Kangha kneels beside Ji-Yeon, carefully spooning the yogurt into her mouth. She is still unconscious, her breathing steady but faint. Half of the bag is already gone, yet Ji-Yeon shows no sign of waking up. Sighing, Kangha places the yogurt bag aside, his movements precise and gentle, as though afraid to disturb her.
Straightening up, he glances at Woo-Jin, who stands nearby, tension radiating from him. Kangha's voice hardens, cutting through the stillness. "I can fight them, and I will fight them," he declares, determination burning in his eyes.
Woo-Jin's brows furrow in disbelief. "What happened? How can you think so badly of your grandfather?" he demands, his voice a mix of surprise and anger. "Is it because of what happened this morning? I didn't want to believe it either, Kangha, but calling your grandfather a murderer… Do you really mean that?"
Kangha turns to face him fully, his expression cold and unyielding. "He is a murderer," Kangha replies, his voice low but firm. "He killed my father. And don't call him my grandfather. He's not."
Woo-Jin's eyes widen, the weight of Kangha's words sinking in. The room falls into a suffocating silence, broken only by the faint sound of Ji-Yeon's breaths. The accusation hangs heavy between them, unspoken questions swirling in the air, but Woo-Jin dares not press further.
Kangha clenches his fists, his mind flashing back to the events that led to this moment. For him, there is no room for doubt anymore—just the desire for justice and the strength to face the truth, no matter how painful it may be.
Woo-Jin's fists clench, his heart pounding with rage as Kangha's words echo in his mind. A burning desire rises within him to punch Kangha, to silence the accusations that feel too heavy to bear. Yet, he holds himself back, his body trembling with restraint.
Miss Choi, sitting nearby, stares at Kangha with wide eyes. Her amazement is evident, though her voice remains calm as she speaks. "Woo-Jin," she begins softly, "he's telling the truth."
Woo-Jin snaps his gaze toward her, his anger momentarily replaced with disbelief. "What?" he mutters, barely audible.
Miss Choi nods slowly, her expression grim. "He's not Jeong-won."
Silence falls in the room as Woo-Jin processes her words. He steps back, his earlier fury replaced with a growing unease. His eyes flicker between Kangha and Miss Choi, unsure of what to say or even think anymore.
Kangha, however, isn't as composed. He stares at Miss Choi, his face pale with shock. "You… you all knew?" he asks, his voice trembling.
Miss Choi lowers her gaze, guilt shadowing her features. "No, Kangha," she replies softly. "I didn't know for sure. I only had my doubts." Her tone is steady, but her eyes avoid his. "I didn't want you to leave the school. That's why I wrote those letters to you—to push you to find the truth. It was something only you could do by staying here."
Her words hit Kangha like a wave, leaving him frozen in place. Slowly, he lowers himself to the ground, sitting in front of her. His eyes search her face, seeking answers she seems reluctant to give.
Miss Choi looks at him with a mixture of sorrow and determination, her voice now tinged with a teacher's resolve. "I needed you to uncover the truth, Kangha. It wasn't my place to tell you. It had to come from you."
Kangha's chest tightens, the weight of betrayal and realization settling over him. He looks down at his hands, unable to meet her gaze any longer, as the room grows heavier with unspoken truths.
Woo-Jin watches Kangha closely, his friend's heartbreak plain to see. Yet, Woo-Jin himself is no less shocked. His mind races with questions, and a growing unease gnaws at him. Miss Choi, sitting before them, looks down in shame, as though the weight of her silence over the years is now too much to bear.
"If she already knew the truth," Woo-Jin thinks bitterly, "she should have told Kangha. Maybe none of this would have happened."
"The school had changed so much in the last three years—shadows growing darker, whispers of strange events spreading like wildfire. Yet, no one had been affected more than Kangha. He has endured the most, and now, he might lose the one remaining connection to his family. His grandfather's health is failing, and Kangha doesn't even know if he can save him."
The silence in the room feels suffocating, each second dragging on. Finally, Woo-Jin breaks it, his voice sharp and demanding. "If he's not our headmaster, then who is he?"
Miss Choi hesitates, her eyes darting between the two boys. Finally, she exhales deeply, her voice barely above a whisper. "He's an evil sorcerer," she says. "A dark force that has taken on the form of our headmaster."
