The night is unusually quiet.
A faint glow flickers in the empty alley behind an old building. For a moment, the air distorts, like reality itself has been pulled apart.
Then someone falls through it.
A boy hits the ground hard, breath uneven as the light behind him snaps shut like it was never there.
"…Great," he mutters, pushing himself up and brushing dust from his black coat.
He looks around slowly, taking in the unfamiliar city lights, the distant hum of traffic, the cold bite of the night air.
"Earth again," he sighs.
He takes a step forward-
And stops.
There's someone standing there.
His eyes narrow, locking onto the figure with quiet precision.
"…You weren't supposed to see that."
The words hang in the air, low and controlled.
Hae-joon frowns, still trying to process what he just witnessed. Someone or something, had just fallen out of nowhere.
"…I think I should be asking you that," he says, crossing his arms, masking the unease creeping up his spine.
"People don't just appear out of thin air. Unless you're Mr. Bean or something."
The boy blinks, clearly thrown off for a second.
"Mr… Bean?" he repeats, almost cautiously.
Then his expression settles back into something sharper.
"And no. People don't."
A pause.
"I'm not people."
Hae-joon lets out a short breath, half a laugh, half disbelief.
"…Right. And I'm supposed to just go along with that?"
"I didn't ask you to believe it," the boy replies calmly. "Only a statement."
He steps closer.
Too close.
"Kim Hae-joon."
Hae-joon freezes.
"…How do you know my name?"
Silence.
The boy studies him, really studies him now, like he's looking at something that shouldn't exist.
"…That's not possible," he murmurs.
Hae-joon's brows knit together. "What isn't?"
Another step closer. His voice drops.
"You're not in any record."
A chill runs through Hae-joon.
"…What record?"
The boy doesn't answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze flickers,sharp, calculating, like something is falling apart in his head.
"…I was sent here to correct a mistake," he says finally. "A deviation."
His eyes meet Hae-joon's again.
"And you…"
A pause.
Something shifts in his expression.
"…you're not supposed to exist in it."
Silence crashes between them.
For the first time—
Kim Hae-joon feels like the wrong one in the room.