Ep ---3
The next morning dawned quiet, but Areum's chest still carried the echo of Junseo's command. A word he had spoken and withdrawn, yet it had left her shaken.
She escaped to the hospital early, throwing herself into patient rounds and case reports. But his voice haunted her, curling around her thoughts like smoke.
During a late break, Areum stepped into the restricted archive room, looking for an old medical text. Instead, a folder fell from the shelf, its label faded: Han Family Records.
Curiosity warred with fear. She picked it up, fingers trembling, and opened to a yellowed page written in old Hangul:
"When moon and blood bind, the cursed child shall carry life and death in a single breath."
Her breath caught. It spoke of a child born under a blood moon — the one who would carry the divine power to kill and to protect.
Was this why her father had always kept her at arm's length? Did he know more than he'd ever said?
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That evening, Areum returned to the mansion. She found Junseo in the study, the soft light from the desk lamp sharpening the angles of his face.
She dropped the folder on the table. "Explain this."
He didn't even look surprised. "You weren't supposed to see that."
"So it's true?" she demanded, voice rising. "I'm the child from this prophecy?"
His gaze held hers, cold but pained. "We both are, Areum. The curse didn't choose one of us — it chose us together."
Areum felt the walls of her certainty crack. "And my father? He knew?"
Junseo hesitated. "He was part of the council that sealed the curse's conditions."
Areum staggered back, betrayal burning. "So my whole life, everyone lied to me."
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Silence hung heavy. Finally, Junseo spoke, softer this time. "I've always kept the worst part from you. The prophecy says if we truly love each other, marry, and have a child… the curse ends."
Areum's breath faltered. "And if we don't?"
"Then it passes to our child," he whispered. "Or kills us both."
The truth settled between them, sharp as glass.
She left the study without another word, the sound of her heart drowning out everything else.
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Teaser for Ep 4:
Areum confronts her father.
Junseo faces a hidden enemy in the boardroom.
And an old memory may reveal why their hatred truly began.
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See you in Episode 4!