The thread between us

Ji Ah and Ryu Hwan silently exited the rooftop of the diamond exhibition. The streets were deserted, their footsteps echoing softly as they walked side by side—yet the space between them felt vast, like an invisible wall neither dared to cross.

Ji Ah's eyes repeatedly fell on the thin red thread looped around both their little fingers—a thread only they seemed able to see. Her thoughts churned restlessly.

"First, I crashed into this man by accident. Then, against all odds, I stayed in his home. And slowly… somehow… a sense of familiarity began to bloom. Something uninvited. Something warm. And now this thread… What is it? Who is he really? And why… why are we bound by this?"

She glanced at Ryu Hwan, whose face was set in a cold, unreadable expression. She wanted to speak, to ask something—anything—but words refused to leave her mouth.

The silence between them was deafening.

Before long, they arrived at Ryu Hwan's house. He walked in without saying a word and disappeared into his room. Ji Ah stood frozen, heart heavy with confusion.

"What… just happened? Why does it feel like everything changed tonight? And why is he so angry?"

Trying to shake off the storm in her head, Ji Ah went to her room. She changed clothes, took a long shower, and eventually stood before the mirror. Her eyes dropped once again to the thread on her finger.

She noticed something—something peculiar.

 "The thread only appears whole… when we're near each other. When apart, it looks like nothing more than a thin red string tied to me alone. Does that mean… we need to stay together for it to stay visible? Or… to exist at all?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sharp sound of glass shattering.

Alarmed, Ji Ah rushed out of the room.

 "What was that sound? Did something break…?"

In the living room, she found Ryu Hwan sitting on the couch, a broken glass at his feet, blood dripping from his hand. The dark liquid had stained the floor—and his knuckles were torn.

"Ryu Hwan!" Ji Ah gasped and ran to him. "What did you do?! Your hand—let me see! I'll take the glass out—"

He pulled away, still burning with quiet rage.

"Why?" he asked darkly. "Why should I let you?"

Ji Ah stared at him, confused.

"What's wrong with you? Ever since we defeated that Wanderer, you've been acting like—like a stranger!"

Without warning, Ryu Hwan grabbed her shoulders, his grip fierce.

 "Why are you a hunter, Ji Ah? Why?"

His eyes weren't just angry. There was fear in them. Fear she hadn't seen before.

Ji Ah's voice lowered. "What are you talking about? Just tell me what's going on."

But Ryu Hwan turned away.

 "Miss Hunter," he said coldly, "you've completed your mission. You shouldn't stay here any longer. Go back to your people. This isn't your home. This… this is my territory, not a shelter."

Ji Ah stared at him in silence, her heart quietly breaking. Without another word, she turned and walked back to her room.

Behind the walls, haa rin, haa jin, and Ember had overheard everything. But Ryu Hwan's fury kept them silent. No one dared intervene.

In her room, Ji Ah sat on her bed, processing everything.

"Maybe he's right. Maybe I don't belong here. This whole zone is crawling with criminals. I was never safe to begin with. But still… why does it hurt? Why do his words sting more than they should? And why hasn't he said a single word about the thread? Hasn't he noticed it too?"

Her heart ached. But Ji Ah was not the kind of girl to crumble under sorrow.

At dawn, before anyone could wake, she quietly slipped out of Ryu Hwan's house without leaving a note. She didn't know that from the shadows of his window, Ryu Hwan watched her go—his expression pained.

His eyes fell to his hand, where the red thread still clung, stretched painfully thin.

 "Not this time,

" he murmured. "I won't leave things to fate again. This time, I won't let her go."