PROLOGUE — If You See Him, Don't Wake Up

You are in the POV of Ji-an.

Enjoy.♡

There are stories every child grows up hearing.

"Don't whistle after midnight."

"Don't answer if someone calls your name from outside your window."

"If you wake up at exactly 3:13 A.M... don't look into the mirror."

Adults laugh at those stories.

Children pretend they aren't afraid.

I believed neither.

Until my dreams refused to end.

…

Every dream begins in winter.

Not the kind of winter with children building snowmen or families drinking hot chocolate.

This winter is silent.

The snow falls upward, drifting toward a sky fractured like broken glass. Countless cracks spread across the moon, as though someone had tried to shatter it.

The air smells like rain instead of snow.

It's beautiful.

And wrong.

I stand alone in the middle of an empty street.

No footprints.

No buildings.

No sound.

Then I hear him.

"...You came back."

His voice is soft, almost relieved.

I turn.

A boy stands several meters away beneath a black umbrella.

He's around my age—tall, slender, with messy dark hair stirred by a wind I can't feel. The shadows hide most of his face, but I can make out gentle amber eyes watching me with an emotion I can't understand.

Loneliness.

Hope.

Fear.

Every time I dream of him, those eyes look exactly the same.

As though he's waited years for me to return.

I take one cautious step toward him.

"Who are you?" I ask, my own voice sounding strangely distant.

The boy smiles.

Not a wide smile.

Just enough to make my chest tighten for reasons I can't explain.

Mysterious Boy: "You still don't remember..."

His words carry sadness instead of disappointment.

I frown.

"Remember what?"

Instead of answering, he slowly extends his hand toward me.

His fingers are pale.

Cold-looking.

Waiting.

Mysterious Boy: "It's okay."

His voice is barely louder than a whisper.

Mysterious Boy: "I'll wait as many times as I have to."

Something about those words makes my heart ache.

Why?

I've never met him.

I should be scared.

Instead...

I want to know why he looks so alone.

I step closer.

One more step.

Then another.

Our hands are only inches apart.

His fingertips almost brush mine.

Suddenly...

The world goes silent.

The wind stops.

The snow freezes in the air.

The boy's smile disappears.

His eyes widen.

Not at me.

At something behind me.

His face drains of color.

For the first time...

He looks terrified.

Mysterious Boy (voice shaking): "Ji-an..."

Hearing my name from his lips sends a chill racing down my spine.

He knows me.

But how?

His grip tightens around the umbrella.

"Don't turn around."

I swallow.

"...Why?"

He doesn't answer.

Instead, he takes a hurried step toward me.

His hand reaches farther.

"Please."

His voice cracks.

"Whatever you hear..."

His eyes fill with panic.

"...don't look."

Then I hear it.

...Drag.

Something heavy scrapes across the frozen ground.

Once.

Twice.

Closer.

Closer.

Every instinct tells me to run.

Instead...

I turn around.

Darkness.

Not ordinary darkness.

Something alive.

A towering silhouette wrapped in flowing black cloth stands impossibly still. It has no face.

Only a single glowing eye opens where its head should be.

It blinks.

Then...

It smiles.

I wake with a violent gasp.

The room is pitch black.

My lungs burn as if I'd forgotten how to breathe.

Sweat clings to the back of my neck despite the cold air from the ceiling fan.

The digital clock beside my bed glows an angry crimson.

3:13 A.M.

Again.

I stare at the numbers until they blur.

"...Seriously?"

I laugh to myself, but it sounds hollow.

"I need to stop watching horror movies."

Even as I say it...

I know that's a lie.

I've never seen that boy before.

So why...

Why does it feel like I just abandoned someone who has been waiting for me for years?

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