Chapter Text
Chapter 1 — The Night Everything Broke
The law library never slept.
It only pretended to, dimming its lights, softening its noise, tricking exhausted students into thinking the world had slowed down.
But it hasn’t and never does.
Seungmin stared at the same paragraph for what felt like the hundredth time.
Mens rea… actus reus… intention… recklessness…
The words blurred into one long, suffocating line.
His pen tapped against the margin of his textbook. Once. Twice. Again. A steady, irritated rhythm that echoed louder in his head than it did on paper.
He exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair.
“Why did I choose this…?” he asked himself?
His 10-year-old might have been able to give him an answer, but 21-year-old Seungmin could not fathom it right now.
Around him, the library carried on: pages turning, keyboards clicking, someone whispering two tables away. Normal. Focused. Functional.
Everything he wasn’t.
Seungmin dragged a hand down his face, eyes stinging from hours of staring at black ink on white paper. Criminal law had sounded impressive once. Challenging in a good way. Something worth being proud of.
Now it just felt like a mistake he was too deep into to fix; maybe he should have thought about it some more, he groaned.
“I could’ve picked something easier,” he whispered, barely audible even to himself. “Something normal.”
The word 'normal' lingered longer than it should have.
He shut his book with more force than necessary.
The sound cut through the quiet, earning him a few brief glances. He ignored them, already reaching for his hoodie.
He needed air. Or sugar. Or both.
Anything that didn’t feel like he was drowning in legal terminology.
——————————
Outside, the night greeted him with a soft drizzle.
The campus looked different in the dark, emptier, quieter, and stripped of its daytime noise. Streetlights cast long, tired shadows across the pavement, flickering every now and then like they couldn’t quite keep up.
Seungmin shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking.
The convenience store wasn’t far. Five minutes more or less.
He kept his head down, steps steady, thoughts louder than everything else around him.
One night, he told himself. Just get through tonight.
He’d done it before. He could do it again.
A passing car hissed over wet asphalt somewhere in the distance. Leaves rustled faintly. The world moved, but it felt… far away.
Like he wasn’t fully in it.
He barely registered the sound at first….
A sharp, fast-approaching whir.
By the time he looked up, it was already too late.
A bike tore past him, too close, too fast.
“Hey—!”
The word never finished.
His foot slipped.
The ground rushed up to meet him THUD.
Pain exploded at the back of his head.
For a second, everything went silent.
No rain. No wind. No thoughts.
Just a blank, ringing nothing.
And then, the sky split open.
A blinding flash tore through the darkness, a violent and sudden CRACK.
Light swallowed everything.
It wasn’t just bright; it was alive.
White, hot and deafening, crashing into the world with a force that felt impossible to survive.
For a fraction of a second, less than a heartbeat, Seungmin felt it.
Not pain.
Not exactly.
Something sharper.
Deeper, like every nerve in his body lit up at once.
And then…Nothing.
——————
Voices came back first.
Distant. Like they were reaching him from underwater.
“Oh my God—”
“Did you see that?!”
“He’s not moving; someone call 911!”
Hands. Movement. Panic.
The world flickered in and out, slipping through his grasp like he couldn’t hold onto it.
Rain hit his face, cold and relentless.
Or maybe it was something else.
He couldn’t tell.
Darkness pulled him under again.
This time, he didn’t fight it.
——————
When he woke up, everything was too bright.
A sharp white light hovered above him, blurring at the edges.
Seungmin blinked slowly, vision struggling to focus.
Something beeped,Steady and repetitive.
He shifted slightly and immediately regretted it.
A dull ache spread from the back of his head, heavy and persistent.
“Easy.”
The voice was calm. Clinical.
A figure moved into view: a doctor, clipboard in hand, expression caught somewhere between neutral and mildly intrigued.
“You’re awake,” he said.
Seungmin swallowed, throat dry.
“What… happened?” His voice came out rougher than he expected.
The doctor studied him for a moment, as if deciding how to answer.
“You hit your head after a fall,” he said. “Lost consciousness briefly.”
That tracked.
