The feeling of being watched followed Kim Yoon-sung like a persistent shadow. After his encounter with the more-coordinated-than-usual group of Troubles, he couldn't shake the impression that someone was watching him. It wasn't the paranoid feeling that sometimes came over him after an intense fight, but something more concrete, more... intentional.
He decided to change his routine. Instead of patrolling dark alleys and lonely parks, he began moving through more crowded areas, observing people, trying to identify anyone who might be following him. He found nothing conclusive, but the feeling of alertness remained.
The Troubles' growing sophistication worried him. Their coordination and stamina in the last encounter had been alarming. They no longer seemed like simple beasts driven by instinct. There was something else behind them, something that was making them more dangerous.
Yoon-sung decided he needed more information. He'd always worked alone, relying solely on his own skills and instincts. But maybe, just maybe, it was time to consider other possibilities.
He remembered the rumors he'd occasionally heard in the city's underworld, whispers about other people with strange abilities, people who could do things normal people couldn't. He'd always dismissed them as fantasies or exaggerations. But now... now he wondered if there might be some truth to those stories.
He began his own investigation, moving around the margins of society, asking around discreetly, looking for any clues that might shed light on what was happening. He visited some of the places where he'd heard the rumors, dark dives and underground markets, speaking with informants and people living outside the law.
Most people regarded him with suspicion or fear, but some were willing to talk, in exchange for a little money or simply for the opportunity to share their strange stories. Yoon-sung heard tales of people who could control fire, who could read minds, even who could move objects with their thoughts. They were incredible stories, but each one fueled his growing suspicion that he was not alone in this world.
Once, while investigating an abandoned warehouse in the port area (unaware that Ryu Hyuk and Min-ah had recently been there), he overheard a conversation between two men speaking in low voices. They mentioned "the projects" and "the modifications" and spoke of some "agents" who were overseeing the situation. Yoon-sung couldn't hear enough to understand what they were talking about, but the mention of "modifications" put him on alert. Were they talking about the Troubles? Was someone else involved in all this?
As Yoon-sung hid in the shadows, listening to the conversation, a figure ran past him. It was a girl, her dark hair tied back in a ponytail, who seemed to be running away from something. Yoon-sung vaguely recognized her from having seen her in the city before. He didn't pay much attention to her at the time, but the image of her face remained etched in his mind.
The men's conversation ended, and Yoon-sung emerged from his hiding place, feeling a renewed determination. He could no longer continue fighting alone in the dark. He needed answers, and it seemed there were others out there searching for them too. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to put aside his solitude and consider finding allies in this growing threat.