The Present
Ji Eun woke with a sharp inhale.
Her body jerked slightly as she sat up in bed.
Her heart raced.
Her breathing uneven.
For a moment, she didn't know where she was.
The darkness of her room slowly came into focus.
Familiar.
Safe.
But her chest still felt tight.
"…What was that?" she whispered.
Her hand moved unconsciously to her chest.
As if trying to steady something inside.
The dream...
Already slipping.
Breaking apart.
She tried to hold it.
To piece it together.
The garden.
The dog.
The fear.
And someone...
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"There was… someone…"
But the image...
Wouldn't stay.
The face, gone.
Only fragments remained.
A presence.
A voice.
A feeling.
It won't touch you.
Ji Eun exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers lightly against her lips.
Her gaze drifted to the window, where faint moonlight leaked through the curtains.
"…Why does that feel… real?"
She frowned.
Shaking her head slightly.
"It's just a dream," she murmured.
"Just… a memory…"
But deep down, something didn't sit right.
Because the fear felt real.
Too real.
And the safety...
That felt real too.
Ji Eun leaned back slowly against the headboard, her eyes still unfocused.
"…Who was that?" she whispered again.
No answer came.
But somewhere...
Beneath the fragments.
Beneath the forgotten pieces.
A truth stirred quietly.
One she had lived with all her life. Without ever realizing it.
She was never alone.
And the one who stood between her and fear…
Had always been there.
Even before she knew his name.