❥ || chapter seventeen

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The day of the festival dawned brighter than expected, the city skyline shimmering like something out of a dream. But I woke up with a rock lodged in my chest.

I barely slept the night before. Not because of nerves or excitement, like everyone else in the office was feeling, but because I knew. I knew what today was supposed to be.

The car accident. The moment everything broke.

Sunghoon was supposed to die today.

I sat at the edge of my bed, clutching the sheets, breathing slow. Trying to remember every line of the scene. Trying to calculate. Alter. Prevent. Whatever it took.

All I knew was this. The festival would end in flashing lights, a screech of tires, a blur of panic. Sunghoon would see the car coming for me. He would shove me out of the way. And he would take the hit instead.

It would be instant.

And final.

Except I wasn't going to let that happen.

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By the time I got to the office parking lot, I realized something was different. The usual fluorescent glow of the building had been replaced with warm string lights that hung from poles and trees like fireflies. I followed the sound of laughter and music to the adjacent plaza the company had rented out, an open air park surrounded by tall hedges and lined with cobblestone paths.

The courtyard had been transformed into something out of a dream. Paper lanterns swayed in the breeze. Booths with company logos handed out branded snacks and novelty drinks. There were long communal tables strewn with confetti and flowers, fairy lights wound through every tree, and a stage being set up at the far end where a local band tuned their instruments. The smell of roasted chestnuts, cotton candy, and fresh dumplings drifted through the air. Children of employees ran around in matching t shirts with their parents' departments printed on the back. A stilt walker passed by juggling glow sticks. Somewhere, someone was already singing karaoke terribly.

Minchae stood near the entrance, clipboard in hand, directing traffic with the authority of a general preparing for battle. She barked something at a confused caterer, then turned on her heel to rearrange a balloon arch that had started to sag. Heeseung stood by the coffee booth chatting with someone from HR, but his eyes flicked to me the moment I stepped through the gate.

Sunghoon was nowhere to be seen.

I nearly bolted.

When I did find him, he was in the supply tent of all places, crouched on the ground organizing boxes of branded merchandise. A red lanyard dangled from his wrist, and his hair stuck up at odd angles like he'd gotten into a fight with a broom.

I didn't give him a chance to speak.

"You can't leave my side today."

He blinked up at me. "What?"

I grabbed his arm. "Promise me. I don't care if it sounds weird, but just... stay close to me. All day. No exceptions."

He straightened, concern furrowing his brow. "Eun, are you okay?"

"Please," I said, my voice cracking. "Just promise."

His smile faded, replaced with something quieter. Warier. But he nodded.

"Okay. I promise."

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The festival kicked off with a burst of confetti shot into the air by the interns. A DJ spun upbeat tracks on a raised platform while employees danced, mingled, and sampled everything from dim sum to churros from food trucks lining the paths. There was a calligraphy station, a photo booth where you could wear ridiculous hats, and even a dunk tank where the finance manager was already soaked to the bone. Everyone buzzed with a kind of lightness I'd never seen before.

Sunghoon never left my side.

He held my hand when the crowd grew dense. He nudged snacks into my fingers when I forgot to eat. He even danced with me when someone dragged us toward the impromptu salsa floor. His fingers at my waist were steady, his laugh warm in my ear. He tried on a foam crown at one of the booths and insisted I wear the matching sceptre. We attempted (and failed) to win a stuffed unicorn from the ring toss. He even smeared whipped cream on my nose after I took a bite of a powdered donut and then kissed it away without thinking. I shoved him, blushing.

And I... I was falling deeper.

Despite everything. Because of everything.

But dread sat coiled behind my ribs like a serpent, waiting. I couldn't stop scanning every corner. Every turn of the street. Every movement near the curb.

Because I didn't know when it was supposed to happen.

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Late afternoon spilled into golden hour. People were heading to the park across the street, where the lantern ceremony was scheduled to take place. Floating lanterns were being prepped on long folding tables, each participant writing their wish on the paper shell before setting them aloft later that evening. Sunghoon paused to write something on his, shielding it from view, but he smiled softly as he glanced at me.

And that's when I knew.

It would be on the street. That crosswalk. The one just beyond the corner where the food trucks lined up. It had to be.

We started walking toward it. My heart pounded.

The crowd surged ahead.

And Sunghoon let go of my hand.

It was instinct. Nothing more. He saw someone he knew, someone from HR, and paused to wave. A step away. Two.

That's all it took.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A car turning too fast, tires screeching, the driver on their phone.

No.

I moved without thinking. Lunged back, grabbing Sunghoon by the collar of his jacket, yanking him hard.

The car missed us by inches.

But someone else had stepped into the street.

Heeseung.

There was a thud. A cry.

The world shattered.

People screamed. Someone ran for help. Minchae dropped her clipboard and bolted across the street. A few lanterns fluttered into the air prematurely, the paper catching in the wind like panicked birds.

I froze. My ears rang. Everything slowed.

Heeseung lay on the pavement, blood on his temple, eyes barely open.

I couldn't move.

Sunghoon turned to me, stunned. "Eunseo...?"

I dropped to my knees beside Heeseung.

His gaze slid to me, unfocused. "You saved him."

My breath caught.

He blinked slowly. "You changed it."

The paramedics arrived a minute later.

They said he'd be okay. A concussion. A fractured wrist. Bruised ribs. But he'd live.

He wasn't supposed to be hit.

But the story had demanded a price.

Sunghoon wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. "You knew something, didn't you?"

I stared ahead, watching the red and blue lights swirl against the evening sky.

I had changed it.

But not without cost.

And for the first time, I wondered how many more things the story would take, just to balance what I broke.

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a/n: plot twist...

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