Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To understand what I'm about to tell you, you need to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible. 

Can you do that? 

Good.

My name is Ahn Yujin, and I am the fastest human alive. 

My story is pretty simple. My whole life I have been running. Usually from bullies; sometimes I escaped, sometimes I did not. 

But after that night, I was running from something much scarier. Something I could never explain. Something impossible.

When I was a child, I saw my mother killed by something impossible. A storm of lightning and fury, right in our living room. The courts called it a tragic domestic dispute and sent my father to prison for her murder. But I know what I saw.

My whole life I've been chasing the impossible, trying to prove my father's innocence, until an accident made me the impossible.

To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly I use my speed to fight crime and find others like me.

And one day, I'll find who killed my mother and get justice for my father. 

I am the Flash.

…

“Where is Yujin?”

Captain Hoseok circled around nervously. Checking his watch for the nth time, he sighed in resignation. The Hwang siblings had hit three banks this month, and the press was crucifying his department. He needed a win.

The look he gave Namjoon was enough for him to know why the captain was already frustrated before lunch. It was a look Namjoon had become an expert at deflecting over the years, ever since the scrawny, heartbroken girl he'd taken in had become his partner in everything but title.

“Detective, where is An?” The captain straightened his tie before continuing, “We need her to identify the tire marks left by the suspect.”

“I’m sure that Yujin will be there any minute.” Namjoon tried to reassure the captain with a smile, but by now everyone was used to Yujin's dilatoriness, which was so notorious that it could be called a routine.

Hoseok shook his head. But mid-hiding his notes in the pockets of his suit, a familiar figure's shouting grabbed both of the men's attention.

Yujin was rushing through the crowds, occasionally bumping into someone (not without mumbling a quick ‘sorry!’) or almost tripping on air.

When she finally arrived, the first thing she noticed was the mess. The whole street was cordoned off by police tape. Behind it, a road of police officers and scientists has corralled itself around the crime scene.

From afar she could already recognize Namjoon's familiar silhouette standing by the captain. At that sight, she speed-walked the last meters. She knew she was late, so she couldn't waste yet another second.

“Hey Joon! Good morning, Captain!” She exclaimed with a bright smile as she hopped under police tape to the two detectives.

She often forgot the formalities whenever she was with Namjoon. After all, they shared a lot of history together; since the day her mom died, he was the only one willing to take her in. 

What was it this time, Mrs. An? Did you forget to set your alarm clock?" Hoseok's tone dripped with sarcasm. 

Before Yujin could answer, Hoseok adds another mocking jab. "Before your answer, I should remind you the excuse you gave last time was 'car trouble.' Want to know why that was particularly memorable?" 

Yujin stood still to only sheepishly reply, "I do not own a car." 

“Don’t worry, Captain. Yujin was just running errands for me.” Namjoon stepped up in an attempt to diffuse the situation. gently guided Yujin a few steps away from the captain.

Once they had a moment of relative privacy, his voice dropped, losing its performative lightness.

“Alright, fess up. Where were you? For real.”

Yujin sighed, knowing the act was over. “I spent a few days in Starling City.”

“You can't keep ducking work to go chasing urban legends, Yujin.”

“There were reports of a man who could bend steel with his bare hands!”

“Yeah. And last month, you took off to Blue Valley because you heard about a girl who could defy gravity.” Namjoon's voice softened. “I know why this is important to you. But you have to figure out what happened to your mother by living your life, not running from it.”

Yujin looked down, the words stinging. “You know no one believes me about what happened that night, Joon. But I've always wished you did.”

Before Namjoon could answer, Captain Hoseok's throat-clearing cut through the tension.

As if on a radar, Namjoon turned a little too quickly towards the Captain. “So, did you get what I asked for?”

“Uh... yeah... I, um... I have it. 

right here.” Yujin started to rummage through the deep pockets of her coat. A few seconds later, she pulled out a half-eaten energy bar.

She sheepishly handed it to Joon, who looked at her with an unconvinced smile.

"I may have had a few bites…?”

“Impress us with your forensic acumen, Mrs. Ahn.” Hoseok interrupted their little performance.

“Yujin, take a look.” Namjoon gestured at the ground. As Yujin put her gloves on, her gaze followed to where his hand was pointing.

Tire marks

She lowered herself until she was lying beside the evidence, her nose almost touching the asphalt. The world around her—Hoseok’s impatient tapping, the chatter of other officers—faded away. Asymmetric tread wear on the outer edge... aggressive driving pattern. The width is 235 mm, but the depth of the groove suggests a modification…

“It’s a Ford Mustang,” Yujin stated, not looking up. Her eyes caught on a dark, crumbly substance wedged deep in the tread. “Probably a 2013 model or later. And they were in a hurry.”

“‘They’ were the Hwang siblings. They have robbed the bank again—for the third time these months.” 

So this was indeed more serious than it seemed; the infamous duo, Yeji and Hyunjin, have been terrorizing Central City for a long time. However, it’s time that the CCPD does something about them before the public does something about the CCPD.

“Can I borrow that?”

She pointed at the pen hanging from the captain's suit pocket. 

Hoseok frowned. “Why?”

“Because our suspects,” Yujin said, finally meeting his gaze, “drove through something a Ford Mustang has no business driving through. And I need to know what.”

Namjoon watched her with a perplexed expression, but the corners of his lips quirked up. He was always confident in Yujin's forensic abilities, but even he could sometimes doubt her methods. Maybe this is why he could excuse the fact that Yujin was picking up a sample of—what looked like animal manure—from the tire with the borrowed pen.

“Okay! I'm done—”

"My dad gave me that pen before he died.” 

The captain said drily. He looked dumbfounded at Yujin before exhaling loudly as if it would help with accepting the situation. He definitely wasn't as pleased with Yujin's eureka moment as Namjoon was, who was smirking now.

“Sorry,” Yujin smiled apologetically. Averting her focus back on the case, she quickly stood up to find some evidence bags in her valise.

The captain watched Yujin putting the pen in a folder with clear aversion, but Yujin decided to ignore that to spare herself from yet another awkward interaction. She hadn't even noticed when he walked away.

When Yujin was almost done cataloging the evidence, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“Yujin, can we talk?” Namjoon started, who observed the whole interaction quietly the whole time. 

Yujin nodded quickly. She followed behind him, still fumbling with the evidence bag. However, as soon as Namjoon turned around, she stopped as if on signal.

“Look, Joon. I'm sorry—”

“I just wanted to congratulate you.”

Yujin was flabbergasted. She rather expected to be scolded than…praised for her tardiness…?

“Call me when the evidence is ready.”

“Oh...Uhm, sure!” She raised her arm in a grand farewell wave—only to smack her brand-new glasses clean off her face.

…

Central City’s police department buzzed with activity. Detectives, perps, and lawyers rushed through the halls, their voices blending into a restless hum. Yet amid the commotion, one person drew every eye—Kim Minju.

She navigated herself effortlessly through the crowd—her hair dancing along with the movement. Everyone knows her at the CCPD, which is why they all say ‘hi' and warmly greet her as she makes her way. In one hand, she carried a tray of coffee, while her arm was occupied by a laptop bag slung over her shoulder.

“Hey, Minju! One of those for me?” An officer stares as he passes by her.

“Not with your ulcer, Forrest!” Minju makes a quick 360° turn just to smile and wave at him.

“Oh, look who we have here! Bet you're going to fall one day if you continue to be careless.” Suddenly Detective Chyre appeared before her eyes, making her almost jump with the tray. 

“Keep betting those paychecks on the 

Combines, Chyre. You’ll be able to 

retire when you’re ninety.” Minju rolled her eyes—but there's no malice in it—before she kept going.

“Hi, Dad!”

She finally reached Detective Kim's desk.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Namjoon asked from his chair as Minju set his favorite coffee—an iced blonde quad espresso with 3 Splendas with cream and caramel drizzle.

“I have the week off to work on my 

dissertation. I picked up some 

extra shifts at the coffee shop.”

She sets her laptop bag on Namjoon's desk.

It was nothing new that Minju was visiting Namjoon. However, every time it brought him the same joy as the last time. His daughter will forever be his most precious thing—together with Yujin.

“If that’s a decaf tea for Yujin, drop it off and then leave. She’s working, and she’s in trouble.” 

Minju can't help but sigh. Why was she even surprised?

“When isn’t Yujin working... or in 

trouble?” 

…

Up in the CCPD lab, Yujin moved between her cluttered desk and the massive evidence board that dominated one wall. The space was a controlled chaos of scattered papers and chemical vials, the air sharp with the scent of experiments. From the wide window, Central City stretched out below—including the looming silhouette of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator.

