"Hello."

A simple greeting.
There was nothing inherently wrong with it, yet as I stood there, staring at her, I couldn’t muster a response.

The violet eyes I feared even in my dreams.
The black hair with subtle streaks of another hue, framing her face.

Her appearance brought someone to mind. Someone I’d always known I would face someday—but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would happen like this.

Here, in the back alley of Hanam, in a shabby restaurant serving noodles.

No one could have predicted such a meeting.

Woom-!

My heart thudded violently, …