Chapter 2 — The Boy at the Bus Stop

Seoul was nothing like the city Chris remembered.

The quiet streets and tiled rooftops from a century ago had long disappeared, replaced by towering skyscrapers, glowing billboards, and crowds of people rushing through their daily lives. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry.

Everyone except him.

Chris stepped out of the black sedan and adjusted the cuff of his coat. His gaze wandered across the busy intersection while the morning sun reflected off the glass buildings.

"Mr. Bang."

His driver approached, holding a tablet.

"The information you requested."

Chris accepted it without a word.

On the screen was a student profile.

Kim Seungmin.

Age: 22.

A third-year music student.

Part-time café employee.

No criminal record.

No unusual medical history.

Chris stared at the small photograph attached to the file.

A bright smile.

Soft eyes.

Messy black hair that fell over his forehead.

It wasn't Min-ah's face.

Yet...

Those eyes.

Chris felt his chest tighten.

"...I found you."

Not far away, Seungmin sprinted toward a bus stop, clutching a backpack over one shoulder.

"I'm late!"

He glanced at his phone and groaned.

"No, no, no..."

Just as the bus began pulling away, Seungmin waved both arms.

"Wait! Please!"

The driver sighed and opened the doors again.

"Thank you!" Seungmin laughed as he climbed aboard, earning a few amused smiles from the passengers.

He scratched the back of his neck.

"That was close."

The cheerful grin on his face made strangers smile without realizing it.

Chris arrived at the university just before noon.

Students filled the campus, chatting with friends, carrying books, and laughing under the warm summer sky.

It felt...alive.

A place that reminded him of the future Min-ah had once dreamed of.

"I hope people can learn freely one day," Min-ah had said a century ago.

Chris had never forgotten those words.

Then—

Laughter.

Bright.

Warm.

Familiar.

He turned instinctively.

A young man stepped out of one of the campus buildings, laughing with three friends.

His smile lit up the courtyard.

Chris froze.

Time seemed to stop.

The sounds around him faded until all he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat.

"...Min-ah."

The young man looked in his direction for only a second.

Their eyes met.

Seungmin frowned slightly, tilting his head.

"Do I know him?"

One of his friends nudged his shoulder.

"What are you looking at?"

"Hm?"

Seungmin blinked before shaking his head.

"Nothing."

He smiled again and continued walking.

Chris remained rooted to the spot.

It was him.

The same gentle eyes.

The same habit of tilting his head when confused.

Even the way he laughed...

It was almost identical.

But there was no recognition.

Not even a flicker.

The guardian had been right.

Min-ah's soul had returned...

Yet the memories had not.

Chris quietly slipped the jade pendant back into his pocket.

"I won't force you to remember," he murmured.

"I promised I'd find you."

His expression softened into the faintest smile.

"And this lifetime..."

"I'll let you meet me on your own."

As Seungmin disappeared into the crowd, neither of them noticed the hooded figure watching from the rooftop of a nearby building.

A silver pendant shaped like a broken crescent moon hung around the stranger's neck.

"So..."

The figure smiled coldly.

"The immortal has found his beloved."

"Good."

"It will make taking the Fifth Stone much easier."

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