In the center of the room stood a massive board. Yujin’s gaze was fixed on it, lost in thought. To anyone else it looked like a standard case map, but hidden beneath its surface was her secret: a sprawling web of evidence about her mother’s murder. Every clue she had gathered, every connection she had drawn, was pinned there—a silent obsession that has been consuming her since that day.

She was analyzing evidence while treating herself to a burger and fries until the lab door swung open and Minju breezed in, radiating an energy that always made Yujin's workspace feel brighter. She'd been doing that since they were kids—since the first terrible night Yujin had spent in the Kim household, when an eleven-year-old Minju had smuggled her favorite stuffed animal into Yujin's room.

“Okay—I’m ready to see the Atom. 

Smasher smashing.” Minju radiated with excitement, which Yujin wished she could reciprocate.

“There was a shooting today. Your 

Dad needs me to process some 

evidence. Which means I don’t know. 

if we can go to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“What? But seeing this thing go on is like 

your dream. Your sad little nerdy puppy 

dream.”

"I prefer 'geek' to 'nerd,'" Yujin responded back while busying herself with her evidence research.

“They’re the same thing. And what about pu—”

 “—and I don't look like a puppy,” Yujin quickly corrected before adding. “It's not the same. Not if you met a real “nerd.” —

Um, wait...those are my fries.” 

She stopped mid-talking just to notice that Minju had eaten her last fries, the ones saved for later.

“What? I’m stress eating over my 

dissertation.” Minju pouted slightly.

Honestly, the sight was so cute to see that Yujin forgot to be even bothered about her fries being gone. Not that she ever would be. Unfortunately, she would sell her liver just to buy Minju as many fries as she wants.

“By the way, we started selling 

Cronuts at Jitters. I ate two. 

today.”

Yujin hummed as she tried to focus back on work and on the microscope, steady hands moving with care. Minju's enthusiastic voice filled the lab as she talked about her day. The sound eased her, turning the sterile room into something warm.

Does Minju sometimes feel like this too?

“Okay, no. Three, if I’m being honest… If I don’t graduate soon, I’m going 

to be more muffin top than woman.”

"Please," Yujin said, finally looking up from her microscope. "You look amazing."

Minju waved a dismissive hand. "Which would be a compliment, except you're Yujin. Which means your opinion of my looks is meaningless." She said it with such fondness that the words lost any potential sting.”

Yujin’s gaze drifted from Minju to the wide window behind her, where the massive S.T.A.R. LABS particle accelerator dominated the Central City skyline.

Noticing how Yujin zoned out on the scenery behind her, Minju asked. "What's so important about that particle accelerator anyway?"

Yujin’s eyes lit up like she'd been waiting for this question her whole life, as if she’d just plugged him into an electrical socket.

"Only everything. Kim Gaeul's work in quantum theory is light-years ahead of anything they're doing at CERN.”

Yujin goes to the dry erase board while she takes a marker to draw a dot in the center. Then she turned her head back to Minju before explaining.

“Imagine this dot is everything the 

The human race has never learned until 

this moment.”

“Does that include twerking?”

Undeterred and unbothered by the comment, Yujin added another circle—a bigger one now—around the dot.

“That is everything we can learn from the particle accelerator. It’s a whole new way of looking at physics.”

Yujin puts her marker down. A sense of awe rushed through her.

“It will change the way we think about... everything. From a single atom, to an entire galaxy.”

“You really need to get yourself a girlfriend,” Minju teased, her laugh soft and unguarded. She always said things like that, poking fun at Yujin’s endless ramblings. But the truth was, she found it endearing—there was something infectious about the way Yujin lit up when she talked about the things she loved.

Meanwhile, Yujin’s smile faltered for the briefest moment, her shoulders tightening before she forced herself to relax again. If only Minju knew. It wasn’t a girlfriend she wanted.

“Hey, leave him alone. He’s working.”

As if on cue, Namjoon entered the lab, unannounced and hurriedly. "Good timing," Yujin thinks as she lets out a breath in relief.

“Hi again, Dad!” Minju goes for a hug just as a loud alarm goes off.

“What was that—” Namjoon's cop instincts kicked in, his hand moving in his suit like a reflex.

“My test thingy is done!” Yujin's ears perk up at the familiar sound. And when she looked at the screen, her eyes lit up in a way that said, ‘Eureka!’

“I think Yeji and her brother are hiding on a farm.”

“A farm?” Namjoon and Minju frowned in unison, their brows creasing with the same stubborn knot.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Yujin thought. The sight of them both—dad and daughter—wanted to make her chuckle. 

“The fecal matter I found on the street next to where Mardon boosted his getaway vehicle was cow manure. There are ten dairy farms within a hundred-mile radius of 

Central City. But there were also trace elements of oxytetracycline, an antibiotic. Only four farms still pump their cattle full of 

antibiotics. Bet you find a really sweet Corvette parked at one.”

After the explanation, Minju turned back to her dad. A smirk formed on her face, which didn't forecast anything good. “Dad, seeing as Yujin solved your poop problem… How about letting her go to S.T.A.R. Labs?” 

Namjoon glanced towards Yujin momentarily. It was clear in his gaze that he was still a little bit P.O.'d because of what happened in the morning and now. But seeing Minju's determination, he finally gave in with a reluctant sigh.”

“Fine. Go.”

…

A massive group of excited observers and reporters gathered around S.T.A.R. Labs, outnumbering the enraged number of reporters ten to one. 

Excited observers and reporters outnumbered the enraged protestors ten to one. Everyone crowded into the courtyard of hi-tech. Despite the torrent, many people still came to see history being made with their own eyes.

In the facility, a stage has been erected in front of a video screen—on it a countdown:

15:00…14:59…14:58…

It was all over the news; every channel was talking about the particle accelerator and about Dr. Kim's innovations. Some were negative, but mostly great things were being said.

And they said that the revolution won't be broadcast on TV…

Pushing through the crowd are Yujin and Minju, her laptop bag still slung over her shoulder. Yujin told her she can take it numerous times, but the girl stubbornly refused every time, saying Yujin is too kind.

“So did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City? Or did you just make my dad mad for no reason?

“I found... a girl. I mean, I met one.” Yujin fidgeted nervously.

“A girl? Wow, good for you.” Minju looked at her when 

the last time you went on a date? All you do is hang out with me.

“About that. While I was away... I got a chance to think about, you know, us.” Yujin awkwardly started, scratching the back of her neck. " You’re my best friend, Iris."

“You’re mine too. Why else would I be here?”

“That’s not what I meant. What I meant was…”

“I know what you’re going to say, Yujin.”

“I’m not sure you do…”

“Even though we pretty much grew up in the same house together and are kind of like brother and sister, because we’re not brother and sister, it can get really weird and awkward talking to me about girls.”

Minju stopped walking for a second to face Yujin before beginning again.

“But I want you to know, it shouldn’t be awkward. There’s nothing I want more than for you to meet the right person that totally loves and adores you for the amazing nerdy puppy you are.”

Yujin's whole expression flattened immediately. She tried to hide the disappointment by forcing a smile on her face, but she had no idea if it was working. 

“Took the words right out of my  mouth.”

“Aren’t you glad I know you so well?” Minju bumped her shoulder. “Now let's see you nerd out over your donut accelerator.”

Before Yujin could answer, the crowd started to cheer loudly. The protestors’ boos were heavily drowned out by the excited shouts as Kim Gaeul strides onto the stage with a smile.

After him comes a group of scientists, who next flank him on the stage. They applauded together with the audience, smiling proudly together at what they achieved after years of working together.

“For those of you who don’t know me... My name is Kim Gaeul.” The crowd burst out in laughter.

“Tonight... the future begins,” Gaeul resumed her speech, continuing with more seriousness. “The work my team and I do here will change our understanding of 

physics. It will help us bring about advancements in power and medicine. I want to live in that future. And I want you all to join me—”

Suddenly, Yujin is shoved aside by a man, who immediately disappears into the mass, but not without grabbing Minju's laptop bag. 

“My laptop! It’s got my dissertation!” 

For Yujin, it was an excellent reason to escape the suffocating weight of Minju's "family" label. Her body moved before her mind could catch up—finally, a problem she could actually solve with her own two hands.

"I got it!" she shouted, already pushing through the crowd, grateful for the distraction, for the chance to be Minju's hero in the only way she knew how.

The thief darted through narrow side streets, weaving past half-lit passageways and slipping into hidden corridors. But Yujin wasn't the one to give up, and she shoved through the crowd, heart hammering as she chased the thief into a tangle of back alleys.

