"One.. two... three... four!"
Damien took a steadying breath, counting beats in his head. He tried to immerse himself in the familiar groove and rhythm of dance. For a few moments, it worked. Muscle memory took over and he flowed through the moves.
But soon, reality caught up to him. A minute into the choreography, sweat beaded on his forehead more quickly than usual. As he went for a sharp move that used to come effortlessly, a jolt of fatigue hit his legs and his moves became less defined. His balance was off, causing him to nearly stumble.
Damn it...
A soft chime pinged in Damien's ear and a semi-transparent screen flashed in front of him.
[Notice! Skill & Stat Lock in effect. Physical performance temporarily decreased (-75%).]
[Time Remaining: 3 Weeks]
Damien dismissed the notification.
The punishment for failing the task mission was now in full force, binding his abilities. For one month he would be fighting with weights around his ankles. Luckily, whilst he was in the hospital, he'd burned through a week of the penalty. Only two weeks remained.
I wouldn't be struggling like this if not for that drink! He thought bitterly.
"Again. Damien!"
Damien glanced up only to see the dance coach's not so pleased expression. She had her hands on her hips whilst she looked at Damien in displeasure.
All eyes turned to him but he ignored them, only choosing to focus on the instructor.
"Where's the dancer I saw last week?" The instructor's tone was sharp. "You're off tempo, off balance... Damien... You haven't caught up once."
Damien's heart beat hastened but he willed himself to remain calm. Ever since his skill was locked, it had been harder for him to control his emotions which irritated him.
"I-I'm sorry."
The dance instructor exhaled deeply. "Take a break. Come back when your head's in the room."
"Yes..."
Around him, the trainees looked. He could practically hear those unspoken words in the way they stared. The trainee who fainted. The trainee ranked last in the monthly evaluations. Heat crept up the back of his neck, but he kept his expression neutral. He walked calmly to the back of the practice room.
"Alright, let's start from the top!"
He sat down, letting his gaze wander around as the other trainees continued to dance. After a while, the other trainees stopped paying attention to him. Taking a steady breath, he instructed the system.
System, I'm close enough to his bag, right? Scan it.
As much as he was dejected, he wasn't about to let that distract him for his true purpose today.
Evidence.
A progress bar hovered on top of Hajoon's bag that only he could see. Each second felt endless. Damien fixed his face into an absent frown, as if he was concentrating on the teachings of the instructor.
Then he heard that familiar ping.
[Ding! Scan Complete]
So? What did you find?
System: [Host, the DNA that was on your water bottle match Hajoon's DNA. The problem is that this system did not find the rut inducer compound in Hajoon's bag.]
Damien nodded imperceptibly. He had expected that Hajoon wouldn't be so careless as to leave an illegal substance on his belongings. But, that DNA match was enough for him to confirm that Hajoon truly was the culprit.
He was the one behind the sabotage.
But this made Damien wonder. Who exactly was Hajoon? Rut inducers were heavily controlled and for good reason—its volatile side effects, its potency, and its high potential of misuse make it highly dangerous. There were only a handful of ways a trainee could get their hands on something like that.
And none of them were legal.
That meant Hajoon had quite deep connections or was extremely reckless.
Maye it's both.
From what he could recall, Hajoon came from a well-off family, and had been a star trainee for years. Could he have acquired the drug through family connections? Perhaps his family is connected to the healthcare industry. But even then, taking such a controlled substance like a rut inducer from the hospital wouldn't be easy. Hospitals and pharmacies regularly track the medications and substances that they have...
Corruption perhaps? Damien thought. Maybe a connection to the Underworld.
Then his eyes gleamed coldly.
If that were the case, then this is more complicated than I thought...
The Underworld.
Damien never thought he'd run into it. But the entertainment world wasn't so simple.
It was similar to the black market back in his previous world, but rather than a market it was a whole network—a global network that operated beneath governments, legal systems, and public eyes. It was a decentralized international shadow economy composed of illegal trading hubs, unregistered biotech labs, trafficking routes, off-grid communication networks and unaffiliated crime syndicates.
If something was banned, stolen, or forgotten by the law, the Underworld dealt with in it. Nothing was off limits.
It was everywhere and nowhere. No country could pin it down. No agency could shut it down.
Damien heard about the Underworld first when he was at the estate. His father and brother had been talking about business and casually mentioned how the Underworld intervened with their plans. Later on, he'd asked his tutor Emerson what the Underworld was and it led to him slightly fearing his family's influence. Dealing with something like the Underworld with no major losses, the Hertz family was more powerful than he thought.
But after leaving the Hertz Estate, he'd thrown everything about things like this out the window. He couldn't believe that he had to dabble in it again.
Still, it was all just speculation. Maybe Hajoon just came from a background of doctors.
But if this really involved the underworld, he couldn't handle this alone. He'd have to have his family help out. And that was something Damien didn't want to do. Wouldn't they drag his ass back to the Hertz Estate immediately?
For now, he had to be even more cautious. Let Hajoon think he had been defeated. All the whilst, he'd gather everything he needed in secret to one day kick Hajoon out of Starlite Media.
I should gather more evidence. Shall we go?
System: [The locker room, host?]
Correct.
...
In the quiet corridor outside, Damien quickly headed to the locker room. The instructor told him to clear his head, so no one minded when he stepped out. It was also the perfect time since everyone was still focused on practice. Still, he figured he only had a few minutes before the lesson wrapped up.
Damien entered the locker room and found it empty. He quickly headed to his locker and retrieved a pair of gloves and two paperclips that he had brought with him earlier. Then, he walked over to Hajoon's locker and inserted the paperclips into the lock. Within seconds he felt the pins click into place and the lock gave way with a quiet click. The locker door swung open.
