Seoul Object Story

Rain hammered the concrete, the sound devouring the narrow alley.

Qing, the silver-haired girl, sprinted, lungs burning, eyes locked on her companions’ retreating figures. They were transporting vital cargo for a client. The destination: a lawless zone deep within the Free City Alliance, untouched by the ruling families.

Normally, they’d use a vehicle. Not this time. The paths were too narrow, too twisted.

Huff. Huff.

Running with the mask—already difficult to breathe through normally—was harder than Qing had imagined. The rain added to her misery.

I feel like I’m going to die.

Through a hazy exhaustion, the scene ahead felt strangely distant. The shape of the rain lashing the ground. The blurred backs of her companions, burdened by heavy bags.

The rain itself felt icy, clinging, wrong.

She used to like the rain. The smell of earth, the unique atmosphere. But not this rain. Not in this city.

It was cold, oily, unnatural. Less water, more like coolant for the city’s monstrous machinery.

My body feels heavy.

The rain was toxic to pure humans, naturally. Qing wore heavy-duty waterproof gear. Necessary, but the weight crushed her small frame.

Huff. Huff.

Her breaths rasped harshly through the thick filter mask.

“Just past this block, we’re there,” the man leading the group called back, his voice cutting through her fatigue.

“You okay?” the woman running beside her asked, concern in her voice.

Could Qing still do her part? Open the security wall?

The walls were relics from before the cities unified, built tough. Many still stood. Going around was possible, but going through was much faster.

“I can do it,” Qing forced out, despite the struggle for breath.

Suddenly, the lead man shouted, raising his shield.

“Stop!”

He planted two large shields like a makeshift wall, hefting a heavy weapon in his other hands, scanning the surroundings.

Red lights, like afterimages, streaked through the dark alley.

“Damn it! Scavengers.”

Hyenas of the lawless zone, hunting in packs. They began to circle, drawn like sharks to blood.