However, sometimes determination can't make up for her lack of stamina.

Yujin, huffing and puffing, tried to keep up with the man as she turned around a corner. But as Yujin rounds it, she gets whacked in the face by the laptop. 

The man was about to take off again, but Yujin's voice stopped him momentarily.

“Hey man, you don’t want to do this. Just give me back my friend’s bag. And we’ll call it even.” She extended a hand while her other was still clutching her bleeding nose.

The thief's gaze locked with hers. His expression softened, the tension in his shoulders easing as he looked between Yujin’s outstretched hand and the bag in his own. For a heartbreaking second, it seemed like he might actually listen—like he was just a desperate guy who’d made a bad call.

Yujin’s hopes were lifted. She took a cautious step forward, her fingers brushing the strap of the laptop bag.

And that’s when his eyes hardened.

THWACK!

A sharp, sudden punch to her jaw sent her reeling. Before she could even process the pain, two more blows landed—one to her ribs, another to her temple. The world spun, her knees buckled, and she hit the damp pavement just as Minju rounded the corner.

“Yujin!”

The thief takes this as a chance to escape. He leaped at a chain-link fence—a quick climb to freedom—

A cold, mechanical click rang out—the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked—and the thief halted instantly.

The man looked down, only to see a gun being aimed at him.

A man stood at the mouth of the alley, his silhouette sharp against the distant city lights. He held his service weapon with a steadiness that spoke of grim experience, his aim unwavering on the thief.

"Don't move," his voice was calm and low, but it carried an authority that cut through the tense air. "Central City P.D. Get down from the fence. Slowly. Or do you want to find out the hard way you’re not faster than a bullet?”

As Minju rushed to Yujin's side, her terrified gaze flickered from her injured best friend to the new figure. He was young—probably their age—but his eyes held a gravity that seemed beyond his years. He had a sharp, determined jawline and an intensity in his posture that made him seem like the only solid thing in a world spinning out of control.

…

Yujin was sitting in the corner of the police department, holding an ice pack on her neck. Minju, who sat in a chair next to Yujin, was eyeing the cop the whole evening.

The guy who saved them was standing across the bullpen—laughing with some other COPS—probably flaunting his spectacular intervention, or at least it looked like it from Yujin's standpoint.

“Who is that guy? And what’s he so proud of? Because he stopped a mugger?” Minju squinted her eyes, trying to get better.

“Transfer from Keystone. Started a few weeks ago. He's Cha Junho. Everyone calls him Junho or Jun, though.” Yujin muttered the words through clenched teeth, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

“Oh, I know him! That’s Detective Handsome!” Her eyes lit up, widening as recognition flashed across her face. “That's what my dad calls him. Says he actually keeps score when it comes to arrests.”

Just as Minju ended her sentence, Detective Junho made his way towards them. His smile was still present as he carried a stack of papers.

“I’m going to need you to fill out a report so your assailant can be prosecuted.” He placed the documents on the desk beside them with a loud thud. 

Minju picked up one of the papers and reluctantly went over it. Then, she declared firmly. “Actually, I’m not pressing charges.”

The detective's grin disappeared immediately into a frown. He looked puzzled, as if Minju grew a second head.

“Why not…?” He asked carefully, continuing. “The guy robbed you. I caught him?”

“What you did was threaten to shoot a scared kid.” Minju stood up, her voice sharp with conviction. "He was unarmed and trying to run. You escalated that situation unnecessarily.”

Detective Junho's eyebrows shot up. "Unnecessarily? He assaulted your friend and stole your property. My job is to stop criminals, not coddle them."

"Your job is to protect people," Minju shot back, crossing her arms. "Not play action hero with a service weapon."

From her chair, Yujin watched the exchange with growing interest, the ice pack forgotten in her lap. There was something electric in the air between them—less like attraction and more like two opposing magnetic fields violently repelling each other.

“You want me to give him a lift home too?” Junho scoffed. 

“Despite your obvious and deep insight into human nature, Detective, people aren’t born criminals.” Minju rolled her eyes at his sarcastic response.

"Let me guess—psych major?" He smirked, the expression both irritating and annoyingly attractive.

Minju opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, she caught movement behind her. She turned to see Yujin giving a tiny, apologetic shrug and a quick nod.

Junho's smirk widened into a triumphant grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thought so." He tapped the paperwork once more. "The forms are here when your bleeding heart recovers."

He turned and walked away, not with a swagger, but with a confident, measured pace that suggested the conversation had ended exactly as he'd expected it to. The sound of his retreating footsteps seemed to carry his satisfaction with them.

"Jerk”

Minju muttered under her breath, though her eyes followed him across the bullpen with more curiosity than anger. But a sudden burst of clapping from the TV pulled her and Yujin’s attention away, their gazes snapping toward the screen in unison.

The chyron on the news read: “PARTICLE ACCELERATOR ON!” On screen, the audience cheered wildly, despite being drenched in the rain. Even the reporter was smiling, huddled beneath her umbrella.

“Oh, Yujin, the accelerator... I’m sorry you missed it.” 

Yujin bit down on the inside of her cheek. Missed it. Of course she did. Just like she’d missed catching the mugger, missed being the one to swoop in, and missed her one chance to matter. And now Minju was apologizing, as if that made it better. As if Yujin hadn’t watched her bickering with chemistry with Junho two feet away while she sat there clutching an ice pack like an idiot.

She forced out a shrug, her tone flat, almost dismissive. “Don’t be. Wouldn’t have been the first thing I missed.”

As she stood up and took her cloak from the nearby chair, she didn't even look Minju in the eyes. Neither did she when Minji tried to call out her name.

“Yujin, don't—”

“Hey, Yujin! Joon is at the farm—he found the Hwang sib…” The passerby officer's voice was filled with joy until his expression flattened when Yujin stormed out towards her lab.

“What? Hey Minju, what happe—” 

“Not now.” She silenced the officer as she made her way out of the department.

…

Yujin slammed the lab door closed. Casting her cloak on the table—making most of her papers fly—she started to ruffle through all her drawers aggressively to distract herself from her haunting thoughts.

You're always too slow. Always just beyond your grasp

Her whole life felt as if she was always one step behind. One step too slow. She was never capable of saving anyone. Not her loved ones, nor herself. It started with always being late, then with bullies, and even with her—

Mother's death.

On her computer screen, the S.T.A.R. Labs broadcast showed the final countdown: 00:00:10.

"Activation sequence initiated," Kim Gaeul's voice declared through the speakers.

Yujin didn't care. She ripped the evidence board curtain aside, revealing her mother's case files. Photos, newspaper clippings, and her own childhood drawings of the "lightning monster" that killed her mother. Every failure, every dead end, every person who called her crazy—it all stared back at her.

00:00:03

"This is for you, Mom," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I'm still trying. I'll always be trying."

00:00:01

The power suddenly goes out.

Yujin snapped her head up, her gaze immediately averting to her window.

She moved toward the skylight, rain streaking against the glass. She reached up to close it—and froze.

An explosion lit the horizon, a fiery bloom that painted the clouds crimson.

Her pulse jumped. She spun around. The liquids in the beakers were suddenly rising from the bottles, twisting, with strange colors swirling as if alive. Sparks hissed across the counter. 

Something was very wrong.

An energy rose up from the ground and into the sky—crackling into the storm cloud over Central City. 

The entire city held its breath for one suspended second—then the sky screamed.

A shockwave of pure energy erupted from S.T.A.R. Labs, visible as a shimmering, violent ripple that tore through the clouds. The storm cloud above Central City ignited, transforming into a cauldron of crimson lightning and black energy.

Yujin watched, frozen at her window, as the world unraveled. Streetlights exploded in cascades of sparks. Car alarms wailed in unison. The very air crackled with ozone and something else—something impossible.

Then she saw it—a single bolt of lightning, burning blood-red against the dark sky, veering wildly off course. It wasn't falling randomly. It was—

Before she could finish the sentence in her head, the window shattered inward. The world dissolved into white-hot agony as the lightning struck her square in the chest, throwing her back against her evidence board. Chemicals from broken shelves rained down on her, mixing with the storm and the electricity coursing through her veins.

The last thing Yujin saw before darkness swallowed her was her mother's photograph—the same impossible red lightning reflecting in her mother's eyes—curling at the edges from the heat.

…

Eleven-year-old Yujin prepped with other kids for the yearly competition—The School Science Fair—in which almost every school participated. 

Yujin worked on a model of a complex molecule—something she picked up almost instantly while the other kids struggled with grasping basic equations.

