The night air was thick with the scent of rain, the streets buzzing with life. Ha-rin barely noticed. Her fingers clutched the book to her chest—the final volume, the ending she had waited years for.

She should have been careful. She should have paid attention.

But the city was too crowded, the push too sudden.

A shove. A misstep. A blaring horn.

Her world spun as the impact hit—sharp, unforgiving. The ground was cold beneath her, but the pain barely registered. Her vision swam, darkness creeping in. And then she saw it.

The book

Lying just beyond her reach, its pages fluttering in the night breeze. The cover, once beautiful sapphire blue was now stained with crimson red.

So close. Yet out of reach, just like everything else in her life—always slipping away.

A weak breath shuddered past her lips. She tried to reach for it, fingers trembling, but the strength was already leaving her body.

"Is this what I deserve for asking to be loved? "

And then—nothing.

It went blank...