Cheonga’s fingers twitched.
A faint tremor, barely noticeable, but it was all she could do.
Her body refused to obey.
Her breath came in sharp, shallow bursts as she struggled—desperately—to move. To stand. But her limbs felt like they were weighed down by invisible chains.
Move.
Move, damn it!
But she couldn’t.
A searing weakness coursed through her veins, unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was worse than exhaustion. Worse than pain.
It was emptiness.
Jae-Min watched her with the same eerie calmness, hands folded behind his back. His posture was perfect—almost bored—as if watching a caged animal struggle.
"You’re still trying?" he mused. "Even now?"
Cheonga clenched her teeth.
She forced every ounce of willpower into her body, tried to command herself to stand—but her legs wouldn’t budge.
She was still on the cold, hard ground.
Still powerless.
Jae-Min let out a small, amused sigh.
"Even if you could stand," he said, tilting his head, "it wouldn’t matter."
His eyes darkened.
"Because your gene is destroyed."
The words stabbed through her.
Her breathing hitched.
Jae-Min crouched beside her, his voice lowering.
"Your power is gone, Ye Na," he murmured. "You are nothing now. Just an ordinary, powerless human."
A chill crawled over her skin.
No.
No, that wasn’t possible.
Her body healed anything.
She could feel pain, but it never lasted. Never.
Her body was made to recover.
So why—why couldn’t she move?
Why did she feel so weak?
Jae-Min must have noticed the flicker of horror in her eyes because his smirk deepened.
"Veinwake," he continued, "is not invincible. It is powerful, yes. But it is still a genetic construct. And just like anything created, it can be destroyed."
Cheonga’s breath shook.
A flicker of rage burned in her chest, but she was too weak to hold onto it.
"You should feel honored," he added, his voice almost gentle. "You were our greatest success. And now—you are our greatest failure."
Her body trembled.
Her power.
Gone?
No.
No, she refused to believe it.
This had to be a lie. A trick.
She just needed to move, to fight—
"Ye-Na!"
The voice shattered the moment.
A voice she hadn’t heard in so long.
A voice she had almost forgotten.
YOU ARE READING
When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|
FanfictionBeak Cheonga never expected much from life. Not love, not warmth-just survival. Adopted into a wealthy family that never truly wanted her, she learned how to exist in the empty spaces between their affection. Transferring from Daehwa High to Yusung...
