Eunha Lin hurried through the campus corridors, her bag bouncing lightly against her side. She could still feel it — the strange pull from earlier, the boy's piercing gaze following her. She shook her head, trying to focus on her notes for the day, but the feeling wouldn't leave her.
"Eunha! Wait up!" Somi's voice rang behind her. Eunha turned to see her friends jogging to catch up.
"Who's that boy?" Somi asked breathlessly, eyes wide. "He's been following you everywhere! At the library, the cafeteria… even the courtyard. I've never seen anyone like him."
Eunha frowned. "I… I don't know. Just someone new. Let's go, class is about to start."
But as she walked into the lecture hall, she felt it again — the weight of his gaze, like invisible eyes tracing her every move. She glanced at the back of the room, and there he was, standing just inside the doorway, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Her heart skipped a beat. Something about him felt familiar, though she couldn't explain why. A strange memory flickered at the edge of her mind — a silver glint, a small snake, a girl whispering in the mountains. She shook her head, trying to push it away. It was impossible. Memories like that didn't exist anymore.
The lecture began, but Eunha couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to him — the mysterious boy who seemed to appear wherever she went. And then, just as she was losing herself in thought, the classroom door opened.
He walked in, calm, deliberate, and made his way to a seat near her. He didn't speak, didn't smile — just sat, his presence commanding attention without effort. Eunha's friends nudged her, whispering excitedly.
"Eunha… he's literally staring at you," Jihae hissed.
Eunha glanced quickly, her cheeks heating. "Stop it. Don't embarrass me."
But even as she tried to focus on the professor's words, she could feel it — an invisible thread pulling tighter between them. Lian Wu's eyes never left her, observing, calculating, protecting.
After class, as students poured out into the hall, Eunha found herself walking slower, as if drawn by something she didn't understand. Outside, Lian Wu waited, leaning casually against a pillar, but the moment she neared, he stepped forward.
"Eunha Lin," he said softly, his voice carrying that same strange weight as before. "You don't know me yet… but I've been waiting for you."
Eunha blinked. "Waiting for… me?" she asked, confusion and a faint thrill mingling in her chest.
He nodded, his expression unreadable. "A long time. Too long."
Something deep inside Eunha stirred — a memory, a feeling, a pull she could neither name nor resist. She wanted to ask him what he meant, but before she could, he stepped back, disappearing into the crowd like a shadow.
And yet, she knew with certainty: he would not leave her alone. Not now. Not ever.