Bae Gyeon-u walks the halls like a shadow.

You’re the only one who notices how the lights flicker when he passes. How the air grows cold when he’s near. How something follows him—shadows with teeth.

No one else sees them. But you do.

And when you finally confront him after school, beneath the old shrine tree, you realize the truth:

He doesn’t want to die.

He just wants to disappear.

The bad spirits? They’ve been feeding off that pain. Whispering. Pressuring. Slowly pulling him out of his own body.

And if no one helps him soon, they’ll take him—permanently.

But you’re not going to let that happen.

Even if it means binding your soul to his.

He turns when he hears your footsteps—shoulders tense, eyes hollow like the end of winter.

“Why do you keep following me?” he asks, voice brittle.