldn't exist."
Ha-rin felt a chill spread down her spine.
That was when she noticed—
None of the mirrors reflected her.None reflected Jae-hyun.None reflected Echo.
The mirrors showed…
something else.
Ha-rin moved closer to one, drawn like a moth to flame.
A child stared back at her.A little girl with jasmine clips.
Little Ha-rin.
Her throat tightened.
But when the little girl blinked—
Her eyes were wrong.
Too old.Too knowing.Too sad.
Jae-hyun saw it too.He grabbed Ha-rin's wrist.
"Don't touch that."
But the reflection smiled.
Not kindly.
Longingly.
And whispered—
"Unni… why did you leave me?"
Ha-rin froze.
"What—what did she say?"
The reflection repeated it louder.Clearer.Sharper.
"Why did you leave me?"
Ha-rin stumbled back.
"I— I never had a younger sibling—Jae-hyun, I— I don't—"
But before she could finish—
A voice drifted through the corridor.
Soft.Broken.Calling her name in a way no memory ever did.
"Ha-rin…?"
She spun around.
Jae-hyun's arm shot out reflexively, shielding her.
And then—
They both froze.
Because walking toward themwas a teenager.
A girl about sixteen or seventeen.Long hair tied in a loose braid.Soft features.Eyes wide with shock.
Eyes that lookedexactly like Ha-rin's.
Ha-rin whispered, trembling:
"That's— That's me."
"No," Jae-hyun said quietly."That's not you. That's… someone else."
They stared.The girl clasped her hands slowly over her heart, eyes glancing between Ha-rin and Jae-hyun.
"You found me," she whispered."Before the loop erases me again."
Ha-rin couldn't breathe.
"I don't— know who you are."
The girl smiled sadly."It's okay. You weren't supposed to remember me."
She stepped forward—feet not touching the ground—like she was drifting rather than walking.
"I'm the Ha-rin who never grew up."
Ha-rin's blood turned cold.
"What…?"
Jae-hyun swallowed hard.
"You're from… a different timeline."
She nodded.
"One Echo hid even deeper than the buried garden."
Ha-rin felt like she was sinking.
"Why… why would Echo hide you?"
The girl looked at her gently.
"Because I died."
The corridor fell completely silent.
Ha-rin's heart stopped.
Jae-hyun's jaw clenched so hard he trembled.
Echo flickered violently.
"…apology… unable to protect… this loop was erased…"
The girl—the teenage version of Ha-rin—smiled with a heartbreaking softness.
"When the first fire happened…I didn't survive it.That version of me didn't."
Ha-rin choked.
"But I— I lived. Haneul saved me."
She nodded.
"In your timeline."
"But in mine…"Her eyes softened."He didn't reach me in time."
Ha-rin shook.
"No… no—"
The girl placed a palm against her chest.
"You became the Ha-rin who lived."
She pointed at herself.
"And I became the Ha-rin who was erased."
Jae-hyun whispered under his breath, horrified:
"Echo didn't bury a loop…it buried a person."
Echo's glow dimmed, ashamed.
"…it hurt her… so I removed the pain…"
Ha-rin fell to her knees.
"I had a version of me who died?Who lived… and died… without anyone remembering?"
The girl knelt too, facing her.
"That's why I'm here.This loop exists to show you the truth the system hid."
Jae-hyun knelt beside Ha-rin, pulling her into his side.
"What truth?" he asked, voice low.
The girl looked at him.
Then at Ha-rin.
"You've both been constant before."Her voice shook."Before the village.Before Echo.Before the fire."
Jae-hyun frowned.
"What are you saying?"
The girl whispered:
"You two were meant to find each other.Again.And again.And again."
Ha-rin's eyes filled.
Jae-hyun's breath hitched.
The girl pointed at the mirrors.
"Every version of me loved him."She smiled softly at Jae-hyun."And every version of you loved her."
Jae-hyun closed his eyes, overwhelmed.
Ha-rin whispered:
"So… we were always meant to be?"
The reflection-girl nodded.
"Yes.But fate kept breaking you apart."
She reached out her hand—
and the mirrors shook violently.
Cracking.Splintering.Shattering outward like exploding stars.
The girl looked at them, eyes suddenly full of urgency.
"She's coming."
Ha-rin stiffened.
"Who?"
The girl's voice trembled.
"The version of me Echo couldn't bury."She swallowed."The one that survived.The one that hates you."
Jae-hyun froze.
Ha-rin's breath stopped.
Echo whispered, terrified:
"Incoming anomaly… constant collision… memory war…"
The girl grabbed Ha-rin's hand.
"You need to run.You need to survive this loop."Her eyes locked onto Ha-rin's."And you need to protect him."
Jae-hyun tried to stand but the corridor twisted.
"Protect me? From who—?"
The girl whispered, voice trembling:
"From the Ha-rin who was never saved."
The corridor collapsed.
Darkness swallowed them.
And someone screamed Ha-rin's name in a voice full of pure rage—
like a ghost who refused to stay dead.