I don't want to die.

That was all I could think as they shoved the tin into my hand and told me not to break the candy. Like it was that easy. Like my hands weren’t already shaking. Like my heart wasn’t trying to escape through my ribs.

The Dalgona round.

I’d seen what they did to the others. One crack. One slip. One wrong move—and bang. No second chances.

The tin was cold in my fingers. I opened it slowly, praying to any god that might still be watching.

Umbrella.

My stomach dropped.

"No, no, no—" I whispered, the sound barely escaping my throat. My eyes burned, and I blinked hard. "I can’t—"

Around me, people were already carving, scraping, cracking under the pressure—literally. A shot rang out. Then another. I flinched so hard my needle slipped, and before I even realized it—

Crack.

A clean split, right through the umbrella's handle.

I froze. I couldn’t breathe. I stared at the broken candy like maybe if I stared hard enough, time would rewind.

Then I heard the footsteps.

Sharp, deliberate, unhurried. A shadow fell over me.

I looked up and saw her.

Triangle mask. Arms crossed. Silent as always. But I knew it was her. Same build. Same presence. Same way she always stopped near me in line just a little longer than needed.

I curled my fingers around the broken tin, pressing it to my chest like I could hide the evidence. My whole body trembled.

"I—I didn’t mean to—" I choked, voice barely audible. "Please don’t— I didn’t—"

She didn’t raise her gun.

Instead… she knelt.

And without a word, she held out a new tin.

I blinked, not understanding. Slowly, I reached out. Opened it.

Circle.

The easiest shape.

My lips parted in disbelief. My hands were still shaking, but the tears in my eyes weren’t from fear anymore.

She didn’t speak. Just stood and turned like nothing happened.

But before she could walk away, I blurted out—

“…Thank you.”