Chapter Six: Secrets Behind Smiles
The bell rang. But this time, Sheila flinched at the sound.
Everything at school felt sharper, louder, and wrong. The hum of fluorescent lights grated against her skin. The smell of dry erase markers in the classroom gave her a headache. Even the students' voices, once background noise, now sounded like overlapping heartbeats.
She sat at her usual desk by the window, gripping the sides of her chair, pretending she wasn't scanning the room for threats.
This is your normal life, she told herself. This is just high school.
But the crescent-shaped burn on her back said otherwise.
---
Jiwoon entered late.
His steps were quiet, but she felt him before she saw him—a magnetic pull, like the air bent around his presence. He looked different today. His tie was slightly loose, his eyes shadowed like he hadn't slept.
And when he met her gaze—there was something else.
Recognition.
Not the confused, curious kind. But something deeper. Ancient.
He gave her a slight nod and slid into the seat beside her as the teacher began the lecture.
"Sheila," he murmured under his breath, "I dreamt about you last night."
She stiffened. "What kind of dream?"
"You were standing in fire… with a crown of light."
Her blood went cold.
Jiwoon glanced sideways at her. "And I think I was the one who lit the fire."
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⚜️
At lunch, Sheila retreated to the old music room, a quiet place no one really visited anymore. But Jiwoon followed her like he already knew she'd be there.
"You know something, don't you?" she demanded.
"I don't know what I know," he admitted. "Just pieces. Dreams. Deja vu. But when I see you, it's like I've already lost you before."
She stared at him, heart pounding.
Jiwoon leaned against the piano, running a hand through his hair. "My family keeps a record of old legends. Some people call them fairy tales. But they say there was once a Moon Queen who fell in love with a human. And when she tried to rewrite fate, the gods punished her by splitting her soul."
Sheila's breath caught. "And?"
"And one of those soul fragments is here. Now. In you."
He stepped closer, his voice low.
"I think I'm connected to you, somehow. But I don't know if I was your protector… or your killer."
Silence.
Outside, the wind stirred the branches of the cherry blossom tree.
Finally, Sheila whispered, "What if we were both?"
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⚜️
Later that afternoon, something strange happened in Literature class.
Mr. Ahn, their soft-spoken teacher, began reading a passage from an old poem. But the words… changed. Not on the page—but in her ears.
> "Queen of the Moon, beware the blade.
The one who loves you may still betray.
The light within you stirs the dead.
The throne you seek is lined with red…"
Sheila looked up sharply.
Everyone else was following along, eyes on their textbooks. But the voice she was hearing wasn't Mr. Ahn's.
It was inside her head.
She blinked—and Mr. Ahn was staring directly at her.
But not with human eyes.
His irises glowed faintly gold, like candlelight flickering in a cave.
She jumped in her seat. The vision disappeared.
Had she imagined it?
No. Something wasn't right.
At the end of class, as students filed out, Mr. Ahn approached her desk.
"Miss Nam," he said gently, "stay a moment."
She braced herself.
He smiled—thin, knowing. "You're not the only one remembering."
Her heart stopped.
He leaned in closer. "Not everyone who looks human… is. Be careful who you trust, Your Majesty."
And with that, he turned and walked away.
---
⚜️
That evening, Sheila met Hyunsoo at the rooftop of an old bookstore where the veil between realms was thinner.
"Someone at school knows," she told him. "Jiwoon… he's remembering things. And my teacher—he called me Your Majesty. His eyes changed."
Hyunsoo's jaw tightened. "The Council is embedding watchers in your daily life. They'll want to observe your awakening—some to help, most to stop it."
"Why don't they just kill me?"
"They can't. Not until the Moon Relics are reunited. Until then, your essence is bound to both worlds. You're a bridge—and a threat."
She swallowed. "And Jiwoon?"
Hyunsoo turned to the edge of the rooftop, eyes scanning the skyline.
"I don't know who he was in your past. But I know this—if he remembers too much too quickly, his soul could fracture. And if he was your betrayer…"
Sheila stiffened. "I don't believe he would hurt me."
Hyunsoo finally looked at her, gaze sharp.
"You loved someone once. Deeply. And they loved you. But in the end, they were the one who brought your kingdom down."
He stepped closer, voice low. "Was it Jiwoon? Or me?"
She stared at him, stunned.
He took her hand and pressed it to his chest. "You have to choose. And you'll have to do it soon."