The silence that followed was something like a heavy, somber vow.
Jin-Yeok was the first to move. He didn't come to me with the usual commanding stride of a man used to getting his way. He rose slowly, his legs seemingly heavy, and walked until he was standing a few feet away.
He didn't reach out—he didn't think he had the right to touch me yet—but he bowed his head, his shoulders dropping the weight of a thousand sins.
"I have spent this life building laws to protect people I once broke," Jin-Yeok whispered, his voice thick. "I thought I was just being a visionary. I didn't know I was trying to atone for a ghost. If you give me this chance... I will spend every hour of my life ensuring that no shadow of that man ever touches you again."
Seo-Jun let out a ragged breath, his head still resting against the stone pillar. He looked at me, his red eyes raw and bloodshot.