The sun shone brightly, but the air bit at her cheeks. While she was gluing workpieces together, she could feel her fingers ache. Despite that, she continued to work, absorbed in what she was doing.

“You're going to cry again, baby?”

“Don’t touch it!” She reacted almost immediately. 

“Why not, An? You're going to do something about it?” One of the bullies—named Albert—smirked, crossing his arms. Behind him were other kids, siding and laughing along.

At that moment, Yujin decided to not spare any second. She quickly took off and ran as fast as she could. The bullies, upon realizing, sprinted after her while shouting some slurs.

Just as Yujin thought she had escaped them, she felt something tug at her backpack, and the next thing she knew was that she was on the ground. The bullies didn't show any mercy. That day, she came home with a bleeding nose and a black eye.

The house was cozy—bathed in the soft orange glow of the lamps. The afternoon's bright sun was long gone behind the horizon. 

Yujin sat slumped in the chair in the living room as her mom—Kim Jisoo—tended her wounds carefully. Her shoulders sagged, her eyes flicking between her mother’s gentle hands and the warmth of her face.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I wasn’t fast enough.” Yujin broke the silence, still not facing her mother's gaze. She didn’t even realize she was crying until warm tears slid down her cheeks.

Instinctively, her mother cupped Yujin’s face in her hands, thumbs brushing away the stray tears. “You have such a good heart, Yujin,” she said softly. “It’s better to have a good heart than fast legs.”

That's when Yujin's eyes met her mom's. A warmth spread through her chest.

A sudden voice cut through the quiet.

“Hello?! I’m home!”

Bohyun, her father, appeared in the doorway. He stopped short. His expression dimmed slightly as he noticed her tears and the bandages.

“Bohyun… Yujin got into a fight,” Jisoo said, a touch of awe in his voice. “And she won,” Nora added with a small smile.

Bohyun grinned, ruffling Yujin’s hair. “Way to go, slugger. Oh, and no more fighting.”

Yujin’s eyes met her mother’s, and she returned a warm, proud smile.

And then the memory began to blur. The warmth was replaced with coldness. The room softened, the sounds dimmed, and darkness crept in at the edges of her vision. 

…

The next thing she knew, she was waking up—her senses slow and raw, as if she had been underwater for far too long. When she tried to open her eyes, the world was out of focus. Shadowy figures were moving through the fog. Unintelligible noises echoed—entirely disorienting—until they started to form into voices, muffled with a loud but repetitive thump.

“What are you doing?” One asked. It was a woman's voice, soft but firm. But for Yujin, it felt like the sound came from a distant tunnel.

“He likes this song!” The other one responded, his voice—from what sounded like a man's, or maybe a woman's—overlapped, distorted by the steady beep of a monitor.

“How could you possibly know that?” 

“I checked his Facebook page.” A beat passed. ‘I mean, he can hear everything, right?”

The voices were getting clearer now. A man’s voice—low, easy—drifting somewhere near her bed.

“Auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate.” The other sighed. Papers rustled; maybe they were signing something, flipping through a chart. 

“♪ Can't read my—no, he can't read my poker... ♪” The song played in the background.

Yujin’s body jerked.

A gasp tore from her chest, loud and raw, as if she’d been underwater too long and finally broke the surface.

Monitors beeped faster. Paper rustled. The chair scraped back in panic.

“Oh, my God!” A chair clattered against the floor, but her brain barely registered it.

Yujin’s eyes flew open to light and motion and a world she didn’t quite recognize. 

“Where am I?” Yujin's eyes flew between the two figures approaching her. And when one tried to grab her, in what looked like a poor attempt to calm her, she pushed them off.

“Dr. Kim, get down to the cortex, like, right now.” The other woman ran back to her desk, where the microphone was.

Suddenly, a light flashed in her eyes. An arm holding her. Firmly. She flinched, blinking hard.

And then—

For a moment, the chaos stilled.

The world sharpened around a face—young, focused, framed by the glow of the overhead lights. Brown eyes steady on hers. Calm. Certain.

Something in Yujin’s chest loosened. The noise dulled. The panic ebbed just enough for her to breathe.

“Look at me,” the woman said again, softer this time. 

Yujin did. And for a second, she forgot how to do anything else.

“Pulse 120, pupils equally reactive to light.”

But Yujin barely heard her. Her pulse was still racing, her muscles trembling as instinct kicked back in. She pushed the hands away as. Pulling an I.V. from her arms and standing up unsteady on his feet.

“Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, relax. Everything’s okay, buddy. You’re at S.T.A.R. Labs.” The girl before the microphone spoke. Just now Yujin noticed her slightly fringy and bleached hair. If that wasn't already unique, the stranger wore a blazer and a tie over …a shirt with a cat eating a pizza in space.

“S.T.A.R. Labs?” Yujin scrunched her eyebrows, but that's when it hit her. The whole room was filled with advanced scientific equipment and flat-screen displays—things developed well beyond those in her lab in the CCPD department. 

She shook her head in disbelief, not believing in what was actually happening. “Who are you?”

“I'm Liz. She's Wonyoung... Dr. Jang

“I need you to urinate in this.” Dr. Jang changed the subject quickly, shoving a specimen bottle into her face. Her face looked stern, framed by her long and wavy hair, but there was a hint of worry in her dark eyes.

Liz pressed her lips together, eyes fluttering shut for half a second before she let out a slow breath—trying to reset, to smooth over the awkwardness. “Maybe not—”

“—What is... what is happening? What is going on?” Yujin interrupted, still very confused and in disbelief about how she ended up here.

“Dude! You were struck by lightning!” Liz raised her hands wide-eyed. But Yujin was already half-listening and looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair got significantly longer. Overgrown bangs.

messy hair. For the rest she looked normal—

“What…?” 

“What ‘what’...? Liz asked back. She tilted her head, her eyes squinted.

“...Lightning gave me abs?” She tugged her hospital gown up and froze. No way. No way. The mirror didn’t lie: sharp, defined abs. Lightning, coma, whatever—she had a six-pack now.

She blinked. Twice. Nope. Still there.

Your muscles should be atrophied,” Wonyoung said, voice calm, professional, and almost eerily casual. “But instead, they’re in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration.”

“Come here. Have a seat.” Liz said as she gestured at the bed where Yujin was lying a minute ago, but Yujin’s eyes stayed glued to the mirror, tracing the impossibly defined lines of her abs, her fingers trembling slightly.

Yujin blinked. She turned slowly from the mirror to face them, still shaky, still half in disbelief. “So… what does that mean?”

Liz stepped closer, lowering her hands. “You were in a coma.”

Yujin froze mid-breath. Her stomach sank, a strange weight pressing down on her chest. “How… How long?”

“Nine months,” Liz said gently. Her voice was soft and careful but carried the unshakable truth of it.

Nine months.

The words echoed in Yujin’s head. Nine months of silence. For nine months she couldn’t remember. Nine months gone in a heartbeat.

“Welcome back, Mrs. Ahn.”

All eyes snapped toward the voice.

No one else—only Kim Gaeul herself. But now seated in a wheelchair. She looked composed, almost impossibly calm. As if it was all expected.

“We have a lot to discuss,” she said, hands clasped tightly in front of her, the faintest edge of authority in her voice. A trace of a smile on her face. 

…

The hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs looked exactly the way Yujin had imagined them—long, tiled, and dimly lit. Now dressed in an oversized S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt, she walked beside Liz, each step echoing through the empty corridors. Once alive with voices and experiments, the place now felt hollow—it felt like walking through the ghost of genius.

Even with the somber mood hanging over the air, Yujin couldn't contain her excitement; her smile alone could empower the whole Central City.

“Hard to believe I’m here. I mean... I’ve always wanted to meet face-to-face.” She started somewhat shyly, but the grin on her face didn't waver.

“Yes, well, you certainly went to great lengths to do it.” Gaeul chuckled from her wheelchair. In Yujin's opinion, it resembled a golf cart, but it also looked like it came from sci-fi movies she manically consumed.

With each turn and new hallway, Yujin noticed how empty the place was. It felt like walking through a ghost town. One that dies too early in all its glory. 

“Where is everyone?” Yujin questioned, her eyebrows knotting in a familiar pattern.

Gaeul momentarily stopped in her tracks, as if she was physically weighing her words, before carefully starting. “S.T.A.R. Labs hasn’t been operational since FEMA categorized us as a Class Four hazardous location. There used to only be three... until the accident.”

Then, a beat of silence passed; clenching her jaw, she ended.

“17 people died that night. Many more were injured. Myself amongst them.”

