They left before dawn.
An unmarked van. Three guards. Ji-hoon and Su-yeon in silence.
The roads blurred by. From concrete to countryside.
Ji-hoon stared out the window. Memories stirred like smoke.
His mother's voice. A lullaby she only sang when she broke.
We will stay together, no matter what.
Beside him, Su-yeon checked the pill bottle. Empty now.
"You're ready," she said.
He didn't respond.
When the van stopped, they were miles from anything. Trees. Mist. Silence.
A house stood at the edge of a cliff. Old, rotting. Breathing with memory.
Su-yeon stepped out first. Ji-hoon followed.
He's in there, said the voice inside.
The guards waited by the van. Su-yeon led him to the door.
She didn't knock.
Of course not.
Inside, the house reeked of dust and something older.
A man sat in the corner. Back turned. Waiting.
"Father?" Ji-hoon asked.
The man stood slowly. Turned.
Same face. Older. Weathered. Tired.
But the eyes— Ji-hoon had seen those before.
In mirrors. In dreams. In blood.
"You came," the man said.
Ji-hoon's knees trembled. But he didn't fall.
"Then it's time we talk... All three of us."
→ [To be continued in Episode 31]
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