Chapter 12

May 5, 2029

New Light Refuge

Seoul, Korea

11:26 AM

The morning began like no other.

I woke up to the light creeping in through the thin flap of our tent. Haoyan was already sitting at the edge of the bed, tying his shoes in silence. I watched him for a moment, his back straight, his shoulders tense, as if some invisible thread was already pulling him away from me. We didn't say much. We never needed to. Our mornings were quiet, steady. A kind of peace we had learned to hold gently, like a paper lantern in the wind.

1:15 PM

We walked to the far side of the camp together, looking for extra blankets. I remember his hand in mine, warm and solid. I remember the way the gravel crunched beneath our shoes. And then—sirens. Far off at first, then louder. Closer. People started running. A woman shouted something in Korean. A child tripped. A crate of vegetables spilt across the dirt path like blood. I turned to Haoyan, and I already knew. I could see it in his eyes. "They're here. The Chinese."

1:47 PM

Seoul was falling. Sirens blared. Gunfire cracked somewhere beyond the camp. Missiles falling from the sky like deadly shooting stars, trying to kill the enemies of their President. Then we heard it—his name. "Xu Haoyan! Xu Haoyan, surrender immediately!" Soldiers. Dozens of them. Faces covered, rifles raised. Their voices carried the coldness of familiarity. Mandarin. They were here for him.

1:53 PM

I grabbed his arm. "We can run—we'll find a way, Haoyan, please..." He turned to me, and his face was already calm. Too calm. "No," he said. He reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol. Small. Black. I'd never seen it before. He placed it in my hands. "There's one bullet, and it's not for them." My breath caught. "No... no, Haoyan—what are you saying?" "If they take us," he said, steady and low, "they'll make me a weapon again. They'll parade me in front of cameras. Say I defected. Say I betrayed China." His eyes burned into mine. "And they'll destroy you for loving me." I was shaking. My vision blurred with tears and smoke. "We can hide—we can disappear like before—" "They'll find us." He stepped closer. "I love you," he said. "I meant it when I said I'd be with you till the end. Even if the end has to come now."

1:55 PM

The camp trembled under the sound of the approaching helicopters. I could hear shouting, boots, and commands in Mandarin. Haoyan pulled out another pistol. I looked at the gun in my hands. I looked at him. Then, I remembered—my school in flames. The boy on the roof. The flag rising above the ruins of my life. That was him. And it didn't matter anymore. "I love you," I whispered. "I don't care about the past. I just want this moment. I want to be with you." He kisses me deeply, reminding me that he loves me lots. We stood together, in the last quiet patch of earth. As Chinese forces surrounded us, we aimed our guns at our heads. He wrapped his free hand around mine.

1:56 PM

Just before the red flag was raised above the last free circle of Korean territory—

We pulled the trigger.

Together.

And in that final breath, in that last heartbeat, Xu Haoyan and Shimizu Yuki disappeared into silence.

Forever.