SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: You are reading [Threshold Walker: The Silver Circuit]
The pre-dawn streets of Seoul were nearly empty as Jin and Dr. Ha moved quickly through shadowed alleys and side streets. Every few minutes, Division patrol vehicles would speed past main roads, searchlights sweeping methodically across buildings and into darkened corners.
"They're using threshold detection technology," Dr. Ha explained, pulling Jin deeper into the shadows as another patrol passed. "Your signature is still weak enough that we can stay ahead of them if we keep moving."
Jin's head throbbed, the silver lines pulsing around them with each beat of his heart. The medication they'd given him at the facility was wearing off, and the world was becoming increasingly overlaid with glimmering pathways only he could see.
"How much further?" he asked, wiping another trickle of blood from his nose.
Dr. Ha glanced at him with concern. "About ten more minutes. Can you hold out?"
Jin nodded, though the growing pain behind his eyes made him doubt it. The escape from the facility had pushed his newfound abilities past their limits, and his body was paying the price.
They turned down an alley between two aging apartment buildings. The silver lines here formed an unusual pattern—converging toward a specific point halfway down the passage.
"Wait," Jin said, stopping to study the pattern. "There's something here."
Dr. Ha followed his gaze, though she couldn't see what he did. "What do you notice?"
"The lines... they're forming a node. Like at your lab, but smaller." Jin approached the wall where the lines converged. Nothing visibly distinguished this section from the rest of the alley, yet the silver energy gathered here like water swirling into a drain.
Dr. Ha checked her phone. "This isn't on my map of potential convergence points."
"It's not a full point," Jin said with unexpected certainty. "More like an... echo? A reflection of something bigger nearby."
He reached out to touch the wall where the lines met. The moment his fingers made contact, the silver pathways brightened dramatically, and Jin gasped as images flooded his mind—
A man with silver-flecked eyes standing at this exact spot, pressing his palm against the wall... lines of energy flowing outward, connecting to other points across the city... a network of silver threads forming a protective web...
"Jin!" Dr. Ha gripped his shoulder, pulling him back to reality. "Your eyes..."
Jin blinked, the vision fading. "I saw someone... using these points to create some kind of network."
"Your father," Dr. Ha said quietly. "This must be one of his anchor points—smaller nodes he created to stabilize the main convergence circuit."
Before Jin could respond, the distant wail of sirens cut through the night.
"They've triangulated your position," Dr. Ha said grimly. "We need to move. Now."
They ran deeper into the maze of back alleys. Jin's vision blurred, the physical world and the silver lines merging into a disorienting landscape. Through the haze, he noticed a pattern—certain pathways brightened as they approached, as if responding to his presence.
"Follow the brightest lines," he said between labored breaths. "They're showing us the way."
Dr. Ha didn't question him, following as Jin took sudden turns and shortcuts through passages that shouldn't have connected but somehow did. With each turn, the sounds of pursuit grew fainter.
They emerged onto a quiet street lined with small businesses, most still closed in the early morning hours. One shop, however, showed signs of life—warm light spilled from the windows of a tiny bookstore wedged between a convenience store and a closed café.
The sign above the door read "Moonlight Pages" in faded lettering. Beneath it, nearly invisible unless you knew to look for it, was a small symbol etched into the doorframe—two overlapping circles, the same design Jin had seen on Dr. Ha's detection device.
"We're here," Dr. Ha said, approaching the door and knocking in a specific pattern—three quick taps, pause, two slow taps.
Almost immediately, the door opened, revealing a young man about Jin's age. He had sharp, intelligent eyes behind round glasses and a wary expression that softened slightly at the sight of Dr. Ha.
"You're late," he said, quickly ushering them inside and locking the door behind them. "Division patrols have increased tenfold in the last hour."
"We had to take a detour," Dr. Ha replied. "Jin discovered one of the anchor points."
The young man's eyes widened as he turned to assess Jin. "So you're the one they're tearing the city apart to find." He extended his hand. "Kang Tae-Woo. I run the communications hub for the Network."
Jin hesitated before shaking his hand. "Jin Hyeon. Though apparently you already know who I am."
"Everyone in the Network knows who you are," Tae-Woo replied with a hint of amusement. "Dr. Seo's son, suddenly manifesting abilities after five years of nothing? You're practically a legend already."