Yujin stood there dumbfounded. Suddenly, she understood why the air here was so heavy and thick with secrets. The walls echoing with laughter from long ago. But Dr. Kim moved on.

“What happened?” Caught up with Gaeul. But the doctor didn't even blink at her.

In the meanwhile, they passed many weird rooms. One of them even contained cages with the bars bent outward, signed with names. But which lab doesn't have any shady-looking stuff?

Just when Dr. Kim's wheelchair pulls to a stop and Yujin registers where they probably are. They were both standing next to an overhang looking down on a giant hole in the floor partially, which exposed a destroyed machine. 

“Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online exactly as planned.” Gaeul's voice was raspy. Her expressions were distant, as if trying to recall a memory that happened decades ago instead of a recent accident.

“For forty-five minutes, I had achieved my life’s dream. And then there was an anomaly.” The doctor continued. “The electron volts became unmeasurable; the ring under us “popped. ” Energy from the detonation was thrown into the sky. It seeded a storm cloud....”

Her gaze met Yujin's. And Yujin instantly understood.

“...that created a lightning bolt...that struck me.” Yujin slowly finished the sentence.

“I was recovering from my own accident when I heard about yours.” She tried to empathize with Yujin. 

Gaeul still remembers that day in the hospital. Yujin lay in the hospital, unconscious. Minju and Namjoon by her side. Gaeul wheeling in at the right time.

“The hospital kept losing power every time you went into cardiac arrest,” Gaeul said. “Except… it wasn’t cardiac arrest.”

Yujin blinked. “What?”

“You weren’t flatlining.”

Gaeul reached out, resting a hand gently over Yujin’s chest. Her eyes flicked up, reading the pulse under her palm.

“Your heart wasn’t stopping, Yujin. It was moving too fast for the EKG to register.”

“Now, I'm not the most popular person in town these days, but Detective Kim and his daughter gave me permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you.” They walked back to the cortex—or for Dr. Gaeul, they rode. But at the mention of Minju and Namjoon, Yujin's ears perked up.

“Minju?”

“Minju, yes.” Gaeul confirmed, a knowing but barely visible smile appearing on her face. “She came to see you quite often.”

“She talks a lot.” Dr. Jang suddenly appeared, rushing past them with a tablet in hand.

“Also, she's hot!” Liz shouted from the other room.

“I need to go.” Yujin exclaimed—already halfway out of bed. Before anyone could stop her again today, she was halfway gone.

“No, you can’t.” Dr. Jang protested, staring at Yujin like she’d grown a second head.

“No, no—Wonyoung’s right!” Liz spun her chair away from the desk, grinning.

“Now that you’re awake, we need to run more tests,” Dr. Jang insisted. “You’re still going through changes. There’s so much we don’t know.”

“I’m fine. Really, I feel normal!”

“Thank you for saving my life!” Yujin called from the hallway, her voice echoing as her footsteps faded.

“Really?” Liz raised an eyebrow. Wonyoung just sighed.

Then—

“Can I keep the sweatshirt?”

A head poked out from behind the doorframe.

“Yeah, keep the sweatshirt.” Gaeul waved her hand dismissively, already turning back to the monitors.

“Okay!” The head disappeared.

The silence that followed was short-lived.

“She’s definitely not fine,” Dr. Jang muttered.

Liz smirked. “She’s in love.” Wonyoung only rolled her eyes.

…

The café smells like espresso and rain-wet pavement, that ordinary kind of smell that Minju has started to associate with how fast life goes on. Who would know that pouring coffee and chatting with customers makes time pass so fast?

Today’s chatter was soft, the same hum I learned to get used to. Customers breezed in and out. Clanking of dishes from the kitchen.

With a practiced smile, she was preparing coffee for one of the regulars. But as she was pouring hot coffee into a mug, she casually glanced up through the huge front window. Her eyes went wide, blinking like she’d seen a ghost, when she realized what, or rather who, she saw.

Yujin—alive and awake.

The shock caused Minju to overflow the mug. The regular yelped. But Minju didn't even look at them and didn't even care.

Yujin’s heart trips over itself with every step. She rehearsed this moment a hundred times on her way—what she’d say, how she’d smile—but now her palms are shaking, and the world feels so different yet the same.

Minju leaped over the counter as she saw Yujin come inside. 

Nine months gone, and somehow everything looks exactly the same—the barista she half-remembers, the plant in the corner, and the little bell that still rings when the door opens.

“You’re awake?! Why didn’t you call me?!”

Minju’s hands moved before her thoughts did—grabbing Yujin’s arms, fingers trembling against the fabric. Her breath caught. She looked like she was sobbing and laughing. She squeezed hard, like she needs to feel every muscle and warmth—proof that this all isn't just some twisted dream. 

Yujin laughed softly, breathless, the sound shaky but real. Her heart felt too full for her chest. “I’m sorry,” she said, voice trembling with a grin. “I just woke up.”

“Should you even be on your feet?” Minju’s eyes flicked over Yujin’s face, seeking anything that may be wrong.

“Minju, I’m okay,” Yujin said, reaching out to grab her shoulders—a gentle, grounding touch. She could feel Minju shaking under her palms. “I’m here. I’m really here.”

Minju blinked fast, tears clinging to her lashes. “You have no idea how scared I was.”

Yujin’s smile faltered, eyes softening. “I do,” she whispered. “But look. I made it. 

“It’s still beating,” she said with a shaky grin.

“It feels really fast…” Minju whispered in awe.

“Oops!”

A barista stumbled as another customer brushed past her. The tray slipped—

—and the world stopped.

Time folded in on itself.

The tray, the cups, the splashing coffee—all hanging midair. Minju froze mid-breath. The hum of the café turned hollow and distant.

Yujin’s eyes darted around, heartbeat drumming in her ears. Every second stretched thin and sharp, vibrating with that electric familiarity.

Then—just as suddenly—

KRAASH!

The world lurched forward. Cups shattered, people gasped, and the barista cursed. Minju jumped, oblivious that anything had happened.

“My dad’s going to be so happy to see you,” Minju said, breathless, like the last ten seconds hadn’t glitched out of reality.

Yujin didn’t answer right away. Her pulse was still racing, that hum still buzzing at the edges of her vision.

…

Namjoon pulled Yujin into a hug so warm and tight she could barely breathe—not that she tried to escape. She owed him one. After all, she was the one who almost died.

Around them, officers, medics, and half the precinct had gathered, the air buzzing with chatter and relief. Cameras flashed. Someone clapped her on the shoulder. Yujin blinked through it all, her chest swelling with something she hadn’t expected to feel—thankfulness. She hadn’t realized how many people actually cared that she was still here.

“Yeah, that was one hell of a nap you took, baby face,” Officer Vukovich called out, grinning wide. “And you still look twelve.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Yujin smiled—sheepish, tired, but alive.

“You scared the hell out of us, kiddo.” Namjoon said, keeping an arm around her shoulders.

However, the heartfelt moment didn't last long. The radio crackled to life, a voice breaking through the static:

“Detective West?” A robotic sound came from the communicator. “We got 5.15 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. The weather's bad on the south side, so grab your rain gear.”

Namjoon’s smile fell, dimples disappearing. “I’m sorry, Jin. I’ve got to go.” He squeezed her shoulder once, then ruffled her hair in a half-teasing goodbye.

“Do you need my help?” Yujin called after him, already half moving, the old urge sparking back to life.

“No, you take it easy,” he said over his shoulder. “Plenty for you to do once you’re settled in. Let’s move, partner.

As Namjoon heads out, Yujin turns, expecting Chyre, but instead Detective Junho approaches. 

Hey, An. Glad to see you.

“Uh… Thanks, Junho…?”

Junho smiled politely, then glanced at someone behind her.

“Hey, Minju.”

“Detective. You should go. My dad doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Minju’s voice cut through, cold and clipped. 

Junho blinked, thrown off, then left without another word. Yujin turned to say something—but something caught her eye. She froze in realization. On the wall beside her were framed photos of fallen officers. Her eyes locked on one name.

Detective Fred Chyre.

The caption beneath it read: Killed in the line of duty.

Her chest tightened. Her own memories surged—a flash of lightning, liquid floating and falling, and then finally blackness; the world fading before her.

Minju’s voice was quiet beside her. “The night of the explosion. Hyunjin Hwang shot and killed Chyre. He and his sister died trying to escape. Their plane went down in the storm.”

Her heart started racing again. She hadn’t been particularly close with Chyre, but he’d been a friend. Seeing his photo, her chest sank. She looked down at her hands, marveling at the miracle of still being alive.

