Chapter 15 – “Countdown to Disappear”
1142 Words
The following day began with a sun that shone far too cheerfully for the storm it was about to witness.
Three days.
That’s what the message said. Three days before Phase Omega initiated full erasure—of me, my data, my identity… and anyone who stood beside me.
I stood by the window of my apartment, watching the fog settle over the campus like a shroud of secrecy. A single thought echoed through my mind like a ticking time bomb.
Who is the traitor?
There were only a handful of people who had access to me, and I had begun eliminating possibilities one by one. Soobin—still missing. Professor Leonhart—now in hiding after helping me. Jungkook and Taehyung…
I couldn’t let myself doubt them.
Not now.
---
Back at the university, things were no better. The so-called “security drill” was still in place, and every exit had a biometric scan station. Armed guards dressed in standard security uniforms flanked the gates.
The administration claimed it was "training against external cyber threats."
Yeah, right.
I passed through the courtyard, clutching my bag tighter. My eyes swept over every face—students chattering about gossip, teachers pretending everything was fine, and a few too-sharp suits pretending to be janitors.
I knew that look.
Agents.
I needed answers. Fast.
And so, I went to the one person who might still have a trace of a conscience.
---
Room B-6, Faculty Quarters.
I knocked twice.
A tired voice answered. “Come in.”
Soobin looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His normally crisp shirt was wrinkled, eyes bloodshot, and Sehun was curled up on the couch, coloring with crayons.
“You look like you’ve seen ghosts,” I said flatly.
“I think I’ve been living with one,” he muttered.
I shut the door and stepped in. “You disappeared. Why?”
He hesitated. “Because I got a message—an anonymous threat. They said if I didn't stay quiet, they’d take Sehun.”
My throat tightened. “Did you tell anyone?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t risk it.”
“Do you know anything about Phase Omega?”
He froze.
I saw it in his eyes. He knew.
“I… I used to work on it. Before I left the agency,” he whispered. “It was supposed to be theoretical—cloning high-functioning agents, replicating mission intelligence, all to avoid field casualties. But something changed. They began using unwilling subjects. And Phoenix… the original… they couldn’t control her.”
My heart beat faster. “What happened to the original?”
“You’re looking at her,” Soobin said softly.
It hit like thunder.
I wasn’t just part of the program.
I was the program.
The others—Clones A to D—were imitations.
I was Phoenix-01.
The only one they couldn’t contain.
And now, they wanted to erase me… because I had something they couldn’t replicate.
A conscience.
---
Later that evening, Jungkook and Taehyung barged into my room, both looking unusually serious.
“We’ve been tracking that Raven guy,” Jungkook said. “Got into one of his safehouse drones. Found something.”
He tossed a flash drive onto my bed.
Taehyung added, “Coordinates. Meeting point. One of the surveillance black zones outside campus.”
“Tonight,” Jungkook said. “We should go.”
I studied them both.
“You’re in this deeper than you realize.”
Taehyung smirked. “Too late to back out now.”
---
11:43 PM – Black Zone Perimeter
We crouched beneath a crumbled communications tower. My pistol was holstered beneath my jacket, and Jungkook held a small jammer in hand. Taehyung had a blade strapped beneath his shirt.
The drop point was a rusted shipping container surrounded by broken fence lines. Just as I was about to move, a shadow stepped out from the container.
It was Raven.
He wore a long coat, face hidden behind a digital mask. “You’re late, Phoenix.”
“You’re early,” I replied. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
He tossed me a folder. I caught it midair and flipped through it.
Inside were dossiers. Photos. Video stills.
The traitor.
I froze.
It wasn’t Soobin.
It wasn’t Leonhart.
It wasn’t even one of the professors.
It was…
Sera Kim.
The bubbly, pink-haired girl from our economics class. Always cheerful. Always asking weird questions.
Always… listening.
“She’s not a student,” Raven said. “Agent embedded to track emotional manipulation and routine analysis. Her mission was to get close to you—and sabotage your support system.”
My hands trembled slightly. “And the boys?”
“Marked for elimination. They got too close.”
Taehyung’s jaw clenched. “She tried to drug us last week. At that rooftop party.”
Jungkook’s eyes darkened. “I knew she wasn’t just nosy.”
“We stop her,” I said. “Tonight.”
Raven nodded. “She’ll be at the eastern watchtower at midnight. Bringing your dossier to her handler. Eliminate the file, extract her chip, and ghost the area. Or else…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t have to.
---
00:09 AM – Eastern Watchtower
Sera was waiting, phone in hand, pacing nervously. Her usual bubbly demeanor was gone. She looked anxious, checking her watch every ten seconds.
I stepped into the floodlight, face masked.
“You’re early,” she said, startled.
“I’m Phoenix,” I replied coldly. “You’ve been spying on me.”
She turned white.
“No, no—you don’t understand! They blackmailed me! They said they’d erase my family’s records if I didn’t help them. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone—”
“You almost got Taehyung and Jungkook killed.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I didn’t give them everything! I deleted part of the logs. Please—I didn’t want to do this.”
From the shadows, Taehyung emerged with handcuffs.
“You’ll tell us everything,” he said grimly.
Sera collapsed to her knees.
“I’ll talk,” she whispered. “I swear. But you have to promise me—you’ll protect me. When Phase Omega goes live… no one will be safe. Not even you.”
---
Back in the apartment, Sera sat tied to a chair, Jungkook monitoring her vitals while I ran a decryption on her chip.
What we found was chilling.
> Activation time: 72 hours
Target: Phoenix-01
Secondary Targets: Taehyung Kim, Jeon Jungkook
Protocol: Erase memories, reset civilian database, isolate subject for relocation
They weren’t just planning to erase me.
They were going to wipe Taehyung and Jungkook too.
“Hell no,” Jungkook said under his breath.
I looked at them both.
There was no more running.
Only war.
---
End of Chapter 15
- Writer