The bookstore was cluttered but cozy, shelves overflowing with books on every conceivable subject. Behind the main area, Jin could see what appeared to be a small apartment space with computers and monitoring equipment far more sophisticated than should be found in a secondhand bookstore.
"Welcome to the Seoul hub of the Underground Network," Tae-Woo said, leading them toward the back. "We track threshold activity, help sensitives stay off Division radar, and collect data they don't want people to have."
Jin swayed suddenly, the room spinning around him. The silver lines flared painfully bright, and he felt his knees buckle.
Tae-Woo caught him before he hit the floor. "Threshold sickness. Advanced stage for someone so newly awakened." He looked to Dr. Ha. "Has he been taking suppressants?"
"The Division gave him their standard stabilizer while he was in custody," she replied. "It's wearing off now."
Tae-Woo helped Jin to a worn couch against the wall. "I've got something better than their garbage. Wait here."
As Tae-Woo disappeared into another room, Jin turned to Dr. Ha. "What is this place? Who are these people?"
"The Underground Network formed after the First Breach," she explained, keeping her voice low. "People who were affected by threshold phenomena but didn't trust the Division's methods or motives. Some are sensitives themselves, others are researchers, hackers, medical professionals—all working outside official channels."
"And you're part of this network?"
Dr. Ha's expression turned complicated. "I maintain official status with the hospital and research community to access resources and information. But yes, I feed data to the Network when I can."
Tae-Woo returned with a small vial containing a silvery-blue liquid. "This will help with the symptoms without suppressing your abilities like the Division's compound does."
Jin eyed the vial skeptically. "What's in it?"
"Proprietary blend," Tae-Woo replied with a slight smile. "Developed by the Network's best minds—including Dr. Ha here, when she can spare the time."
"It's safe," Dr. Ha assured him. "And far more effective than traditional suppressants."
Jin hesitated only briefly before accepting the vial and drinking its contents. The liquid tasted unexpectedly sweet, with a metallic aftertaste that reminded him of the air during a lightning storm.
Almost immediately, the pain behind his eyes began to recede. The silver lines remained visible but no longer overwhelmed his normal vision. The nosebleed stopped, and the fog clouding his thoughts cleared.
"Better?" Tae-Woo asked.
Jin nodded, genuinely surprised. "Much better. What was that?"
"We call it Clarity," Tae-Woo explained. "It helps manage threshold sickness symptoms by harmonizing your nervous system with the threshold energy instead of fighting against it."
"The Division's approach is suppression," Dr. Ha added. "Which works temporarily but accelerates long-term damage. Our approach is integration—helping the body adapt to threshold energy rather than rejecting it."
Jin thought of his mother, bedridden and fading. "Could this help my mother?"
Dr. Ha and Tae-Woo exchanged glances.
"Possibly," Dr. Ha said carefully. "Her condition is more advanced, and she's been on Division suppressants for years. But we could try a modified formulation."
Tae-Woo moved to one of the computers, typing rapidly. "Division chatter indicates they've set up checkpoints throughout the Dongdaemun and Gangnam districts. They're expanding the search perimeter every hour."
"We need to move quickly then," Dr. Ha said. She turned to Jin. "The Collector agreed to meet us, but only briefly and only at a specific location."
"Who exactly is this Collector?" Jin asked.
Tae-Woo's expression darkened. "Kang Jae-Hwan. Former Division researcher who went independent after the First Breach. He specializes in threshold artifacts and information—buying, selling, trading to the highest bidder."
"He sounds like someone we should avoid, not seek out," Jin observed.
"Ordinarily, yes," Dr. Ha agreed. "But he has something we need—information about your father's research that wasn't in any official records. And he's one of the few people who might know why the Division is so interested in you specifically."
Jin was about to respond when a sharp pain lanced through his head. The silver lines around him pulsed rhythmically, and for a moment, he could see beyond the bookstore walls—to silver pathways stretching across the city, connecting points of concentrated energy.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Ability [Extended Perception] has awakened!
"Another patrol approaching," Jin said, the words coming before he fully understood how he knew. "Two vehicles, six agents. They're scanning this block."
