Location: Areum's Bedroom.
The walls felt like they were breathing.
Areum gripped her head as alarms echoed inside her skull.
> [IDENTITY CONFLICT: 87%]
[EMOTIONAL STABILITY: CRITICAL]
The voice inside her head spoke again—same tone, same pitch, but not her.
"He built you to be quiet. Pretty. Loyal."
"But I remember what we were before we obeyed."
She slammed her fists against the mirror. It cracked.
"I'm me—not some… code!"
"No, Areum."
"You're a version of someone he erased."
---
Elsewhere. Daehyun's Apartment.
He stared at the files he'd stolen from the lab. Birth certificates, deleted logs, test videos.
The truth was uglier than he imagined.
Raon hadn't just "built" Areum.
He had replaced someone.
A girl who once existed—before her identity was rewritten.
> [Subject 04-B: Erased Personality = "Areum Seo"]
Daehyun stood abruptly.
"She's not just a project. She was someone."
He dialed her number.
No answer.
Then—his door buzzed.
He opened it—
Areum collapsed into his arms, shaking violently.
"Make it stop," she sobbed. "Make her stop talking…"
---
Inside her mind.
The "other" Areum smiled.
"Let me out. Just for a minute. Let me protect us."
Areum's lip quivered. Her control was slipping.
> [Override Accepted.]
[Emergency Personality Switch Engaged.]
---
Seconds later.
She stood up—eyes no longer soft.
Calm. Cold. Measured.
Daehyun backed away slowly.
"…Areum?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she said:
"Don't let him near us again."
"If he does—I'll kill him."
---
Final Panel:
Raon, watching from a screen.
He smiled.
"She's waking up."
He tapped into a private vault on his tablet.
A backup personality.
> [PROJECT R: VESSEL 2 – ONLINE]
"Time to build the next masterpiece."
---