The alarm didn't just ring.
It screamed.
A sharp, piercing sound that tore through the sterile calm of the underground facility, echoing through every corridor, every chamber, every hidden corner that had once thrived in secrecy. Red warning lights flashed violently across the walls, turning the once-clean white halls into something suffocating—something alive.
Han Seo-yeon's heart slammed against her chest.
"…Ji-hoon…" she whispered.
She didn't know how she knew.
But she knew.
The man beside her exhaled slowly, his calm finally cracking just slightly. "…He's faster than I expected," he muttered, glancing toward the corridor as distant tremors began to ripple faintly beneath their feet.
Seo-yeon felt it too.
A vibration.
Subtle.
But growing.
"…What's happening?" she asked, her voice tense.
The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached for a device on his wrist, tapping it once. Instantly, multiple screens along the walls flickered to life, displaying different sections of the facility.
Seo-yeon's eyes widened.
Figures moved across the screens.
Fast.
Precise.
Unstoppable.
And at the center of it all—
Him.
Kang Ji-hoon.
He didn't enter quietly.
He didn't sneak.
He didn't hesitate.
The reinforced steel doors at the outer perimeter had been blown open—not shattered randomly, but precisely, like someone who knew exactly where to strike. Sparks still flickered at the edges of the broken entrance as Ji-hoon stepped inside, his movements calm, controlled… but his presence—
Terrifying.
Guards rushed him immediately.
Armed.
Prepared.
Irrelevant.
The first one lunged.
Ji-hoon moved.
A single step to the side, a sharp twist of his wrist—disarm, counter, down. The man hit the ground before he even realized what had happened.
Another came from behind.
Ji-hoon didn't turn.
He didn't need to.
His elbow struck back with brutal accuracy, followed by a precise kick that sent the second guard crashing into the wall hard enough to crack it.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
Behind him, a small tactical team followed—but they struggled to keep up.
"…Boss is not holding back," one of them muttered under his breath.
"Have you ever seen him like this?" another whispered.
"No."
And that was the problem.
Back in the observation room—
Seo-yeon couldn't look away.
Her chest tightened with every movement she saw on the screen.
"…He's going to get himself killed," she whispered.
The man beside her shook his head slightly. "…No," he said. "He's going to kill everything in his way."
That didn't comfort her.
At all.
"Stop him," she said suddenly.
The man glanced at her. "…You want me to stop him?"
"Yes," she said, turning to him. "If he keeps going like this—"
"He'll reach you," the man finished.
She froze.
"…That's not what I meant."
He studied her carefully.
"…Isn't it?"
She didn't answer.
Because she didn't know.
Another explosion echoed through the facility.
Closer this time.
The walls trembled slightly.
Seo-yeon's pulse spiked.
"He's already breached the second level," the man said, glancing at the data on the screen. "…Impressive."
Seo-yeon shook her head. "This isn't impressive. This is insane!"
He looked at her again, something almost curious in his expression. "…You still see him as human."
Her chest tightened.
"…He is."
"Not for long," he replied quietly.
That sent a chill down her spine.
"…What do you mean?"
But before he could answer—
The door behind them slid open violently.
Not smoothly.
Not normally.
Forced.
Metal bent slightly at the edges as it opened—
And then—
Silence.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Ji-hoon stepped in.
Everything stopped.
For a moment—
No one moved.
Seo-yeon's breath caught in her throat.
He stood there, framed by the flickering red light, his clothes marked with dust and faint traces of blood—not all of it his. His breathing was steady, controlled, but his eyes—
His eyes were something else entirely.
Dark.
Focused.
Dangerous.
"…Ji-hoon…" she whispered.
His gaze snapped to her instantly.
And just like that—
Everything else disappeared.
The room.
The man beside her.
The alarms.
None of it mattered.
He crossed the distance in seconds.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice low but urgent, his hands already checking her arms, her shoulders, her face.
She shook her head quickly. "I'm okay—"
Before she could finish—
He pulled her into him.
Tight.
Firm.
Like he needed to confirm she was real.
"…Don't do that again," he said quietly, his voice strained in a way she had never heard before. "Don't ever do that again."
Her hands hesitated—
Then slowly, she held onto him too.
"I had to," she whispered.
"No," he replied immediately. "You didn't."
The moment lasted only seconds.
Because reality came crashing back.
"…You shouldn't have come," the man's voice cut in.
Ji-hoon didn't turn.
Didn't release her.
"…And yet here I am," he replied coldly.
The man took a step forward. "You've seen too much already."
Ji-hoon finally looked at him.
And smiled.
A cold, dangerous smile.
"…Not enough."
The tension snapped instantly.
The man moved first.
Fast.
Faster than any of the intruders before him.
But Ji-hoon—
Was ready.
Their clash shook the room.
A direct collision of force and precision that sent a sharp crack through the glass wall behind them. Seo-yeon stumbled back slightly, her heart racing as she watched them move—faster than she could fully track.
"They're… not normal…" she whispered.
And she was right.
Every strike carried weight.
Every movement was calculated.
Every impact echoed.
This wasn't a normal fight.
This was something else entirely.
Seo-yeon's breathing grew uneven.
Her gaze shifted—
Back to the room behind the glass.
To the people.
To the machines.
To the word in her mind.
Prototype.
Her head started to ache.
A sharp, sudden pain.
"…Ah—" she winced, grabbing her head slightly.
Something—
Was happening.
Flashes.
Quick.
Unclear.
Memories?
No.
Not memories.
Something else.
"…What… is this…?" she whispered.
Her vision blurred for a second—
Then sharpened.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Strangely.
Unnaturally.
Her eyes lifted slowly—
And for the first time—
Something changed.
Ji-hoon blocked another strike, pushing the man back slightly.
"…You've improved," the man said.
"…You talk too much," Ji-hoon replied.
But then—
He felt it.
Something behind him.
Different.
He turned—
And froze.
"Seo-yeon…?"
She stood there.
Still.
Calm.
Too calm.
Her eyes—
Were no longer just afraid.
They were focused.
Clear.
Awake.
"…Ji-hoon," she said softly.
But her voice—
Was different.
"…I think…" she continued slowly,
"…something's waking up."