When a meteor crashes into Hyunjin's life, it doesn't just leave a crater-it changes everything.
Embedded within it was an ancient relic, a forgotten piece of a lost civilization, that fused with his very being, granting him superhuman abilities fa...
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The rain fell in rhythmic sheets against the classroom window, each drop streaking down the glass in a slow, mesmerizing path. Hyunjin stared at it, watching how the droplets merged, twisting and turning, leaving behind translucent trails. The low murmur of the rain outside filled the room, blending with the faint sound of chatter from his classmates, though it all seemed far away to him. The air inside the classroom was cool, slightly damp from the weather, carrying a faint scent of wet pavement and leaves that had been tracked in from outside. He could almost feel the weight of the weather pressing in through the glass, a steady thrum in the background.
He exhaled, letting the soft sound calm the unease that had been gnawing at him all week His mind was somewhere else—somewhere it had been drifting for days now. The dream. He sighed quietly, trying to push the memory from his thoughts for what felt like the hundredth time that week. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself. Just his anxious thoughts spiraling. But no matter how many times he tried to convince himself, the vividness of it lingered. The man with the cane, his mother's terrified expression, Seungmin's strange presence—all of it felt too real, too raw. It gnawed at the edges of his mind like a splinter he couldn't pull out.
"Alright, everyone, listen up," the teacher's voice broke through the patter of the rain, pulling Hyunjin reluctantly out of his trance. He blinked and shifted in his seat, trying to focus as the teacher started outlining the details of their new group project. The faint scent of chalk and paper drifted in the air, grounding him in the present moment.
"We're starting a group project today," the teacher announced, scanning the classroom. "You'll be working in groups of four."
Hyunjin glanced around briefly but didn't care much who he was paired with. The teacher usually grouped people with their friends, and that was fine with him. Felix and Jisung were already sitting on either side of him, as usual. Felix was tapping his fingers idly on his desk, humming a song under his breath, while Jisung scrolled through his phone, half-listening to the teacher.
Hyunjin let his gaze drift to the rain again, following the path of a particularly slow droplet, feeling the coolness of the weather seep into his thoughts. It was a good distraction from everything else, even if only for a few minutes.
"Jisung, Felix, Hyunjin," the teacher called out, her voice a little louder to be heard over the rustling of papers, "and Jeongin."
Hyunjin heard his name and glanced up just in time to catch the final addition to their group. Jeongin. Hyunjin gave a brief nod, mostly to himself. Jeongin was quiet. That was fine. No one who would make things difficult. But as soon as that thought passed, Hyunjin's mind floated back to the rain, letting it drown out the world once again. The weather had a strange way of doing that—making everything feel far away, as if he was watching the world through a fog.
