The café door closed behind the three military officers.
The quiet click of that door sounded louder than gunfire.
For a few seconds… nobody moved.
Not the barista behind the counter.
Not the couple near the window.
Not even Seo-yeon beside me.
But I could feel it.
Something had changed in the room.
The kind of tension soldiers learn to recognize before a fight starts.
The officer in front stepped forward.
His boots echoed softly against the wooden floor.
He was tall. Clean uniform. Calm eyes.
But there was something strange about him.
He wasn't looking at the customers.
He wasn't looking at the counter.
His gaze moved slowly across the room…
Until it landed directly on our table.
Tae-jun leaned closer to me.
His voice barely a whisper.
"Those aren't regular military."
I didn't respond.
Because I already knew.
Seo-yeon muttered quietly,
"Please tell me they're not here for us."
Dae-hyun smiled.
"They are."
Seo-yeon slowly turned toward him.
"You say that like it's normal."
Dae-hyun shrugged.
"For tonight, it is."
The officer stopped three steps from our table.
Up close, I noticed something strange.
His uniform carried no division patch.
No unit symbol.
Just a blank black insignia on his chest.
That was worse than any badge.
Because in the military…
Only secret divisions wore nothing.
The officer spoke calmly.
"Sergeant Kang Ji-hoon."
My name sounded strange coming from his mouth.
Like he had been waiting to say it.
Seo-yeon's head turned toward me instantly.
"…Sergeant?"
I sighed quietly.
"Former."
The officer continued.
"You were difficult to locate."
Tae-jun scoffed.
"Funny. We thought you people erased him."
The officer ignored Tae-jun.
His eyes moved down.
Slowly.
Toward my hand.
Then toward Seo-yeon's.
Then toward Hae-in's.
And for the briefest second—
His expression shifted.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Seo-yeon noticed it too.
Her fingers slowly curled into a fist.
Hiding the gold ring.
The officer looked back up.
"You'll come with us."
Not a question.
A statement.
Seo-yeon blinked.
"…No."
The officer raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
She crossed her arms.
"Look, officer… whatever secret military thing you're doing—"
She pointed around the café.
"This is still a public place."
Dae-hyun chuckled.
"Seo-yeon."
She looked at him.
"Yes?"
Dae-hyun leaned closer.
"They stopped caring about 'public places' a long time ago."
As if on cue—
One of the other officers quietly locked the café door.
The metal click echoed through the room.
The customers froze.
The barista slowly stepped backward.
Seo-yeon whispered,
"…Oh."
Tae-jun sighed.
"Well. That escalated fast."
The officer looked at us again.
"This can end peacefully."
Dae-hyun leaned back in his chair.
"Or?"
The officer's eyes darkened slightly.
"Or it becomes… unpleasant."
Seo-yeon leaned toward me.
"Ji-hoon."
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you have a plan."
I looked at the three officers.
Then at our table.
Four rings.
Four people.
One café.
I sighed.
"Working on it."
Hae-in suddenly whispered,
"My ring…"
We looked at her.
The green ring on her finger was glowing faintly.
Seo-yeon whispered,
"What does that mean?"
Hae-in shook her head.
"I don't know… but it only reacts when something important is happening."
Dae-hyun's ring flickered once.
Then twice.
The officer noticed.
His voice became colder.
"Now."
He stepped forward.
And that's when everything went wrong.
Seo-yeon stood up suddenly.
Her chair scraped loudly across the floor.
"Wait."
The officer stopped.
She raised her hands slightly.
"Before we go anywhere…"
She pointed at him.
"I want to know something."
The officer frowned.
"This is not a negotiation."
Seo-yeon tilted her head.
"Then why do you know our names?"
Silence.
She continued.
"You know Ji-hoon."
She pointed to Hae-in.
"You're watching her ring."
Then she tapped her own finger.
"And you definitely noticed this one."
The officer's eyes narrowed.
Seo-yeon smiled slightly.
"So let me guess."
Her voice became sharper.
"You're not here to arrest us."
She leaned forward.
"You're here for the rings."
The room became silent again.
Then something unexpected happened.
The officer smiled.
"Correct."
Seo-yeon blinked.
"…That was easier than I expected."
The officer's voice remained calm.
