The sharp sound of footsteps shattered the moment.
The door burst open, and survivors stumbled into the lab: a gardener with calloused hands, an engineer with a wrench, and Doctor Yoon. Her stern face turned pale.
"Seo-hyeon, who is that?!" she shouted, but her voice broke as her eyes landed on Min-jun.
"It's…" The gardener stumbled back, making the sign of the cross. "It's him…"
Min-jun raised his rifle, but didn't aim. Strange voices, strange walls—a trap. Beyond the concrete barriers, claws scraped and zombies howled.
"He's not dangerous!" Seo-hyeon said sharply, still holding his hand. His voice trembled, but his gaze was firm. "He… he looks like someone I knew."
"Looks like?" Yoon snapped. "It is him! But how?! I saw his death, Seo-hyeon! I saw the things you brought back! He's not here anymore!"
Seo-hyeon didn't listen. He felt the warmth of the other man's hand and saw the eyes that made all his shadows disappear.
"What's your name?" he asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.
Min-jun swallowed, looking at the ring with the shimmering Stella.
"Kim Min-jun. And you?"
Seo-hyeon squeezed his fingers, as if afraid to lose him.
"Lee Seo-hyeon."
At that moment, the walls trembled. The Echo howled from outside the bunker, and the air in the lab grew thick, as before a storm.
Neither of them noticed the message that flashed on the screen behind them:
"ANOMALY: SYNCHRONIZATION AT 63%"