The morning the entire plan was meant to begin arrived quietly, almost deceptively calm. Nothing in the air hinted at betrayal, blood, or the choices that would soon change everything. Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains of my room, pale and gentle, as though the world itself was pretending nothing terrible was about to happen.
I sat on the edge of my bed, unmoving, my hands resting loosely on my lap. My thoughts were tangled, heavy, and loud in a way silence often is. Every plan Minho and Soah had laid out replayed itself in my head like a scene I didn't want to watch again. Raven's face appeared again and again in my mind—his cold eyes, his quiet presence, the way he always seemed distant yet strangely close when danger hovered near me.
A knock broke the stillness.
I looked up slowly, my heart tightening for reasons I couldn't name. I stood and walked to the door, opening it to find Yoon standing there. She looked unusually serious, her usual calm expression weighed down by something urgent.
"Hey, Jina," Yoon said softly as she stepped inside.
She sat beside me on the bed, close enough for me to feel the warmth of her presence, yet I felt miles away. I didn't respond. My thoughts were already drifting elsewhere, somewhere dark and uncertain.
"Jina," she continued gently, "I know it hasn't been easy. Everything that's been happening… it's too much for anyone."
I kept my gaze fixed on the wall, my eyes unfocused.
"Jina, it's about Raven."
That made something inside me shift, like a quiet crack forming in glass. Still, I said nothing.
"I know this will be hard for you to believe," Yoon said, choosing her words carefully, "and I won't force you to accept it. I just hope that when I'm done, you'll decide for yourself who to believe. This is the last time I'll talk to you about him."
She paused, then spoke more firmly.
"Jina, Raven is not a bad person."
My fingers curled slightly, but I didn't turn.
"A lot of people are planning to get him out of the way," she went on. "And the reason they're doing that… is you."
My chest tightened. I felt the words more than I heard them.
"Raven has been protecting you," Yoon said. "The one behind the mask, the one who always appears when things go wrong—that was him."
Something pierced my heart sharply, like a blade pressing in just enough to hurt. Memories rushed back—moments I had brushed off, times I survived when I shouldn't have. Still, I didn't speak.
"Minho," Yoon continued, her voice low now, "is manipulating everything. He's been doing it carefully, patiently, just to get close to you and achieve what he's been craving all this time."
I felt my breath grow shallow.
"Raven has been guiding you," she said. "Protecting you in ways you never noticed. Even when it put him at risk."
She reached for my hand. I flinched and pulled away before she could touch me. Yoon froze, then slowly withdrew her hand and inhaled deeply.
She stood up.
"Jina," she said quietly, "just be sure of what you're doing. That's all I wanted to say."
She walked to the door and left without looking back.
I stared at the closed door long after she was gone. My chest ached, an unfamiliar pain spreading slowly, like a bruise forming beneath the skin. I didn't want to believe her—but I couldn't ignore her words either. They lodged themselves in my mind, refusing to leave.
I was still trapped in that confusion when my phone vibrated.
A message from Minho.
Jina. Remember, it's by noon.
My breath caught. Noon. The plan. The trap.
I exhaled slowly and stood up, forcing my thoughts away from everything Yoon had said. I couldn't afford doubt now—at least, that's what I told myself.
I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Cold water splashed against my skin, jolting me back into my body. I let it run over me, hoping it would wash away the heaviness in my chest, the questions I didn't want to answer.
As I stood there, droplets sliding down my face, only one thought refused to fade—
What if Yoon was right?
But I shut my eyes, pushed the thought aside, and told myself there was no turning back now.
By noon, everything would begin.