The bonfire was still smoldering when the students were ordered to their cabins.
No one spoke loudly. No one laughed.
They had all seen the truth written across the teachers' faces — something was very, very wrong.
And Jisoo…
Jisoo was unraveling.
Sera's smile flickered in his mind — the one she gave when he asked her to meet him.
"Yeah… I'd like that."
His nails dug into his palms.
"You idiot," he whispered. "Why did you ask her to come? Why didn't you walk her there yourself?"
He curled forward, forehead pressing into his knees.
His chest heaved.
And then—
The first punch.
Right cheek. His skin screamed.
The second.
Jawline. He bit the inside of his mouth. Tasted blood.
The third.
He sobbed through it. Still not enough.
He wanted pain. He wanted to feel what she must've felt.
"This is your fault. You let her go. You let her be taken."
But then—
A memory flickered.
Sera's scarf. Red, woolen. The one she wrapped around her neck every night, complaining it made her look like a mushroom.
"I always drop it when i feel a little suffocated," she had laughed once. "Clumsy habit."
Jisoo sat up straight, wiping the blood from his lip.
And then he ran.
Outside Sera's Cabin
It was there. Just barely tucked beneath the wooden steps.
Her scarf.
But not folded.
Torn.
The edges frayed as if it had been yanked mid-movement.
His breath caught.
Beside it… a footprint in the dirt. Large. Pressed deep — someone had waited here, maybe dragged her.
And trailing from that—
A broken zipper pull.
One he recognized.
From an old abandoned maintenance shed 30 minutes away from camp. He knew because he'd once done odd jobs around the area.
His legs moved before his mind could.
It was locked.
But Jisoo wasn't waiting.
He charged, shoulder-first, metal shrieking as the lock broke open.
Inside—
A whimper.
"Sera....."
She was tied to a chair, arms bound, lip bruised, cheeks stained with tears.
And in front of her—
A man in a hoodie and black mask.
Camera around his neck.
His hand on her waist.
Time shattered.
Jisoo roared.
He tackled the man to the ground, fist slamming into his jaw — once, twice, again. The masked figure tried to fight back, but Jisoo didn't feel the hits.
Not anymore.
Sera sobbed behind him, choking out his name.
"Jisoo—please—"
The captor shoved Jisoo hard and scrambled to his feet, sprinting into the trees just before flashing lights appeared in the distance.
Jisoo turned and rushed to Sera.
His hands trembled as he cut the rope with a rusted shard of metal.
>"I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm so sorry—I should've known—I should've protected you—"
She collapsed into his arms, crying uncontrollably.
He held her.
Tighter than he ever had before.
"You came," she sobbed.
"Always," he whispered, his own tears falling silently. "Even if it kills me, I'm so sorry."