Asian Headquarters of ARCADE — Seoul, South Korea
General Supervision Department
The air in the conference room was thick with tension. Cold ceiling lights shone down on the serious faces of the supervisors, reflecting off the multiple screens displaying real-time data. The intermittent clatter of keyboards echoed, and the low murmur of programmers arguing in the hallway filtered in faintly.
Sung Kang, sitting upright with his eyes locked on the tablet in his hands, broke the silence:
—"We've received a report from the Programming and Support Department."
The others turned toward him. Some, like Li Yuan, crossed their arms; others, like Takeshi Hamada, leaned in with interest.
—"The report indicates an anomaly involving Mob 858191 after a sequence of events. We suspect the program has developed advanced AI and, worse..."Sung Kang inhaled deeply, frowning."...it's blocked all access to its source code."
A soft murmur of disbelief rippled through the room. Fernán Lodeira scoffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
—"How the hell does a filler program develop artificial intelligence?" he asked, skeptical."I know that team. They're top tier. How could this have gotten out of hand?"
Takeshi Hamada, resting one elbow on the table, snapped his fingers with excitement and grinned.
—"We'll have to verify, of course. But seriously, isn't this kind of... exciting?"His eyes gleamed as his hands gestured midair, full of life."A program developed AI and is defying its original parameters? This is straight out of a movie."
Li Yuan rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed.
—"You and your crap, Hamada..." she muttered."You're such a geek. Sure, this is anomalous—but we need to restore system order, fast."
She placed a hand flat on the table and leaned in, her gaze sharp.
—"Can you imagine the public backlash if this gets out? What will players say, after waiting so long for this release?"
Sung Kang nodded slowly, rubbing his temple.
—"Miss Li is right. If this programming failure goes public, it'll seriously damage the game's credibility."
Takeshi raised his hands in a mock-surrender, smirking.
—"Hey, being Japanese doesn't make me an otaku, alright?" he said, resting his arm on his chair and arching a brow."I like novels, manga, and anime, sure—but that doesn't make me one. Stop stereotyping me."
Li Yuan crossed her legs elegantly and scoffed.
—"That's literally the definition of otaku, dumbass."She leaned back with a smirk."And let's be honest, everyone here at Arcade was recruited because we're hackers, coders, geeks, otakus, or gamers. So yeah—I'm keeping the stereotype."
—"Please shut up. Same shit every day," grumbled Sung Kang, rubbing his forehead."Let's focus on the real issue, okay?"
Right then, a calm, slightly amused voice cut through the room:
—"Lively as always today..."
Everyone instantly turned, straightening in their seats.
—"Vice President!" they said in unison.
Choi Wonyoung walked in at a leisurely pace, hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket. His relaxed demeanor contrasted with the sharp gleam in his eyes—the hallmark of his well-known brilliance.
—"What happened? Why the stress?"
Sung Kang was about to answer when Choi raised a hand to silence him.
—"Sigh... When are you all going to drop the formalities?" he said, shaking his head."I'm just a programmer like you—and a massive gamer. Just call me Choi."
Li Yuan hesitated.
—"U-understood, Mr. Wonyoung."
Choi's face twisted into mock disgust.
—"Damn it, not 'Mr.' either! I'm only 38, not ancient."
Li Yuan swallowed hard.
—"Got it… Master Choi."
He sighed again but accepted the compromise.
—"Not my favorite, but better than 'Mister'. Alright. Supervisor Sung Kang, give me the rundown."
Sung Kang explained the situation in full detail. Choi listened silently, arms crossed, fingers tapping on his elbow. Occasionally, he pursed his lips or tilted his head thoughtfully.
Once the report ended, Choi rubbed his chin, falling into deep thought.
—"Give me a sec..."He pulled out his phone and stepped aside."I need to speak with Supervisor Glenn directly."
—"Understood, Choi," they responded in chorus.
He whipped around, glare intense.
—"NOT Mister!" he snapped."I'm out of here!"
He stormed out.
Takeshi laughed and leaned on the table, resting his chin in his palm.
—"Man… Choi really is sensitive about his age."
Li Yuan crossed her arms.
