The street festival had started to glow as evening settled over Seoul—lanterns lighting up one by one, music drifting through the air, laughter spilling from every corner.
This time, all of them stayed together—Ana, Yeon, Ed, Kel, and Jeon Park—moving through the crowd with an ease they didn’t have on the first day.
Yeon dragged Ana toward a stall full of handmade bracelets, Jeon silently paying attention to what she liked; Ed kept trying to win ridiculous prizes from game booths just to impress Ana; Kel stayed close—not loud, not obvious, but always there, his attention never really leaving her.
For a while, it felt light… normal… like nothing complicated existed outside this moment.
And then— It happened fast.
A child broke free from his mother’s hand, running straight toward the street—toward an incoming car.
Everything blurred.
Ana moved before thinking.
Her body reacted on instinct—trained, precise—she lunged forward, grabbing the child and pulling him back just in time, but the momentum threw her off balance.
She hit the ground hard, her shoulder scraping against the rough road, a sharp sting cutting through her arm.
Gasps.
Voices.
Noise rushing back in.
“Are you crazy?!” Ed’s voice cut through first as he rushed to her, kneeling beside her, his hand already on her arm.
“Are you hurt?” Kel was there a second later, his expression darker than before.
“Ana, look at me.
Where does it hurt?” But Ana didn’t answer.
She was looking at the child.
Because someone else had already reached him.
A man.
Tall.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
Aris Veyron He pulled the child into his arms immediately, checking him over with visible urgency, his calm composure from before completely gone.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low but tight.
The child nodded, clinging to him.
“…Papa,” the child whispered.
Silence.
For Ana— everything stopped.
Papa.
The word echoed louder than anything else.
Her eyes widened just slightly.
Married?
He… has a child?
Something inside her shifted—not jealousy, not pain exactly… but something unexpected.
Something that didn’t fit with the image she carried of him from the past.
Ed and Kel both noticed.
That reaction.
And for a brief second— they felt something they hadn’t expected.
It was Relief.
But it didn’t last.
Because Ana didn’t look distant.
She looked… shaken.
Aris turned toward her then, his gaze sharper than before as he noticed the injury on her shoulder.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, stepping closer.
“I’m fine,” Ana replied immediately—but her voice wasn’t as steady as usual.
Kel stepped slightly in front of her.
“She said she’s fine.” Aris’s eyes flicked to him briefly—measuring—then back to Ana.
“…You shouldn’t move like that without thinking,” he said.
Ana almost laughed.
That’s exactly what you used to say.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she just nodded faintly.
Before the tension could build further— another figure approached.
Older.
Presence heavier.
Calm… but commanding.
Master Kael Veyron The moment Ana saw him— her breath stopped.
Completely.
Everything around her faded.
This wasn’t just someone from her past.
This was him.
The man who shaped her.
The one who taught her how to survive.
How to think.
How to fight.
And now— he stood in front of her again.
In this life.
Kael’s eyes moved to Ana, sharp and observant as ever.
He took in her posture, her injury, the way she was standing—not weak, but controlled.
“…You moved well,” he said calmly.
A simple sentence.
But it hit deeper than anything else.
Ana’s throat tightened.
He doesn’t know me.
Of course he doesn’t.
But still— she felt like a child again.
Standing in front of her mentor.
Waiting for approval.
Aris glanced between them, noticing the strange silence.
“…You know each other?” “No,” Ana said quickly.
Too quickly.
Kael’s gaze lingered on her a moment longer.
Like he sensed something.
But I didn’t push.
“…You’re hurt,” Kael said instead.
“Come.
You shouldn’t stay in a crowded place like this.” Kel immediately stepped in.
“We can handle that.” Kael looked at him.
Just once.
And somehow— That was enough to quiet the air.
“I’m sure you can,” Kael replied calmly.
“But I have a doctor at home.” A pause.
Then Aris added, softer this time, looking at Ana— “…You saved my son.
At least let us treat your injury.” Ana hesitated.
Not because she didn’t want help.
But because— going with them meant stepping closer to something she wasn’t ready to face.
Her past.
Alive.
Right in front of her.
Ed noticed her hesitation.
“…We’re coming with you,” he said firmly.
Kel nodded.
“Yeah.
We’re not leaving her.” Kael gave a small nod.
“Of course.” The house was quiet.
Elegant.
Not overly luxurious—but precise.
Everything in its place.
Controlled.
Just like him.
Ana stood inside, her eyes moving slowly across the space—not as a guest, but as someone remembering something that didn’t belong to this life.
Aris’s son had already calmed down, sitting with his mother in another room, safe.
Safe because of her.
A doctor carefully treated Ana’s shoulder, cleaning the wound.
It stung—but she didn’t react.
She wasn’t focused on the pain.
She was focused on him.
Kael stood across the room, watching her.
Not openly.
But enough.
“You don’t flinch,” he said suddenly.
Ana’s hand paused slightly.
“…It doesn’t hurt much,” she replied.
“That’s not what I meant.” Silence.
Heavy.
He stepped a little closer.
“…You move like someone trained,” Kael continued.
“But your eyes…” A pause.
“…don’t belong to your age.” Ana looked up at him.
Their eyes met.
For a second— it felt like he could see through everything.
Her past.
Her truth.
Everything she was hiding.
She looked away first.
“…You’re overthinking,” she said quietly.
Kael didn’t respond.
But he didn’t look away either.
Across the room— Ed and Kel watched everything.
Closely.
Too closely.
Ed crossed his arms slightly.
“…Why does it feel like they know each other?” Kel’s voice was lower.
“…I don’t like this.” Not the house.
Not the man.
Not the way Ana was reacting.
Because for the first time— they weren’t the ones closest to her.
And they could feel it.
That distance.
Growing.
Quietly.