SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: You are reading [Threshold Walker: The Silver Circuit]
"Hey, Jin! Wake up!"
Jin Hyeon jerked his head up from the supply closet shelf where he'd been dozing. A small puddle of drool had formed on the metal surface.
'Great. Totally professional.'
Nurse Yoon stood in the doorway, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly. Her perfectly pressed uniform made Jin's rumpled scrubs feel even more disheveled.
"Third time this week I've caught you sleeping on shift," she said, tapping her foot. "The new department head starts today. Try not to embarrass the entire orderly staff, hmm?"
Jin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sorry. Didn't sleep well last night."
"Nightmares again?" Her expression softened slightly.
He nodded, surprised she remembered him mentioning it. "Always the same one. The hospital, silver lines everywhere, and—"
"And talking about it is making you later for rounds," Nurse Yoon cut in, but her tone was gentler now. "Room 307 needs fresh towels, and Dr. Lee wants you to help move a patient to radiology."
"On it."
Jin grabbed his cart and hurried into the corridor. Haeun University Hospital was already bustling with morning activity—doctors making rounds, visitors arriving, other orderlies pushing gurneys and equipment.
'Just another normal day in a normal hospital where nothing weird ever happens,' Jin thought, trying to convince himself.
The nightmares had started exactly twenty-eight days ago. Always the same—silver lines, the woman in the lab coat, his father's voice. And now he was seeing flickers of those lines while awake.
Jin shook his head. 'Focus on work. Bills don't pay themselves.'
He turned the corner toward Room 307 and nearly crashed his cart into a woman standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Whoa!" Jin swerved, barely avoiding her. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"
The words died in his throat.
The woman wore a pristine white lab coat over elegant professional clothes. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, and intelligent eyes studied him from behind stylish glasses. The hospital ID clipped to her coat read "Dr. Ha Ji-Ah, Neurology Department Head."
Jin's cart slipped from his grasp, crashing to the floor and spilling towels everywhere.
It was her—the woman from his dreams.
Dr. Ha tilted her head slightly. "Are you alright?"
"Y-you're..." Jin couldn't form a coherent sentence. This was impossible.
She frowned, seeming to study him more closely. "Have we met before?"
Before Jin could answer, a sharp pain lanced behind his eyes. He winced, pressing his palm against his temple.
The silver lines appeared again—faint outlines around the edges of doors, windows, and oddly, around Dr. Ha herself.
"Are you experiencing a headache?" Dr. Ha stepped closer, her clinical gaze assessing him. "Visual disturbances? How long has this been happening?"
Jin backed away. "I need to go."
"Wait—" She reached for his arm, but Jin was already moving, abandoning his cart and hurrying down the corridor.
'This can't be happening. She can't be real.'
He ducked into a bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. The silver lines were still there when he looked in the mirror, fainter but persistent.
'Get it together, Jin. You're not losing your mind.'
Someone knocked on the bathroom door. "Orderly Jin? Dr. Ha would like to speak with you."
Jin froze. How did she know his name? He hadn't been wearing his ID badge.
Just like in the dream.
He dried his face with a paper towel and opened the door. An administrative assistant stood there, looking impatient.
"Dr. Ha asked to see you in her office. Now."
Jin nodded numbly and followed. Each step felt like walking toward his doom.
The assistant led him to the neurology department, then pointed to an office at the end of the hall. The door was open, and Jin could see Dr. Ha inside, reviewing something on her tablet.
He approached slowly, heart pounding. The silver lines were getting brighter around her office doorway.
Dr. Ha looked up as he entered. "Close the door, please."
Jin did as instructed, his hand trembling slightly.
She set down her tablet and studied him with unnerving intensity. "How long have you been seeing them?"
"Seeing what?" Jin asked, playing dumb.
Dr. Ha's lips curved into a small, knowing smile. "The silver lines, Jin Hyeon. The ones that are currently outlining my window and door."
Jin's breath caught. "How do you—"
"Know?" Dr. Ha stood up and walked around her desk. "Because I can see them too. And I think it's time we discussed why you've been appearing in my dreams for the past month."
Before Jin could respond, the lights in the office flickered. The computer screen on Dr. Ha's desk glitched, displaying strange symbols before going dark.
Dr. Ha's expression changed to alarm. "They're coming. We need to go. Now."
"Who's coming?" Jin asked, panic rising in his chest.
The answer came as the ceiling tiles above them began to crack. Something dark oozed through—the same writhing shadow entity from his nightmares.
Dr. Ha grabbed Jin's wrist. "Run!"
Author's Note: What do you think is happening? How does Dr. Ha know about Jin's abilities? Leave your theories in the comments!
Coming Next: Chapter 2: The First Breach - Jin and Dr. Ha flee the hospital as reality itself begins to crack open, and Jin discovers his first ability as a Threshold Walker!