Late afternoon.
The school bell had long rung, yet Areum remained near the gates, hiding behind a tree.
Her heart pounded—not from fear, but from something else.
Curiosity. Obsession. A strange pull.
Raon had walked out of the school twenty minutes ago. But he didn't go home. He didn't take the bus.
He took the back road—the one that led toward the abandoned science facility near the edge of town.
"What are you hiding, Raon?"
She followed, careful, silent.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Lee Daehyun paced the rooftop, his phone to his ear.
"I need a favor," he said coldly. "Yeah. That guy from Class 6—the one with the gang tattoos."
A pause.
"Tell him I'll pay. I want him to… pressure someone."
Another pause.
"No, not hurt. Just make him bleed. Let's see how 'perfect' Raon really is."
He hung up.
His eyes blazed.
---
Back to Areum—
She crouched behind a broken vending machine as Raon entered the old lab building.
Time passed.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Fifteen.
She crept forward, slipping through a half-broken side door.
The inside was coated in dust. Old research equipment. Broken glass. Faded chemical warnings on the walls.
She heard something. Voices?
A low hum. Machinery?
She peeked around a corner—and froze.
---
Raon was alone.
He stood before a flickering console—an old neural scanner, lit with custom code only he could write.
His hand hovered over a panel, inserting a memory drive. Screens flashed.
She couldn't make out the details, but—
"Is that… a brain scan?"
Her breath caught.
Raon turned.
His eyes locked onto hers.
For a moment, silence.
Then he smiled—not startled. Not angry.
Amused.
"Following me, Areum?"
---
Areum stammered. "I—was just—worried about you…"
He walked toward her, slowly.
Calm. Confident.
With every step, she felt her heartbeat quicken—not just from fear, but from something deeper. Something she didn't understand.
Raon stopped right in front of her.
"I won't bite," he said softly.
"But you will lie," she whispered.
His smile widened, and for a flash—the smile dropped. A blank, surgical coldness passed through his eyes.
Then it was back. Warm. Gentle.
"Go home, Areum."
She did.
But she didn't forget.
---
Elsewhere, that night.
A boy in a hoodie waited behind the gym building. He cracked his knuckles.
He wasn't a student here. Just muscle-for-hire.
"Find the Raon kid," he muttered. "Break him a little."
What he didn't know?
Raon was already behind him.
---
Final Panel:
The gang boy's body slumped against the wall, unconscious.
Raon wiped his knuckles, unfazed.
> [Threat Level: Removed
Instability in Lee Daehyun: Rising
Areum's Curiosity: Unstable]
Raon looked up at the moon.
"Let the game begin."
---