“Hey, Yujin! Good to see you!” An officer’s smile flickered with surprise, clearly not expecting her here—which, honestly, was fair.

“Screw you!” a man shouted, trailing behind him with another cop. Handcuffs glinting. But then Yujin’s eyes locked on the junkie’s hand—reaching for the Uni’s sidearm.

And time slowed again.

The world stretched out. The gun hung in midair. Sounds dragged low, like a record player skipping, until all she could hear was her pulse roaring in her ears. Her instinct kicked in.

And then, with a snap, time rushed forward again. The junkie tussled with the cop, the gun sliding free, chaos erupting around them.

“I… uh… need some time alone. In my lab. I’ll call you tonight. I promise,” she said, voice tight, and started moving away, letting the crowd and the chaos blur behind her.

Minju stayed behind, blinking after her, unease tightening in her chest. “Wait… Yujin?” She called softly, but Yujin didn’t stop.

Something impossible was happening to her

Chapter Text

Yujin’s hands were shaking as she climbed the stairs two at a time, pulse still racing from what just happened, at the Jitter and the moment before with the junkie. The hallways felt narrow. She pushed the lab door open, and that’s when it hit her—she hasn't been there since the accident. 

At first glance, it looked like nothing had changed. Her racks still stood in the corner, quietly collecting dust and chemical bottles. The board where she’d pinned everything about her mother’s death was still there, frozen in time. Same electronics. Same samples. 

But when you looked closer, you could notice how the skylight was boarded with pieces of cardboard. Or how everything looked too neat, like it wasn't used for months (it wasn't, and let's be honest, Yujin isn't known for being the organised one)

But this isn't why she came here. Something weird was happening with her, something that must be explainable. 

She needed proof. That's what she can do and is good at. She’s a scientist after all.

Turning on the small camera attached to her computer, Yujin spoke quickly, her voice low and unsteady.

“The subject spent nine months and three days in a coma after being struck by lightning…”

Next, she drew a syringe of her own blood, sliding the test tube into the analyzer. The machine whirred to life, cold and precise. On the monitor, a timer blinked 00:00:00 — frozen.

She looked up at the boarded skylight. The same one that once let the lightning in.

“The subject has been experiencing the passage of time at a different rate” She paced around in circles as she was talking. “The subject has been experiencing the passage of time at a different rate.”

Her voice trailed off when she noticed it — the second hand of the digital clock moved. Just once. And with it, the hum of the room changed. The fluorescent buzz dipped lower, slower.

She blinked.

Then it hit 00:00:01.

“Record time one-tenth of a second?”

Yujin replayed the footage. The screen blurred into chaos, only a streak of light and a sharp, metallic whine. She slowed the playback. Frame by frame, the distortion cleared — and there she was, herself, moving around the room, lightning-fast, rearranging reality in less than a blink.

She turned around. The lab was a disaster. Papers scattered, chairs toppled, instruments vibrating like they’d been caught in a storm.

Her throat went dry.

“The world’s not slowing down,” she whispered.  “I’m speeding up.”

The next thing she knows is that she was outside. When she emerged from.the station house, she could feel every nerve in her tingle, as if her body were a race car at the starting line—desperate for motion... 

And so Yujin finds herself standing at the beginning of an alley. Clenching her fists, she put her weight on her toes, standing in a ready position.

It’s better to have a good heart than fast legs.

She took a deep breath, slow and shaky—She didn't even know if it would work, maybe she’d crash—but she still decided to lean in. But then something flickered behind her eyes — a spark, alive — and the ground seemed to fall away-

Like a bullet fired from a gun, Yujin hurtled out of the alley, for what for an outside looked like at a hundred miles an hour. Windows shattered, trash cans blew, cars’ glass broke—all in slow motion for her.

But after a few nanoseconds, she could feel her legs give out, or rather move on its own uncontrollably. The end of the alley was almost there. At this speed, she couldn't even try to estimate. 

Then, she careened down the corridor. That's when she completely lost control of her body. She tried to stop, but she didn't even know how to. It felt like running down a hill and then trying to stop yourself from rolling.

However, she was so busy with calming down, that she didn't even notice that a big truck was standing in her way…

She crashed hard against the dirty laundry bags. Luckily, the truck was open and full of soft textile. In any other case, it would be a less of a pleasant experience

The whole truck moved at the feeling of the impact. The driver panickily exited it to check what happened. Yujin doesn't remember much, because that was the moment where her mind began to seep into unconsciousness.

…

It was late and dark when Yujin was tucked in bed.

Her room looked exactly like you’d expect from a kid who loves science and sci-fi more than sleep. Posters of constellations and spacecraft line the colorful walls. A small desk lamp—in the form of the Millenium Falcon—glowed over her notebooks and comics. Next to her desk, there were shelves full of comics stacked by her unfinished models. 

Her parents were lingering by the doorframe—her dad smiled fai tky despite the visible exhaustion on his face, while her mother leaned in to brush the hair of her forehead.

“Night, slugger.” Her father murmured

“Sweet dreams, my beautiful girl” Her mother whispered while she kissed the bruise on her cheek.

The lights clicked off. The door shut. Silence.

A few minutes later, the quiet was broken by a deep, distant rumble — low and heavy, like thunder.

Yujin’s eyes opened.

She was disoriented. Clutching her blanket hard, she tried to breathe. Inhale. Exhale. 

The water in the glass beside her bed was trembling — then slowly lifted, drop by drop, floating in the air.

Her breath hitched. She turned toward her fish tank — the water was rising there too, curling upward as if gravity had stopped working.

She stood up, heart hammering.

“Mom?” She shouted. But her voice was drowned down by the loud sound of crashing and blasting.

The floor creaked under her bare feet as she crept down the stairs. The house was quiet, only filled with a strange, swirling sound that didn't sound like anything she ever heard.

“Mom?” she called again, softer this time. She hopped off the staircase, walking closer to the source of the sound…and the heavy wind…?

Then she saw it.

The living room was a storm.

Wind howled through invisible walls, loose papers spinning like white birds. Red and gold lightning tore through the air, cracking against the furniture, burning the edges of family photos.

And in the center of it all — her mother.

Screaming.

Light swallowed her whole.

“Mom!” Yujin tried to cry out. Helpless. Trembling. She tried to do anything, but the air was too thick to move through.

Her mother’s screams clawed at the air — powerless, breaking, unforgettable.

…

“You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?” 

Wonyoung didn’t even look up from her desk. Her eyes were fixed on Liz, studying her reaction more than the question itself.Her tone was calm — maybe a little mocking — but she probably did not intend it in that way. Liz knew that, so she never had any hard feelings; she would never hate Wonyoung.

Liz only smiled faintly, fingers tapping against her clipboard.

“Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too”

They were surrounded by nothing but flat arid and overgrown tarmarcs in all directions—an endless, abandoned runway drowned in weeds—where the wind was as wild as a beast.

In the middle of it all stood the S.T.A.R. Labs mobile unit — a gleaming block of steel and glass, antennas bristling from its roof. It looked like it had crashed here from another timeline.

A tense silence filled the air. The team’s eyes were fixed on the open door of the mobile unit — waiting for Yujin to step out.

For a moment, it felt like the birth of a legend.

And then she appeared.

Wonyoung blinked. Liz snorted. Dr. Kim just observed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Yujin was wearing an oversized runner’s shirt and padded shorts, her knees and elbows taped up like she was about to trip over her own feet. A cheap helmet sat crooked on her head, goggles slipping down her nose, and a monitoring band clung to her arm.

The final touch? The boots.

Chunky, experimental, and so heavy they squeaked every time she moved.

“Not exactly the look I imagined for the fastest woman alive,” Wonyoung muttered under her breath.

At least you’ll be moving so fast no one will see you!” Liz patted her shoulder.

Yujin gave her a weak grin, eyes drifting over the space around them

The place looked like time had given up here — concrete split open with weeds pushing through, rusted light poles leaning like tired soldiers. The air smelled of dust and old rain.

“What happened to this place?” she murmured, turning towards Wonyoung

But Wonyoung just shrugged from beside the truck.

The silence stretched between them.

Liz finally exhaled, soft but heavy.

“Ferris Air sold it off. There was an incident in Coast City. A crash. One of their test pilots disappeared.”

Yujin frowned, unsure what to say. Liz continued, her tone calm, matter-of-fact:

“See, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn’t. You were moving so fast, it only looked like everyone else was standing still.” Then Liz added quickly. “Dr. Kim will be monitoring your energy output, and Wonyoung, your vitals,” 

Yujin glanced at the small gold headset Liz held out, complete with a tiny antenna.

