Min-joon woke up in a hospital bed.The ceiling was white and clean. Fluorescent lights hummed above him. For a terrifying moment, he thought he was still in the mirror world. But then he heard familiar sounds. Machines beeping. People talking in the hallway. The smell of disinfectant.A real hospital."Hyung! You are awake!"Tae-hyun was sitting in a chair next to the bed. His eyes were red from crying."What happened?" Min-joon asked. His voice was rough."I found you in the parking lot," Tae-hyun said. "You were unconscious and barely breathing. I called an ambulance. The doctors said you collapsed from exhaustion and malnutrition. They want to keep you here for observation."Min-joon tried to sit up, but his body would not cooperate. Every muscle ached."How long have I been here?""Eight hours," Tae-hyun said. "It is morning now."Min-joon reached for his phone on the bedside table. Tae-hyun had plugged it in to charge. The screen showed several notifications.One was from the ba

Min-joon returned to find Tae-hyun waiting anxiously in the hospital room with food containers spread across the small table."Where did you go?" Tae-hyun asked. "I was worried.""Just needed some air," Min-joon lied. The drain was minimal. He was getting better at small lies.They ate dinner together. Tae-hyun talked about his scholarship essay, about his dreams of becoming a doctor, about the future he wanted to build. Min-joon listened and smiled, but his mind was elsewhere.The notebook in his pocket felt heavy. Like it was pulling him toward a decision he was not ready to make.After Tae-hyun left for the night, promising to return in the morning, Min-joon pulled out the notebook and opened it.The first page had a title written in bold letters: THE DEBT SYSTEM - A STUDY IN CONTROL.Below that, Lee Joon-seok had written: "Everything the System tells you is designed to make you compliant. Question everything."Min-joon turned the page and started reading.Lee Joon-seok's notes wer