The silence hung between them like fog.
Hana stared at the nine glowing tails—soft as mist, radiant as stars—and the man standing calmly beneath them. Yun Taemin looked like he belonged to another world. Because he did.
"I... this has to be a dream," she whispered.
"If it were, would I still be standing here explaining ancient soul-binding contracts?" he replied with a hint of irritation.
She sat down again, the velvet couch groaning beneath her weight. Her heart hadn't stopped racing since the mark appeared.
"How do you know me?" she asked.
"I don't," Taemin said slowly. "But your soul does."
Hana's brow furrowed. "That's not an answer."
He knelt in front of her, his voice lower now. "A century ago, I made a pact. One that cost me my freedom, my form... even my memories. I was sealed into that pendant. Waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For her. The one who made the pact with me. Who betrayed it… or maybe saved me from it." His eyes flickered with pain. "That pendant doesn't react to just anyone. It responded to you."
"But I've never—"
"You've never been this version of yourself," he interrupted gently. "But your soul has lived before."
The thought chilled her to the bone. Reincarnation? Soul contracts? She was a modern girl who drank instant coffee, not some spirit princess from an old legend.
Still... the mark on her skin burned faintly, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
She asked quietly, "What happens now?"
Taemin stood, drawing his coat tighter. "Now, the threads of our past will begin to unravel. One by one."
A clock struck midnight.
And then—
CRASH!
The front windows of the shop shattered inward. Cold wind howled in. Shadows with gleaming red eyes slithered inside—smoke-like creatures that pulsed with malevolent energy.
"Spirit wraiths," Taemin hissed. "They're after you."
"Me?!"
"You awakened the mark. That makes you a beacon."
He stepped forward, eyes glowing gold. "Stay behind me."
As the first wraith lunged, Taemin moved like a phantom—elegant, inhumanly fast. One tail flicked forward and slashed through the darkness like a blade of light.
Hana clutched the glowing pendant that had fallen from the shattered case. The foxfire inside shimmered wildly.
And for a split second, she heard a voice—her own, but ancient and fierce—whisper inside her head:
"Don't let him fall this time."
---