The morning light was soft.
Almost unreal.
It filtered through the beige curtains in a warm glow, dust particles floating gently like suspended stars. For the first time ever, Seo Jin wasn't waking up to alarms, warnings, or the cold hum of the Core.
He woke up to warmth.
To Li Ran's arms still around him.
To a heartbeat steady beneath his ear, calm and grounded and unmistakably alive.
Seo Jin didn't move for a long moment. His mind drifted in that hazy space between sleep and consciousness where people spoke truths they never dared say fully awake.
He listened to Li Ran's breathing. He felt the rise and fall of his chest. He felt the slow brush of fingers that had been resting on the small of his back.
Li Ran was awake.
And he had stayed awake long before Seo Jin opened his eyes.
"Ran…" Seo Jin whispered, voice hoarse from sleep.
