> **"Don't look for monsters in the dark. They look back."**
> — Unknown
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### **\[1] — A New Name**
At 7:15 AM, a name started circulating in hidden corners of the school.
**Chimera.**
No one knew what it meant. But the people whispering it weren't freshmen. They were second-year delinquents, old dropouts, and gang-affiliated seniors.
And they weren't whispering it with fear.
They were whispering it with *anticipation.*
By noon, Seo Jungho had already been followed by three unfamiliar faces. None approached. None spoke. They just watched.
By dusk, Suhyeon knew something was wrong.
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### **\[2] — Suhyeon's Warning**
"You're being profiled."
Jungho didn't look up from his vending machine drink. "Cool."
Suhyeon frowned. "I'm serious. Some ghost crew is doing recon on you. Probably hired. Probably ex-street-level guys. Organized. Trained."
Jungho leaned back on the bench. "And?"
"And they're not targeting Daniel. Not even Baekho."
Jungho's gaze flicked toward him now.
"They're targeting *you.*"
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### **\[3] — Daniel's Doubt**
Daniel sat across from Vasco in the rooftop garden.
"This Jungho guy… he scares me."
Vasco, sipping juice, nodded. "He doesn't fight like us. He… silences people."
Daniel rubbed his temple. "That's the thing. It's not just physical. When Jungho's serious, even *time* feels slower."
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### **\[4] — Project Chimera: Stage 1**
That night, a truck pulled up near an abandoned boxing gym.
Inside, a man in a charcoal suit stared at a projection of Jungho's profile.
No criminal record. No system detected. No formal fighting style. No public presence.
Yet the footage showed a monster.
"Activate Chimera. Stage 1."
Four individuals received encrypted texts:
* A judo dropout with steroid-enhanced muscles
* A failed idol with hypnotic presence
* A quiet girl with knives
* A bald middle-aged man who used to snap necks for fun
All assigned one task:
**"Make him bleed."**
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### **\[5] — The Knife Dancer**
Her name wasn't real.
No one knew where she came from. But that night, she walked behind Jiwoo on her way home.
Jiwoo sensed it. Turned.
A girl stood smiling with a blade spinning between her fingers.
Jiwoo ran.
She didn't get far.
But she never got touched.
Because a shadow crashed into the attacker from the side.
Jungho.
*CRACK.*
Her wrist broke before she even processed who hit her.
Then silence.
Jungho knelt next to her, whispering:
"Wrong target."
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### **\[6] — Suhyeon's Theory**
"This isn't random."
Jay looked over the maps, pins, and profiles Suhyeon scattered.
"This is a military-style simulation," Suhyeon said. "They're sending specialists, each with a unique method. Testing his adaptability. His tolerance. His limits."
Jay exhaled. "Project Chimera?"
Suhyeon nodded. "Whoever runs it wants to create—or *confirm*—a perfect killing machine."
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### **\[7] — Maniac's Response**
Jungho stopped going to school the next day.
Instead, he visited alleyways, underground gyms, bars.
He asked no questions.
He simply *listened.*
And the more he listened, the more whispers of Chimera reached his ears.
When he found the bald man in an abandoned sauna, he didn't speak.
He just entered, locked the door, and cracked his knuckles.
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### **\[8] — Monster vs Monster**
The fight was short.
But the screams lasted longer.
When Suhyeon found the man, his fingers had been shattered one by one.
Carved on the sauna walls in blood:
**"Tell your masters. I'm awake."**
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### **\[9] — The Observation**
Somewhere in a luxury penthouse, a man in a silk suit watched the footage.
Jungho. Silent. Cold. Efficient.
"Phase 2," he whispered.
Behind him, Baekho stepped forward.
"I told you," Baekho said. "He's the real deal."
The man in the suit nodded.
"Then let's see if Chimera can survive the reaper."
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