The rain hit the pavement like whispers of something waiting.
Kim Hyun stood beneath the flickering streetlight outside Yeongdeungpo Station, Exit 4, watching the steam rise from the subway grates. His hoodie was soaked, clinging to his skin, but he didn't feel the cold anymore. His mind was louder than the weather.
The message replayed in his head like a ticking bomb.
> "Pick-up point: Yeongdeungpo Station, Exit 4. 11:30 PM. Do not be late."
A few feet ahead, half-shrouded in shadow and smoke, someone leaned against a vending machine.
Hyun squinted—
The figure was tall, broad-shouldered. Cigarette in one hand, head down like he had nowhere left to go.
Then the face tilted up.
And Hyun's heart dropped.
Asher.
"What the hell…?" Hyun muttered under his breath, stepping forward.
Asher looked up too, as if sensing him.
They froze.
"Hyun?" Asher said first, disbelief thick in his voice. "You've got to be kidding me."
Hyun's jaw clenched. "You got the message too?"
"Yeah," Asher replied slowly, pushing off the machine. "I thought it was some scam at first. Then the phone wouldn't turn off, and now I'm here, so…"
"You came," Hyun said, his eyes narrowing. "Just like that."
Asher shrugged. "Didn't have much of a choice."
Hyun's gaze sharpened. "You always had a choice."
There was a flicker of something in Asher's eyes—defensiveness, guilt, exhaustion. "Look, I don't know what this is. I just followed the directions."
"Oh come on," Hyun scoffed, crossing his arms. "You seriously expect me to believe you don't know anything about this? About Eden's Gate? What, you just woke up one day and said 'screw it, let's join a creepy game with no rules'?"
Asher's voice turned colder. "That's exactly what happened."
"You've been gone for months," Hyun snapped. "No texts, no calls, not even when my brother—" He stopped himself. Bit the inside of his cheek.
The silence between them stretched, heavy and bitter.
Asher exhaled sharply, dropping the cigarette. "You think I signed you up for this?"
"I don't know what to think anymore," Hyun muttered. "But if this is some sick setup, I swear to God—"
"I'm just as lost as you are, Hyun."
Hyun didn't respond. He was staring at the phone in his hand, chest rising and falling with barely contained rage. Before either of them could say another word, their phones vibrated simultaneously.
They looked down.
> "Location confirmed. Transport en route. Do not leave."
Hyun's stomach twisted. "Transport?"
Asher took a step back. "That doesn't sound good."
They turned their heads at the same moment—
A pair of headlights appeared in the distance, glowing through the foggy rain.
A black van.
No plates. No engine sound.
Just smooth, silent speed.
And it wasn't slowing down.
"Move," Hyun said quickly, grabbing Asher's arm.
But it was already too late.
From the alleyways on either side, masked figures burst out of the shadows—dressed in black from head to toe, with expressionless white masks over their faces.
Hyun's fist flew out instinctively, connecting with someone's jaw, but another grabbed him from behind, jamming a needle into his neck.
He gasped.
The world tilted.
Asher let out a snarl, elbowing one of them in the ribs. "Get off me—!" he barked, swinging wildly. But he too was overwhelmed, three to one, arms twisted behind his back.
Hyun stumbled, vision going dark at the edges.
"Run—" he tried to shout, but the words came out sluggish.
Asher met his eyes—furious, panicked, helpless—right before a masked attacker slammed something metal across his temple.
Hyun collapsed.
Asher hit the pavement beside him a second later.
---
They were dragged.
Rough hands. Wet ground. The van's back doors opened with a cold click.
No words were spoken.
The masked strangers tossed them inside like cargo, slammed the doors shut, and the van vanished into the dark streets.
No one saw.
No one heard.
The city went on like nothing had happened.
And Eden's Gate swallowed them whole.
---