Luna showed up at the Hanok Library ten minutes early—half by curiosity, half because she couldn't stop thinking about last night.
The place was quiet, old-fashioned, and smelled like cedarwood and old pages. Definitely not the kind of place you'd expect to meet a guy who threatened to cut your soul connection with magical scissors.
And yet… there he was.
Rae Jin stood by the far window, flipping through a dusty book like he belonged in the shadows. Again, all black. No expression. No words.
Luna cleared her throat. "So… this your idea of a first date?"
His eyes flicked up to hers. "You're late."
She checked her phone. "It's 3:53."
He ignored that.
Instead, he held out a thin, leather-bound notebook. The cover was worn. Inside, written in elegant, careful handwriting, were pages labeled:
The Threadbearer's Guide
Rules. Warnings. Forbidden Bonds.
"You need to know what you are now," he said. "Before you do something stupid."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Like following a red string through the city in the middle of the night?"
He almost smiled. Almost.
She sat down across from him, opening the notebook. Her fingers trembled slightly. There were drawings—sketches of red threads connecting people, lists of thread colors, danger signs.
Rule #1: Never touch someone else's thread.
Rule #2: Threadcutters are not meant to love.
Rule #3: If a thread glows gold, run.
"What does the gold one mean?" she asked softly.
Rae Jin hesitated. "It means fate is changing. And that's never a good thing."
Before she could ask more, her phone buzzed again.
Lola.
Scene Cut: At Home
Luna rushed into their tiny apartment. "Lola! I'm home!"
"Anak, mabuti naman at nakauwi ka na," her grandmother called from the kitchen. "Nagluto ako ng paborito mong kimchi rice. You look pale. Parang nakakita ka ng multo!"
Luna gave a shaky laugh. "Yeah, something like that."
Lola narrowed her eyes. "O baka naman… lalaki?"
Luna nearly choked on air. "W-what?! No! Of course not!"
Her grandmother only grinned, wise and smug. "Minsan, ang pulang tali ay mas totoo kaysa sa iniisip mo."
Luna froze. "Wait. Lola… you know about the red thread?"
Her grandmother just winked.