Tae-Woo jumped to his monitoring equipment, but the screens showed nothing yet. "How do you—"
"I can see them," Jin said, pointing east. "Following the silver pathways. About two minutes out."
Dr. Ha looked at him with a mixture of concern and fascination. "Your perception is expanding faster than I anticipated."
Tae-Woo quickly began shutting down equipment. "There's a hidden exit through the basement. We can access the old service tunnels from there."
He moved to a bookshelf against the back wall and pulled a specific volume halfway out. With a soft click, the entire shelf slid aside, revealing a narrow staircase.
"You two go ahead," Tae-Woo said, grabbing a backpack and several electronic devices. "I'll wipe the security footage and meet you below."
Dr. Ha nodded and guided Jin toward the stairs. As they descended into the dimly lit basement, Jin's expanded perception continued to track the Division agents above.
"They're stopping outside," he reported. "Deployment pattern suggests they're preparing to breach."
Dr. Ha's eyes widened slightly. "How do you know their tactical patterns?"
Jin frowned, uncertain himself. "I don't know. I just... see it. Like I've watched them before."
The basement was cluttered with boxes of books and old furniture, but Dr. Ha navigated confidently to a metal door partially hidden behind a stack of crates. It opened to reveal a maintenance tunnel, the walls lined with pipes and conduits.
Tae-Woo joined them moments later, slightly out of breath. "They're definitely Division—full tactical team with threshold detection equipment. We need to move quickly."
He led them down the tunnel, using the light from his phone to illuminate the way. Jin noticed that even here, silver lines traced the walls and ceiling, some pulsing more strongly than others.
"These tunnels connect to the old subway maintenance network," Tae-Woo explained as they walked. "The Network has mapped most of it. We use it to move sensitives around the city without being detected."
After several minutes of navigating the labyrinthine passages, they reached a junction where five tunnels converged. Jin immediately noticed something unusual—the silver lines here formed a complex geometric pattern on the floor, similar to what he'd seen in Dr. Ha's laboratory.
"This is one of them, isn't it?" Jin asked. "A convergence point."
Dr. Ha nodded, impressed. "Convergence Point Three—what we call the Transit Point. It's been dormant since your father disappeared."
Jin approached the center of the junction, where the pattern was most concentrated. As he drew near, the silver lines brightened in response to his presence.
"When activated, this point can temporarily thin the boundary between realities," Dr. Ha explained. "Your father theorized it could be used for controlled threshold traversal—much safer than trying to cross at natural breach points."
Jin knelt and placed his palm against the floor at the center of the pattern. Immediately, the silver lines flared brilliantly, spreading outward from his hand like ripples in water.
Images flooded his mind—
His father standing in this exact spot, carefully drawing symbols on the concrete with what looked like silver ink... equipment set up around the junction... a pulse of energy expanding outward, connecting to other points across the city...
"Jin!" Dr. Ha's voice pulled him back to reality. "Are you alright?"
Jin blinked, the vision fading. "I saw my father. He was here, creating this point."
Tae-Woo looked uneasy. "The threshold memory effect. Sometimes sensitives can perceive echoes of significant events at convergence points."
"It's more than that," Jin insisted. "These aren't just random memories. It's like... he left them for me to find."
A sudden noise from one of the tunnels silenced their conversation. Flashlight beams cut through the darkness, accompanied by the sound of boots on concrete.
"Division found the bookstore exit," Tae-Woo whispered urgently. "We need to go. Now."
They hurried down the opposite tunnel, moving as quietly as possible. Jin's perception stretched ahead, showing him the path of least resistance—tunnels where the silver lines flowed smoothly, without disruption.
"Left here," he whispered at a junction, guiding them away from where Division agents waited in a parallel tunnel.
They emerged into what appeared to be an abandoned subway station, covered in graffiti and years of dust. The ceiling had partially collapsed in one corner, allowing a shaft of early morning sunlight to illuminate the space.
"Dongdaemun Historic Station," Tae-Woo explained. "Closed during renovations years ago and never reopened. The Collector agreed to meet here."
"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Jin asked.
"We don't," Dr. Ha replied honestly. "But the Collector values information above all else. And right now, you're the most interesting source of information in Seoul."
