At midnight, a light came on at the end of the alley where there had been nothing before.
Between the old buildings, a small convenience store appeared in the place where, during the day, there had been nothing but a wall.
The faintly flickering sign bore only two words:
TIME 24
Seo Do-ha opened the door without hesitation.
Jingle.
The bell above the door gave a clear chime.
Inside, the convenience store looked ordinary. Neatly arranged drinks and snacks, a heated display case filmed with warm steam, and triangle kimbap stacked beside the checkout counter.
But the price tags attached to the merchandise were anything but ordinary.
One bottle of water.
Three minutes of lifespan.
A black umbrella.
A fragment of your happiest memory.
A box of cold medicine.
Ten percent of tomorrow's luck.
Seo Do-ha headed for the checkout counter without even looking at the merchandise.
A man in a black suit was waiting for him. He was the store manager of the convenience store, with neither a name tag nor a name.
"You've come back."
The store manager smiled.
"What will you purchase this time?"
Seo Do-ha took an old pocket watch from the inner pocket of his coat. The silver cover was covered in old scratches, and the frozen hands pointed to 11:57 p.m.
"Make this watch move again."
"I believe I told you last time. The time of the dead doesn't start moving so easily."
"I know it requires a price."
Seo Do-ha rolled up his sleeve and placed his wrist on the checkout counter.
Clear white numbers surfaced on his skin.
Three years, fourteen days, six hours, and twenty-one minutes.
The store manager gazed at the numbers, then slowly raised his head.
"Even if you give up all your remaining time, it may not be enough."
"Take it all."
"Then the customer will die."
"I don't care."
The answer came without hesitation.
The store manager's smile deepened slightly.
"Is it really to bring that girl back from the dead?"
Seo Do-ha's gaze grew cold.
"Don't ask pointless questions."
"When it comes to bringing back the dead, there is always something more important than the reason."
The store manager took a transparent glass vial from beneath the checkout counter. A small amount of golden sand rested inside.
"Does the owner of the time want it?"
At that moment, Seo Do-ha's fingers went rigid.
The pocket watch, which had been stopped, began to tremble faintly.
Tick.
Just once.
The hands moved.
At the same time, an old scene flashed through Seo Do-ha's mind.
Rain pouring down.
An overturned car.
A young girl visible through the shattered window.
The blood-covered child was clutching someone's hand.
—I’ll give you my time.
The girl had said it through her tears.
—So you can live, big sister.
Seo Do-ha clenched the pocket watch tightly.
"That girl's time hasn't ended yet."
"No."
The store manager answered quietly.
"That girl's time has already passed to someone else."
Seo Do-ha's gaze wavered.
"To whom?"
The store manager did not answer.
Instead, he looked toward the unlit staff-only door at the back of the convenience store.
From beyond it came a faint sound of breathing, as if someone were asleep.
"A new employee will be coming soon."
"What does that person have to do with this?"
"You should see for yourself."
The store manager closed the lid of the glass vial.
"But I'll give you one piece of advice."
The convenience store's clock showed 12:01.
"Even if you meet that woman, don't get too close to her."
"Why not?"
"Because the time you're trying to reclaim is flowing through that woman's heart."
Seo Do-ha could not say a word.
Tick.
The pocket watch that had stopped moved once more.
And at that same moment.
In a small studio apartment on the other side of the city, Han Se-a woke from a nightmare.
Se-a gasped for breath and clutched her chest.
Her heart was beating impossibly fast.
As if time that did not belong to her had awakened inside her body.
Golden numbers briefly appeared above her wrist, then vanished.
Remaining time: unmeasurable.
Se-a did not see them.
But she clearly heard the unfamiliar voice lingering in her ear.
—I’ll give you my time.
That night, Han Se-a's frozen memories began to move.