"You came," Min-gyu said—or whatever wore his face.
We have been waiting.
Inside, mirrors covered every surface. None reflected true
.
Ji-hoon's heart hammered. Every mirror showed a different world. Twisted. Inverted. Fading.
"Which one are you?" Ji-hoon asked. "Min-gyu? Or Jin-ho?"
The smile that answered wasn't human.
Both.
They sat across the low table. Tea steamed between them. The scent foreign, metallic.
"You achieved what we never could," the man said. "Three consciousnesses. Balanced."
Not a host. Not a puppet.
A bridge.
"It wasn't by choice," Ji-hoon muttered.
"Nothing is by chance," they replied. "You are designed."
Designed to open the door.
The mirrors buzzed. The room vibrated.
Min-gyu's face twisted—Jin-ho surfaced.
"The mirror world collapses," Jin-ho said. "We need the bridge open. Now."
Ji-hoon clenched his fists. Every part of him—the watcher, the fragment, the original—rose together.
No more manipulation. No more lies.
In the mirrors, shapes writhed. The portal awakened.
And Ji-hoon realized: He was not here to obey. He was here to choose.
→ [To be continued in Episode 45]
---
© HorangiBom. All rights reserved.
This work may not be reproduced, copied, or distributed in any form without the author's permission.