"You possess artifacts that belong to the government."
Dae-hyun laughed.
"Oh, that's a good one."
The officer ignored him.
"Hand them over."
Seo-yeon looked at her ring.
Then back at him.
"Funny thing."
She smiled.
"My grandmother gave this to me."
She tapped the ring gently.
"So unless the government was my grandmother…"
She shrugged.
"I think I'll keep it."
For the first time—
The officer's patience broke.
He signaled his men.
The two officers behind him reached into their jackets.
Not for guns.
For small black devices.
Tae-jun's eyes widened.
"EMP cuffs."
I stood up slowly.
"Everyone stay calm."
Seo-yeon whispered,
"That usually means the opposite."
The officer raised the device.
"If the rings activate… these will shut them down."
Dae-hyun tilted his head.
"Will they?"
The officer didn't answer.
He pressed the button.
A low pulse spread through the café.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then every ring on the table reacted.
Seo-yeon's gold ring pulsed.
Hae-in's green ring flashed.
Tae-jun's blue ring flickered.
Dae-hyun's dark ring glowed faintly.
The lights above us exploded.
Glass shattered.
Electric sparks rained from the ceiling.
Customers screamed.
Seo-yeon grabbed my arm.
"Ji-hoon!"
But the strangest thing wasn't the lights.
Or the panic.
It was the window reflection again.
For a split second—
The café looked different.
Older.
Like something from decades ago.
And inside that reflection…
I saw people standing where we were.
Seven figures.
Wearing rings.
Then the image disappeared.
The officer staggered backward.
His device sparked and died.
Dae-hyun slowly stood.
"Well."
He stretched his shoulders slightly.
"That didn't work."
The officer's voice became harsh.
"Take them."
The two soldiers rushed forward.
I moved before they reached the table.
Training kicked in automatically.
One grabbed my arm.
I twisted his wrist.
His balance broke instantly.
He hit the floor.
Hard.
The second soldier swung at Tae-jun.
Bad idea.
Tae-jun blocked the punch and pushed him into a table.
Coffee cups crashed everywhere.
Seo-yeon grabbed Hae-in's arm.
"Run!"
But the officer in front wasn't panicking.
He watched everything calmly.
Like he expected it.
Then he said something strange.
"Enough."
The word wasn't loud.
But something about it made the room freeze.
My head pulsed again.
A memory flickered.
A training yard.
A commanding voice shouting—
"Enough!"
The memory vanished again.
The officer looked directly at me.
"Kang Ji-hoon."
His voice lowered.
"You still don't remember, do you?"
My chest tightened.
"Remember what?"
The officer smiled.
"The reason we erased you."
Seo-yeon looked between us.
"…Erased?"
Dae-hyun suddenly stepped forward.
His voice sharp.
"That's enough."
The officer turned toward him slowly.
"And you."
His eyes moved to the dark ring.
"Subject Four."
Dae-hyun's smile disappeared.
Tae-jun whispered,
"…Subject?"
The officer sighed.
"I hoped this would remain quiet."
Then he pressed a small button on his collar.
A voice spoke through the device.
"Unit ready."
Outside the café—
Black vehicles screeched to a stop.
Seo-yeon stared at the window.
"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me."
More soldiers stepped out.
Dae-hyun cracked his neck slightly.
"Well."
He looked at us.
"Looks like the night just got interesting."
Hae-in whispered,
"What do we do?"
For a moment—
None of us answered.
Then Seo-yeon said something unexpected.
She smiled.
Not nervous.
Not scared.
Just… stubborn.
She looked at the officer.
"You know something funny?"
He didn't respond.
Seo-yeon raised her hand slightly.
The gold ring glowed softly.
"My grandmother used to say something."
The officer's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Seo-yeon's smile widened.
"Truth has a very bad habit."
The ring pulsed again.
"It refuses to stay buried."
Outside—
The soldiers began moving toward the door.
Inside—
Every ring in the room started glowing again.
And for the first time that night…
I felt something awaken deep inside my chest.
A memory.
A power.
Something that had been sleeping for years.
Something the military had tried to erase.
And somewhere in that chaos…
A voice whispered inside my mind.
The rings are gathering.
The war is returning.
And this time—
No one will be able to hide the truth.