The room felt too small for the truth that Ravion carried in his eyes.
Ravion didn't speak at first.
He simply watched her, his chest rising slowly, as if he were preparing to tear open a scar he had kept sealed for centuries.
"Ravion…" she whispered. "You said you would tell me everything tonight."
A muscle jumped in his jaw.
"I did."
He stepped past her, moving to the window. Seoul buzzed below, loud, bright, alive. completely unaware of the storm about to break in this small apartment.
"Do you know why your wrist burns when I touch you?" he asked quietly.
Hana swallowed. "Because of the mark?"
"Yes. But that mark is older than you, Hana. Older than your parents. Older than this city."
He turned toward her. His crimson eyes were calm… but too full of a sadness she didn't yet understand. "It is written in blood, mine and yours."
Her breath caught.
"H-How? I didn't even know you existed a month ago."
He walked back to her, slow, steady, each step echoing like a countdown.
When he stopped right in front of her, she could feel the heat rolling off his skin.
"You knew me before you were born," he said.
Hana's heart jolted.
"What are you talking about?"
Ravion lifted his hand but stopped halfway, as if touching her would make this harder to explain.
"In my world, souls return in cycles. Some are ordinary. Some are warriors. Some are cursed. And some…" His eyes locked onto hers. "…some are bound."
Bound. The word settled over her like cold rain.
"Bound to what?" she whispered.
He shook his head slightly. "Not what. Who."
Her lips parted, soft, trembling.
"Me?"
"No," he murmured. "Me."
Hana stepped back instinctively, her body reacting before her mind caught up.
Ravion's gaze flickered with pain.
"You're saying… I belonged to you?"
He winced at her wording.
"Not 'belonged.' You chose. Long before this lifetime, you chose me. And I chose you."
His eyes lowered. "And that choice cursed us both."
Her knees weakened. "What do you mean cursed? What happened?"
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Then, slowly he reached into his coat and pulled out a small, folded piece of aged cloth. He held it like something fragile, something dangerous.
"I wasn't always a demon," he said.
Hana froze.
"What?"
He unfolded the cloth.
Inside was a drawing, old, faded, created in ink that looked almost like dried blood. A girl with her hair falling over one shoulder, smiling shyly. She wore traditional clothes, her hands folded in front of her.
Hana felt her lungs seize.
Because the face…
The face was hers.
Or rather, the girl she had once been.
The moment her fingers touched the drawing, a faint red glow sparked beneath her skin, right where his mark threaded around her wrist.
She gasped and dropped it.
Ravion caught the cloth before it hit the floor.
"Her name was Sera. Your name."
"My… past life," Hana whispered.
He nodded.
"And you?" Her voice was barely a breath.
"I was a guardian," he said. "Not a demon. My job was to protect humans from creatures that hunted in the shadows. I swore never to interfere with human life. Never to fall for one."
His eyes softened, full of something raw and forbidden.
"But I found you."
The room tilted.
"We met at an old shrine," he continued. "You burned incense every night because you believed a spirit lived there. You didn't know it was me."
Hana pressed a hand over her chest.
Her heart felt too full, too fragile.
"You always smiled when you prayed," Ravion said. "You asked for warmth in winter. You asked for luck for the village children. And when you began bringing extra offerings… I didn't understand why."
Hana whispered, "Why did I?"
His lips curved, barely.
"You said the spirit must be lonely."
A tear slid down her cheek before she could stop it.
One. Single. Tear.
Ravion's body tensed, as if the sight physically hurt him.
His hand twitched again, wanting to reach for her but holding back.
"You started talking to me," he continued. "Even though you couldn't see me. Every night. Small things. Happy things. Silly things. You made me laugh when I wasn't supposed to feel anything."
Hana's tears fell faster.
"And then," he whispered, "you said you wished I were human."
He looked away. "You wished for me. And wishes… have power."
Her breath shook.
"What happened, Ravion?"
His voice dropped, dark and heavy.
"The creatures I hunted… discovered my weakness. You."
He clenched his fists. "They killed you to punish me."
Hana choked on a sob she didn't expect.
Her past self. Her death. His grief.
A story written before she even existed.
Ravion stepped closer, his voice breaking for the first time since she'd met him.
"When you died in my arms, your blood marked me. It cursed me."
His gaze locked onto her, burning.
"My heart became a demon's heart. And the mark you carry now was carved onto your soul the moment your past life ended."
Hana covered her mouth.
"Ravion…"
"I searched for you for centuries," he said. "Every generation. Every lifetime. But your soul never returned."
He breathed out slow, painful.
"Until you."
Her body swayed.
"You think the mark is a curse," Ravion murmured. "But to me… it was proof you existed somewhere in the world again."
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Filled with the weight of centuries.
Finally, Hana whispered, "So that's why you saved me in the alley. Why you said my name before I told you. Why you kept staring at my wrist…"
"Yes." His voice was soft. "Because I recognized it instantly."
His jaw tightened. "But I kept the truth from you. Because the more you know… the more danger you're in."
She wiped her tears.
"You should have told me."
"I know."
A long pause.
"But I didn't want you to be afraid of me."
Her heart twisted.
There he was, the demon everyone feared, looking at her with the eyes of a man terrified of losing her twice.
And still, she stepped closer.
Ravion's breath hitched as she stood directly in front of him, her face lifted, her tears shining.
"Ravion…" she whispered. "I'm not afraid of you."
His body went still.
The air around them grew warm, too warm like the world was holding its breath.
Her wrist glowed faintly again, responding to him… calling to him.
He stared at it.
Then at her.
Then slowly, he lifted his hand.
He hesitated, a single heartbeat, giving her a chance to pull away.
But Hana didn't move.
She let him touch her.
His fingers brushed her cheek, soft, trembling, reverent, like touching something sacred.
"Hana…" His voice was barely a breath. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" she whispered.
"Like you remember loving me."
Her pulse thundered.
His eyes darkened, crimson swirling deeper, hotter.
Her breathing quickened.
And then
Ravion lowered his forehead to hers, his voice shaking.
"I can't lose you again."
Her fingers trembled.
Her heart pounded.
And slowly…
She reached for his hand.