Five years. Three suspended. Six months in a psychiatric facility.
Best outcome, they said.
But Ji-hoon knew better. This wasn't an ending. It was the entrance.
Su-yeon had waited in the hallway, disguised. Her voice barely above a whisper.
"Dr. Kim will be interested in you. But don't trust him."
Ji-hoon had asked who he was. Her answer chilled him.
My mother's student.
They arrived at the facility. Sung-hee Psychiatric Center. His mother's name on the building.
Dr. Kim Hyun-woo greeted him with a half-smile, his eyes dead.
"We begin treatment soon. Your case is… unprecedented."
Integration. Instability. Influence.
That night, Ji-hoon lay on the narrow bed, staring at the ceiling. Something about the silence felt wrong.
Next door, someone muttered. "The Shadow King is coming... from the mirrors..."
Delusion? Or warning?
Then—Cold air. A presence.
He opened his eyes. His mother stood at the foot of the bed.
Blood. Gown. Pale skin.
"Mom?"
She didn't answer. Just stared. Bleeding. Black-eyed. Whispering.
"Be careful of mirrors... The Shadow King is coming..."
One side of her face twisted—Became someone else.
Ji-hoon backed away. But she came closer.
"You must complete the integration…"
"Or he will take you…"
The room spun. His mother was gone.
But in the mirror across the bed—A figure still stood. Watching. Smiling.
→ [To be continued in Episode 36]
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