Kangha cuts in before she can say more, his tone steady but laced with frustration. "We don't know if it's the dark force pretending to be the headmaster," he says, his gaze piercing, "or if that dark force has taken over his body."
The room feels colder as his words hang in the air, and all three of them grapple with the grim reality before them. The truth is far darker than any of them had imagined, and the fight ahead feels more uncertain than ever.
Woo-Jin stares at Kangha, his brows furrowed in confusion. "But Kangha, how do you know all this? How can you be so sure?"
Kangha takes a deep breath, his eyes narrowing as he recalls the events of the morning. "I had a dream," he begins, his voice calm but heavy with meaning. "In that dream, I saw my grandfather. He was in trouble… near death. It didn't feel right, Woo-Jin. It felt too real to ignore."
Miss Choi looks at him curiously but doesn't interrupt. Woo-Jin, however, tilts his head, still unsure. "A dream?" he repeats skeptically.
Kangha nods. "Yes. When I woke up, I couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something more. I went to the library to look for a book on dream interpretation, hoping it would give me some answers. But I couldn't find the book I was looking for."
"What did you find, then?" Miss Choi asks softly, her voice almost hesitant.
Kangha looks up, his expression sharpening. "I found the name of the book's author. He lives in Chuan, another city." His gaze shifts between Miss Choi and Woo-Jin, a flicker of resolve in his eyes.
Kangha takes a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the floor as he recounts the events of the day. "After not finding anything in the library, I decided to meet the author directly. I managed to track down his address, and I went to see him today."
Woo-Jin leans forward, his curiosity piqued. "You met him? What happened?"
"They let me in," Kangha continues, his tone steady but laced with frustration. "At first, they seemed… distant, maybe even wary. When I told them about my dream, their expressions changed. They looked worried, as if they didn't know how to respond."
Woo-Jin raises a brow. "Did they tell you what it meant?"
Kangha shakes his head. "No, they didn't. Instead, they asked me to leave without giving any explanation. But I couldn't let it go. I pressed them for answers—maybe I even threatened them a little. That's when they finally spoke."
He pauses, the weight of their revelation sinking in again. "They told me my grandfather is under the influence of black magic."
Miss Choi gasps softly, her hands covering her mouth. Woo-Jin's face hardens, his voice sharp. "Black magic? Are you serious? Did they tell you anything else?"
Kangha nods slowly. "They were scared to even say that much. The author warned me, said that if they gave me a solution or a way to save my grandfather… Felix would kill them."
"Felix?" Woo-Jin's eyes widen, his face paling as if the mere name drains the blood from his veins. "That… that's not possible. Felix? Are you sure they said Felix?"
"Yes," Kangha replies grimly. "The name seemed to terrify them. They described it as if Felix wasn't just a person… but something much worse. Like the very embodiment of death itself."
Woo-Jin leans back, momentarily forgetting to breathe. His mind races with the implications of Kangha's words. If Felix is involved, their fight is far darker and more dangerous than they ever imagined. Silence falls between them, heavy with unspoken fears, as each of them contemplates what lies ahead.
"Everyone who has heard of him has only read about him in ancient books," Kangha continues, his voice low, carrying an air of dread. "Felix isn't just a man or a sorcerer. He's a beast. A savage predator consumed by an insatiable hunger for magic. In his thirst for power, he committed countless atrocities, crimes born out of arrogance and the intoxication of his own strength."
Woo-Jin shivers at the weight of Kangha's words, his mind conjuring images of the creature Kangha describes.
Miss Choi, her face pale, speaks softly, as if saying his name aloud might summon him. "Felix… he's like a shadow, isn't he? Something that can't be caught, defeated, or even truly found."
Kangha nods, his jaw tightening. "Yes. A shadow that consumes everything in its path. People say he's unstoppable, that even time can't catch him. He's more than a sorcerer—he's a force of destruction, a curse that has lingered for centuries."
The room feels heavier with every word spoken. Felix isn't just a name; he's a legend, a nightmare come to life. The task of saving Kangha's grandfather suddenly feels impossibly daunting, but the fire in Kangha's eyes burns brighter. "No matter what he is, no matter how impossible it seems," Kangha declares firmly, "I will find a way to stop him."
Woo-Jin watches him, torn between admiration and fear, knowing that whatever path they're about to walk will change their lives forever.