The sun filtered through the classroom windows, its golden rays spilling over Joon Taerim's desk. Her gaze never left the window, not even when the five new students took their assigned seats behind her.
Kang Juwon was silent.
Too silent.
It felt like he was studying her.
Like he already knew.
Ghost Bloom… Phantom Blade…
She'd avoided him last night. Lied to herself. Denied the tremor in her chest when he spoke her name like a half-forgotten lullaby.
Now, she was trapped. One desk away from a past she had buried for ten years.
"President Joon," the teacher said after the bell rang, "please take them on the campus tour after lunch."
She nodded mechanically.
A perfect president. Always agreeable. Always calm.
As soon as the teacher turned, Harin leaned forward with a bright smile. "President, do you always look this serious? You're like a statue."
"She's the elegant type," Hajoon chimed in with a teasing grin. "Like royalty. Cold royalty."
Taerim turned slightly. "I can hear you."
"Oh, we know," Gyeongho said. "We just wanted to see if you'd talk to us."
Yulseung chuckled. "Mission complete."
Taerim didn't respond. But for a second, her lips twitched—almost a smile.
Almost.
---
After lunch, she led them across campus. The greenhouse. The library. The gymnasium. It was supposed to be routine. Detached.
Instead, every corner felt like a trap.
"Was this always here?" Juwon asked as they passed the fountain.
"I… don't remember," she replied before thinking.
He tilted his head. "Strange. You seem like someone who remembers everything."
Taerim swallowed. "You ask too many questions."
"I get curious around things I used to know."
She stopped walking.
The others paused, watching the exchange.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Juwon didn't answer. His eyes searched hers. "Do you ever have dreams?"
Taerim stiffened.
"Dreams that feel too real to be fake?"
A flash. A corridor on fire. Screams. Metal doors. A boy shielding her with his body.
She blinked it away.
"I don't sleep enough to dream," she lied.
Juwon smiled slightly. "That's a shame. You're missing a lot."
Before she could reply, Yulseung called out, "Hey, wasn't there an old staircase here before?"
Gyeongho walked to the edge of the hedge, inspecting the sealed gate. "This used to lead to the underground training facility, right?"
Taerim froze.
That facility hadn't been used in years.
No student should know it existed.
"How do you—"
"It was in the archives," Harin said quickly. "We did our research."
Taerim didn't buy it. But she said nothing.
Because deep down, she remembered that staircase too.
That was where she once bled.
Where they once trained.
Where the scientists tested their limits.
She had bruised her knees running down that staircase… and someone had carried her back up.
Who?
---
That night, Taerim stood in her room, her fingers trembling as she opened the file on her desk.
Operation: CODE X-001
Status: Asset active. Memory corruption: 78%. Instability: moderate. Monitor closely.
The words blurred as her eyes filled.
She wasn't just a student.
She was still being watched.
Still a tool.
Still a number.
They never stopped.
The guild said she was free.
But they lied.
She glanced out her window.
In the shadows across the dorm roof, a figure stood.
Watching.
Juwon.
She knew it was him.
Her fingers twitched to pull the curtain shut… but something stopped her.
The air between them pulsed.
Not with threat.
But recognition.
And sorrow.
So she turned off the light and let the night hide her instead.
---
Meanwhile, inside the dorm of the new transfers, the five gathered in the common room.
"She's more fragile than we expected," Harin said quietly, curled up on the couch.
"She's also stronger," Hajoon countered. "To survive this long alone…"
"She's not alone anymore," Gyeongho said. "Not if we can help it."
"She doesn't remember us," Yulseung murmured.
"She will," Juwon said firmly. "She has to."
"And if she doesn't?" Harin asked.
Juwon didn't reply.
Instead, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an old, burnt photo.
Five children. One girl in the center, smiling wide. The others around her, arms linked.
Her name, once written on the back, was charred beyond recognition.
But he didn't need ink.
He remembered her laughter.
He remembered her screams.
And now, he would protect her—
Even if she hated him for it.
Even if she never remembered.
He owed her that much.
After all…
He was the one who promised to come back for her.
And this time…
He would never let her go.
---