The dying light of day filtered through the broken skyline, casting an amber glow over the crumbling city. Kang Hyun-woo moved through the streets like a ghost, unnoticed and uncertain. Though the world had not yet descended into full chaos, something about it already felt... disjointed.
Empty cars stood abandoned in intersections. Stores were shuttered but not looted. People walked past each other with mechanical expressions, as if their souls were stuck buffering. Time itself felt sluggish, like the world was lagging behind a new script it didn't know how to follow.
This isn't how the story begins, Hyun-woo thought, narrowing his eyes.
His Reader's Insight had not activated again, but he didn't need it to tell that the world was changing.
Then, he saw her.
She stepped out from a side street, boots scraping softly on the concrete. Her eyes scanned the area with practiced caution, and her hand hovered near a belt pouch. Her movements were calculated—fluid, yet tense.
Hyun-woo slowed, his gaze locking onto her.
She looks... oddly familiar.
But the memory refused to surface. He furrowed his brow, watching her quietly from across the street.
Then, without warning, a faint ding echoed in his mind, and a translucent blue window popped into view in the corner of his vision.
[SYSTEM - CHARACTER PROFILE DETECTED]
Name: Ji-ah
Affiliation: Independent Survivor
Background: Former medic and part-time courier. Not yet aligned with a Faction.
Threat Level: Moderate
Known Traits: Adaptable, sharp instincts, trust issues
Status: [UNREGISTERED VARIANT]
His breath hitched.
Ji-ah?!
The name hit him like a bolt of lightning. In the story, Ji-ah was introduced far later—during the collapse of the sixth city hub, not here. Not this soon.
The "Unregistered Variant" tag flickered ominously at the bottom of the profile.
Variant... does mean that this version of her isn't following the script?
Hyun-woo tried to suppress the shiver running down his spine. This wasn't just an early appearance—it was a complete deviation from the original novel. The system had confirmed her identity, but something about her presence here felt off-script.
She hadn't noticed him yet. Not fully. Her eyes skimmed over him once, briefly, but passed on without recognition. To her, he was just another face on a dying street.
Hyun-woo lowered his gaze and stepped back into a shadowed alcove.
He couldn't approach her now. Not yet.
I need to understand what's happening. If she's here, if other characters are too... then the novel's progression is completely off-course.
This is no longer just about survival. The rules of the story are changing.
And he was the only one who knew what those rules used to be