The thud of padded gloves echoed through the gym-sharp, precise, rhythmic.
Haerin exhaled through her nose, pivoted, and struck again.
Her instructor grinned as he blocked.
"You're getting faster," he said.
"Or angrier."
Haerin didn't deny it.
Anger had become fuel. Focus.
Discipline.
Her braid flicked behind her as she drove her elbow into the pads, followed by a clean spinning kick. Sweat ran down the arch of her back, but her expression stayed calm-centered, firm.
By the time the round ended, she was breathing steadily, not shakily as she once had.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Changed.
She bowed, thanked him, then headed to the locker room.
---
Steam coiled from the shower as she stepped out, toweling her hair.
Her muscles ached in a satisfying way. Her reflection in the mirror looked different now-more defined, eyes firmer, jaw set with quiet determination.
The woman who once cried at every loss was gone.
Her phone buzzed from inside her bag.
YURI 💜
HAERIN-OH MY GOD ANSWER!!!
Haerin blinked, then laughed softly and answered.
"Unnie, what-"
"YOU'RE A BESTSELLER!" Yuri's high-pitched scream nearly blew the speaker.
"I passed by Hyunri Bookstore and guess what I saw? A Glitch In Time front display-sold out! SOLD. OUT. Haerin! Lunaris is already arranging interviews, signings, everything!"
Haerin froze, towel mid-air.
"What...? Already?"
"YES! This is your moment! We're celebrating tonight. No excuses. I'll drag you out myself."
Haerin smiled, small but real.
"Okay. Tonight," she said.
"But I need to meet Dr. Min first."
There was a beat of silence on Yuri's end-careful, gentle silence.
"...About him?" Yuri asked softly.
Haerin's hand tightened on the towel.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Alright," Yuri replied, tone warm again. "Just text me. And Haerin?"
"Mm?"
"I'm proud of you."
The call ended with Haerin staring at her faint reflection in the dim locker room mirror.
A bestseller.
A new agency.
A new life.
But threaded through it all was the hazel glow she carried everywhere.
---
Dr. Min's address blinked on her phone screen.
His new "lab" wasn't a lab at all-
not on paper, anyway.
But in truth?
The remnants of Quiet Labs now lived beneath his home.
Hidden. Shielded. Accessible only through a coded lift disguised as a supply closet.
Haerin grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and headed out into the bright afternoon sun.
Her steps were steady.
Her heart was not.
Because below an ordinary house...
in the dark hum of machines Dr. Min rebuilt from scraps...
Si-Eun's last light was waiting.
And today-
she would see if it was still breathing.
----------------------------------------
( At Dr. Min's Lab )
The elevator lowered her into the familiar, sterile coolness of the underground lab. It still amazed her how Dr. Min managed to build a functional research space beneath his own house.
The lights flickered on in soft strips, illuminating workbenches, wires, old machine parts, and stacks of notes only he could decipher.
Just as she stepped forward-
A tiny bluish light zipped toward her
like a shooting star.
"Hui?" Haerin blinked.
The little orb circled her head twice, flickering in excited pulses as if doing a happy dance.
She couldn't help but smile.
"Hey. Missed me?" she teased.
Hui projected a tiny holographic image-a pixelated thumbs-up.
Haerin laughed softly. "You're getting better at that, huh?"
Footsteps echoed from deeper inside.
"Haerin?" Dr. Min emerged, lab coat half-buttoned, glasses slightly crooked like always. "Ah, good. You're here."
She stepped closer. "Everything okay?"
"Routine checks," he replied, gesturing her toward the scanner. "You know how it is."
The machine hummed to life, bathing her in pale light.
Dr. Min studied the monitor, brows furrowing just a fraction-so slight that an untrained eye would've missed it.
Hui dimmed, hovering anxiously at his side.
But Dr. Min straightened and smiled.
"You're stable. No issues."
Haerin exhaled. "Good."
Hui drifted ahead of her, bobbing gently like a lantern, guiding her toward the back of the lab where the containment chambers were kept.
Haerin hesitated at the doorway.
Even before she stepped inside, she felt it-that quiet, familiar warmth humming faintly through the reinforced glass.
Si-Eun's chamber.
She approached slowly, breath tight.
Inside the transparent cylinder, suspended in the faint web of stabilizing fields, floated the hazel-gold particle that was all she had left of him.
Small.
Still.
But alive.
The warm glow pulsed once as she came near-soft, like the memory of a heartbeat.
Haerin placed her hand against the glass.
"Hi," she whispered, almost afraid the sound might shatter her.
"I'm back."
The particle flickered in response, a gentle hazel shimmer that painted her fingertips in gold.
She swallowed.
"Dr. Min... any progress?"
Behind her, his footsteps slowed.
He didn't answer right away.
Finally, he moved beside her, arms crossed, gaze serious.
"We've stabilized him," Dr. Min said quietly. "That alone is... more than we expected."
He adjusted his glasses, eyes dropping to the monitor.
"But as for structural manifestation, cognition patterns, or projected form... there's nothing new. Not yet."
Haerin nodded, staring at the tiny glow.
"Still asleep," she murmured.
"Still here," Dr. Min corrected gently.
Hui floated to her side, lowering its soft light-blue glow in a comforting dip-almost like a touch.
Haerin managed a small smile.
"Keep watching him for me, okay?"
Hui spun in a little loop, its light brightening in a proud, determined flicker.
She rested her palm on the glass one last time.
"I'll wait," she whispered to Si-Eun's hazel-gold glow.
"As long as it takes."
She grabbed her bag. "Yuri wants to celebrate the book news tonight. Best seller."
Dr. Min's expression softened with genuine pride.
"Congratulations. You earned it."
Hui zipped forward again, projecting a tiny heart that flickered adorably before disappearing.
Haerin tapped the glowing orb gently.
"I'll see you both soon."
When she stepped back into the elevator, Hui lingered in the doorway, glowing like a tiny guardian until the doors slid shut.
---
( Later evening ..... )
The rooftop café glowed with warm string lights as evening settled over the city. Yuri spotted her instantly and started waving like someone signaling a rescue helicopter.
"HAERIN! Over here!"
Her grin could've powered the entire block.
Haerin tried to hide her flustered smile as she took the seat across from her.
"You know," Yuri said, flagging down the waiter, "
I think I screamed when I saw your book in the window. I scared two children."
Haerin choked on a laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"
They ordered drinks, shared food, and Yuri wouldn't stop talking about how Haerin's writing was finally getting the spotlight it deserved.
Eventually, she even pulled out a slice of Haerin's favorite cheesecake.
"To the new best-selling author," Yuri said, raising her glass.
Haerin clinked hers gently against it.
"For surviving today."
They laughed.
For a few precious hours, everything felt light.
Warm.
Normal.
Like the world above ground could stay this way forever.