When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 2

I couldn't move.

Couldn't speak.

Couldn't think.

His voice. His face. His presence.

It was all the same.

But at the same time, different.

He looked like someone who belonged in expensive places, with expensive cars, and an expensive life far from the world we had once shared.

And the worst part—

He didn’t recognize me.

Han Wool exhaled sharply and bent down, gathering my scattered books and coat from the ground. He dusted them off before holding them out to me.

"At least pretend to be careful next time," he muttered.

My fingers trembled as I took them from him.

This wasn’t a dream.

This wasn’t my imagination.

He was real.

And he had no idea who I was.

I watched, frozen, as he turned to leave, walking back toward his car.

"Next time, don’t be reckless," he said over his shoulder.

Something inside me snapped.

I lunged forward before I could think—my hand wrapping around his arm.

Han Wool stopped.

Slowly, he turned, his brows furrowing. His gaze flickered to my hand, then to my face, his expression unreadable.

"Han Wool," I breathed.

For a split second, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes.

Recognition.

Memory.

Something.

But then, it was gone.

His brows knit together. "What? How do you know my name?"

My grip tightened.

"Han Wool," I repeated, my voice trembling. "Why are you pretending like you don’t know me?"

His stare turned colder. More confused.

"I don’t know you," he said flatly.

The words felt like a punch to the stomach.

I stared at him, my throat burning.

This wasn’t happening.

This couldn’t be happening.

A voice from the car broke the silence.

"Hey, dude, are you gonna stay there all day?"

Han Wool exhaled, shaking his head slightly as if shaking off an annoying thought.

"I’m coming," he called back. Then, with one last glance at me—still filled with confusion—he turned and walked away.

I stood frozen, my feet glued to the pavement as the car door shut.

The engine roared.

And just like that—

He was gone.

I stood there.

Frozen.

The world around me blurred—the distant honks, the chattering pedestrians, the cool morning breeze brushing against my skin. None of it registered.