Chapter 1: The Rain and the Stranger
The rain fell like silver knives across the old city, splashing against cobblestones and pooling in the hollow alleys. Rumi hugged her jacket tighter, cursing the clouds. She was late for her shift at the family estate, but something in the air told her today would be anything but normal.
Her friends, Liyo and Nessa, waited under the smallest awning they could find, soaked but refusing to leave her side.
"Rumi, do you have to look like you're walking to your doom every time it rains?" Liyo shouted, splashing a puddle with his boot.
"Not helping," Rumi muttered, pulling her hood lower. Nessa rolled her eyes, but stayed close. "Come on, danger-walker. Let's move."
Then he appeared.
Tall. Silent. Calm. His presence made the storm feel quieter, the city feel smaller.
Their eyes met. Her breath caught. It was like recognition, like the universe itself whispered, You are the one.
"Hey," he said, voice low, almost a growl, "do you… know what's coming?"
Rumi's throat went dry. "I… no?"
Before he could answer, a shriek pierced the night. Shadows twisted along the walls, forming shapes that should not exist. Liyo screamed and tripped. Nessa yanked him back just in time.
Monsters. Real ones. Eyes glowing red, claws scraping stone.
Jinu moved with terrifying grace. He grabbed a metal rod from the trash and struck with lethal precision. One creature toppled into a puddle, reformed on the opposite wall.
Rumi's heart hammered—not just from fear, but from something else. Something electric.
He reached out to steady her as she slipped over a wet stone. Their chests brushed—briefly, yet enough for both to feel the spark. Her pulse surged. His grip lingered a fraction too long. Their eyes locked.
"You're… different," she whispered.
"I could say the same," he replied, a faint smirk teasing his lips despite the chaos. He moved closer, almost shielding her. She could feel the warmth of him through the wet fabric of his jacket, and it made her dizzy.
Through the next hour, they fought and ran, barely surviving. Each time he grabbed her hand to pull her out of danger, each time their shoulders brushed while dodging attacks, the invisible thread between them tightened.
By dawn, the monsters were gone. They stood chest-to-chest, breathing heavily, soaked and trembling—not just from the fight.
"We'll meet again," Jinu said, his voice low and almost personal, almost intimate.
Rumi's lips parted, heart hammering. "I… I think we will," she whispered, feeling the pull in her chest—an unexplainable, magnetic connection.
And somewhere, unseen, their families stirred, sensing a storm far larger than the rain had just begun.