A week passed since I returned to school.
Seven days since I started living a life that was supposed to be mine.
Classes were manageable. Teachers explained things. Students took notes. The bell rang. Everyone moved to the next classroom.
That part was easy.
Conversations were not.
Sometimes my classmates talked about things from the past. Trips they took together. Jokes that apparently involved me. Moments that meant something to them.
Whenever that happened, I just stayed quiet.
Because I didn't remember any of it.
During lunch today Ji-Hoon suddenly laughed.
"Hey, remember when the teacher caught you sleeping during the exam?"
I stared at him.
"…No."
The laughter stopped.
Ji-Hoon scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ah… right."
After that the conversation continued, but I didn't say much anymore.
It felt like everyone else had started a story years ago.
And I had joined in the middle without knowing the beginning.
Things at home were… similar.
Min Jae and I talked.
We ate together.
Sometimes we joked.
But something still felt off.
Sometimes I caught him looking at me.
Not angrily.
Not sadly.
Just… hoping.
Hoping the real person who used to live in this body would come back.
At first that hope had been obvious.
Recently it was fading.
Slowly turning into disappointment.
Whenever I noticed that look, something tightened inside my chest.
I wanted to be the brother he wanted.
I really did.
The memory that flashed during the funeral sometimes comes to my mind.
It's very vivid and clear.
I remember it.
And I remember the promise I made in it.
To protect my brother.
To always be there with him.
Because of that promise, I wanted things to become normal again.
Even if I wasn't the same person he remembered.
But I still hadn't forgotten what happened that night.
The cracks running across my face in the photo frame.
That image still lingered in the back of my mind.
School ended later that day.
Students slowly left the building.
Ji-Hoon stretched his arms.
"Man, today felt long."
So-Yeon rolled her eyes.
"You say that every day."
"That's because it's true every day."
Then Ji-Hoon looked at me.
"You heading home?"
"Yeah."
Min Jae had club practice today.
"See you tomorrow," So-Yeon said.
"Yeah."
We parted ways.
The sky slowly turned orange as the sun began setting.
By the time I reached the apartment building, evening had settled in.
The hallway was quiet when I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Min Jae wasn't home yet.
Golden evening light streamed through the large glass windows and spread across the floor.
Everything looked calm.
Peaceful.
Normal.
I placed my bag near the couch and went to wash up.
When I returned to the living room, the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
I frowned slightly.
"…Power issue?"
The lights flickered again.
Then the sound came.
A faint crack.
I turned slowly.
The photo frame on the shelf had shifted.
A thin crack ran across the glass.
My stomach tightened.
"…Not again."
The crack spread slowly.
Like something invisible was pressing against it.
Another crack appeared.
Then another.
The lights flickered violently.
The room darkened.
"You should have been dead."
The voice echoed through the apartment.
Cold.
Distant.
My body froze.
"You should have disappeared."
The floor trembled.
A glass window shattered violently.
Fragments exploded across the floor.
The walls began shaking.
The air grew heavy.
Oppressive.
Like the entire room was collapsing inward.
"W-What the hell—"
The lights flickered faster.
Shadows stretched across the walls.
For a moment I thought I saw something moving inside them.
The cracks on the photo frame spread further.
They crawled across the glass.
Across my face in the picture.
Then across my entire body.
My reflection in the cracked glass looked… wrong.
Distorted.
My face was splitting apart.
The shadows on the wall twisted.
The voices grew louder.
"You were never meant to exist."
"You should disappear."
"You should vanish."
The apartment trembled violently.
Panic surged through me.
I ran toward the door and burst into the hallway.
The moment I stepped outside—
Everything became silent.
The hallway lights were normal.
The walls weren't shaking.
Nothing was broken.
Then the elevator doors opened.
Min Jae stepped out.
"Min Jae!"
"Stop! Don't go inside!"
He didn't react.
He walked forward calmly.
"MIN JAE!"
I ran toward him and stood directly in front of him.
"Stop!"
He didn't even slow down.
He walked straight through me.
Like I wasn't there.
My mind went blank.
"…Min Jae?"
He continued walking toward the apartment door.
