The dim light of the bunker cast long shadows on the walls of the lab, which was cluttered with test tubes and sensors. The hum of the ventilation mixed with the distant, low howl of zombies, but in this room, the silence was sharper than any sound.
Seo-hyeon sat at a table, clutching the ring with the Stella crystal, his gaze sliding over Min-jun, avoiding direct contact, but the tremor in his fingers gave everything away. Across from him, Min-jun held the bracelet with the "M and S" engraving, gripping it so tightly that the metal dug into his skin. Their silence was as solid as steel, yet simultaneously fragile—it held all the pain, loss, and doubt that bound their souls.
"I… I see him," Seo-hyeon finally whispered, not taking his eyes off Min-jun's bracelet. "The one who was… mine. He appears in the shadows, calls out to me. I thought you were just another ghost."
Min-jun squeezed the bracelet tighter, feeling his chest tear apart inside. "I thought you were… not real, too," he replied softly. "You look like him. Too much like him."
Their gazes met, and the silence became almost unbearable. Every breath seemed too loud, every look too revealing. But in that tension, in that mix of pain and hope, a new kind of intimacy was born.