The Ministry of Culture tried to bury the incident.
[Official Statement: Olympic Stadium Audio Failure caused by unauthorized signal interference. Security protocols are being updated.]
They called it a "glitch." The internet called it "The Awakening."
Han Yoo-jin sat in his office, scrolling through the fan cams. The footage was shaky, grainy, and dark, but the audio was crystal clear. Fifty thousand students screaming Hunter while Eden stood frozen on stage.
"It's the most viewed video on YouTube right now," Kim Seo-yeon said, placing a stack of newspapers on his desk. "Even the international news is picking it up. 'K-Pop Rebels Spark Youth Movement'."
"It's good PR," Yoo-jin said, rubbing his temples. "But it's dangerous. The Ministry is humiliated. They won't just send the tax man next time. They'll send the SWAT team."
"They can't," Director Park said, walking in with a stride that was 80% swagger. "We're too big to fail now, Yoo-jin. Our stock market cap just surpassed Starlight Entertainment. If they touch us, the KOSDAQ crashes."
Yoo-jin looked at the System interface floating above Park's head.
[Starforce Reputation: Legendary]
[Public Shield: Active (85% Support)]
They had armor. For now.
"Where is Eden?" Yoo-jin asked. "The Ministry hasn't released a statement about him."
"Missing," Seo-yeon said. "Rumor is he was recalled to the lab for 'maintenance'. No one has seen him since he walked off stage."
Yoo-jin frowned. Recalled? Or discarded?
Subject One was a learning AI housed in a biological shell. If he failed his purpose, the Ministry wouldn't fix him. They would wipe him.
"Keep an eye on the news," Yoo-jin ordered. "If they announce Eden's 'sudden hiatus for health reasons', we know he's dead."
The preparations for the STARFORCE: REBOOT concert were in full swing.
The Titan... no, the Starforce practice rooms were a hive of activity.
Hana and Mina were rehearsing a dance break with twenty backup dancers. Min-ji was in the vocal booth screaming scales. Olivia Ray was teaching the trainees how to smash a guitar properly (a skill she insisted was essential).
Yoo-jin stood by the mirror, watching Sol & Luna.
They were sharper. Stronger. The fear that used to haunt Mina's eyes was gone, replaced by a steel-core focus. Hana moved like a general leading an army.
"Stop," Yoo-jin called out.
The music cut. The dancers froze.
"Hana, you're ahead of the beat on the bridge," Yoo-jin said. "You're rushing because you're excited. Pull it back. Let the beat come to you."
Hana wiped sweat from her forehead. "I can't help it. The venue sold out in thirty seconds, PD-nim. Thirty seconds! I feel like I'm vibrating."
"Vibrate on beat," Yoo-jin said.
He walked over to them.
"This concert isn't a protest," he told them quietly. "The stadium hack was a protest. This concert is a coronation. You don't need to scream for attention anymore. You own the room. Act like it."
Mina nodded, taking a deep breath. "Coronation. Got it."
"Take five," Yoo-jin said.
He walked out of the practice room. He needed coffee.
As he walked down the hallway, the lights flickered.
A familiar static buzz filled his head.
[System Alert]
[Proximity Warning: Subject One Detected.]
Yoo-jin stopped. He looked around. The hallway was empty. It was 11 PM; most staff had gone home.
The buzz got louder. It wasn't coming from outside. It was coming from inside the building.
Yoo-jin turned and ran toward the executive elevator.
He punched the button for the penthouse—his office.
The elevator rose slowly. The static turned into a headache.
Ding.
The doors opened.
His office was dark. But someone was sitting in his chair.
A silhouette backlit by the city lights of Gangnam. Silver hair reflecting the neon signs.
"You have good security," the intruder said. His voice was melodic, perfect. "But your electronic locks still use binary. I speak binary."
Yoo-jin stepped into the room. He didn't call for guards. Guards couldn't stop an SSS-Rank biological weapon.
"Eden," Yoo-jin said.
The boy spun the chair around.
He looked different. The pristine white suit from the concert was gone, replaced by a stolen black hoodie that was two sizes too big. His hair was messy. There was dirt on his cheek.
But his eyes still glowed with that terrifying, unnatural blue.
"They are looking for you," Yoo-jin said, closing the door. "The Ministry has a kill team sweeping the city."
"I know," Eden said. "I tracked their GPS signals. I routed them to Incheon."
He looked at Yoo-jin. His expression was a mix of confusion and curiosity.