"Hah! Still got it."
The system hovered above Damien, curious.
System: [Host, where did you learn how to pick a lock?]
"You don't know? I thought, since you're a system, you knew everything. Is that not the case?"
System: [Well, not exactly, host. Systems are only given basic information by the main system. If a system wanted to get more information, it would have to contact the main system or either do its own research by connecting to the network of the world. In both cases, the information may take time to surface, depending on various factors.]
The system continued to explain:
System: [It would take too long to get an answer from the main system so 110 only uses it for major queries. And since you are not from this world, it would be pointless to connect to the network. So, it would be easier asking you.]
"How fascinating..." Damien murmured. The system rarely talked about itself and how it worked so it made the moment oddly intriguing.
"Anyways, since you asked—I learned to lock pick when I was small. I was locked out of my house. With no phone and with my parents at work I had no one to ask for help. But I remembered a tutorial on how to pick locks online and tried it out. Luckily I had paperclips in my backpack. So, after a few hours, I got into my house." Damien explained while searching through Hajoon's locker.
He carefully sifted through the items, making sure to keep everything in place. And when he found what he was looking for, he smirked. Damien grabbed Hajoon's phone and immediately said to the system:
"Can you copy the data on this phone and transfer it to my computer at home?"
System: [Yes, host.]
"Good. Then do it."
Damien became highly satisfied at the system's competency.
"Done?"
System: [Yes, host.]
"Perfect—"
A sudden sound interrupted his words.
Someone was coming.
And he only had a few seconds.
With practiced speed, he locked the locker again, stuffing the paperclips into his pocket, and hurried to his own locker. He pretended to rummage, quickly getting rid of his gloves in the process.
The door clicked open and Hajoon stepped in, tossing his gym bag onto a bench. He spotted Damien half-turned away.
"Damien, what a surprise. Looking for something? I thought you were done for the day, seeing as you decided to skip the rest of the class."
Damien turned slowly, face impassive. "Just grabbing my stuff."
Hajoon's brow lifted, as if he were puzzled. He stepped closer.
"Damien, if something's bothering you, we can talk. No need for games."
Damien didn't answer. He met the older one's eyes squarely and just stared. At this look, Hajoon laughed.
"What's this? Some kind of defiance? Why are you looking at me like that, Damien? Did I do something wrong?"
The younger clenched his hands. If he fought back now, Hajoon would just get more guarded. But he couldn't hold back the rage that boiled at the pit of his stomach.
Damien gritted his teeth to the point it hurt. He looked down at the tiled floor to calm himself. The more he stared at Hajoon's face the more angrier he got.
"Nothing." He spat out.
"Ha!"
Hajoon's lips lifted in a slow, cold arc, eyes blazing with sinister mockery.
"Damien, Damien..." Hajoon started, walking to his locker and unlocking it. "You're angry, aren't you?" Hajoon grabbed his phone and a few other items and stuffed it into his bag.
Turning back to Damien's pathetic stance, he scoffed. "You should just quit now..." Patting Damien's shoulder, he continued, "Who knows what other unfortunate things can happen..."
This sent Damien teetering at the edge. His whole body trembled with rage. He wanted to claw at his throat and strangle him. He wanted to wipe that stupid smirk from his face.
Seeing Damien's expression, Hajoon was pleased. He backed off, grabbed his bag, and slung it over his shoulder.
"Well, it's been fun, Damien." He turned around and sauntered towards the door. "I'll see you."
Once Hajoon left, Damien fell on his knees, his chest heaving.
Something in him shifted.
...
The locker room door swung open and Hajoon stepped out, donning a euphoric grin. He ran a hand through his hair, his conversation with Damien had left him in a great mood.
A few steps down the hall, something caught his eye. Kian leaned against the wall, arms crossed, leisurely tapping his feet. His hair was damp with sweat and wore his usual serene half-smile on his face.
Kian...
Hajoon hesitated.
The raven-haired teen who managed to climb his way immediately into the top ten in the monthly evaluation. No matter what he did to Kian, he always seemed to escape unscathed. He was observant and knew more than he let on.
A dangerous person.
"You eavesdropping now?" He asked flatly. Hajoon's good mood immediately plummeted.
Kian tilted his head. "Me? I was just standing here. Stretching." He pulled one arm across his chest in a mock stretch. "Can't I? It's a shared hallway, isn't it?"
Hajoon didn't reply.
Kian let his smile linger for a few more seconds before letting it fade slightly.
"You know, you've been getting awfully reckless lately."
Hajoon narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"There's a difference between being ambitious... and being stupid."
"Careful," Hajoon warned, stepping closer. "You don't know who you're talking to."
Kian's expression didn't change. He didn't flinch. Instead, he gave a soft and almost amused chuckle.
"That's the thing—I do. I know exactly what kind of rat waits until someone's back is turned to bare their teeth."
Hajoon's eyes flickered. "You think you scare me?"
"I don't need to scare you, Hajoon. That's not my job." He pasued. "But you should know... if you ever do something to Damien again—" he dropped his smile completely, "—you won't have time to regret it."
The silence between them was sharp.
Then Kian smiled again.
"Anyway. Take care of yourself," he brushed past Hajoon. "Especially now that your tail has grown longer."
And just like that, he walked away, calm and unhurried.
Hajoon didn't move for a long time.
...
Kian was quite worried for Damien. The green-eyed teen wasn't the type to flinch under pressure and sported a strong exterior. But ever since the collapse, something changed. In the hospital, he saw something in Damien's eyes that made him worry.
It was the look of someone fracturing.
He pushed open the locker room door and his pupils dilated.
There he saw Damien slumped down on the ground with the most hollow eyes he'd ever seen.
It was unnerving, cold, and dangerously terrifying.