Donghyun is hunted by an unknown assailant, stabbed, and falls to his death from a cliff in agonising pain.
Yet the next morning, he wakes up inside the derelict facilities of an abandoned school called “Bareun School”. He remembers nothing but his own name.
And death repeats itself, over and over.

The story follows Han Dong-hyun, a teenager who wakes up in a remote, mountainous facility called "Bareun School" with no memory of his past, other than his name. The school is an isolated reformatory for "the worst high school students in the country," governed by a violent warden known as "Mad Dog."

The Infinite Loop of Death Dong-hyun soon discovers he is trapped in a terrifying temporal anomaly. Every night, regardless of his actions, he is hunted by three masked figures—revealed to be his fellow students Kim Do-yun, Han Je-ah, and a third accomplice—who brutally murder him. Upon his death, he resets to the morning of June 26th.

The Seven Stars On Dong-hyun's right forearm is a tattoo of seven stars. With every death and subsequent reset, one star fades. This serves as a countdown to a finality he does not yet understand. As the loop repeats, Dong-hyun suffers the physical and psychological trauma of every stabbing and fall, which he carries into each "new" day.

Uncovering a Dark Past Through interactions with his roommate Why man (Park Kang-seop) and the school's psychological counselor, Dong-hyun begins to piece together the identity he lost. Far from being an innocent victim, he was the mastermind behind "Weak-to-Weak," a sophisticated drug-trafficking ring that operated within schools. He was a brilliant hacker who developed a cryptocurrency payment system for drugs and used blackmail to drive other students to suicide. Most notably, he is accused of murdering his childhood friend, Kang Yun-seop, who wanted to quit the gang.

The Revelation of the Judge Dong-hyun eventually identifies the mastermind behind his torment: Oh Yun-seong, an editor for a crime magazine who visits the school as a lecturer. Oh is the true identity of "Karma," the person running this "Place of Judgment." The loop is not a mere dream but a state of psychological and pharmacological punishment designed to make Dong-hyun experience the pain of his victims.

The Final Judgment In the climax, Dong-hyun realizes the "Bareun School" loop is a manifestation of his own guilt and a literal trial. The stars represent the number of times he must die to pay for his crimes. The novel ends on a chilling note: after the seventh star fades, Dong-hyun "wakes up" as a survivor of a plane crash on a deserted island, only to find a new set of seven stars on his arm, suggesting that the cycle of retribution is eternal and takes many forms.

Principal Characters：

• Han Dong-hyun (The Protagonist): Initially portrayed as a confused victim of amnesia, he is revealed to be a cold-blooded criminal mastermind. His journey is one of forced self-reflection as he is confronted with the visceral reality of his own cruelty.
• Oh Yun-seong (The Judge/Karma): An authoritative figure who believes that "people cannot be fixed." As the editor of Monthly Detective, he uses his knowledge of Dong-hyun's crimes to facilitate a supernatural or drug-induced trial. He acts as the ultimate antagonist and arbiter of justice."
• "Mad Dog" (The Warden): A violent instructor who forces students to admit they are "trash." He is later revealed to be an accomplice to Oh Yun-seong in managing the facility of judgment.
• Why man (Park Kang-seop): Dong-hyun’s roommate, an idol trainee involved in fraud and drug distribution. He provides the first clues about Dong-hyun’s past and fears Dong-hyun’s return to his former, more dangerous self.
• Kim Do-yun & Han Je-ah: Delinquent students trapped in the same facility. In the loop, they serve as Dong-hyun's executioners, driven by their own resentments and manipulated by "Karma."

Jeong Myeong-seop

Born in 1973, Jeong Myeong-seop is a prolific and award-winning author of historical mysteries and thrillers. He won the Grand Prize at the Korean Mystery Literature Awards in 2020 for Death in the Tomb. His works are known for their fast-paced plots and incisive social commentary, making him one of the most respected voices in modern Korean genre fiction.