Mira's POV (First Person)
Something had started changing around me.
Not suddenly.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
So quietly that if I hadn't been paying attention, I probably would have ignored it completely.
But now—
after meeting Eryx…
after yesterday's conversation with Azael…
after hearing words that felt incomplete every single time—
I noticed everything more carefully.
Even small things.
Especially small things.
Like the flowers in our garden blooming earlier than usual.
I stood near the front gate that morning, adjusting the straps of my backpack while staring at the rows of flowers Grandfather had planted years ago.
White lilies.
Soft blue hydrangeas.
Pink camellias near the stone path.
And roses climbing quietly along the side fence.
"…weren't these buds closed yesterday…"
The petals looked fresher today.
Brighter somehow.
As if they had bloomed overnight.
A soft breeze passed through the garden, carrying the familiar scent of flowers toward me.
Usually it felt comforting.
Today—
it felt strange.
Not bad.
Just…
aware.
"You're staring at them again."
I turned slightly.
Grandfather stood near the watering cans, watching me with a small smile.
"…they bloomed early."
"They did."
He looked toward the flowers quietly.
"They always bloom beautifully around you."
I blinked softly.
"…around me?"
Grandfather chuckled lightly. "Since you were little."
"That sounds impossible."
"Maybe."
His answer came too casually.
I frowned slightly.
"…Grandfather…"
"Hm?"
"Was I really found in a forest?"
The moment the question left my mouth—
he froze.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
"…why did he react like that…"
Grandfather slowly placed the watering can down before looking at me again.
"…why are you suddenly asking that?"
I looked away slightly.
"No reason."
That was a lie.
And he knew it immediately.
"You've been thinking too much lately."
"…everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's true."
I sighed softly.
"…I just feel like people know things about me that I don't."
Grandfather became quiet.
The gentle morning wind moved softly through the garden between us.
Then he finally spoke.
"When we found you…"
My heartbeat slowed slightly.
"…found…"
Grandfather smiled faintly.
"You were very small."
"…where?"
"A forest near the northern hills."
His voice sounded distant now.
Like he was remembering something carefully.
"There was heavy fog everywhere that night."
A strange feeling settled in my chest immediately.
"…fog…"
"Your grandmother heard crying."
A pause.
"So we followed the sound."
I stared at him quietly.
"…and then?"
Grandfather's expression softened.
"You were sitting beneath flowers."
My breath caught slightly.
"…flowers…"
"White flowers."
The same strange sadness from yesterday flickered briefly inside my chest again.
Silver light.
Petals falling slowly.
A lonely feeling I couldn't explain.
"…what kind of flowers…"
Grandfather slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But I had never seen flowers bloom like that before."
"…like what?"
"They glowed."
Silence.
The world around me suddenly felt quieter.
"…glowed…"
Grandfather laughed softly afterward, almost like he wanted to dismiss his own memory.
"Perhaps I was tired."
But something about his eyes said otherwise.
"…and nobody looked for me?"
"No."
"…no police report?"
"No."
"…nothing?"
Grandfather looked toward the flowers again.
"Almost as if you appeared from nowhere."
My chest tightened slightly.
"…that's impossible…"
"Yes."
His answer came immediately.
"Yet you were there."
Silence settled between us again.
Then Grandfather suddenly smiled warmly.
"But none of that matters to us."
I looked at him.
"You became our granddaughter the moment we carried you home."
The tightness in my chest softened instantly.
"…Grandfather…"
He walked closer and gently fixed the slightly crooked strap of my backpack like he used to when I was younger.
"You think too much lately."
"…I learned from someone."
"Oh?"
"Azael."
Grandfather paused.
Just slightly.
"…your boss?"
"Yes."
Something strange crossed Grandfather's eyes for a moment.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
But it vanished too quickly for me to fully understand.
"…what is it?"
"Nothing."
Lie.
Again.
Before I could ask further, Grandmother called from inside the house.
"Breakfast is getting cold!"
Grandfather smiled softly.
"You should go."
