Prologue

November 26, 2021 — 9:14pm

ITZY Dorm — Seoul, South Korea

The dorm was quiet.

Too quiet.

For once, there were no loud voices, no playful bickering between the girls, no footsteps running down the hallway. It was rare to find a moment like this, where ITZY's shared space was still, save for the dim glow of the television flickering across the living room.

Lee Chaeryeong sat curled up on the couch, knees drawn to her chest, a blanket wrapped loosely around her shoulders.

She was too focused on the screen, hesitant to play a newly posted video that she came across that the mug of tea she had made half an hour ago had gone cold on the table, untouched.

She gained the courage to watch it and finally pressed play.

A G2 Esports documentary started playing.

"Atlas.”

“A name synonymous with genius.”

“A tactician unlike any before him.”

“A player who redefined the game.”

“But before he became the architect of victory, he was just a boy from South Korea..."

Chaeryeong's fingers curled slightly into the fabric of her blanket as the image faded to black, then slowly revealed an old family photograph.

A young boy, no older than six, sitting beside his mother, her arm wrapped around him protectively.

"Born in South Korea, Y/N's early life was marked by hardship. Raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to support him, he grew up understanding the weight of responsibility from an early age."

Chaeryeong exhaled slowly.She had seen that photo before, years ago. Back when Y/N would talk about his mother with warmth in his voice, long before life pulled them all apart.

Then…

"But tragedy struck when Y/N was just nine years old."

The screen cut to a news article.

"Local Woman in Critical Condition After Car Accident."

Her stomach tightened.

Chaeryeong stared at the screen, her heart aching.

"One winter evening, his mother was caught in a devastating car accident. She survived... but she never woke up."

"For the next nine years, Y/N lived in limbo. His mother was alive, yet absent, a reality too cruel for any child to bear."

The video showed a grainy photo of Y/N, sitting beside a hospital bed, his small hand clutching his mother's motionless fingers.

Chaeryeong swallowed. She had never seen this photo before.

"With no other immediate family, Y/N was taken in by the Yoo family, longtime friends of his mother. Jeongyeon, their eldest daughter, became the sister he never had. But despite finding a new home, Y/N never stopped hoping. Never stopped waiting."

Chaeryeong smiled faintly.

That part, at least, she knew well.

The documentary showed photographs of Y/N growing up alongside the Yoo family.

Then the screen shifted again.

A dim room.

A glowing computer monitor.

"And in that waiting, he found an escape."

Internet cafés appeared.