“What’s this?”

“A two-way headset with a camera,” Liz explained, strapping it gently onto Yujin’s head. “I modified it. Usually it’s for battlefield impulse noise, but in your case potential sonic booms. Which, honestly, would be amazing.” She chuckled.

Yujin grinned, tightening the strap on her helmet. Then she glanced at Wonyoung, who was still standing there, bored and disinterested. 

Okay, maybe her glance was more of a blatant-staring-type of glance, because Wonyoung catched her quickly.

“What?” Dr. Jang asked, tilting her head.

“Nothing,” Yujin said, scratching the back of her neck. “I just… noticed you don’t smile very much.”

Dr. Jang’s expression went flat.

“My once-promising career in bioengineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life. The explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiancé. So  this blank expression? It kind of feels appropriate.”

Wonyoung stepped away silently, leaving Yujin staring at her, realizing just how much they also had all lost, and she is not the only human affected here. But Gaeul rolled forward gently in her wheelchair.

“Mrs. Ahn, while I am eager to determine your full range of abilities,” she said carefully, “I do caution restraint.”

Yujin nodded. The air felt heavy, charged with anticipation. She stepped forward, crouching into a runner’s position. She inhaled deeply, glanced at Liz — who smiled and nodded — and stared out at the abandoned tarmac stretching endlessly before her.

A spark flickered in her eyes, tiny and golden. Then — 

BOOM!

She surged forward.

The wind whipped around her. Liz went tumbling backward, landing on her ass. Wonyoung froze, and Gaeul’s wheels spun to follow her as Yujin zigged and zagged effortlessly across the cracked tarmac. Sparks of electricity danced along her arms, growing, wrapping around her like a second skin.

Back at the truck, the group watched in disbelief. Liz zoomed in through high-powered binoculars, meanwhile Wonyoung frantically processed the incoming data.

“Her kinetic energy output is nearing 2,500 joules,” Caitlin said, voice trembling.

“She just passed six hundred miles per hour,” Cisco added. “That’s… impossible,” 

Dr. Kim remained quiet. She watched everything unfold with awe. A smile tugging at her lips.

And Yujin — finally in her element — grinned wildly too. Pure joy, pure freedom. The electricity around her pulsed and crackled, bright as sunlight, wrapping the moment like it belonged only to her.

Until the energy flashed her back to-

Yujin was frozen to the spot in fear as the storm of light blew through her living room. When a hand grabbed her from behind, she jumped in terror—but it was only her dad.

“Dad?!” Yujin cried out.

“What’s happ- Yujin, get back!” He tried to catch his breath. His eyes flickered between Yujin, the storm, and his wife.

Without wasting any second further, Bohyun protectively pulled his daughter behind him.

He tried to move closer to his wife, to somehow get through the storm of yellow and red lighting, but it was like a fog. Realising this, he turned to Yujin, shouting.

“Run, Yujin! Run!”

But Yujin didn't want to leave. She wants her mom back. She rushed towards her father—when suddenly— 

Then came the flash.

Yellow light swallowed everything.

And when Yujin’s eyes opened again, she was standing outside, the night cold against her skin. She is standing in the middle of an empty suburban street, around twenty blocks from his house. Her gaze gaze darted around, seeking for any explanation or clarification

“Mom…? Dad…?”

But no answer came. The darkness swallowed her helpless cries. So she started to run back to his house—as fast as her small legs could—

Yujin crashed into the water drums. She didn't even realise it was the end of the runway. The impact sent a plume of water into the air.

…

The street's cordoned off by police tape. Police cars claimed the whole road, giving no space to ride through. Different cops and detectives assembled before tbe mid-town bank, which has become another unexplainable crime scene this month

Detective Namjoon and Junho enter the bank. The whole place looked like a mess—windows shattered and overturned furniture and frustrated colleagues.

“The guy made off with 200 grand, give or take,” Junho muttered, reading from his notes. He didn't even glance at the place; these past months, every robbed building looked the same. Something weird was happening in Central City, and they have to solve it before the public dissolves them.

Disinterested in Junho as Junho is interested in this case, Namjoon’s attention is drawn to a shaken woman sitting on a chair. She was sitting on a chair while being comforted by one of the fellow officers. It looked like they were talking, so naturally, Namjoon approached them. 

“...the sky went black. And suddenly, the windows blew in. It was like a... like a hurricane! Everyone ran for cover!”

The woman trembled in her seat, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself as if to protect herself from the memories.

The officer caressed the woman's back in circles. “We’re going to have a sketch artist come down here to work with you if you feel up to it.” He tried to assure the woman. The teller nodded, but she didn't look present at all. Her eyes were distant. Looking like she was ready to either run away or faint.

“Weird,” Namjoon muttered, glancing at the screens. “Third robbery this month where some freak storm happens right beforehand.”

He jumped slightly when Junho appeared behind him, quietly observing the woman sitting in the chair. But Junho didn’t even notice Namjoon’s startled expression. He just shrugged.

“Sounds like one of those ‘Wide World of Weird’ cases Yujin’s obsessed with,” he said with a laugh.

But Namjoon didn’t laugh. His glare was sharp, accusatory, the kind that made Junho pause mid-chuckle. He straightened automatically, shutting his mouth.

“She’s not obsessed,” Namjoon scoffed.

“Guess you haven’t read her blog,” Junho said lightly.

Namjoon shook his head, refocusing. “Security cameras?”

Junho shrugged again. “Apparently they all shorted out.”

Namjoon ran a hand through his hair. Twenty witnesses in the bank, all with cell phones. It should’ve been simple.

Sure enough, one of the witnesses’ phones was plugged into a laptop. Namjoon and Thawne crouched over the small screen, watching the choppy footage.

Inside the bank, wind and rain whipped through like someone unleashed a hurricane inside. The robber’s face was obscured, but the movement was clear — quick, practiced. The guy knew what he was doing. And then he bolted, disappearing into a green Corvette waiting outside.

Namjoon froze the frame on the car as it tore down the street.

“The suspect is driving a green Corvette. Partial plate six-kilo-charlie-three. Put out an APB.”

Then, he rewinded the video back. He stops at the frame where the robber’s frozen image is shown—a haunting figure in the midst of chaos. But it didn't scare Namjoon. He didn't even waver, instead, it made him more determined than ever to catch the guy.

…

Wonyoung stared at the screen in front of her — perplexed, distracted, frozen. Yujin couldn’t tell which. Her brows were drawn together; she was chewing the inside of her cheek, knuckles white around the notepad. She looked stressed.

Yujin stayed quiet. It had been a few minutes since the last scan, and Wonyoung hadn’t said a word. Their “friendship”—if you could even call it that—hadn’t exactly started well, and Yujin wasn’t eager to add another embarrassing moment to the list. So she just sat there, swinging her legs from the edge of the bed, waiting.

Then Wonyoung cleared her throat, finally breaking the silence.

“Looks like you had a distal radius fracture. It’s healed.”

Yujin blinked.

“In three hours? How is that even possible?”

“We don’t know... yet.” Wonyoung’s tone was flat.

From behind her, Liz chimed in with a smirk. “You really need to learn how to stop.”

Before Yujin could respond, the door slid open and Dr. Gaeul wheeled into the cortex. Her tone was calm but direct. “What happened out there today?”

She looked straight at Yujin, her eyes sharp. “You were moving fine, and then something threw you off. You lost focus.”

“For some reason... I started remembering something.”

A beat of silence stretched. Yujin’s voice trembled slightly as she continued.

“When I was eleven, my mother was murdered. It was late — a sound woke me up. I went downstairs and I... I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside it, there was a man. He killed her.”

She swallowed hard, staring at the floor.

“They arrested my dad. He’s still in Iron Heights for her murder.”

A pause — the air heavy.

“Everyone — the cops, the therapists — they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mother was like me?”

The silence that followed was deafening, until Gaeul finally spoke, voice steady with a soft smile tugging at her lips.

“I think I can say unequivocally... you’re one of a kind.”

“So you think it was a speedster?” Liz asked, her tone caught somewhere between curiosity and disbelief.

Yujin stopped swinging her legs. The movement stilled, her sneakers hanging just above the floor. She looked up, meeting Dr. Kim’s eyes before nodding — slowly, almost reluctantly.

“I know how it sounds,” Yujin said. “But I saw the lightning… I saw a man.”

Dr. Kim’s expression didn’t change. Calm, analytical — but her eyes lingered on Yujin a second too long. 

“If that’s true,” Gaeul said quietly, “then whoever—or whatever—that was, it's been out there for a long time.”

