Location: Busan, South Korea
The rain hadn't stopped since morning.
Outside, the neon lights of the city bled across the window like melted colors on canvas, distorted by the steady drizzle. Somewhere in the dim alleys of Busan, the hum of motorbikes and the chatter of midnight vendors filled the air with distant life.
But inside the narrow apartment on the ninth floor, there was an eerie silence—broken only by the faint murmur of the television.
She sat at the edge of a worn-out sofa, knees pulled to her chest, her long black hair falling loosely over her shoulders. The flickering light from the screen cast shadows across her pale face, but her sharp emerald eyes didn't move. She wasn't watching.
Her name was Luna.
A girl with too many secrets for someone her age. A girl who didn't belong in this time, this city, or perhaps even this world.
Then—
The screen glitched.
Static.
Luna blinked sharply. The next second, the image returned—but it wasn't the program she had been watching.
It was her own face.
In the middle of the news report, a single frame had flashed—her face, her eyes staring directly at her. And then—gone.
She stood up slowly.
And then came the knock.
Three soft taps.
On the glass window behind her.
Ninth floor. No balcony.
Her breath caught in her throat. She turned slowly.
No one.
But on the mist-covered glass—footprints. Bare. Wet. Human.
Luna's heart raced.
"Not again," she whispered.
She wasn't alone.
Luna stepped toward the window—
Suddenly—
A strong hand covered her mouth from behind.
Her eyes widened in shock, her body trembled. She tried to scream but only a muffled groan escaped her throat.
"Stay quiet," — a cold, deep voice whispered in her ear.
Shaking, she tried to look at his face, but he swiftly pinned her against the wall. A shadow of a smirk curved on his lips.
"You hold answers, Luna. But now is not the time to ask. It's the time to listen."
His eyes were burning red, with a strange, icy sharpness that cut through the darkness.
He wore black, a blade with silver engravings hanging from his waist.
Luna struggled to free herself, but he leaned closer, his voice a whisper of death—
"If I wanted, I could kill you right here. But I didn't… because you're not my target.
You're my question."
Then, slowly, he released her.
Luna gasped for breath, tears brimming in her eyes.
She whispered, trembling, "Who are you?"
He stepped back, that same cold smile lingering.
"My name is Asher. I came from the shadow that swallowed your past."
He glanced out the window.
"You don't know how many are looking for you.
But I came for one reason—to find an answer.
Now it's your turn…
Run—or survive."
Thunder cracked in the distance. The city shook.
Luna's pulse thundered in her ears. Her eyes locked onto his—fiery red, yet hiding a broken storm within.
Silence.
Then Asher spoke again, his gaze fixed beyond the window into the dark—
"I am the name erased from history.
The soldier branded a traitor by his own nation.
The weapon forged only for destruction."
His voice dropped—deep, slow, sharp.
"My name is Asher.
Former Commander of Shadow Unit-13.
Born in war.
Now—I am the war."
Luna froze. She had heard the name before—Shadow Unit-13—an elite, off-record force so secret, even governments denied its existence.
Asher took a step forward.
"You don't realize it yet, Luna…
But something inside you could reshape the world's future.
I came to protect you—or, if necessary…
to destroy you."
A beat of silence. Then—
"Are you the chosen Luna?
Or the mistake that needs to be corrected?"
Asher's words struck Luna like lightning through the spine.
Her eyes didn't waver. Instead, they burned into his.
A single second of silence.
Then—
Asher pulled her close in a flash.
Luna's back hit his chest. Her breath stopped.
His grip around her waist tightened—controlling, firm. His breath was cold against her ear.
"Are you afraid?" — he whispered.
But Luna stared back—no fear. Only a challenge in her emerald gaze.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, slow, deliberate.
Then, suddenly—
She leaned forward.
Before Asher could react—
Her lips met his.
Hot. Sharp. Unapologetic.
Not affection—defiance. A message.
"I am not afraid. I am in control."
Asher stood frozen, eyes dark with shock.
Luna stepped back, a faint smirk on her lips.
"You came to stop me?" she whispered.
"Sorry, Asher…
On this board, I'm the queen. Not the prey."
Asher exhaled slowly. His throat tightened.
"You're dangerous," he muttered.
"More than I am."
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