Seungmin frowned faintly. “And…?”
A pause.
The doctor exhaled through his nose, almost like he didn’t quite believe what he was about to say.
“And according to multiple witnesses,” he continued, “you were struck by lightning immediately after.”
Silence settled in the room.
Seungmin blinked, twice really slowly.
“…What?”
“You heard me.”
The doctor flipped a page on his clipboard, glancing down at it.
“You’ve got a few superficial scrapes and a laceration at the back of your head – three stitches. But otherwise…” He looked back up, something sharper in his gaze now. “You’re remarkably fine.”
Remarkably.
Seungmin let that sit.
It didn’t feel right.
Nothing about this felt right.
He shifted again, slower this time, becoming aware of the IV in his arm, the stiffness in his shoulders, and the faint metallic taste in his mouth.
“You’ll be kept overnight for observation,” the doctor added. “Just to be safe.”
Seungmin nodded faintly, though his thoughts were still catching up.
Lightning.
Struck by lightning.
And he was… fine?
The doctor gave him one last look before stepping away.
“Try to get some rest.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
Silence returned.
But it wasn’t the same kind as before.
This one felt… heavier.
Seungmin stared up at the ceiling, the bright light now dimmed to something softer.
His head throbbed faintly.
His body felt… off.
Not injured.
Just…Different.
He flexed his fingers slightly.
For a split second, he could’ve sworn something flickered.
Like a faint spark dancing just beneath his skin.
Seungmin froze.
Then slowly, carefully, he clenched his hand into a fist.
Nothing.
Just his imagination.
It had to be.
Right?
A quiet knock broke the moment.
A nurse stepped in, offering a small, polite smile as she checked the monitor beside him.
“You’re stable,” she said. “That’s good.”
Seungmin nodded, still distracted.
“You’ll be discharged tomorrow,” she continued. “But hospital policy – you’ll need someone to pick you up.”
Of course.
His gaze drifted toward the small table beside his bed.
His phone sat there, screen dark.
“Just give someone a call when you’re ready,” she added before leaving as quietly as she’d come.
The room fell still again.
Seungmin didn’t move right away.
His eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling for a few seconds longer, thoughts slowly settling into something more coherent.
Then, he slowly reached for his phone.
The screen lit up instantly.
Notifications he didn’t care about.
Missed messages he didn’t register.
He opened his contacts.
Scrolled.
“Mom.”
He stopped.
His thumb hovered over the name.
A long pause.
He could already imagine it.
The worry, the questions, the panic.
No, he could not worry her.
Not tonight, plus the doctor did say he was fine; she would just worry herself.
He scrolled again.
Past names that felt too distant.
Too casual.
Too… not right.
Until
He stopped.
A small, familiar name stared back at him.
Channie Hyung
Seungmin let out a quiet breath.
Then pressed call.
The line barely rang once.
“Seungmin?”
Relief hit before he could stop it.
“…Hyung.”
His voice was quieter this time. Not from pain.
From something else.
“I’m at the hospital,” he said. “It’s not serious.”
Silence.
Not empty, just focused.
Then…
“I’m coming.”
Simple, immediate and certain.
Seungmin closed his eyes briefly, tension easing just a little.
“Okay.”
The call ended.
He let his hand fall back onto the bed.
The room was quiet again.
Still.
Calm.
For a moment, everything felt… normal.
Then FZZZT.
The overhead light flickered.
Once.
Seungmin’s eyes snapped open.
A faint, almost imperceptible static filled the air.
His fingers twitched.
He was sure of it.
Something sparked.
Not outside.
Not above him.
But through him.
Seungmin stared at his hand, heart beginning to pound.
Slowly, carefully.
He lifted it.
The light flickered again.
Stronger.
The monitor beside him stuttered for half a second.
BEEP—BEEP—
Then steadied.
The room fell silent.
But the feeling didn’t.
It lingered.
Sharp, electric, alive.
Seungmin swallowed.
“…What is happening to me?”
No one answered.
But somewhere, deep beneath the quiet
Something had already begun to change.