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Chapter 8 - Two - The Fire Break

Introducing Cha Eunha (차 은하), the spark in the twilight.

Name Meaning:

· Cha (차 / 車) – A relatively uncommon Korean surname, meaning "vehicle" or "chariot." Symbolically, this can represent:

Movement, change, destiny and transition.

Someone who carries others across boundaries—like life to death, or ignorance to knowledge.

Often used for grounded or gritty characters from lesser-known bloodlines.

· Eunha (은하) – "Galaxy" or "Milky Way," representing vast potential, hidden brilliance, and cosmic fate.

or

Eun (은 / 銀) – Silver, elegance, subtlety. Associated with:

Moonlight, reflection, and things unspoken.

Also connotes quiet strength and clarity beneath pressure.

Ha (하 / 河 or 夏) – Can mean "river" (河) or "summer" (夏). If taken as "river":

Symbol of flowing fate, persistence, emotional depth.

If "summer," it implies:

Vitality, hope, and simmering power

> ✧ "Cha Eunha" (차은하) could be read symbolically as:

"The chariot of silver rivers"

or

"She who carries moonlight across the tides."

or

"A chariot carrying the galaxy"

[Scene - The Hyun Building]

Eunha had just found Meeting Room B when the lights flickered again. The air felt… thicker. Warm. That smell—burnt something—wasn't going away.

(A distant BOOM shakes the building. Screams echo. The wall monitor flashes: FIRE – 12TH FLOOR.)

EUNHA (freezing): "…What was—?"

(The fire alarm wails. People stampede toward exits. Smoke billows from the elevator shaft.)

A WORKER (panicked, grabbing her purse): "Run, kid! It's not a drill!"

Eunha hesitates—then hears children crying above the chaos. Eunha turned back. Everyone else ran toward the stairwell. She ran into the smoke, ignoring the shouts of the workers. Her lungs protested. Her legs burned. But she found them—curled behind a water cooler, coughing from smoke; the sister, older, shielding her brother with a shaking arm. The girl Ari (아리), was 8, while the boy Jun (준) was 6, and the baby of the family.

Eunha dashes toward them. The innocence in their eyes told Eunha she had made the right choice.

EUNHA (kneeling to their eye level): "Hey! Where's your mom?!"

ARI (sobbing): "In her office… top floor!"

Eunha's stomach drops. The fire's origin. But the stairwell is already hazy with smoke.

EUNHA : "Okay. Hold my hands. Tight."

She wraps her sleeves around their mouths, eyes stinging. They crawl up, floor by floor. The heat is unbearable. Then—

A SUPPORT BEAM COLLAPSES, blocking their path. Flames roar.

JUN (terrified): "We're going to die—"

The smoke was thicker now, the way out unclear.

She had to think fast.

Eunha clenches her fists. A strange warmth floods her chest. And then—

A PULSE OF LIGHT.

The fire bends away from them, as if repelled by an invisible shield. The children gasp. So does Eunha.

EUNHA (whispering): "…What was that?"

No time. "Hey! Come here!" Eunha shouted, grabbing their hands. "This way!". She scoops up the kids and bolts. Behind her, the flames snap back like a living thing.

She yanked a coat from a hook, threw it over the kids. Eyes stinging, she took a gamble—a side door near the emergency exit.

By luck or fate, it wasn't locked.

She kicked it open.

Stairs. Fresh air. Screams. Water. Sirens.

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