Chapter 1

In my past life, a guy from my class who had never spoken to me suddenly started saving a library seat for me.

He said the study cubicles were too hard to book, so he got up at 5:00 AM every day and saved one for me while he was at it.

I figured a free seat was a free seat, so I sat in that exact spot every single day to study for my MCATs.

But ever since I started sitting there, I began getting frequent headaches. My vision deteriorated rapidly, and whenever I tried to read, the words doubled.

Three days before the exam, I went completely blind. Immediately after, I suffered a brain hemorrhage and died alone in my rented apartment.

Meanwhile, his younger sister, who had been diagnosed with terminal retinoblastoma and was about to have both eyes surgically removed, miraculously made a full recovery. The tumor just vanished.

It was only after my death that I realized Ethan had taped a "Soul-Siphoning Sigil" under my chair.

Every day I sat there, my life force and the energy from my eyes and brain were being drained and fed directly to his sister.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the very first day he smiled and pointed to that seat in the library.

You want to steal my eyes? Then you two can live in the dark forever!

"I saved this seat for you."

Ethan smiled, pointing at the chair. It was the exact same smile as in my past life.

I stared at the chair.

In my past life, I would have walked over, said thank you, sat down, and slowly signed my own death warrant day by day.

"No thanks, I’ll find my own seat."

I walked right past him and headed toward the corner in the very back row.

Ethan froze for a second, then quickly followed me.

"The light in that row is broken. It flickers constantly and will ruin your eyes. This seat of mine is by the window. The light is perfect. You'll be way more comfortable here."

He really had the nerve to talk about ruining my eyes.

"I’m fine. I prefer it a bit darker."

"Clara."

He called me by my first name.

We had been in the same class for three years, and we had never spoken a word to each other. Yet, the very first time he approached me, he knew exactly who I was.

In my past life, I hadn't paid attention to this detail. In this life, goosebumps broke out all over my skin.

"How do you know my name?"

"We're in the same class, Clara. It's on the roster."

"Okay. Then tell me, what’s the name of the girl with the ponytail in the front row? Or the guy sitting two seats to your left?"

He blinked, caught off guard. "Well, I don't really—"

"You don't even know the names of the people sitting right next to you, so why do you remember mine?"

His fingers twitched slightly, but he quickly forced another smile.

"I guess you just stand out. I noticed you."

Stand out?

I was average-looking, had average grades, and was the kind of person whom professors would take a minute to remember even after looking at the roll sheet. What kind of person would find someone like me "standing out"?

Unless he wasn't targeting *me*, but something *on* me.

I stopped arguing, sat down in the corner seat, and opened my textbook, pretending to read.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan standing by that chair for a few seconds before slowly sitting down in it himself.

He sat on it himself. If the Soul-Siphoning Sigil was under it, wasn't he afraid?

Two possibilities—the sigil only worked on a specific target, or he hadn't activated it yet today.

At noon, when the library cleared out for cleaning, I intentionally lingered until everyone had left, then doubled back.

I knelt on the floor, crawled under the desk, and ran my fingers along the underside of the chair.

The metal surface was freezing cold. I searched inch by inch.

Right in the center, my fingertips brushed against something.

It wasn't paper. It wasn't a sticker.

It felt like a thin, warm, slightly sticky membrane attached to the metal, with a faint, pulse-like throbbing.

It felt alive.

My stomach churned violently, and I yanked my hand back.

A faint reddish residue was left on my fingertip.

In my past life, I only found out it was a Soul-Siphoning Sigil after I died. In this life, I was on my knees, touching it with my own hands.

I pulled out my phone and took a close-up photo. I couldn't tear it off, and I couldn't move it. I couldn't let him know I knew.

When I returned to the library in the afternoon, Ethan was already there. Seeing me come in, he nodded toward the empty chair again.

"Still saved it for you. Sure you don't want to sit here?"

"You get up at 5:00 AM every day just to save me a seat. What's the catch?"

"No catch. Just being nice."

As he spoke, he pulled a bottle of eye drops from his backpack, tilted his head back, put two drops in, and waved the bottle at me.

"Want some? Studying for the MCAT is brutal on the eyes. You’ve got to protect them."

Protect my eyes.

Hearing those words from his mouth felt like a needle piercing my eardrums.

"No, I'm good."

Back in my dorm that night, I went through his Instagram.

His latest post was from 5:12 AM today. It was a photo of the empty library chair with a cup of hot coffee next to it.

The caption read: *Finally waiting for her.*

There were over a dozen comments, all classmates teasing him. But at the very bottom was a comment from an account with no profile picture, under the name "Lily."

Just two words: *Go get 'em.*

The light of my phone screen reflected on my face. I didn't sleep a wink all night.

First thing the next morning, I sent a text to Chloe.

"Help me look someone up. Ethan’s younger sister. Find out which hospital she’s in and what she has."

"You're investigating his sister? Don't tell me you actually have a crush on Ethan?"

"Chloe."

"Okay, okay, I’m on it. You owe me Korean BBQ once I find out."