Duhyun Na woke up to the sound of chalk tapping against a blackboard.
"Na Duhyun."
The voice was flat. Tired. Annoyed.
His eyes snapped open. Sunlight spilled through the classroom windows, cutting across rows of desks and sleepy students. A few quiet laughs followed. Duhyun straightened in his seat, heart pounding, pretending he hadn't been dreaming—again.
"Do you have an answer," the teacher asked, "or should I wake you up properly next time?"
"I—sorry," Duhyun muttered.
He was just a normal guy. No talent worth mentioning. Average grades. Average looks. The kind of person teachers forgot and classmates barely noticed. The only thing in his life that ever felt special was her.
Ji-eun.
The bell rang not long after. Students poured into the hallway, laughter and chatter echoing off the walls. Duhyun hesitated before standing, already feeling that familiar weight in his chest. He spotted Ji-eun near the lockers, her phone in hand, face unreadable.
"Hey," he said softly, approaching her.
She looked up. Didn't smile.
"We need to talk," she said.
Those four words shattered something inside him.
They sat on a bench outside the school, spring wind brushing past them. Ji-eun avoided his eyes.
"I don't think this is working anymore," she said. "I met someone else."
The words didn't register at first.
"…What?"
"I cheated," she admitted, her voice low but firm. "I'm sorry, Duhyun. I didn't plan it. It just happened."
The world tilted.
He wanted to ask why. Wanted to scream. Wanted to beg her to stay. But nothing came out. Just silence, heavy and humiliating.
"Oh," was all he managed.
She stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked away.
Just like that.
---
The walk home felt endless.
Duhyun's head was down, footsteps dragging along the cracked pavement. Every memory replayed itself mercilessly—her laugh, her messages, the way she said his name. His chest hurt, like something was squeezing his heart tighter with every breath.
I wasn't enough.
That thought repeated again and again.
Then—
The air changed.
A pressure descended, thick and wrong. Duhyun froze.
From the corner of his vision, something moved.
A shadow twisted itself into shape—too tall, too sharp, its body crawling with black veins. Its eyes glowed a sickly red.
"A… monster?" he whispered.
People around them screamed. Some ran. Others froze, just like him.
The creature lunged.
Pain exploded through his body. He felt himself thrown aside, crashing into concrete. Warmth spread across his chest—blood. His vision blurred, sounds fading into a distant ringing.
So this is how it ends, he thought weakly. Alone.
As darkness closed in, a mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
[CRITICAL CONDITION MET]
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[UNIQUE AUTHORITY DETECTED: REGRESSION]
"What…?" Duhyun tried to speak, but his lungs wouldn't respond.
[TIME ANCHOR SET]
[REWINDING…]
The world shattered like glass.
---
Duhyun jolted upright.
Chalk tapped against the blackboard.
"Na Duhyun."
Sunlight streamed through the window.
The classroom.
His heart slammed against his ribs as he looked down at his hands—uninjured. Alive.
The teacher frowned. "Are you awake this time?"
Duhyun swallowed hard.
On the desk beside him, his phone buzzed.
A message from Ji-eun.
"Can we talk after class?"
Cold sweat ran down his back.
This was the moment.
The moment before everything went wrong.
And somewhere deep inside his mind, a faint blue screen flickered to life.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Duhyun clenched his fists.
"what the fuck?"
The end