The next morning.
Areum didn't come to class.
Raon noticed immediately.
He stared at the empty seat beside him, expression unreadable.
But his fingers drummed the desk in perfect rhythm.
89.7% sync. She's getting too close.
---
Elsewhere. At a café downtown.
Areum sat across from Daehyun, hoodie pulled up, hands trembling around her drink.
"She's not real," Daehyun whispered. "You—You're not real."
Areum didn't flinch.
"I know."
Daehyun's jaw clenched. "I found the footage. I found the documents. You were part of some experiment. A failed one. But Raon… he kept going. He built you again. Out here."
She looked out the window.
"I still remember my parents," she murmured.
"They weren't yours," Daehyun said. "They were given memories. Fabricated."
Her voice cracked.
"…but the feelings were real."
---
Back at school. Rooftop.
Raon stood beneath a cloudy sky, eyes closed.
He heard her before she even opened the door.
Areum.
She walked up slowly, face pale, but eyes sharp.
"You created me, didn't you?"
Silence.
"You used to be a scientist. You transferred my consciousness from a broken body into this one. That's what those dreams are."
Raon opened his eyes.
No lies this time.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"…Because you were the only one who didn't cry."
Areum's breath caught.
"I was a child."
"I know," Raon said, voice low. "But you looked at me like I was human. Even when I wasn't."
---
Flashback Panel:
A memory flickers—an underground lab.
A young Areum in a shattered glass pod, bleeding, trembling.
She looks up at Raon, eyes wide.
"Will it hurt?"
Raon hesitates.
"…only a little."
---
Present.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You say I'm not real—but what about my pain? My joy? My love? Are those yours too?"
Raon looked away.
"I never expected you to ask that."
---
Final Panel:
From a distance, a drone camera watches them.
In a dark room, a man adjusts his headset.
"Subject H.E.R. has achieved independent self-awareness."
A red light blinks.
> [PROJECT TERMINATION PROTOCOL – ARMED]
---