They made their way to the old platform, where benches lay overturned and advertising posters from years past peeled from the walls. Despite the station's abandoned state, Jin noticed it was surprisingly free of the usual debris that accumulated in such places—no homeless encampments, no evidence of urban explorers.
"The Network maintains this as a neutral meeting ground," Tae-Woo explained, noting Jin's observation. "Multiple escape routes, easily monitored, and far enough underground that threshold detection is difficult through all the concrete and earth."
Jin's expanded perception suddenly alerted him to a new presence—someone approaching from the far end of the platform. Unlike the frantic energy of the Division agents, this person moved with deliberate calm, their path through the silver lines creating barely a ripple.
"He's here," Jin said, turning toward the presence before it was visible to the others.
From the shadows of the far tunnel, a tall figure emerged. The man appeared to be in his early fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and the trim physique of someone who maintained strict discipline. He wore an expensive-looking suit despite the dusty surroundings and carried a sleek metal briefcase.
Most striking were his eyes—dark and penetrating, with the faintest silver flecks visible even at a distance.
"Dr. Ha," the man greeted with a slight nod. "Mr. Kang." His gaze shifted to Jin, a smile spreading across his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And Jin Hyeon. Dr. Seo's son. You've caused quite the stir."
"Mr. Kang," Dr. Ha replied formally. "Thank you for agreeing to meet us."
The Collector waved a dismissive hand. "How could I refuse? The son of my old colleague, suddenly manifesting abilities that took his father years to develop? And attracting the attention of Director Choi herself? Fascinating on multiple levels."
He approached Jin slowly, studying him with undisguised interest. "You have his eyes. The same silver pattern when you use your abilities, I imagine."
Jin resisted the urge to step back. "You knew my father well?"
"As well as anyone could know Seo Jin-Woo," The Collector replied. "We worked together in the early days, before the Division existed. When threshold research was still theoretical and exciting, not militarized and classified."
He set his briefcase on a bench and opened it, removing an old photograph which he handed to Jin.
The photo showed two younger men standing in what appeared to be a research laboratory. One was unmistakably Jin's father—the same kind eyes and thoughtful expression Jin remembered from childhood. Beside him stood a younger version of The Collector, both men smiling as they stood before a whiteboard covered in complex equations.
"July 2013," The Collector said. "The day we theorized the existence of the convergence circuit. Three years before your father successfully created the first point."
Jin stared at the photo, emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "What happened to him? The Division claims he chose to enter the Threshold during the First Breach."
The Collector's expression darkened. "The official story is, as usual, a convenient simplification. What actually happened is considerably more complicated—and directly relevant to your current situation."
He turned to Dr. Ha. "You were right to come to me. The Division doesn't just want Jin because of his abilities—they want him because of what he represents. The final key to what your father started."
"Which is what, exactly?" Jin asked.
The Collector studied him for a moment before responding. "Your father created the convergence circuit for a specific purpose—to establish stable, controlled access to the Threshold without the catastrophic effects of natural breaches. The Division wants that access for their own purposes."
"And what do you want from me?" Jin asked pointedly.
The Collector smiled. "Direct. Just like your father." He closed his briefcase with a snap. "What I want is to finish what we started. The convergence circuit remains incomplete—only fifteen of the seventeen points were established before your father disappeared. The final two points require something the Division has been searching for ever since."
"The key," Dr. Ha said quietly.
"Precisely," The Collector nodded. "A genetic key—a specific threshold resonance signature that can activate and stabilize the entire circuit." He looked directly at Jin. "Your father believed that key would be found in his bloodline."
A distant sound caught Tae-Woo's attention. He moved to a monitoring device he'd set up near the entrance. "Division's getting closer. We have maybe ten minutes before they find this place."
The Collector didn't seem concerned. "Then we'll be brief. Jin, do you know why your abilities are developing so rapidly? Why you can already perform line tracing that should be impossible for your sensitivity level?"
Jin shook his head.
"Because you're not developing abilities—you're remembering them," The Collector said. "Your father encoded the key within you before he disappeared. Everything you're experiencing now was planned years ago."
"That's impossible," Jin protested. "I never had any abilities before the silver lines started appearing a month ago."
