It was a sweltering summer day, with the scorching sun beating down relentlessly.

I hid myself against the alley wall, quietly tailing someone.

‘How far is she going?’

It had already been 15 minutes since she left the subway station and entered this steep hillside neighborhood.

My expression, which had been neutral as I trailed her, was now twisted into a grimace.

It wasn’t because I was tired.

I was worried. Worried about her, who carried a heavy school bag and made this long trek back and forth every single day.

‘Ah, I lost her.’

I’d been keeping my distance, but I lost sight of her for a moment as she rounded a corner.

Keeping silent, I quickened my steps.

‘Whew.’

Thankfully, as soon as I turned the corner, I spotted her walking off in the distance.

“…?”

Suddenly, she slowed her pace and turned around to look behind her.

‘Oh no!’

Startled, I immediately pressed myself against a nearby column to stay out of sight.

‘…Did she notice me?’

I held my breath. How much time had passed like that?

Swish. Slowly, I peeked out to check the alley.

“Ah.”

As expected, she was already gone without a trace.

‘…What am I even doing?’

A deep sense of self-loathing washed over me as I leaned against the wall of the building with a heavy sigh.

‘A grown adult following around a girl like this.’

That’s right. The person I had been following was none other than my only daughter’s classmate.

It was suspicious behavior, no matter how you looked at it, and I had no excuse that could justify it. But there was a reason a reason I couldn’t ignore.

The truth was, she…

She was the reincarnation of my wife, who had passed away years ago.