Liz frowned, glancing between them.“You really think there’s another one like her?”

“I think,” Dr. Kim replied, turning back to the monitor, “we should start considering that Yujin might not be the only anomaly.”

“Or maybe it’s just trauma talking,” Wonyoung muttered, barely glancing up from her notes.

Yujin didn’t respond. She just looked down at her hands, the silence pressing heavier than before.

Liz’s brow furrowed.

“Won, maybe—”

Too late. Wonyoung’s words landed anyway.

“She was struck by lightning, woke up with impossible powers, and now remembers a man made of it. I’d say that’s enough to mess with anyone’s head.”

Liz opened her mouth to stop her, to catch the words before they hit Yujin too hard, but Wonyoung didn’t notice. She ended the sentence, eyes cold, detached, unreadable. Her tone wasn’t cruel — just flat, distant. Like someone who stopped believing in any miracles a long time ago.

By the time Liz turned to Yujin, she was gone. Sigh

Only wind rattled the erlenmeyers in the lab. Papers lifted and danced across the floor. Liz turned back again to Wonyoung, who was already walking away. Liz watched her throw away the notepad and leave the cortex in a hurry.

…

Yujin sprinted.

The wind tore past her ears, whipping her hair into a halo of sparks. Every fiber of her being burned — legs pumping, heart hammering, lungs screaming — and yet she pushed harder. Wonyoung’s words echoed in her mind, sharp, detached, unavoidable: “Enough to mess with anyone’s head.”

She didn’t want to think about them, didn't want to feel the weight of grief or judgment. But the echo of the same words—repeated to her through the years— clung, bouncing against the walls of her chest like a drum. 

“Run, Yujin! Run!”

She ran faster. Faster than she ever had before. The asphalt blurred beneath her feet, the world stretching and snapping around her. Buildings became streaks, lights stretched into lines, wind tore at her like it wanted to strip her apart.

“I know why this is important to you. But you have to figure out what happened to your mother by living your life, not running from it.”

Everyone kept saying that. Don't run from your problems. Don't chase. Live. Her whole life, she’s been chasing the impossible. No one ever believed her, except one person—

Minju.

The city streaked past her, a wash of concrete and neon. Faces, cars, lampposts — everything became a smear, a smear she had to outrun to breathe, to think, to feel anything other than the weight pressing down on her chest.

And then — the cafe.

Yujin’s legs still jittered from the speed, her lungs screaming, her hair plastered across her face. Yujin skidded to a stop at the café entrance, still tasting the electric hum of adrenaline on her tongue. She needed something to ground her — someone familiar. But just as she was about to open the door, she saw them.

Minju, leaning close to Junho. Their lips met in a kiss, soft and careless.

Yujin’s heart sank. 

Her hand fell off the door handle. Mouth hanging low, standing frozen before the glass door. 

When the kiss ended, Junho was cupping Minju’s face. She was glowing with happiness. The cafe was saturated with people, but both of them were only focused on each other.

Realising it's creepy to stare at a romantic moment of a couple, Yujin thought it's better not to bother Minju. She shouldn't carry Yujin’s issues and problems anyways. However, just when she was about to turn and run, she noticed Minju staring in horror at her. The bright spark in her eyes was replaced with surprise and disbelief.

…

“You can’t tell my Dad. He doesn’t know about me and Junho”

They were both walking together now. After Minju saw Yujin standing awkwardly and accidentally catching them kissing, she immediately walked towards her and proposed to explain everything over coffee and a walk. 

“Doesn’t seem like anyone’s in on the secret.” Yujin muttered, but she was clenching her coffee

“I was going to tell you.” Minju said quickly

Yujin let out a quiet laugh—one of those that wasn’t really a laugh. “I thought you said he was a jerk.”

Minju stopped in her tracks, then slowly turned to face Yujin.

“When you were in the hospital, Eddie covered my father’s shifts so we could both be with you.” Her voice trembled at the end, but she continued. “I just assumed he was doing it to suck up to my father. I accused him as much. 

Then, she finally looked at Yujin.

“Then he told me, he’d spent some time in a hospital himself. Alone. And how much it would’ve meant to him to have loved ones there. He wanted that for you.”

“Dating your partner’s daughter—Isn’t that against department regulations?” She looked away, not being able to face Minju gaze.

“Why are you so upset?” Minju scoffed.

“I just don’t like having to lie to your dad, you know?” Yujin complained, putting her hands in the pockets of her cloak.

It appeared to be just a car—specifically, a green one—probably a corvette or a jaguar. It tore down the streets, definitely moving beyond the speed limit. It looked like it was either speeding somewhere or trying to get away from something or someone.

Her suspicions were confirmed when two police cruisers appeared, chasing after the green car. The police were so close to getting him. They were now riding side by side, until the fleeing veered into one of the cruisers, bouncing like a ping pong between them.

Yujin instinctively grabs Minju and super-speeds them both out of the way. They hit the ground hard, but just before one of the police cruisers crashed into them. 

Yujin looked back, and the world slowed again so she could see the driver. But when she recognised the face, a wave of shock hit her.

It was Hwang Hyunjin, alive and well, smirking from the driver's seat.

The world resumed back.

And Yujin doesn't waste any second.

She speeds after the car, leaving a confused Minju, who was still processing everything on the ground.

Further down the road, the Corvette knocked the cop car into a guard rail. 

The threat didn't discourage Yujin, who was hitting the pavement and was a blur of crimson.

Zipping past vehicles, everything else blurred into a static-filled background as her focus narrowed to the one task at hand: catching Hyunjin.

After almost stumbling because of her own velocity, she finally got close enough, she opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. 

When Hyunjin noticed, he was as shocked as Yujin was at what dumb thing she just did, because she just ran here without a plan. Startled, he immediately reached for his gun, but Yujin super speeded his on and grabbed the wheel.

The Corvette to spinned-out over the road like a caroselle, before it flipped over.

She had no idea how long she lost consciousness, but the first thing she could feel was how her head was throbbing. The world was sideways, her ears ringing so loud it felt like someone had stuffed her skull with static. Glass glittered across her lap like ice. The smell of gasoline and burnt rubber filled her lungs.

She blinked—once, twice, until her sight became sharper —then realized the driver’s seat was empty.

Hyunjin was gone.

Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the seatbelt, the buckle refusing to release until she ripped it free.

The door groaned when she shoved it open.

Crawling out, her palms scraped against the asphalt, warm from the wreck’s heat. 

When she finally pulled herself upright, she saw him.

Hyunjin staggering down the road, half-limping, half-running, smoke curling around him like a ghost.

“Hey!” she shouted, voice cracking. “Hwang!”

Hyunjin stopped. Then, he slowly looked back.

His eyes were rolled back to his head—white and empty. His muscles taut, sweat trickling down his forehead.

The air shifted; The sky darkened, the cloud overhead swirling. Thunder barked from above. 

“He is controlling the weather…?” Yujin breathed.

The road was enveloped in a thick fog—creeping from the asphalt, as dense as smog,swallowing the road whole. 

Then, just as suddenly as it rolled in, the fog lifted—like a curtain being torn away.

Headlights exploded through the clearing mist. Cars swerved, horns blaring, tires screaming. Metal roared against metal, and chaos broke loose—everything at once, everything too fast to process.

Yujin didn’t think.

Time just cracked again.

The world slowed to stillness, sounds stretching into echoes. She could see the car frozen mid-spin, shards of glass suspended midair. Raindrops hung like scattered beads of mercury.

Her heart pounded once—hard.

Then she moved.

In a single blur, she was out of the way, hitting the pavement as reality snapped back into motion—

KRABAM!

The car slammed into Hyunjin’s vehicle, flipping violently before crashing onto its roof.

Yujin lay on the ground, breathless, staring at the wreckage. Minju’s voice broke through the ringing in her ears, faint but panicked.

“Yujin! Are you okay?!”

Ignoring the sting in her shoulder, Yujin pushed herself up and stumbled toward the overturned car. Smoke and dust hung heavy in the air. She crouched beside the driver’s window.

A man, bloodied, gasping for air.

“Hold on,” she said, reaching for him. “You’re going to be—”

But before she could finish, his chest fell still.

Silence.

Just the sound of rain hitting metal.

Yujin’s throat tightened. She looked around, scanning for Hyunjin, but he was already gone.

Minju was standing there. Hair tousled, chest heaving, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

“Yujin…” she breathed.

Yujin couldn’t speak. She just stared at her, the world around them still ringing, still spinning. 

It was clear for her now:

She was not the only one affected by the explosion…