Several months had passed since the incident. Across the school building, the final exam bell rang, sharp and liberating.
For a moment, the classroom was frozen in silence.
Then the noise exploded.
Chairs scraped against the tiled floor. Students groaned in relief. Some laughed too loudly, others immediately began arguing about answers they were certain were correct. Outside, the hallway filled with the restless energy of teenagers who could already taste graduation.
Freedom was close.
Claire remained seated.
Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, warming the edge of her desk. She stared at her answer sheet for a second longer than necessary, her expression calm—too calm compared to the chaos around her.
For them, this was the end of exams.
For her, it felt like standing at a crossroad she had already walked once before.
She packed her bag slowly and stepped into the corridor. The crowd swallowed her instantly—voices overlapping, shoes tapping against the floor, lockers opening and slamming shut.
"Claire!"
She turned at the familiar voice.
Vienna jogged toward her, slightly out of breath, her ponytail swaying behind her. Unlike Claire, Vienna's eyes were bright with excitement.
"We survived," Vienna declared dramatically. "I'm officially done with high school stress."
Claire smiled faintly. "You say that like university will be easier."
"Don't ruin my happiness," Vienna laughed, nudging her shoulder. "Speaking of university… have you decided?"
The question settled between them.
Claire's grip on her bag tightened slightly.
University.
The word echoed deeper than Vienna realized.
Fragments of memory flickered through her mind—wide campus gates, crowded lecture halls, the sound of footsteps along familiar corridors. She remembered walking beside Vienna under tall trees, holding coffee cups during late-night study sessions.
She remembered being twenty-two.
She remembered darkness.
Some parts of her previous life had faded after her rebirth, like torn pages missing from a book. She couldn't remember everything clearly. The details of her death were blurred. The faces in her final moments were hazy.
But one thing remained certain.
She had studied at the same university as Vienna.
And she had died before she could even graduate.
"I'm still thinking," Claire replied calmly.
Vienna raised an eyebrow. "Thinking? Since when? I thought we agreed to apply to the same university."
We did.
In my previous life.
Claire forced a light laugh. "Plans change."
Vienna slowed her steps. "Wait… don't tell me you're not going with me."
Claire looked ahead, pretending to watch the crowd moving toward the school gate. "I might apply somewhere else."
Silence.
Vienna stopped walking. "Claire."
There was confusion in her voice. Maybe even hurt.
"We've been talking about this for two years," Vienna said more softly. "Why suddenly change?"
Because I already know where that road ends.
But Claire couldn't say that.
She couldn't explain that in another timeline, they had walked into adulthood together—full of dreams, unaware that fate had already begun weaving something cruel.
"I just want a different environment," Claire replied gently. "A fresh start. Somewhere I can focus on myself."
Vienna studied her face carefully, as if trying to read something hidden behind her calm expression.
"Is this about something that happened?" Vienna asked.
Claire shook her head immediately. "No. Nothing like that."
That wasn't entirely a lie.
It wasn't something that happened.
It was something that would happen.
And she refused to let it.
Inside, her thoughts were far more determined than her soft voice suggested.
If she entered the same university again, the same events might unfold. The same people. The same invisible cracks that eventually shattered everything.
She didn't remember every detail—but she remembered enough to be afraid.
And this time, fear would not paralyze her.
It would guide her.
Vienna sighed, half annoyed, half resigned. "Fine. But don't disappear on me, okay?"
Claire turned to her, meeting her eyes.
There was no suspicion there. No betrayal. Only the warmth of someone who believed in their shared future.
Claire's chest tightened.
"I won't disappear," she said quietly.
I'll just choose a different path.
Because this time… I intend to live past twenty-two.
Claire stood and walked out into the corridor. The crowd swallowed her instantly, uniforms brushing past her shoulders as students rushed toward the gate.
"Claire."
The voice came suddenly from behind her.
She stopped.
Miko stepped out from the side of the hallway, one hand casually tucked into his pocket. His expression was calm, but his eyes were observant as always.
"Going home already?" he asked.
Claire nodded slightly. "Yeah."
He walked beside her as they moved with the flow of students.
"So," Miko continued, "have you decided where you'll continue your studies after graduation?"
There it was again.
That question.
Claire kept her gaze forward. The sunlight from the open corridor made everything look brighter, almost too bright.
In her previous life, she had answered that question easily. She had spoken with excitement. She had told everyone the name of the university she would attend—with Vienna, with the others.
She had thought the future was solid.
She had been wrong.
"I haven't decided yet," she replied calmly.
Miko glanced at her. "That's surprising. You usually have everything planned."
A faint smile touched her lips. "Maybe I'm trying something new."
He didn't laugh.
"Are you applying to the same university as Vienna?" he asked again, more directly this time.
Claire's steps slowed for half a second before she continued walking.
"I'm still thinking," she repeated.
Miko stopped near the staircase, turning slightly toward her. The crowd continued moving around them.
"You're hiding it," he said quietly—not accusing, just stating a fact.
Claire met his eyes.
There was no hostility in her expression, only a gentle firmness.
"I just don't want to talk about it yet," she said.
"Why?"
Because the moment I say it out loud, the future starts moving again.
Because last time, everyone knew.
Because last time, I followed the same path.
Because last time, I died at twenty-two.
But none of that could be spoken.
"I want to keep it private," Claire answered simply. "At least for now."
Miko studied her face carefully, as if trying to read the thoughts she refused to share.
After a moment, he gave a small nod. "Alright."
No more questions.
But his gaze lingered a little longer than usual.
Claire gave him a polite smile before continuing down the stairs, blending back into the sea of students.
Private.
Yes, it had to stay that way.
If she told them she planned to choose a different university, there would be questions. Persuasion. Maybe even pressure to stay together.
And she couldn't risk being pulled back into the same timeline.
This time, her decision would be made in silence.
This time, she would choose a path no one expected.
And this time—
She would live.