✧˖°. ࣪𖤐 𝐒𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐧
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━─────── As a top-tier hacker with a government badge, I've handled my fair share of risky missions. I get paid to do the sort of things you'd expect to see in spy movies──tracking fugitives, extracting files from guarded databases, and sometimes even going undercover to grab a laptop from the heart of enemy territory.
I've hacked my way through every corner of the world, only to come home to a lecture about "self-proficiency" from my adoptive father, Han Seijin, who seems bent on ensuring I become a cross between an elite agent and a "model citizen." As he put it, all of these extra "skills" will make me "a well-rounded person"──or more likely, one perpetually on the verge of burnout.
"Eve, don't you dare stay up all night. Look at yourself! You're so thin, and your face looks like it hasn't seen the sun in years," Seijin sighs, eyeing me as he swoops in to collect the empty plates that were, minutes ago, piled high with stir-fried veggies and rice. I barely get a chance to finish chewing before he's cleared everything from the table.
I roll my eyes, muttering under my breath. I mean, seriously, I'm balancing enough jobs to put a full SWAT team out of work, but he's worried about my complexion?
Seijin, in all his half-Korean, half-Chinese elegance, somehow managed to end up in America to raise me of all people. And if you're wondering why he's not off building a life with a beautiful woman and having kids of his own, well, it's because Seijin is gay. Apparently, the "destined son" he mentioned finding was...me, the exhausted government hacker. Oh, and as a fun twist, he's also in a relationship with my boss. Nothing quite like having your boss call you "son" during a life-or-death op briefing.
The door clicks shut behind Seijin, and I settle back in my chair with my laptop. My screen glows with a new game I've been testing out for a colleague named Ellina, who swears it's life-changing.
The game centers around four handsome "capture targets," or, in simpler terms, guys you can woo. Ellina's been raving about it for weeks, and since her birthday's coming up, I've been assigned the task of coding custom effects for her in-game favorites. The only problem? No one will give me a straight answer about what the game's about. I've only gotten vague descriptions like "Jin is just a handsome character kyaa!" and "I'd kill to be in the heroine's place!"
So here I am, pulling my first all-nighter on a romance RPG for "research purposes."
It's... not terrible, I'll admit. At least it's not packed with a million characters──I can keep track of these four. The graphics are so polished they're practically cinematic. Sure, the plot's dripping with clichés, but the fantasy magic element keeps things interesting. You play as Alice Comran, an underpaid librarian living in Levion Kingdom who's on a mission to fund her brother's medical bills. And on top of that, she's supposed to be out slaying spirits in her free time.
Knock knock.
I glance up to see Seijin leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyebrow arched in silent disapproval.
"I told you to rest early." His tone is like a hammer, the kind that doesn't break walls but does wonders for morale.
"I get it, I get it. I'm not a kid anymore," I mutter, attempting a half-hearted rebellion. But one glance at his raised eyebrow, and my rebellion dies on the spot.
He shakes his head with a sigh that says "why do I bother?" but turns to go. "Finish up quickly, then. If you stay up all night again, you won't be leaving the house tomorrow."
A sly smile spreads across my face. "Sure, sweet night, Father."
With a grunt and a shake of his head, Seijin disappears down the hall, leaving me to dive back into my world of RPG romance and monster-slaying.
The story's nearing a dramatic climax when my hands freeze on the keyboard, faced with one of those classic choices that determines life or death. I pause, glaring at the screen. Why does the coolest character always have to die? He's got that lean, "immortal prince among mortals" look going on. If he existed in real life, I might actually consider dating... or at least entertaining the idea of being "bent" like Seijin. But apparently, he's a "supporting character," which in this game means no redemption, no capture route. Just inevitable death.
With a sigh, I close my eyes, hit a random choice, and cringe as the character gets wiped out in the next scene. My gut clenches. Curse this game for not making him a capture target.
Stretching, I yawn, feeling the tension release from my neck and shoulders as I glance around the room. Except...my eyes don't meet my plain ceiling. Instead, a swirling black void has appeared, suspended in mid-air, twisting like a storm cloud.
The hairs on my neck prick up. Veteran hacker or not, I've never been face-to-face with a pitch-black vortex hanging above my bed. And I've seen some bizarre things in my line of work.
"What the...?"
Before I can pull away, something seizes me, yanking me toward the void. I scramble to hold on, my hand slipping off the edge of the desk, and before I know it, I'm being pulled closer, an icy dread filling me from head to toe. One last attempt, and my fingers slip again.
A tear stings my eye as I gasp out a name I never thought I'd call in a moment of terror.
"Seijin!"
─────── · ·End of Prologue· · ───────
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