It began with a sound.
A low, metallic groan that seemed to vibrate directly under Ha-rin's ribcage.
Like the entire building had inhaled—and didn't know how to exhale.
Jae-hyun immediately pulled Ha-rin behind him, one arm sweeping protectively across her waist.
Echo's voice boomed inside her chest:
"…TIME HOSTILE—STRUCTURAL BREACH—EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY…"
The lights flickered.
The air twisted.
And the floor rippled beneath their feet like water.
Ha-rin gasped and grabbed onto Jae-hyun's arm.
He didn't flinch—he steadied her instantly, hand cupping her elbow, pulling her against his side.
"Stay with me," he breathed.
Then the wall to their right shattered.
Not into debris.
Into frames.
Like shattered glass made of memory.
Echo screamed:
"…BREACH DETECTED—MOVE—NOW—"
Jae-hyun didn't wait.
He grabbed Ha-rin's hand and ran.
"Come on!"
Her feet stumbled for the first two steps—the floor kept tremoring like a heartbeat trapped under the concrete—but Jae-hyun didn't let her fall.
His hand was warm.Strong.Desperate.
Her breath hitched when he glanced back mid-run—
His jaw clenched.Eyes blazing.Hair falling into his face.
"We're getting out," he said. "I swear."
But the corridor ahead began glitching.
Panels flickered between present-day metal walls—and the rooftop—and their university hallway—and the hospital room she never remembered—
Changing fasterfasterfasterlike someone was flipping through her memories at high speed.
Ha-rin felt her stomach twist.
"Jae-hyun—those are my memories—!"
"I know," he said through gritted teeth. "Don't look."
She tried not to.
But the glimpses hurt—
Her crying in a stairwell.Him staring at a hospital monitor.Her writing his name in an old notebook.Him standing in front of a grave that shouldn't exist.
Her breath shook.
"Jae-hyun…"
"I've got you," he whispered without looking back. "Focus on me."
Something cracked overhead.
A light fixture fell—straight toward Ha-rin—
She froze—
Jae-hyun spun instantly.
He pulled her into his arms, twisting their bodies, taking the hit to his own back.
The impact knocked them both to the floor.
Ha-rin gasped, chest pressed to his, breath knocked out.
"What—Jae—are you—?!"
He winced but grinned.
"Still alive. Again."
She smacked his chest weakly.
"Don't joke—!"
But his arms wrapped around her, holding her close.
"I didn't do it to be dramatic," he murmured. "You were in the way."
Her cheeks burned.
"Stop shielding me with your body!"
"No."
The way he said it—low and fierce—made heat rush through her spine.
But the corridor vibrated again.
Echo thundered in her head:
"…ONE MINUTE UNTIL FULL COLLAPSE…"
Jae-hyun cursed under his breath, then scooped her into his arms in one swift motion.
"Jae-hyun, I can run!"
"I know."
"Then put me down!"
"No."
She blinked hard.
"Why—?"
His eyes flicked to the floor behind her.
A temporal fracture—a rip in the air—a swirling black distortion—was crawling across the concrete like a shadow with teeth.
Ha-rin's breath died.
It was moving toward her footprints.
Her footprints.
She felt her skin crawl.
"It's… tracking me?"
"Yes," he said grimly. "So I'm not taking any chances."
Her arms looped around his neck instinctively.
His breath hitched.
Just a little.
But enough for her to feel it.
"Jae-hyun," she whispered shakily. "You really don't have to—"
"Yes," he said simply. "I do."
He took off running.
His hold was secure—one arm under her knees,the other around her waist,her chest pressed against his as the corridor warped around them.
She tightened her grip on his shoulders.
"Careful—!"
"Always."
A door at the far end flickered into view—
Sometimes solid.Sometimes transparent.Sometimes a memory of a classroom door she barely recognized.
Echo vibrated through her chest:
"…EXIT ROUTE FOUND—LEFT HALLWAY—TAKE IT—MOVE—"
"Left!" Ha-rin shouted.
Jae-hyun didn't question—he pivoted sharply, almost sliding on the unstable floor.
For a single, breathless moment—his foot slipped.
Ha-rin felt her heart stop.
But he caught himself, tightening his grip around her waist—
Her breath collided with his.
Their faces were inches apart.
Rain from the rooftop memory dripped down his cheek.
Except it wasn't raining.
It was the memory bleeding into the present.
Her hand brushed the side of his face instinctively.
He froze for half a second.
"Ha-rin—"
She didn't know why she whispered it.
"We survived death together."
His throat worked.
"And we'll survive this."
He pressed a fast, soft kiss to her forehead.
Her chest burned.
Then he ran again.
