At U.G University—A large, modern lecture hall buzzes softly with the ambient hum of half-bored students. The PROFESSOR at the front of the class clicks through slides with enough enthusiasm to make a sloth look caffeinated.
"—So when analyzing the socio-economic ripple effect across multi-urban zones, it's critical to observe the historical context of—"
Nobody is listening. In the back corner by the window, a student—SEO JIHO—sits neatly with his notebook open, handwriting as clean as his posture.
He listens, but his eyes keep drifting to the big window beside him where sunlight filters in like a tease. The weather is perfect. The sky is blue with white fluffy clouds lazily passing.
He taps his pen, jots something down.
A soft whisper nearby breaks his rhythm. Then another. And another. The classroom volume starts to rise—unignorable side chatter.
Jiho shifts slightly in his seat, eyebrows pulling in concern. He glances to his side, where his classmate MINSEOK is almost vibrating in his chair from barely-contained excitement.
Jiho leans in, whispering. "Hey. What's going on?"
Minseok turns, looking flabbergasted, as if Jiho just asked what air is.
"Bro—what? You seriously didn't catch wind?"
"Wind of?"
"The Eight-Hundred Meter Inferno!"
Jiho's face goes completely blank. A blink. Then another.
"…That sounds like an action movie starring Vin Diesel."
"No, dude! It's the inter-university athletic championship. Happens every year. Eight-hundred meter race is like… the main event. The flaming centerpiece. You know!"
Jiho just stares at him.
Minseok leans closer, whispering in Jiho's ear. "Every uni sends in their best runners. Winners get scholarships, trophies, glory, confetti showers, and those ridiculous headbands that scream "I peaked in college.""
"Oh. That." His smile tightens.
Another friend across the aisle, SOOJIN, chimes in without even being asked.
"We've never won. Not even once. It's humiliating. University students literally bet against us."
"Even the professors don't bother attending anymore. One of them just goes golfing." Minseok adds.
A random student chimes in, expression deadpan. "Running eight hundred meters is illegal. I googled it. It counts as public suffering."
"Seriously, last year, we didn't even make it to the finals. We were disqualified because our runner forgot to wear the official jersey and ran in a EXO hoodie." Soojin exclaim.
"I remember. It made the Campus's subreddit. With memes." Minseok anxiously cover his face.
Jiho raises a brow. A gust of wind blows past the window, making Jiho's hair flutter like a sad protagonist who just realized he's in the comedy arc.
Just outside the U.G university main gate. A metal barrier gate—the kind that lifts up and down for cars—rests low across the entrance of a sleepy, slightly overgrown university campus.
Si Kyo, hoodie up, sunglasses on, struts toward the gate like he's in a spy film… only, he's got the biggest, reddest, most swollen lump on his forehead. A direct souvenir from one rogue boomerang. It's angry. It's pulsing. It looks like it's developing its own personality.
Si Kyo pauses just outside the entrance, eyes narrowing.
Perched by the gate in a flimsy security booth, a security guard is completely slumped over, mouth wide open, snoring like a tractor with asthma. His walkie-talkie buzzes softly beside him, ignored. A plastic coffee cup rests near his hand.
Si Kyo smirks.
"A sleeping gatekeeper? This really is an RPG."
He rolls his shoulders, crouches slightly, and begins his stealth mission across the pavement. Every footstep is exaggeratedly slow—like a cat burglar who trained under Cirque du Soleil.
He tiptoes. He's sweating. One step… then another… closer to the sleeping man.
Suddenly—
"Freeze—!" The Security guard mutters, jolting slightly from his seat.
Si Kyo freezes mid-step. "Holy crap—!"
But then nothing. The guard doesn't move further.
"Don't chase me flaming ostrich… it breathes fire… not again!!!" He grumbles in his sleep.
Si Kyo blinks. Then smirks. "Oh. He's having a nightmare…?"
He squints at the man. "Mockery or mercy?"
Beat.
Si Kyo slowly backs up… with a black permanent marker.
— A new mustache elegantly drawn across the guard's lip.
— A pointy beard that'd make any villain proud.
— Two massive cartoon eyebrows.
— And on top of his closed eyelids. Extra eyes.
"Good. So now it looks like he's wide awake and judging his life choices."
Si Kyo caps the marker with a click, nodding at his masterpiece like a chaotic Picasso.
Up on a nearby roof, The Strange Man peers through binoculars. He lowers them slowly.
"No way..."
Click. Click. Click. He takes pictures with surgical precision.
Back on the ground, Si Kyo slinks under the half-lowered barrier gate with the agility of a raccoon and he's in.
The strange man watches from above, then glances at the pictures in his camera.
"These… will do for now."
He tucks the camera into his coat, turns away from the scene and bolts off campus in the opposite direction, coat fluttering behind him.