The wind blew softly as Ji Han stood in front of the library window, watching the gray clouds roll in over the Zone. It had been a few days since that strange mission—the one where they found the glowing crack underground. No one else seemed to talk about it anymore. Even Ha Neul acted like everything was normal.
But Ji Han couldn't let it go.
That strange light, the way his system reacted, and So Min's hand glowing faintly with the same blue and red colors—it all stuck in his mind like a puzzle missing one last piece.
He looked at his system window again.
[Emotion System: Online]
[Recent Activity: Emotion Surge Detected]
[Hidden Status: Core Link - Unstable]
"Core Link..." Ji Han whispered. He had seen that line appear after the mission, but no one had ever mentioned a Core Link in any of their classes.
What did it mean?
Later that evening, Ji Han sat at his desk in the dorm room. The others were still downstairs, but he needed space to think. With a deep breath, he pulled out his old system notes—pages he'd written after first awakening his power. There were sketches, system messages, even thoughts he had scribbled when his emotions got too loud to handle.
Then something clicked.
He flipped to the page where he wrote about Ha Neul copying him for the first time. That day, Ha Neul's System Mirror had responded to Ji Han's emotion system so easily, like it already knew how to.
He remembered Ha Neul's words that day:
"It feels... familiar."
At the time, Ji Han had thought nothing of it. But now...
He opened a new page and started to draw lines.
Ji Han's Emotion System: Absorbs emotions, turns them into power.
Ha Neul's System Mirror: Copies powers of those emotionally connected.
So Min's reaction: Her hand glowed with the same colors. Like a shared response.
"Is it possible... we're all connected somehow?" Ji Han whispered.
The next day, Ji Han decided to test something.
After class, he waited for Ha Neul outside the training center.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked.
Ha Neul looked a little surprised, but nodded. "Of course."
They walked to the quiet part of the garden. Flowers swayed in the breeze, and no one else was around.
Ji Han sat down on the bench and turned to Ha Neul.
"Do you remember that mission? The one underground?"
Ha Neul nodded slowly. "Yeah... you haven't been the same since."
Ji Han looked down. "Something happened to my system that day. It showed me something new. A feature called Core Link."
Ha Neul blinked. "Core Link? I've never heard of that."
"I hadn't either," Ji Han said. "But I think... it has to do with how our systems reacted down there."
Ha Neul looked thoughtful. "You think it's because I copied you?"
"No. I think it's because you could copy me so easily." Ji Han leaned forward. "Our systems reacted like they were meant to connect."
There was silence between them. Then Ha Neul slowly nodded.
"I remember... when I copied your ability, it didn't feel forced. It felt natural. Like I wasn't borrowing it... but like it belonged with me."
Ji Han's heart beat faster. "What if that's what Core Link means? Not just a bond... but something deeper. Something that connects systems themselves."
Ha Neul looked up at the sky. "And what about So Min?"
Ji Han hesitated.
"I saw her hand was glowing too. The same colors as the crack. The same as my system."
Ha Neul's eyes narrowed. "Do you think she has the same kind of system?"
"Maybe not exactly," Ji Han said. "But maybe... a part of the same origin. The same source."
That night, Ji Han stayed awake late, scrolling through old training logs, student records, anything he could find. Nothing explained the Core Link. Nothing talked about the glowing light underground.
But then, deep in one of the archived files—marked as "inaccessible" to normal students—he found a name:
Project Origin: Emotion-Type Systems
His heart stopped.
He clicked the file, but it was locked.
[Access Denied – Level 5 Clearance Required]
But it was enough to confirm his suspicion.
Something big had been hidden from them.
---
The next morning, Ji Han went to find So Min.
She was sitting alone in the back of the training hall, sharpening her weapon. Her cold eyes glanced up when he walked in.
"You want something?" she asked.
Ji Han didn't hesitate. "What happened underground... your hand was glowing."
She paused.
"I saw it," Ji Han said. "You can lie to the others. But not to me."
So Min stood up. "It's none of your business."
"It is my business if it's connected to my system," Ji Han snapped.
She froze.
For a moment, her face softened.
"You saw it, didn't you?" she said quietly. "The system warning. The way the light responded to you."
Ji Han nodded.
"I did too," she admitted. "But I wasn't supposed to."
"What do you mean?"
So Min looked at him with a tired expression. "I'm part of something I didn't choose. Just like you. Our systems... they're not like the others."
Ji Han's breath caught.
"There's a reason your system connects to others," she said. "And a reason mine reacts the same way."
"So what are we?" Ji Han asked.
So Min looked at him with eyes that had seen too much. "We're not mistakes. We're... experiments."
Ji Han stepped back, shocked.
"You mean...?"
"Yes," she said. "Your system wasn't born by chance. It was given to you. That's why you always felt like your system was different.. unusual..and powerful."
So Min looked away. "I don't know much about it myself...so don't ask me anymore."
The room felt like it was spinning.
Ji Han clutched his chest.
His whole life, he thought his system came naturally. But now...
Everything was changing.
And it was only the beginning.
So Min walked away. Leaving him hanging with questions.