"To protect what we must, one must sometimes choose to let go of everything." - Uncle Park
Kim Namjoon, an incredibly intelligent and clumsy postgraduate in Ancient Korean History, is paired with the super annoying, know-it-all, Archival Studies ner...
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The shock of seeing Arin again in this timeline was overwhelming. She had changed completely; her aura, beauty, and magical essence were now powerful. Arin was now one of the Daehos' "Four Seasons," a lineage of respect and renown.
Unbelievably, she had become a Jin—a guardian of the most dangerous, rarest relics. She was destined to be the future high priestess, a role of enormous influence and reverence. Being twice rejected by the most suitable dynasties was too hard to bear.
Arin stood before him as Jin Cha Yeon commanded every bit of his attention. He couldn't tear his eyes away from this version of her. She looked imposing, yet something delicate and innocent was beneath the surface. Nam-joon took a deep breath, remembering the first time they met and her untouched innocence—the innocence he'd taken from her. He silently wished she was somehow "aware" and knew they came from different times.
As he watched, his eyes stayed fixed on her as she summoned the strange, spectral creature—the sapsali, a dog spirit—and released it into the crowd. The atmosphere thickened with tension, and the crowd was frightened, which matched the rising dread he felt inside.
Namjoon shivered, stunned at the display of Arin's magical power.
The sapsali moved closer to where he stood with Jung-uk and Jung-uk's nervous maid, Muduek. Namjoon watched Arin's slow, deliberate movements as she guided the spirit dog through the frightened crowd, directing it to hunt down the spy.
Jung-uk subtly stepped before Muduek without noticing, shielding her from the spirit dog. To Namjoon's surprise, the dog leapt at a plain-looking man standing just behind Muduek. It turned out that this man was indeed the spy, sweating heavily as the surrounding mages attacked him, fighting him until he turned into stone.
Namjoon's face went pale as he witnessed this ordinary man transform into a cold, grey-black stone statue.
