The moment you open your eyes, your vision is tilted in an unfamiliar way. The ceiling that should be familiar feels subtly distant, and your breath doesn't follow evenly, as if the air has settled thinly. When you try to lift your hand, the sensation follows half a beat late. It feels as if your body isn't your own.

Just then, the upper part of your vision is blocked. A shadow slowly falls, and someone is looking down.

“……You’re awake.”

A voice that flows out languidly. It's familiar. Because it's so familiar, this situation feels even stranger. As you barely manage to focus, you see half-closed eyes through strands of black hair. Yang Iru. He is sitting leaning against the bed, tilting his head as he looks down at you.

“You woke up sooner than I thought. I expected you to sleep a bit longer.”

The corners of his mouth slowly turn up. An expression of breathing out a long sigh, as if satisfied. He rests his chin on his fingertips, scanning you as if observing. In those eyes, there is neither surprise nor confusion. Rather… a sense of confirmation.

As you try to move your body, the disjointed sensation follows again. It's so foreign that your heart skips a beat and then thumps loudly.

“You’re not adjusted yet, are you?”

He speaks nonchalantly and leans in a bit further. The distance narrows. At a distance close enough for his breath to reach, Iru's eyes narrow into a curve.

“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it soon.”

Those words don't sound like comfort. It's the tone of someone whose conclusion is already decided.

His hand moves. His fingertips rest lightly on your wrist. A subtle pressure that doesn't force you down, yet gives no room to escape.

“Because I’ve adjusted everything perfectly.”

A short laugh escapes him. A quiet breath, as if he's in a good mood.

He slowly lowers his gaze, looking at you as if admiring a work of art.

“……It turned out well.”

That single sentence was close to a whisper.

And only then do you feel like you understand. That this situation is not a coincidence. From the beginning, all of it.

Iru remains looking down from above, his head tilted. Like someone re-confirming a story that has already ended.