The next evening, Seoul glowed like a galaxy of restless stars. The city never slept, cars hissed over wet asphalt, neon lights blinked like heartbeats, and somewhere in the maze of streets, Hana wandered beneath her umbrella, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched.
The events of the previous night replayed over and over in her mind, the shadows, the whispers, the stranger's touch. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still feel the warmth of his hand and see the glint of crimson reflected in the rain.
She told herself to forget him. To pretend it was all a dream born of exhaustion and fear. But when she rolled up her sleeve that morning, the mark on her wrist had deepened, its faint glow visible even under sunlight.
Something inside her was changing.
The air seemed to hum around her as she walked, a vibration only she could feel. Streetlights flickered overhead as she passed, casting fleeting halos of white and gold. Then one by one they began to dim, until the street was bathed in shadows.
Hana froze. "Not again…"
A shape emerged ahead, tall, still, familiar.
He stood beneath the last working streetlight, rain dripping from his dark hair, crimson eyes faint beneath the halo of light. Even from a distance, his presence made her chest tighten.
"You shouldn't walk alone at night," he said softly. His voice carried easily through the mist, steady and calm, like the center of a storm.
Hana swallowed. "You said that before."
"And you didn't listen," he replied, a faint edge of a smile ghosting across his lips.
Her heart skipped. "Then stop following me."
"I wasn't following you," he said, stepping closer until she could see the sharpness of his features under the dim glow. "The curse draws us together. Whether I want it or not."
She frowned. "Curse?"
He studied her silently for a long moment, then sighed, a sound that carried centuries of weariness. "It began long before your time, long before Seoul became this city of light and noise. I was a prince once, from a realm hidden beneath the mortal world. I defied a goddess to save my people… and for that, she cursed me."
The rain pattered harder as he spoke. His voice lowered, thick with memory.
"She took everything, my kingdom, my form, my name, and bound me to the mortal realm as a demon. I walk these streets by night, unseen by most, forced to hunt the shadows that escaped with me. If I stop, they'll consume everything this city, its people… you."
Hana's throat went dry. "So that's why you fight them."
He nodded slowly. "But every time I destroy one, the curse tightens. My power feeds it. My existence keeps it alive."
Her gaze drifted to the mark glowing faintly on her wrist. "And me? What am I in all this?"
His eyes softened. "You are the first mortal to see me in centuries, Hana. And that mark on your wrist, that is proof you've become part of the binding spell. You carry a fragment of the same curse."
Her heart dropped. "What does that mean? Am I… dying?"
"No," he said quickly. "But you're connected to me now. The more you feel, the stronger the bond becomes. That's why I told you not to touch me again."
Hana's breath caught. "Then… that spark....."
"Wasn't meant to happen," he said quietly. "You're human. I am not. Our connection breaks the natural laws that hold both our worlds apart."
For a moment, only the rain spoke between them. Hana hugged her arms around herself, trembling, not from cold, but from the gravity of it all.
"Then why save me?" she asked, voice trembling. "Why not just let me go?"
He hesitated, crimson eyes flickering like dying embers. "Because I couldn't."
Her heart stuttered.
He looked away, expression hardening again. "Every time I see you in danger, something inside me fights the curse. You remind me that I was once human… that I once knew what it meant to care."
Hana took a hesitant step forward. "And now?"
"Now," he said, meeting her gaze again, "I walk between worlds, neither man nor monster. The curse burns me from within. And yet…" His voice softened to a whisper. "When I'm near you, it quiets. Just enough for me to feel alive again."
The streetlight above them flickered violently, sputtering like a candle in the wind. For an instant, his shadow warped, stretching unnaturally, revealing a glimpse of the beast beneath the man.
Hana gasped, stepping back instinctively. But the moment passed, and his form stabilized again, his features human once more, too human.
He clenched his fist. "That is what the curse does. It feeds on weakness, emotion, love, guilt. The moment I feel, it takes more of me."
"Then stop fighting it," Hana said, her voice stronger than she felt. "If it wants to consume you, let it. Maybe that's how it ends."
He turned sharply toward her, his crimson eyes flashing. "You don't understand," he said, his tone suddenly fierce. "If it consumes me, it consumes everything bound to me. You, this city, everything I've tried to protect will burn."
Rain streaked between them, the air thick with unspoken fear. Hana's heart pounded, her pulse echoing in her ears. She stepped forward again, closer than she should have dared.
"Then let me help you," she whispered. "I'm already bound, aren't I? Don't shut me out."
He froze. The rain slowed, as though the world itself paused to listen.
For a heartbeat, he said nothing. Then, slowly, he reached up, brushing his thumb against her wrist, the mark glowing brightly beneath his touch.
"Your light burns through the curse," he murmured. "But every time I touch you, I risk destroying you. Do you understand that, Hana?"
Her breath hitched. "I don't care."
A flash of emotion crossed his face, surprise, fear, longing. Then he stepped back, breaking the contact, eyes glowing brighter for a brief moment before dimming again.
"You will," he said quietly. "Soon."
The streetlight above them finally went out, plunging them into darkness. Yet in that darkness, Hana could still see the faint glow of his crimson eyes, steady, sorrowful, and unyielding.
"Go home," he whispered. "Tonight, the city is restless. The shadows are gathering. I can hold them back, but not for long."
She wanted to argue, to tell him she wasn't leaving him to fight alone. But the look in his eyes, the weight of centuries of suffering, silenced her.
So she nodded slowly. "You'll come back?"
"I always do," he said. "The curse makes sure of it."
And before she could reply, he vanished into the rain, leaving only silence and the faint hum of electricity as the streetlights flickered back to life.
Hana stood there for a long time, soaked and trembling, staring at the place where he'd stood. The mark on her wrist still glowed faintly, warm against her skin, as if his touch lingered.
The city's heart beat around her, loud, alive, full of secrets and she realized something she couldn't deny anymore.
She was no longer afraid of the darkness.
She was falling for it.