She was terrified.
Not just afraid—terrified.
Her fear thrashed like a living thing—red, jagged, pulsing.
Jin Ha-yul stood still as the world around him rippled like water.
But it wasn't water. It was emotion.
Liquid fear. Thick, vibrating, and red like blood.
This was the Emotion Court.
And it had opened again—at midnight.
—This isn't reality.—
He reminded himself, but his body already knew better.
His pulse had synchronized with the world's rhythm.
A cold voice echoed from above.
"Emotion Tracker Jin Ha-yul. Begin tracking."
A figure descended in a streak of blinding white.
LUX.
The Judge of Light. A humanoid sentinel of law and logic.
Made of light. Powered by algorithms.
Impossible to read.
Even for Ha-yul.
He gave a curt nod.
Steady. Controlled.
Then, he stepped into the waves.
His hand swept through the swirling colors.
Blue rippled at first—calm, sorrowful.
But then—a scream of red tore through it.
Not metaphorical.
Real. Piercing.
Fear, made manifest.
And then… yellow.
A flash.
Bright. Sudden. Sharp.
Shock.
His fingers froze mid-motion.
Why?
Fear was expected.
She'd been murdered.
But shock?
That meant she'd seen something—or someone—unexpected.
Something she knew.
Ha-yul's eyes narrowed.
Within the yellow, a silhouette shimmered.
Male. Broad shoulders.
Familiar.
She saw him.
Recognized him.
Then why didn't she scream?
Behind him, LUX's voice rang out again.
"Emotion flow anomaly detected."
So it wasn't just him.
Something was off.
The colors weren't blending right.
The emotion had been disrupted.
Maybe even tampered with.
His jaw clenched.
This isn't a normal flow.
This… is noise.
The court had opened.
But the truth wasn't on the surface.
It was buried.
And fear?
It wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.
→ [To be continued in Episode 2]
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