I nodded slowly.
But as I turned toward the gate—
the wind moved again.
And suddenly—
all the flowers near me tilted slightly in my direction.
Not naturally.
Not with the breeze.
Toward me.
I froze.
"…what…"
The movement stopped instantly.
Silence returned.
"…I'm imagining things…"
But deep down—
I knew I wasn't.
---
The office felt strangely normal again.
Almost too normal.
After everything that happened recently, it felt unnatural watching employees argue about paperwork while drinking iced coffee like reality itself hadn't nearly broken two days ago.
Humans forgot too easily.
Or perhaps—
they were made to.
I stepped inside the elevator quietly.
The moment the doors began closing—
someone's hand stopped them.
Kael stepped inside casually.
"…good morning."
"You always appear suddenly."
Kael grinned. "That's because you notice me."
The elevator started moving again.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Kael suddenly tilted his head slightly while staring at me.
"…something changed."
I frowned immediately. "That sounds concerning."
"It is."
"…Kael."
He leaned against the elevator wall lazily.
"The flowers near your house."
My breath paused.
"…what about them?"
"They reacted to you again, didn't they?"
I stared at him silently.
"…how do you know that…"
Kael sighed softly.
"…because they used to do that before too."
The elevator suddenly felt smaller.
"…before?"
Kael realized his mistake instantly.
"…forget I said that."
"No."
I stepped closer immediately.
"What do you mean before?"
Kael looked genuinely annoyed with himself now.
"…you're becoming difficult."
"You said the flowers used to react to me."
"…Mira—"
"What does that mean?"
Before Kael could answer—
the elevator doors opened.
And Azael stood outside waiting.
My heartbeat calmed immediately the moment I saw him.
Again.
Always.
Kael quietly muttered under his breath.
"…this is becoming worse."
Azael's eyes moved from Kael to me.
"What happened?"
Kael instantly straightened. "Nothing."
Lie.
Azael knew it too.
His gaze shifted toward me.
"You're troubled again."
"…everyone keeps hiding things from me."
Silence.
Then Azael stepped inside the elevator beside us.
The doors closed again.
The air immediately felt calmer.
Safer.
And somehow—
that realization itself felt dangerous now.
"…sir…"
Azael looked at me quietly.
"…flowers reacted to me today."
Kael closed his eyes briefly like he had already given up on peace.
Azael remained silent for a moment.
Then—
"How?"
"They moved toward me."
Silence.
Kael looked away immediately.
Azael's expression became unreadable again.
"…that shouldn't happen yet."
The same words.
Again.
I frowned immediately.
"What does everyone mean by yet?"
No answer.
Frustration rose quietly inside me.
"I'm tired of this."
Kael blinked slightly.
"…of what?"
"Everyone speaking like I'm connected to something but refusing to explain it."
Azael watched me silently.
The elevator continued moving upward quietly around us.
Then I whispered softly—
"…am I really just human?"
The moment those words left my mouth—
Kael froze completely.
The lights inside the elevator flickered once.
And Azael's eyes darkened slightly.
Not emotionally.
Something deeper.
Older.
The atmosphere became heavy instantly.
Not enough to hurt.
Just enough to feel impossible.
Then Azael answered quietly—
"Yes."
The pressure disappeared immediately afterward.
But something about his answer felt incomplete.
Not false.
Just…
unfinished.
The elevator doors opened again.
Kael escaped first.
Actually escaped.
"…I suddenly remembered work."
I stared at him in disbelief as he disappeared down the hallway.
Then I looked back at Azael.
"…he's acting strange."
"He is."
"…and you aren't?"
"No."
The answer came too smoothly.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"You're impossible to talk to sometimes."
For the first time—
the corner of Azael's lips moved slightly upward.
Not fully.
But enough.
A small smile.
Tiny.
Brief.
Yet somehow—
it felt rarer than anything else in the world.
And for a moment—
all the confusion inside me became quiet again.
Just because of that expression.
"…dangerous…"
I didn't know if I meant him—
or myself anymore.