Day One: He tried to unlock the room's equipment but realized he knew nothing about this place.
Day Two: Hunger and dehydration set in, rapidly draining his strength.
Day Three: Realizing his life was fading, he began pounding on the door, shouting desperately, even attempting to break the lock by force—yet all efforts were in vain.
Day Four: His consciousness blurred, extreme thirst and hunger fracturing his thoughts. Chaotic images flashed in his mind—visions of himself endlessly seated here, as if trapped in infinite cycles.
Day Five: He was near death. Weakness overtook him, sapping even the strength to stand. Vision fading, he curled up in a corner, breathing faintly like a ghost about to be forgotten by the world.
Just as his consciousness teetered on the edge—
[Interlude – A Voice That Shouldn't Exist]
In the haze of oblivion, a soft voice reached across space.
"Are you… still here?"
It was neither hallucination nor dream. Just a presence—faint, sorrowful, and impossibly gentle.
A girl's voice, distant but unwavering, echoing through the fracture of time.
"You promised… we'd meet again."
He couldn't answer. He didn't know this voice.
And yet, something in it ached deeply within his chest, like a string being pulled from a place long buried.
The corner of his lip trembled.
Then—
The door opened.
A glaring light seeped through the gap, accompanied by heavy footsteps and an unfamiliar voice:
"…How is this guy still alive?" He struggled to open his eyes, seeing a man in a black coat standing at the doorway, eyebrows knitted together in disbelief.
"…Who are you?" Yu Yong-An's voice was hoarse and cracked, barely audible. The man didn't answer, simply regarding him coldly before turning and whispering into the corridor, "Found him. Still alive."
He had been discovered—but was this salvation or merely the beginning of another disaster?
Alternate World · Tuesday, December 22, 2026
"Found him. Still alive," the man's voice was deep, cold, edged with impatience. Standing at the door, backlit, his elongated shadow created an eerie distance.
Yu Yong-An's body had reached its limit. His throat felt like dry paper, his head clouded by thick fog. He tried to speak, but his parched lips emitted no sound.
"Where…am I?"
He wanted answers, but the question died in his throat, reduced to a powerless gasp.
The man frowned, assessing Yu's condition before turning to someone behind him. "He's alive but in bad shape. Take him now."
"Wait…wait…" Yu Yong-An's voice was faint but determined, pushing himself to ask, "Where…am…I?"
The man's gaze was complicated, wavering with uncertainty before he finally muttered:
"You shouldn't be here."
Two figures appeared at the doorway, dressed in the same dark uniforms, faces expressionless as they approached.
Yu Yong-An could neither resist nor struggle, his consciousness drifting away amidst unbearable weakness. The last thing he saw was a pure, white light emanating from somewhere down the corridor, resembling a gateway to another world.
Then everything went dark.
December 27 · ???
"Water."
Cool liquid trickled down his throat, spreading a chill through his veins and pulling him from unconsciousness.
He opened his eyes abruptly, coughing violently.
His vision blurred momentarily before focusing. The pristine ceiling, soft lights, and faint scent of disinfectant confirmed he was no longer in the sealed room.
Was this a medical facility?
"You're finally awake," a composed voice stated.
Yu Yong-An turned his head, noticing a man in a dark trench coat seated beside his bed. The man, around thirty, had sharp, defined features and intense eyes that revealed nothing.
"Where is this...?" His voice came out raspy and weak.
"A safe place," the man responded simply. "But you'll need to tell me who you really are."
Yu Yong-An's brows knitted in confusion, his instinctive alertness heightening immediately—this wasn't an ordinary doctor's tone but more like an interrogation.
"I'm…" he began but faltered suddenly.
Who am I?
His mind momentarily unraveled before memories flooded back—he was Yu Yong-An, it was May 17, 2024; he was exploring Tamsui, touched the triple-layered cross, and entered deep sleep…and then ended up here.
Today was December 27, 2026.
"…Did you kidnap me?" His voice, though weak, regained some of his police-like assertiveness.
The man arched an eyebrow slightly. "You mysteriously appear here and dare accuse us of kidnapping you?"
"I've never been here," Yu insisted, sensing the man knew something critical.
"Really?" The man chuckled softly, rising from his chair and looking down at Yu. "But when we found you, you'd already been trapped in that room for five days."
"Do you know the passwords to that room?" the man suddenly questioned.
"What?" Yu Yong-An frowned.
"That room is completely sealed. Without correct passwords, no one can access cabinets, doors, or even drinking water," the man continued calmly. "How did you survive those five days?"
The words made Yu shiver slightly.
Yes, how had he survived?
He clearly remembered not eating or drinking for five days, far beyond human endurance. Logically, he should have succumbed to dehydration and starvation…but he was alive.
The man's eyes narrowed sharply, sensing Yu's confusion, his tone becoming graver:
"Your identity records don't exist. Your fingerprints and DNA aren't in any database. Moreover…"
He paused, then delivered the crucial revelation:
"The way you appeared defies every rule in this world."
The atmosphere grew thick, suffocatingly heavy.
Yu Yong-An's breath halted, his heart seized by an invisible force.
He finally understood clearly—
This world was utterly different from the one he had known.