When he opened his eyes, his body hovered above the floor, weightless, as though he had slipped loose from himself. For a moment, it felt like drifting in a dream, a strange out-of-body haze that blurred the line between waking and memory. The bustle around him startled him back to awareness. Streams of people poured past on all sides, their tired faces stamped with the weary monotony of office life. They brushed by without so much as a glance, their shoulders nearly grazing his own, yet none of them seemed to see him, as though he were nothing more than air.
"This place…" His gaze caught on the orange glow of the Line 3 signs scattered across the platform. The air smelled faintly of iron and dust, and the sound of shoes against tile blended into a dull roar. High above, LED boards flashed the time and train schedules in sterile, indifferent light.
[6:55 PM]
Five minutes before the scenario began.
He blinked, and the world shifted again. In the next instant he was no longer floating above the platform but seated inside a carriage that was far too familiar, its narrow aisles and fluorescent lights pressing down on him like déjà vu.
Inside subway car no. 3707, a man sat alone in the corner. His handsome face was shadowed by lingering gloom, and the black coat draped over his shoulders seemed to weigh him down like armor. He leaned against the seat with the stillness of a statue, yet the heaviness in his expression betrayed a restless heart.
"Just how many more times…" The thought pressed heavy in his chest, each word dragging like a stone.
Yoo Joonghyuk had watched the world end twice. Now, he had returned for the third time. The scenario would begin no matter where he stood, no matter what he did. All that remained to him was the bitter act of watching tragedy unfold again, powerless to shift its course.
The halted subway shuddered and lurched into motion, steel grinding against steel as the train crawled forward. Time resumed its march, indifferent to the man who knew too well what awaited at the end. He sat in silence, but his eyes were not still. They moved slowly across the carriage, studying faces, scanning details, searching for the first fracture in the pattern.
Near the exit, he found it. A man stood rigid, his body tense, his lips moving with broken sounds.
"Heuh… heuh-euh…"
The noise was low at first, almost swallowed by the rumble of the train, but as it persisted, several passengers turned their heads, frowning at the strange interruptions in the ordinary rhythm of their commute. The man's twisted expression bent into a snicker, his eyes darting as though hunting for something—or someone.
Yoo Joonghyuk rose, his black coat sweeping behind him, and in one smooth motion closed the distance. Before the crowd had time to register what was happening, he drove the man to the floor with brutal force, the sudden violence breaking the carriage's fragile calm. A chorus of gasps erupted around them as bodies flinched back and seats rattled under the movement.
On that day when the paywall began, there was a certain man riding on the same subway car no. 3707 as Yoo Joonghyuk.
The subway terrorist, Choi Han-Gyu.
The crowd screamed as panic spread like fire. Some stumbled over each other in the rush to retreat, pressing against the windows, shoving toward the doors, voices breaking in raw confusion.
"W-what the hell?!" someone cried.
"Is this… an attack?"
From beneath the thick folds of Choi Han-Gyu's jacket, Joonghyuk tore free a crude bomb and a lighter. The sight of them sucked the air from the carriage.
"H-hey! G-give me that!" the man shrieked, clawing at Joonghyuk in desperation.
Gasps rippled through the train, followed by shrill, overlapping cries.
"A bomb—he had a bomb!" someone shouted in disbelief, their voice cracking.
"Get back, everyone! Stay away from them!" a young woman in a yellow sweater yelled, earphones dangling from her ears as her trembling hand pushed others back.
Then, with a metallic screech, the train plunged into darkness. Screams fractured in the void, blending with the grinding of steel and the pounding of feet. In that moment of blind terror, a single spark flared. A flame, born from Joonghyuk's hand, cast the carriage in a fleeting glow, a glimpse of what was about to begin.
[7:00 PM]
A sharp Tick! echoed through the world, and everything stilled. In that instant, the air itself seemed to twist, as if unseen hands had rewritten its laws.
[The free service period of the planetary system no. 8612 has concluded.]
[Main Scenario has begun.]
The flames in Yoo Joonghyuk's hand flared, casting a harsh glow across the carriage. Faces stiffened in the sudden light, eyes wide and quivering. Dozens of passengers stood frozen, their fear so raw it seemed to pin them in place.
[Channel #B-7623 has opened.]
[Constellations are entering.]
"You… seriously… just give it back!"
Panic rippled through the carriage. Passengers shoved and stumbled over each other as they scrambled toward the next car, desperate to get away from the lone figure gripping the explosive. Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes swept the chaos, cold and unflinching, while the trembling man before him could only glare in terror.
[Extremely small number of Constellations are getting interested in Incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk'.]
"P-please, don't… don't kill me!"
"Aaaahhhk!"
The massive man loomed in the carriage, a crude explosive clenched in one fist, the cogwheel of his lighter grinding out a steady tick, tick. Each sound wound the fear tighter.
Then the lights cut out. The subway screeched into an emergency stop, plunging the world into suffocating dark.
The passengers' skin prickled, every hair standing on end. A wave of dizziness swept through them, and panic rose like static in the air. Was this really terror? Something they'd only ever seen on the news—happening here, in Seoul? Should they run? Call the police? Or…
[Welcome, everyone. Nice to meet you.]
The rising questions shattered. A strange, shimmering lump of light flickered into existence mid-air, as if rendered by faulty CGI.
"Dokkaebi..". The first time he appeared, someone said so.
With two small horns and wearing a small straw mat, the strange and fluffy creature was floating in the air.
It was too strange to call it a fairy, too evil to call it an angel, and too tranquil to call it a demon.
Thus, it was called a 'dokkaebi'.
[It's getting tiring to give the same introduction over and over, but… Anyway. This isn't a movie shoot, nor is it a terror incident—huh?]
That unknown existence floating in the air observed the situation within the train and broke out into a wide smile.
[What's this? Hahaha! Dear Constellations, do take a look—the scenario hasn't even begun, yet something amusing is already unfolding!]
The dokkaebi's laughter dripped with cruelty, its words stretching out like a cat toying with prey.
[I'm already beginning to look forward to this carriage. May you all show us a most entertaining tale.]
Its horns flared upward like antennae as its small body drifted toward the ceiling, watching the humans below with glittering eyes.
A moment later, a new message cut through the air.
Before the dazed crowd, light bent and formed into a hovering window, its cold letters burning against their vision.
[The main scenario has arrived!]
[ Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value ]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: Kill one or more creatures.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 300 coins
Failure: Death