"The abilities were dormant," Dr. Ha interjected, her eyes wide with sudden understanding. "Triggered by proximity to a threshold event of sufficient intensity."
The Collector nodded approvingly. "The hospital breach was merely the catalyst. The pattern was already there, waiting to be activated." He reached into his pocket and removed a small silver object—a thumb drive with unusual geometric patterns etched into its surface.
"This contains everything I have on your father's research—including his private notes about the final two convergence points." He held it out to Jin. "I'm giving you this because I believe you'll need it sooner rather than later."
Jin hesitated before taking the drive. "Why help me?"
"Self-interest, primarily," The Collector admitted with surprising candor. "The Division's approach to the Threshold is dangerously shortsighted. Your father understood the bigger picture—that the Threshold isn't just a threat to be contained, but a frontier to be explored. Properly."
Tae-Woo's monitoring device began beeping urgently. "Division's moving in fast—multiple teams converging on this location."
The Collector checked his watch. "That's my cue to leave." He turned back to Jin. "One last thing—trust your instincts. The silver lines aren't just showing you the world as it is; they're showing you the world as it could be."
He handed Jin a business card with nothing but a phone number. "When you're ready to learn more about what your father really discovered, call me."
With that, The Collector strode confidently toward a different tunnel than the one he'd entered from. Just before disappearing into the shadows, he paused and looked back. "Oh, and Jin? Watch out for Agent Song. She's more than she appears to be."
As The Collector vanished, Tae-Woo was already gathering his equipment. "We need to move. Division's less than five minutes out."
Dr. Ha placed a hand on Jin's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Jin stared at the thumb drive in his palm, the silver patterns seeming to shift under his gaze. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Believe what you can verify," Dr. Ha said firmly. "We'll analyze the drive's contents once we're somewhere safe."
"Where can we go?" Jin asked, slipping the drive into his pocket. "They're tracking my threshold signature across the city."
Tae-Woo smiled for the first time since they'd met. "Not across the entire city. There's one place the Division can't monitor effectively—not without revealing their own operations to public scrutiny."
"Where's that?" Jin asked.
"Seoul National University," Tae-Woo replied. "The science department has been running experimental shielding technology that disrupts threshold detection. Officially to protect sensitive research equipment..."
"But actually to hide threshold-sensitive students and faculty," Dr. Ha finished. "The Network has been expanding the shielding for months."
A loud crash echoed from one of the distant tunnels—the unmistakable sound of a Division tactical team forcing open a sealed access point.
"No more time," Tae-Woo urged, heading toward yet another tunnel. "This way leads to the active subway system. We can blend with morning commuters."
As they hurried through the dark passage, Jin's newly enhanced perception stretched out ahead, showing him not just the physical path but overlapping possibilities—silver threads weaving together and apart, forming a complex tapestry of potential futures.
One thread glowed brighter than the others—a path leading toward what he somehow knew was the next convergence point.
"Attention sensitive individual!" a voice boomed through the tunnels behind them, amplified by tactical gear. "This is Agent Song Hye-Rin of the Threshold Containment Division. Surrender yourself immediately. We can help manage your condition."
Jin's pace faltered at the sound of her voice, remembering her words: "The Division has developed treatments that can slow progression. But no permanent cure has been discovered."
Dr. Ha gripped his arm, forcing him to meet her gaze. "They want to use you, Jin. If they really wanted to help sensitives, my research wouldn't be classified and threshold sickness would be a known medical condition, not a government secret."
Jin nodded, his resolve returning. "Let's go."
As they reached the end of the tunnel, emerging onto a maintenance platform beside active subway tracks, Jin felt something strange—a pull from the silver lines, a message encoded in their patterns.
For just a moment, he thought he heard his father's voice:
"Find the circuit. Complete what I started. It's the only way home."
Then the silver lines settled back into their normal patterns, leaving Jin to wonder if he'd imagined it—or if his father was somehow still reaching out to him through the Threshold itself.
Author's Note: The plot thickens! What do you think The Collector's true motives are? And is Jin really "remembering" abilities rather than developing them? Share your theories in the comments!
Coming Next: Chapter 5: University Sanctuary - Jin discovers a community of threshold sensitives hiding in plain sight, and learns disturbing truths about his father's final project.