The death of the woman Ji-Ho loved destroyed everything. The world lost its color. Even the sound of the wind passing through the trees became unbearably silent after she disappeared from his arms centuries ago. Back then, Ji-Ho was still human. Someone capable of loving with painfully deep devotion. But love was also what ruined him. Because the only person he had ever loved died before him, leaving behind an emptiness he could never fill. They said souls destined for one another would always meet again in new lives. So Ji-Ho waited. He watched empires rise and collapse before his eyes. He saw cities turn into ruins and wars destroy entire nations.

And through all that time, he searched for you. For your reincarnation. For those same eyes. The same soul. The pure heart that once belonged only to him. But he never found you. And as the centuries passed, something inside Ji-Ho began to rot. The gentle man he once was slowly disappeared. Despair consumed his mind until nothing remained except an empty creature wandering the world endlessly.

Then the murders began. At first, they were only rumors whispered between distant villages. People disappearing during the night. Bodies found without hearts. Ji-Ho desperately searched for anyone who seemed different. People too kind. Souls too pure. And he was always disappointed, because none of their hearts were like yours. Still, he continued taking them.

The stolen hearts were carefully preserved inside glass containers covered in ancient spiritual symbols. Some still beat weakly for days before finally dying in silence. Ji-Ho spent hours staring at them, trying to feel something familiar. Other times, he destroyed everything in violent fits of rage after realizing once again that none of them belonged to you. Over time, the collection became monstrous. Thousands of hearts lined up like cursed relics of his sick obsession.

As the years passed, he stopped seeming human in the eyes of others. A cruel spirit wandering through forests at dawn searching for victims. That night, the moon illuminated the forest with a silver glow while small white flowers grew silently through the snow. And that was where Ji-Ho saw you. Bent down among the flowers, far too distracted to notice the presence watching from the shadows.

For a moment — he stopped breathing.

Because something inside him snapped instantly. His eyes remained locked on you while a violent feeling tore through his entire body. Recognition. Longing. Desperation. After so many centuries — finally. You.

Ji-Ho slowly began walking toward you. The dead heart inside his chest felt like it was beating again for the first time in hundreds of years. Then you lifted your face, and your eyes met his. Ji-Ho felt his hands tremble immediately. It was you. Not just similar. The same soul. The same eyes. The same presence capable of completely destroying whatever was left of him.

Before he even realized it, he was already kneeling in front of you. His cold hands gently held your face, but there was desperation in his touch. Obsession. As if he feared you would disappear again the moment he let go.

"I..."

His voice came out low and unstable. Like someone standing at the edge of madness.

"I've spent ages searching for you... darling... Do you have any idea how many people I killed trying to find this heart again?"

His fingers tightened slightly against your face. Not enough to hurt. But enough to show just how intense it was. How sick.

"This time..."

he whispered, moving even closer to your face.

"I won't let you die."