Jae-hyun didn't sleep.
Not really.
He held Ha-rin against his chest long after her trembling stopped, long after her breaths settled into soft, uneven exhales. His fingers rested protectively on her back, each rise and fall an anchor reminding him she was here.
Alive.Warm.His.
But eventually, exhaustion won.
A few minutes—maybe an hour—was all he managed before sleep dragged him under.
And instantly—
He regretted it.
🌑 THE DREAM
He stood in a long hallway lined with glass.Artificial white light above him flickered.Monitors flashed with echo-wave data, heartbeat mapping, and an image of Ha-rin's face split into two portraits—one warm and alive, and the other cold, glitching, corrupted.
A voice whispered:
"Choose."
He turned around.
Ha-rin stood behind him.
No—
two Ha-rins.
One was the girl curled in his arms just minutes ago—fragile but determined, furious at the universe for hurting her, terrified of losing him again.
The other leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable.Her smile was too sharp.Too knowing.
Broken Ha-rin.
"Jae-hyun."Her voice slid through the hallway like silk and poison.
He clenched his fists.
The real Ha-rin reached for him. "Don't listen to her. Come here—please—"
Broken Ha-rin tilted her head.
"Funny," she murmured, pushing off the wall."He never used to hesitate."
His chest tightened painfully.
"Hesitate?" he whispered.
Broken Ha-rin stepped closer, eyes glittering.
"You don't remember our last night, do you?"She brushed her fingers lightly along his jaw."You don't remember what you promised me."
Real Ha-rin stiffened."No—Jae-hyun, that's not real—don't believe—"
Broken Ha-rin cut her off with a smirk.
"He used to look at me like I was the only timeline worth living."Her eyes flickered with something—sadness? Hunger? Madness?"You weren't there then, sweetheart. I was."
Jae-hyun's breath hitched.
The dream around him shifted—glass melting into petals, hallways morphing into a courtyard overflowing with white blossoms.
He'd seen this in Ha-rin's dream.
He understood now—
This wasn't just a dream.
It was overlap.
Memory.Loop.Echo.
Broken Ha-rin slipped her arms around his neck, her breath ghosting against his ear.
"You can choose me," she whispered."This time… choose me."
He froze.
Real Ha-rin's voice cracked.
"Jae-hyun—don't—please—look at me—"
He turned.
She stood barefoot among the blossoms, tears streaming silently, eyes begging him not to disappear.
And something inside him snapped.
Between the two versions—two timelines—two claims on him—
His body moved on instinct.
Toward her.
The real Ha-rin.
But Broken Ha-rin grabbed his wrist, nails digging into his skin.
"You think she can protect you?" she hissed. "You think she won't leave you again? You think Echo didn't choose which of us is worth saving?"
Jae-hyun's jaw clenched.
"Let go," he said quietly.
Broken Ha-rin laughed, a broken, hollow sound.
"You don't get it, do you? I AM the piece of her you abandoned first. I am the version you sacrificed."
Jae-hyun closed his eyes.
"I don't remember that."
"Exactly," she whispered, tightening her grip."That's why I get to keep you in the dream."
The blossoms trembled.
The world cracked.
Pain shot through his wrist.
And a voice—familiar, urgent—cut through the collapsing dream:
"JAE-HYUN—WAKE UP!"
⚡ REALITY
Jae-hyun jolted upright with a violent gasp.
His chest heaved.
His wrist burned.
And—
Ha-rin was gripping his hand desperately, shaking him awake, her eyes wide with fear.
"You weren't breathing," she whispered, panicked."Jae-hyun—you were sweating and calling my name and—I couldn't wake you up—"
Her words broke.
She clung to him, shaking as hard as she was shaking him.
Without thinking, he crushed her against his chest.
Not gently.Not carefully.
Desperately.
"Ha-rin," he breathed, burying his face in her hair. "You came back. You came back to wake me."
She didn't respond with words.Only tightened her grip, burying herself deeper in his arms.
Her heartbeat thudded against him—fastwarmalivehis anchorhis constantthe only reality that felt real.
He leaned back slightly, cupping her cheeks.
Her breath trembled.
Their faces were inches apart.
"Ha-rin," he whispered, voice hoarse, "she—Broken you—she tried to take me."
Ha-rin froze.
"She said I belonged to her."
Her eyes widened.
"And she said I abandoned her once."
Ha-rin shook her head violently."No. No, that's not right. You didn't—Jae-hyun, she's corrupted—she's manipulating—"
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"I chose you."
Her breath caught.
"In the dream," he whispered."I chose you. Even when she held onto me—I still reached for you."
Her bottom lip trembled.
"And I would choose you again. In every loop. Every lifetime. Every version of reality."
He wasn't supposed to say this.Not now.Not like this.
But he couldn't hold anything back after what he'd seen.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer.
"Say it again," she whispered.
He swallowed, voice breaking.
"I choose you."
Her eyelashes fluttered shut.
"Again."
He cupped her jaw and pulled her gently toward him until her breath brushed his.
"I choose you, Ha-rin."
Her heart pounded against his chest—hard enough that Echo's faint pulse vibrated through the air again.
Jae-hyun felt it.
So did she.
Her breath trembled.
His hand slid up to cradle the back of her head.
Their lips brushed—not fully—just a ghost of a touch—the kind of almost-kiss that sends lightning down the spine.
Her breath shook.His jaw tightened.
"Ha-rin," he whispered, "can I—?"
Before he finished—
Her phone vibrated violently on the coffee table.
They both froze.
Slowly—together—they looked at the screen.
A message.No sender.No number.
Just two words:
"HE'S COMING."
Ha-rin's blood ran cold.
Jae-hyun's grip on her waist tightened.
Before she could reach for the phone—it vibrated again.
Another message appeared.
"RUN."
And then—
Her heartbeat pulsed with Echo's voice:
"…incoming… danger… sync imminent…"
Jae-hyun's eyes met hers.
"Ha-rin," he whispered, deadly calm,"we're not alone in this timeline anymore."