Nor Ah began to sketch, her hands guided by something more than instinct. It felt like memory—but not hers. Lines came alive beneath her fingers, forming symbols she didn't recognize, yet understood.
As she dipped her needle and touched it to his skin, he didn't flinch. But his breath caught.
A pulse echoed from her into him. A ripple. The ink burned faintly with light. Du Guk gripped the arm of the chair, his eyes fluttering closed. Images struck him like thunder—faces, fangs, flame. Her scent. His hands on her skin. A kiss not yet stolen, but remembered.
She pulled back, stunned.
"What did you see?" she asked.
He opened his eyes. "You."
"But I've never—"
"You have," he interrupted. "Not in this life."
Something old stirred in her chest, something wild and hot. The tattoo wasn't just marking him—it was tethering them. Nor Ah knew the design wasn't random. It was a piece of her. Of her blood.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered, backing away.
Du Guk stood slowly. "And yet, here I am. Drawn to you like gravity."
"I don't know what you want."
His voice dropped, dark and velvet-smooth. "Not yet. But you will."