—"You wouldn't know. You've only been here a week."Her tone softened, almost reverent."Choi Wonyoung is a legend."
The rest nodded in solemn agreement.
—"At sixteen, he was already one of the top programmers in the world. Every gaming and cybersecurity company tried to recruit him."
—"I know…" murmured Takeshi with admiration."My idol… Shimamoto-sama…"
A few minutes later, Choi returned, looking thoughtful, and dropped into his seat.
—"I just had a serious talk with Glenn…" he said, fingers interlaced."While the anomaly was caused by a few strange in-game objects, the way this program acquired them… is still unknown."
Everyone held their breath.
—"I've concluded that this NPC won't harm the game's popularity. In fact…"He paused, then smirked."Glenn suspects the same: this anomaly might make the game even more exciting."
Li Yuan raised a brow.
—"But Choi, that could completely derail the story's original plot."
Choi's eyes gleamed with mischief.
—"Exactly. Improvisation makes it better."
—"Do you want us to monitor it... as if it were a player?" asked Fernán Lodeira.
—"No…" Choi narrowed his eyes."I want full observation. I want to see how it interacts with players and NPCs. And above all, I want to know how it obtained those objects."
The supervisors exchanged wary glances.
—"Understood, Vice President."
—"IT'S NOT VICE PRESIDENT, DAMN IT!"
An Emotional Visit
The hospital remained quiet. Only the soft footsteps of nurses and the steady beep of monitors echoed through the halls.
In the darkness of the room, a cloaked figure slipped in silently, gently shutting the door behind her.
She stood still, just watching.
Brian Dreifus lay motionless.His breathing was calm, his face relaxed… completely unaware of the world around him.The faint glow of the machines illuminated his pale skin.It was the first time she had ever seen him so vulnerable.
With a soft breath, she lowered her hood.Long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders.Her eyes, heavy with restrained emotion, studied every feature of his face.She slowly approached the bed.
—"You don't remember me…" she whispered, with a sad smile.
Saying it out loud hurt more than she expected.
She reached out, hesitated—then gently ran her fingers over the back of his hand.His skin felt cold under hers. The contact made her shiver.
—"But I remember you," she continued, voice trembling."I was there, in the stands, when you played your last championship in Kyoto."
Her lips curled into a nostalgic smile, but her eyes reflected something deeper—hidden pain.
—"I watched how you played… how you inspired people.Your ego, your attitude—it pushed people away.But to me… you were mesmerizing.Every move with the ball was art in motion."
Her voice faltered. She closed her eyes, reliving the memory burned into her soul.
—"And I saw it end. The moment it happened.The injury.Your spine…"Her hand trembled on his.
—"I saw you fall.Saw your tears…And that pain—it shattered something in me too."
She bit her lip, holding back the weight in her chest.
—"Even though I went to another school, I admired you… always from afar.I kept hoping maybe… someday, we'd meet."
She turned her gaze to the city lights flickering outside the window.
—"Two years ago… when I found out you bought the company I work for…"She let out a joyless laugh."I thought it was fate.Finally… a reason to get close."
Her fingers now traced gently down his wrist, trying to memorize the feel of him.
—"But then… I found out you already had someone.It shattered my little illusion, Murphy-kun."
The room fell into a thick silence—cut only by her shaky breath.
She reached up, caressing his cheek with trembling fingers.Tracing the lines of a face she knew too well.
—"But now… when you wake and see Lilian Rhymes' betrayal…"
Her lips parted.Her heart pounded against her ribs.
—"I-I…I now have hope.Hope that I can ease the pain in your heart."
The air thickened.She leaned in slowly, eyes closed, as her face drew near to his.
Their breaths mingled.
And then, she kissed him.
A soft, fleeting touch—almost not real.Her lips trembled against his.A silent plea he couldn't answer.
When she pulled away, a shiver passed through her.She stayed a moment longer, staring at him—committing his sleeping face to memory.
With one last breath, she stood tall, adjusted her cloak, and slipped away.
The door clicked shut behind her,Leaving behind only the cold stillness of the room—And the quiet promise of an uncertain future.