Ten years.
It had been ten years since the fire. Ten years since her world turned to ash and her name was burned from every record.
Yet here she stood—alive.
"President Joon, the student council needs your approval on this week's event list."
Joon Taerim looked up from her paperwork, brushing a lock of midnight-black hair behind her ear. Her expression was calm, almost cold, with eyes that seemed too tired for someone only sixteen. They were violet—an unusual color, but no one questioned it. Not anymore.
"Leave it on my desk, I'll check it after class," she said, her tone firm yet polite.
"Yes, President."
She watched the council member walk out, then sighed quietly. Her classmates thought she was perfect: composed, brilliant, elegant. The model student council president. What they didn't know was the bruises under her uniform, the way her hands flinched at loud voices, or how her nights were spent fighting monsters rather than studying for tests.
Because Joon Taerim was more than just a student.
She was X-001—the first experiment. The forgotten one. The weapon forged in darkness.
And now, she was a hero.
By night, she worked for the elite guild VALORIS, using a hidden identity and a face mask to fight corrupted beasts and criminals. They called her "Ghost Bloom", for the way she moved like a whisper and vanished like smoke.
No one at VALORIS knew who she truly was—not even the guild's three commanders. She only communicated via missions and never revealed her face. That anonymity was her shield. And she needed it.
Her adoptive parents, if they could be called that, only kept her around for the monthly government check. They made her cook, clean, and smile like a pretty doll in public. But behind closed doors… bruises told the truth her lips couldn't.
Still, she endured. She always endured.
Because enduring was easier than remembering.
Sometimes, in the dead of night, she dreamed of white halls, broken glass, voices screaming names she couldn't remember. Sometimes she dreamed of blue eyes and warmth—of hands that held hers and promised she'd be safe. She would wake up crying, but she didn't know why.
Those memories were locked behind a door she had no key for.
She didn't even remember her real family.
"...President Joon?"
A knock at the council room door stirred her. She blinked and straightened.
"Yes?"
"The principal asked you to attend the school-wide announcement. It's urgent."
Minutes later, Taerim stood in the school auditorium as the principal took the stage. She stood near the front, back straight, face expressionless. The usual.
"This year," the principal began, "we will welcome five transfer students into our school. All five are highly skilled and personally recommended by the nation's Hero Guild—VALORIS."
Taerim's eyes narrowed slightly.
VALORIS?
Before she could process it, the curtain at the back of the stage pulled open.
Five students stepped out.
She froze.
Her heart—long silent—stuttered in her chest.
The first boy had silver hair and piercing blue eyes that scanned the crowd with cold intensity. He wore a slight frown, as though annoyed to be here. His presence was suffocating, powerful—commanding. He looked directly at her for a moment.
Taerim looked away.
The name Kang Juwon flashed across the screen behind him.
Her head hurt.
The other four followed: a girl with sharp amber eyes and a confident smirk, a calm boy who seemed to radiate warmth, a boy with wild energy and a crooked grin, and a quiet boy whose gaze seemed too sad for someone so young.
Names appeared beside their photos:
Ryu Harin. Ryu Hajoon. Kim Yulseung. Im Gyeongho.
Taerim felt her chest tighten. She didn't know why, but something inside her whispered—
You know them.
Then she heard it.
"Kang Juwon. Rank: S. Title: Phantom Blade. Guild: VALORIS. Hero Code: SM-001."
The world spun.
That name.
That code.
Her knees buckled, but she caught herself. Her fingers clenched the podium.
SM-001…
Her memories pulsed like static.
Before anyone noticed her expression falter, she turned and exited the hall, murmuring an excuse.
Behind her, five pairs of eyes followed.
Especially his.
Kang Juwon's brows furrowed.
That girl—her eyes, her voice. Could it be?
He whispered under his breath, "...Taerim?"
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