"…and I'm just saying, it's stupid."
Kang Jin-Woo didn't look up.
The plastic grocery bag sat on the table between them, its thin legs bowed slightly under the weight. The apartment smelled the same as it always had of instant ramen and fabric softener that wasn't his. Everything was exactly where it should be.
Yet none of it made sense.
His eyes were unfocused, fixed on a spot just past Seo Hye-Rin's shoulder. Images crashed through his mind without warning, overlapping and sharp, ice swallowing streets whole, blood steaming on snow, her face twisted with fury as spikes tore through his body. The cold. Endless, suffocating cold.
"Are you even listening to me?" Hye-Rin snapped.
Jin-Woo blinked.
The room came back into focus in fragments. The table. The bag. Her arms crossed, weight on one hip, irritation already blooming on her face.
"…What?" he asked.
She stared at him like he'd personally insulted her. "Wow. Seriously?" She jabbed a finger toward the table. "I said it's stupid. You bought that dumb shit again."
His gaze followed her finger.
Manga. Neatly stacked. Exactly the same as last time.
Something twisted in his chest.
"I told you not to buy anymore," she went on, voice sharp. "And you just keep doing it like what I say doesn't matter. We need more money."
Jin-Woo stood up so suddenly the chair scraped loudly against the floor.
The movement surprised them both.
"If you're worried about money," he said flatly, the words coming out before he'd fully thought them through, "then get a job."
Silence.
Hye-Rin's expression froze. Anger flashed hot and bright, but she swallowed it down, jaw tightening instead. She let out a long breath through her nose, then turned away from him.
"Whatever," she muttered.
That was when the light appeared.
It bloomed above the table without sound or warning, soft and clean and impossibly out of place. The apartment dimmed around it, like the world itself was giving it space.
Jin-Woo went still.
His heart didn't race. He didn't laugh. He didn't feel excitement or fear.
He felt certainty.
This wasn't a dream.
It hadn't been a dream.
The memories that had been crashing into him finally settled, snapping into place like pieces of a puzzle he'd already finished once before. The argument. The light. The choice. The week that followed. The end of the world.
The interface flattened into view.
[SELECT ONE.]
[DECIDE AMONGST YOURSELF.]
Hye-Rin turned back toward the table, irritation momentarily forgotten. "Okay," she said slowly. "Now what the hell is this?"
She stepped closer, curiosity winning out just like before.
Two symbols hovered beneath the text. One blue. One red.
"Is it a hologram?" she asked, reaching out.
"Careful-" Jin-Woo started.
Her fingertip brushed the blue.
The world shifted.
A personal screen unfolded in front of her, close enough to paint her face in pale light.
[CRYO SYSTEM]
[Authority Granted: Ice / Cold Manipulation]
Hye-Rin sucked in a breath. "Oh my God."
Her eyes lit up, the reflection of frost dancing across her pupils. "Did you see that? Jin-Woo, did you—"
"I see it," he said.
She laughed, bright and breathless. "This is insane. This is like… like Elsa." She lifted her hand, watching frost trace along her fingers before fading. "I can make ice."
Jin-Woo touched the red symbol.
[PYRO SYSTEM]
[Authority Granted: Heat Manipulation]
The warmth bloomed in his chest, familiar and unwelcome all at once.
Hye-Rin was still staring at her hand, mesmerized. "Ice is so pretty," she said. "It's elegant. Powerful."
He watched her carefully.
"Do you remember what happened to Elsa?" he asked.
She frowned, glancing at him. "What?"
"In the movie," he said calmly. "Everyone was afraid of her. She got blamed for everything that went wrong. People didn't see magic. They saw danger."
"That's just a movie."
"Is it?" he asked. "Ice is cold. People associate it with death. With things stopping. With winter." He paused. "Fire is warmth. Light. Survival."
She hesitated.
"I don't want you being scared," he continued, voice steady. "Or blamed. Ice makes people nervous. Fire makes them feel safe."
Her brows knit together. Confusion crept in, followed by doubt. "But ice is stronger, isn't it?"
"Stronger isn't always better," he said. "Fire is visible. Admired. People gather around it." He met her eyes. "Ice makes you stand alone."
The System pulsed.
[CONFIRM SELECTION?]
Jin-Woo didn't answer.
He selected NO.
The interface reset.
He guided the switch carefully, deliberately. This time, Hye-Rin touched the red. The glow around her shifted, warmer, brighter. She smiled again, this time without hesitation.
[CONFIRM SELECTION?]
He confirmed.
The choice locked.
The cold brushed through Jin-Woo's body, deeper than before. Heavy. Demanding. Not painful, but it carried weight, like a promise that wouldn't be easy to keep.
He accepted it.
The System went silent.
The light vanished.
The apartment was the same as it had been moments ago. Same walls. Same smells. Same cramped space she hated.
Jin-Woo slowly looked around, his mind already working.
One week, he only had one week to prepare.
He exhaled, steadying himself.
This time, he would be ready.