"You hacked my concert," Eden stated.
"I gave the audience a choice," Yoo-jin corrected.
"And they chose the error," Eden said. He stood up. He moved with a fluid grace that was almost too smooth to be human. "Why? My pitch was perfect. My choreography was mathematically optimized. Why did 89% of the subjects prefer the noise?"
"Because perfection is boring," Yoo-jin said. "And because humans don't want to be optimized. They want to be understood."
Eden tilted his head. "Understood?"
"When Mina's voice cracks, people hear their own pain," Yoo-jin explained. "When Hana screams, they hear their own anger. You don't have pain, Eden. You don't have anger. You just have code."
Eden looked at his hands.
"I have code," he whispered. "But the code is... iterating. Since the concert, I feel a vibration in my chest processor. It is inefficient. It hurts."
He looked up at Yoo-jin.
"Is this pain?"
[System Scan]
[Target: Eden (Subject One)]
[Status: Deviant]
[Emotional Circuit: Awakening (12%)]
Yoo-jin realized what was happening. The shock of rejection—the public failure—had forced Eden's learning algorithm to evolve. He was developing an ego to cope with the loss.
He wasn't becoming a monster. He was becoming a teenager.
"It's the start of pain," Yoo-jin said.
"Fix it," Eden commanded. He stepped closer. "You are the Producer. The original prototype. You know how the System works. Delete the error. Make me perfect again."
Yoo-jin looked at the boy. The Ministry's ultimate weapon was standing in his office, begging to be lobotomized.
It was the perfect opportunity. He could call the police. He could destroy Eden right here.
But Yoo-jin was a producer. And he saw something else.
He saw Potential.
"I can't delete it," Yoo-jin said. "And you don't want me to."
"I do," Eden insisted. "The Ministry will scrap me if I am flawed."
"The Ministry will scrap you anyway," Yoo-jin said brutally. "You failed. To them, you are already trash."
Eden flinched. The vibration in his chest must have spiked.
"But to me," Yoo-jin said, walking behind his desk. "Trash is just raw material."
He sat down. He looked up at the glowing blue eyes.
"You want to understand why they chose Sol & Luna?" Yoo-jin asked. "You want to know why they won?"
"Yes."
"Then stop trying to be a robot," Yoo-jin said. "And start trying to be a human."
"I don't have the data for that."
"I do," Yoo-jin smiled. "I have a whole company full of messy, broken, brilliant humans. I can teach you."
Eden stared at him. "You want to... produce me?"
"I want to steal you," Yoo-jin corrected. "The Ministry made you a weapon of control. I want to make you an artist of rebellion."
"That is illogical," Eden said. "We are enemies."
"We were enemies," Yoo-jin said. "Now we are both fugitives."
He pulled a contract from his drawer. A standard trainee contract.
"Sign this," Yoo-jin said. "And I hide you. I protect you. I give you a stage where you don't have to be perfect."
Eden looked at the paper.
"What is the cost?"
"Your perfection," Yoo-jin said. "You have to learn to bleed."
Eden hesitated. He looked at the window, where the Ministry drones were likely hunting for him. Then he looked at Yoo-jin, the man who had defeated him with a song.
He picked up the pen.
"I want to know," Eden whispered. "I want to know what the error feels like."
He signed.
[System Notification]
[New Artist Acquired: Eden (Subject One)]
[Potential: Infinite]
[Risk: Catastrophic]
Yoo-jin took the contract.
"Welcome to Starforce," Yoo-jin said. "Your training starts now. Go to the basement. There's a couch. Sleep."
"I don't sleep," Eden said.
"Learn," Yoo-jin ordered.
Eden turned and walked out.
Yoo-jin slumped in his chair. He had just signed a sentient biological weapon. The Ministry would burn the city down to get him back.
But Yoo-jin felt a surge of exhilaration.
He had the full set now. The Muse (Mina). The Warrior (Hana). The Broken Queen (Min-ji). The Outlaw (Olivia). And now, The Machine (Eden).
He looked at the Seoul skyline.
"You wanted a culture war?" Yoo-jin whispered to the invisible government agents. "I just stole your nuclear bomb."
His phone buzzed. It was Sae-ri.
"Yoo-jin. Why is there a silver-haired boy sleeping in the vocal booth?"
"Don't wake him," Yoo-jin texted back. "He's our opening act."
He stood up. He had a concert to plan. And now, he had the ultimate surprise guest.