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Chapter 4: The Scar That Shouldn't Exist
Han Wook sat at the edge of her bed, awkward and guarded, while Jae Li paced.
"I shouldn't be here," he muttered, eyes darting to the door.
"I shouldn't have told you," she replied.
Yet neither of them moved.
The silence stretched, thick with things unsaid. Then, Han Wook broke it.
"That dream you talked about… the one where I died. Was it really just a dream?"
She hesitated.
"I… I had a life before this. A different time. I lived through it all once."
He didn't laugh or mock her. Just stared.
"And in that life," she continued, "you died behind the school. I couldn't save you."
Han Wook rubbed his thumb over the scar on his eyebrow. "I've always had this feeling. Like something was… off. Like I'm repeating something."
"You are," she said softly. "And I'm here to stop it."
He met her eyes. "Then let me help."
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The next day, Jae Li opened her locker to find a note folded into a paper crane.
'Behind the music room. After school. Come alone.'
It was signed with a symbol.
A crescent moon pierced by a silver blade.
Her stomach dropped.
In her old life, that symbol was the mark of Park Tae Jin's secret group—the ones who carried out his threats.
She clutched the note and walked to class, heart pounding.
From the corner of the hallway, Han Wook watched her. Their eyes met. She nodded once.
They had no time.
This time, she wouldn't let the scar be the start of the end.
This time, she would fight.
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To be continued in Chapter 5: Behind the Music Room