I ran after him.
"Stop… don't go inside!"
But he opened the door and entered.
I followed him.
Inside the apartment—
Everything was normal.
No broken glass window.
No shaking walls.
No voices.
Min Jae placed his bag on the table.
"…Min Jae?"
No response.
He walked past me.
Like I didn't exist.
My chest tightened.
My eyes slowly moved toward the photo frame.
I walked closer.
Picked it up.
Mom.
Dad.
Min Jae.
Three people smiling.
Only three.
No older brother.
No Ha Eun Gyeol.
It was like I had never existed.
My hands started trembling.
"…No."
I turned toward Min Jae.
"Min Jae!"
Nothing.
Panic exploded inside me.
I ran out of the apartment.
Out of the building.
Out into the street.
Cars passed.
People walked by.
Life continued normally.
"HEY!"
I shouted.
"Can anyone hear me?!"
No response.
I ran toward a passerby.
"Sir!"
Nothing.
People walked straight past me.
I ran toward a shop window.
Looked into the glass.
There was no reflection.
My breathing became uneven.
"What… is happening?"
My thoughts began scattering.
Why was I running?
What was I trying to do?
My mind felt foggy.
Like something was erasing me piece by piece.
"I need to find someone…"
My voice trembled.
"Someone who can see me…"
I ran again.
Faster.
Desperately.
"Can you hear me?!"
No response.
"PLEASE!"
Nothing.
Eventually my legs carried me into a narrow alley.
I stopped there.
Breathing heavily.
Then footsteps echoed behind me.
Two people stood at the entrance of the alley.
A woman.
And a tall man beside her.
The woman sighed.
"You're loud."
"But we can hear you."
My eyes widened.
"…You can see me?"
The woman smiled faintly.
"Yes."
The man beside her spoke calmly.
"You should have disappeared earlier."
His voice was cold.
Practical.
"Would have saved everyone time."
The pressure in the air suddenly changed.
Heavy.
Crushing.
My knees hit the ground.
I gasped for air.
The woman crouched slightly.
Examining me.
"Interesting."
Her pupils narrowed vertically.
Like a snake.
Something cold entered my mind.
Memories flashed.
The funeral.
The promise.
Protect my brother.
The woman chuckled.
"So that's it."
She stood up again.
"He did it for his brother."
The tall man beside her looked down at me.
"That's very human of him."
The woman laughed quietly.
"An anomaly with a reason."
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"We could bring the brother."
My heart froze.
"And torture him right infront of your eyes to see."
She smiled.
"Imagine him screaming 'Hyung! Hyung'! while he's in pain."
"And his big brother kneeling there crying like a 5-year-old"
"Then we will see how long this 'promise' lasts."
The man finally stepped forward.
"No."
His voice was firm.
"We finish it now."
He looked down at me.
Eyes sharp.
"You're destabilizing things already."
Something inside my chest burned.
The promise repeated in my mind.
Protect him.
Protect him.
Protect him.
I forced my body to stand.
The pressure felt unbearable.
But I grabbed the woman's hair suddenly—
And slammed my forehead into hers.
CRACK.
Blood ran down my face.
"You…"
My voice shook.
"Don't you dare touch my brother."
My vision blurred.
"For him… I'll defy fate as many times as I need."
The tall man's expression changed.
"The distortion is increasing"
He looked upward slightly.
Like listening to something.
"Kill him."
The woman's rapier flashed.
I didn't even see her move.
Something pierced my chest.
My body collapsed.
Rain began falling.
Cold drops hit my face.
The distortions faded.
The man stared down at me.
"…Still breathing."
The woman frowned.
"Impossible."
"I pierced the heart."
The man thought for a moment.
Then shook his head.
"…We report completion."
They turned and walked away.
Rain continued falling.
I stared at the sky.
My vision fading.
Min Jae…
I couldn't even fix things between us.
I couldn't keep my promise.
The rapier strike had been too fast.
Like a snake striking its prey.
My body felt numb.
But deep inside—
I didn't want to die.
My lips moved weakly.
"…I still have to keep the promise…"
The rain fell harder.
And darkness slowly closed in.