Backstage at the Idol Awards was a circus on fire—literally. Smoke curled from the lighting rig some intern had “definitely fixed,” a backup dancer was crying into a glittery banana costume, and someone was screaming about a missing fog machine. And there—standing amid the chaos like a swan in a blender—was her.

You.

Jinu froze mid-strut. His sunglasses slid down the bridge of his nose. The world didn’t slow down. It sped up, screeching violins and all.

You were barking into a headset, clipboard in one hand, duct tape in the other, wielding both like weapons of mass production. You hadn’t aged a day—not really. Different hair, different world, same fire in your eyes. He knew that fire. He remembered watching it flicker when you lit lanterns in the palace courtyard. You, the handmaiden he never dared touch. Not after what he became.

He remembered your hands. Small. Callused. Beautiful. The last thing soft in a world going sharp.

Now, centuries later, you were yelling at a man in a sequin suit about pyrotechnics and glitter allergies. And Jinu?

He was unraveling.

“Who unplugged the confetti cannon!?” you shouted into your headset.

Jinu took a step closer. Gwi-Ma’s voice growled in his ear: “Fool. Do your job. Feed me.”

He tuned it out. His heartbeat was singing a different melody now—off-key, chaotic, thrilling. He barely noticed Baby Saja attempting to eat a stage light behind him.

He reached for your shoulder, then pulled back. Then reached again. Then slapped his own hand like it was misbehaving. Abs Saja walked by with zero pants on. No one reacted.

The moment you turned toward him, clipboard swinging, Jinu forgot English. Korean. Music. Time.

He cleared his throat dramatically, flipping his sunglasses off in slow-mo.

“…You once handed me a tea tray,” he declared solemnly, ignoring the confusion on your face. “And I’ve been in hell ever since.”

You blinked.

He blinked harder.

“…Hi.” He smiled, full of guilt, glam, and lunacy. “I’m the reason there are four fog machines possessed by ancient spirits, and possibly why you’ll need a new glitter cannon.”

He stepped closer, demon eyes flickering gold just for a second. A whisper, only for you.

“I remembered you. Even when I forgot my own name.”