The Safe Node Meltdown
The ceiling exploded in a burst of light—revealing the sky from the rooftop memory above them.
Wind roared down the hallway.
The smell of rain invaded the room.
Ha-rin buried her face in Jae-hyun's shoulder.
"Why is the rooftop merging?!"
Echo's voice flashed through her mind:
"…her death… his death… both are anchor points…the loop is trying to reset to the beginning…"
"No," she whispered."No—we can't go back to that rooftop—"
Jae-hyun's voice hardened.
"We're not."
He stopped abruptly.
Ha-rin jerked upright.
"What—?!"
He turned his body, shielding her again.
A massive fracture split open the wall ahead—a swirling vortex of black and blue light.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Echo screamed:
"…TEMPORAL TEAR—DO NOT ENTER—DO NOT ENTER—"
Ha-rin clutched Jae-hyun's jacket.
"What do we do?!"
Jae-hyun exhaled.
His grip on her waist tightened.
"We go around."
"There is no around!"
He looked down at her—eyes soft, fierce, and impossible.
"Then we make one."
Echo's voice stuttered:
"…WARNING—PROTECTOR UNSTABLE—"
"Jae-hyun," she whispered, terrified, "don't you dare—"
He stepped to the right—toward a wall that flickered between:
metal
rooftop railing
a blank white panel
a childhood classroom chalkboard
Then—
He RAN at it.
Full speed.
"JAE-HYUN WHAT ARE YOU—?!"
He slammed his shoulder into the flickering wall.
It shattered into static.
A new corridor opened behind it.
One that was stable.
Bright.Solid.
Echo confirmed:
"…NEW PATH VALID… MOVE…"
Ha-rin stared up at him, breathless.
"You broke a wall," she whispered.
He grinned weakly.
"You're rubbing off on me."
Her cheeks flushed.
Then he ran again.
The Heartbeat Room
The corridor narrowed.
The temperature dropped sharply.
The lights steadied—then dimmed—then brightened again.
Ha-rin felt goosebumps rise on her arms.
"Jae-hyun… something's ahead."
He slowed—only slightlyenough to adjust her in his arms so she was closer, more secure.
Her heart flipped.
"You okay?" he murmured.
She nodded.Barely.
Echo's hum vibrated sharply:
"…DANGER—UNKNOWN PRESENCE—"
A door snapped into existence in front of them.
Metal.Old.Thick.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Jae-hyun exhaled hard.
"This is it."
Ha-rin tightened her hold on his neck.
"What's behind that door?"
He looked at her—
A look that made her stomach drop and her chest warm at the same time.
"Something that wants you," he said quietly."And something I'll never let touch you."
Her breath caught.
He leaned his forehead to hers for half a second—just long enough to steady both of them.
"You ready?" he whispered.
"No," she whispered back.
"Me neither."
He pushed the door open.
Inside
Darkness.
Not empty.
Breathing.
As if the room itself inhaled when they entered.
A faint glow ignited on the far wall—
revealing a silhouette.
Not Broken Ha-rin.
Not the Architect.
Not a loop version.
A man.
Young.Tall.Sharp features.Eyes glowing faint blue.
Ha-rin gasped.
Echo trembled violently:
"…ORIGINAL CORE—UNSTABLE—HOSTILE—"
Jae-hyun froze.
Ha-rin whispered:
"Is that… Echo?"
But Echo inside her answered first—
Terrified.
"…not me…the one before me…the one who broke…the one who killed timelines…"
The unstable core stepped forward slowly.
His voice was soft.
Too soft.
"Ha-rin."
Her breath stopped.
Jae-hyun stepped fully between them.
"Don't say her name."
The core tilted his head.
"You brought her here," he said gently."Thank you."
Jae-hyun's jaw flexed.
"She's not yours."
"She's mine in every loop," the core murmured."She came looking for me… long before she chose you."
Ha-rin stepped back instinctively.
Jae-hyun tightened his arm around her waist.
"Don't," he murmured. "Don't listen to him."
But the core smiled.
Soft.
Sad.
"Don't you remember me?" he asked her.
Ha-rin froze.
A faint image flashed behind her eyes—
Not rooftop.Not Jae-hyun.Not Broken Ha-rin.
A memory of a voice whispering:
"I can make him live if you want."
Echo screamed inside her:
"…GET AWAY FROM HIM—NOW—"
Ha-rin's blood turned to ice.
She whispered:
"Oh my god…you're the one who made me jump."
The unstable core smiled—
like a god admiring its own creation.
And said:
"I gave you your wish."
Jae-hyun lunged.
Ha-rin screamed.
Echo detonated into light.
The room EXPLODED into a swirl of timelines—
And everything vanished.