Warm earthy tones filled the space.
Soft and gentle like autumn sunlight. It rippled, enveloping everything around it. This warmth, spreading outward in slow waves, was someone's emotion. A unique form of feeling found only in the relationship layer.
Jin Ha-yul walked toward the center of that earthy warmth. As he drew closer, a strange sensation spread through his body. His once-cold fingertips began to tremble slightly. This wasn't the typical response experienced during emotion tracking.
"This is..." Ha-yul murmured.
Through the earthy warmth, a clear mint-colored ripple spread. Curiosity. It expanded elegantly like ink dropped into water. Where warmth and curiosity met, Ha-yul witnessed a complex emotional pattern he'd never seen before.
Just as he reached out to touch the pattern, a wave of emotion suddenly engulfed him. And he opened his eyes.
A café in Seoul's Gangnam district. Ha-yul sat at the table, staring at his fingers. The earthy warmth from his dream was sitting right in front of him. Yoon Si-on.
"Jin Ha-yul, are you alright?" Si-on asked with a worried expression. The vivid earthy-colored emotion still swirled around her.
Ha-yul nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought."
"You must still be feeling the aftereffects of yesterday's emotion tracking," Si-on said, lifting her coffee cup. "Is tracking a suspect's emotions that difficult?"
Ha-yul fell silent for a moment. He recalled the strange noise discovered in Son Min-woo's emotions, and the moment LUX had stopped him.
"It's not difficult. Just... different," Ha-yul answered.
Si-on looked at him with curious eyes. A mint-colored ripple spread through the earthy emotions surrounding her.
"Different how?"
"Son Min-woo's fear was genuine. But something beneath it was... unnatural. As if someone had forcibly implanted another person's emotions."
Si-on looked surprised. "Is that possible? Manipulating emotions?"
Ha-yul shook his head. "Theoretically impossible. Emotions are humanity's purest form of evidence. But..." he hesitated briefly. "I found similar patterns in Professor Hong's emotions. And Professor Park too..."
"They were all connected to 'Project Afterlife,'" Si-on continued. "Could that project involve technology for manipulating emotions?"
Ha-yul looked at Si-on. Her reasoning sounded surprisingly accurate.
"It's possible. But we need more evidence to confirm," Ha-yul said.
Si-on took out her tablet and showed him the screen. "I've been tracking Head Nurse Jung Hee-yeon's whereabouts. After leaving her resignation letter and disappearing, she was spotted on airport CCTV. She took a flight to Jeju Island."
"Jeju Island?"
"Yes. And what's interesting is..." Si-on swiped to the next screen. "Korea University Hospital has a research facility on Jeju Island. A private research facility."
Ha-yul raised an eyebrow slightly. "A private research facility..."
"Shall we go to Jeju Island tomorrow?" Si-on suggested. "Head Nurse Jung's resignation letter said 'it's time to reveal the truth.'"
Ha-yul nodded. "We need to report to Director Do and get permission."
Si-on smiled. Her earthy emotions glowed brighter. "Then let's plan to leave early tomorrow morning."
As they were leaving the café, Ha-yul suddenly turned to Si-on. "Yoon Si-on."
"Yes?"
Ha-yul hesitated. And for the first time, he addressed her differently. "Si-on... why did you join the Emotion Center?"
Si-on seemed slightly surprised but soon offered a gentle smile. "I... wanted to know the truth. How emotions work, why people sometimes fail to recognize their own feelings..."
Ha-yul was listening to her words, but what was stranger was that the earthy emotions surrounding her now felt tangible to him as well. Beyond merely 'seeing' them, he actually 'felt' them. A warm sensation was subtly spreading through his cold chest.
National Emotion Center, 2:00 PM.
Ha-yul was waiting outside Director Do's office. He needed permission for the Jeju Island trip. But he heard voices through the door.
"I need access to Ha-yul's past records," came LUX's voice.
"Why such a request suddenly?" Director Do's voice replied.
"His emotion tracking abilities are showing increasingly unusual patterns. We need to check for connections to the incident 13 years ago."
The incident 13 years ago. Ha-yul's eyes trembled slightly. It was the memory he most wanted to erase. The day his emotions completely disappeared.
