[North Busan – Sangcheon District - Park]
It was past dusk, but the park lights burned constant, their buzz humming like a hive. Samuel stood near a bench, leaning heavily on the damp steel armrest. Jace and Seojun flanked him, backs to different entry points, alert but quiet.
Shin approached from shadow, glancing at the others before settling on Samuel.
Shin: "Heard you want her name."
His voice hit almost too soft to be human.
Samuel folded his arms, weight shifting onto one leg.
Samuel: "You said Han Yuri."
Shin met his eyes.
Shin: "She was last seen going into LENS.App shoot. A casting call two hours ago, half a mile from here."
Seojun swallowed.
Seojun: "LENS.App?"
Jace dug through his jacket pockets, pulled out a flyer:
"Opportunity for talent in modeling and streaming – no experience required."
Jace (quiet laugh): "More like groomed for data, not beauty."
Samuel took the flyer, studied it.
Samuel: "Let's go."
--------------------------------------------------------
They moved to the alley behind the park, the path snarled with cables and trash. Three men—lean, young, uniformed with black LENS.App scarves—guarded a side gate.
Samuel froze.
Samuel: "They're looking."
Jace, eyes sharp, stepped.
Jace: "We could scare them off."
Samuel shook his head.
Samuel: "We need them talking."
The three turned, startled.
One stepped forward, confidence deflated by fear.
Samuel moved faster: sweeping kick, elbow strike, shoulder toss. Within seconds, the alley was quiet—but for their ragged breathing.
One man remained conscious. Samuel crouched.
Samuel: "Where are they storing her?"
He tipped the guy's head up, keeping eye contact.
Guard (hoarse): "Storage… basement under arcade. South exit."
Samuel stood, weaponless, cold.
Samuel: "Thank you."
He left the guard at Jace's feet, then stepped toward the arcade.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sangcheon District - Vision Core Arcade]
Inside, machines hummed vacancy. Overhead, a lone speaker crackled static. Jace's boots were defiantly loud in the hush.
They approached the back booths: doors sealed with cheap locks, no guards in sight.
Samuel tried the first handle—locked. He motioned to Jace, who cracked it with a kick.
They walked in. Yuri sat in a chair, gloves bound, hood half-pulled over her face.
Samuel's voice:
Samuel: "Yuri?"
She flinched, looked up. Fear in her eyes cutting clean across the dim space.
He moved closer. Polls and wait times splashed across the booths beyond—some streaming live.
Samuel (soft): "Let me look at you."
Jace and Seojun flanked him—backup, not guards.
The second guard rushed in, stun baton first. Jace moved faster: photon push, shoulder strike. Light fractured across bruised flesh.
Seojun blocked a junk pipe swing and twisted the man around, elbow into the spine.
Samuel calmly crossed the room, removed Yuri's hood. Her eyes darted.
Yuri (quivering): "Please… don't hurt me."
Samuel: "Ctrl9 hurt you. We're not them."
He herded the unconscious guards aside.
Then—key moment: Yuri allowed a single tear. She looked at him.
Yuri (quiet): "Min Joon‑Ki said I could trust you."
The air froze.
--------------------------------------------------------
They bled out into the alley. Seojun ripped a strip from his undershirt, gauzing Yuri's wrist wounds.
Jace stood guard.
Shin appeared, eyes grim.
Shin: "CTRL9's games. They play the head, not the hands."
Samuel brushed his knuckles, gaze soft.
Samuel: "Why Joon‑Ki?"
Shin stepped to Yuri:
Shin: "He treated you like family. He believed you."
Yuri looked from Shin to Samuel.
Yuri (voice weak): "He died after they… did things down south. They used me to write a tribute… made me sign. I tried to say no."
Samuel's chest tightened.
Intermediate emotional beat—Yuri sobs. Seojun steps away, breathing heavy.
Samuel: "I was the one who said goodbye."
Silence, thunder overhead.
Samuel (strict): "We're going south tomorrow. Fully."
Shin raised his hand:
Shin: "Stop."
They froze.
Shin: "You think finding her saves him? You think stopping them saves you?"
Samuel stared, pain behind his eyes.
Shin: "He's gone. Don't draw him back before you avenge him."
Jace gripped Shin's arm.
Jace: "Help us, or step away."
Shin looked heaving silent.
Shin: "I'll help—when you're not trying to save ghosts."
Samuel nodded.
Samuel: "Let me bury him right."
They moved away as night bent low. Shin cleared the alley, lit a cigarette.
--------------------------------------------------------
They reconvened on the same rooftop from the previous night. Rain washed rhythms over the ledge.
Samuel: "Tomorrow, we burn the lens."
Seojun leaned on the edge.
Seojun: "We still going straight in?"
Jace glanced at Samuel.
Samuel: "Their weakness is pride. We hit them at their front."
A rumble of thunder.
Samuel (quiet): "I lost Joon‑Ki once. I won't lose anyone else to cowardice."
They stood in silence as rain cooled them—steady, deliberate, alive.
--------------------------------------------------------
Back in the CTRL9 hub,
A low voice whispers:
"He has her heart. Let's see if he can hold it."
A female voice replies:
"He's still playing by the same rules. When he breaks, we'll finish the story."