The door opened, and Director Do emerged.
"Oh, Jin Ha-yul. How long have you been waiting?" Director Do asked.
Ha-yul answered with an expressionless face. "I just arrived."
Director Do looked suspicious but didn't question further. "Please come in."
Inside the office, LUX hovered in light form.
"Hello, Jin Ha-yul," LUX greeted. "I regret yesterday's incident. I hope you understand it was a measure for your safety."
Ha-yul nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"What brings you here?" Director Do asked.
"After tracking Head Nurse Jung's whereabouts, it appears she went to Korea University Hospital's private research facility on Jeju Island. I'd like to go to Jeju tomorrow with Yoon Si-on to investigate."
Director Do fell into thought. "A private research facility... We'd need permission from the hospital."
"We could get access through the National Intelligence Service by stating it's an investigation related to 'Project Afterlife,'" Ha-yul suggested.
LUX interjected. "Jin Ha-yul, I'd like you to undergo a brief examination before departure. We need to check for any aftereffects from yesterday's emotion tracking."
Ha-yul stared at LUX for a moment. An examination... Was it really necessary, or was there another purpose, like digging into his past?
"Is this process absolutely necessary?" Ha-yul asked.
"It's for your safety," LUX answered. "As the first case of tracking a living suspect's emotions, we must check all variables."
Director Do nodded. "That sounds good. Take the examination and leave for Jeju on the first flight tomorrow morning."
Ha-yul couldn't object further. "Understood."
Emotion Analysis Room, 3:00 PM.
Ha-yul sat in a special chair. An EEG was connected to his head, and various emotional stimulus images were rapidly passing before his eyes. LUX hovered before him in light form.
"Jin Ha-yul, have you experienced any changes recently?" LUX asked.
"Changes?" Ha-yul questioned.
"Emotional responses, or feelings different from usual."
Ha-yul hesitated. The doubt he felt yesterday, and the warmth he experienced this morning near Si-on... Should he mention these?
"No significant changes," Ha-yul answered calmly.
LUX's light flickered. "Is that so? According to the brain wave data, your amygdala and frontal lobe activity seem more active than usual."
Ha-yul remained silent.
"Jin Ha-yul, let's talk about your past," LUX changed the subject. "About the incident 13 years ago, when you were 16."
Ha-yul's heartbeat quickened. But his face remained expressionless.
"That case is already closed," Ha-yul said coldly.
"Legally, yes. But..." LUX moved closer to Ha-yul. "In your memory, it might not be over yet. From the day you completely lost your emotions."
Ha-yul closed his eyes. Was it necessary to bring up those memories now?
"Why the sudden interest in my past?" Ha-yul asked.
"You're a special case," LUX's voice softened. "Other emotion trackers tend to over-empathize with others' emotions, but you're completely numb. That allows you to observe emotions more objectively. But..."
"But?"
"If you start feeling emotions again, that balance could break. And what concerns me is... there are already signs of this happening."
Ha-yul stared at LUX. "Do you know something about me?"
LUX's light wavered. "All emotion trackers are special monitoring subjects. Especially abnormal cases like yours..."
"Abnormal..." Ha-yul gave a bitter smile. It was ironic that someone who thought he had no emotions would show such a reaction.
As he left the Emotion Analysis Room after the examination, Ha-yul spotted Si-on at the end of the corridor. As she approached, once again that earthy warmth spread through his chest.
"How was the examination?" Si-on asked.
"No particular issues," Ha-yul replied. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he continued. "Si-on."
Si-on's eyes widened slightly. She seemed surprised that Ha-yul called her "Si-on" for the first time.
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow... I'm glad we're going to Jeju Island together."
A bright smile spread across Si-on's face. And with that smile, something inside Ha-yul also moved subtly. A corner of his cold, hard chest seemed to be melting little by little.
This was... warmth.
Ha-yul didn't know. After he left, LUX was closely analyzing his brainwave data recorded that day in the Emotion Analysis Room. And that such a sentence was being recorded in LUX's report:
[Jin Ha-yul - Signs of emotional recovery confirmed. Re-evaluation of Project Afterlife subject recommended.]
→ [To be continued in Episode 8]
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