Chapter 5 — Threshold
——
Morning hit.
Suho was still out cold, chest rising with slow, steady breaths as sunlight crept through the apartment window and spilled across his face.
THUMP—
Kun hit the floor with a groan, rolling off the couch like a brick.
"Ouch... fuck..." He rubbed his head, blinking blearily. "Still better than rent lady's wake-up call..."
He grabbed his phone from the floor, tapped it lazily, then perked up. "Huh... games, social... even video editing? Damn, Ray wasn't kidding—this thing's legit."
He scrolled casually—until a headline made his brain short-circuit.
"COUNTERS ACADEMY – OPENING CEREMONY TODAY FOR NEW RECRUITS"
Kun shot upright.
"HUH?! TODAY?!"
He launched himself across the room like a grenade.
"SUHOOOO! GET UP, MAN—TODAY'S THE DAY!"
He shoved the phone into Suho's half-asleep face.
Suho squinted. "Huh...? What... what day...? Already...? Is this a dream?"
His voice was rough, caught between grogginess and the sharp jab of realization. The word Academy settled in the back of his head like a slow-burning fuse.
Kun was already tearing the apartment apart, yanking drawers open.
"FIRST DAY AT THE ACADEMY, BRO!" he shouted, holding a backpack triumphantly over his head like it was sacred loot.
Suho rubbed his eyes again, this time slower. "Wait. Who's taking us?"
Kun froze for a split second—then smirked and pointed at the article.
"Right here. Academy dispatch line. We just gotta call 'em."
——
"Alright, before we call Administration, let's pack first," Kun said, digging under the couch. "I don't want an agent popping up like a horror movie in front of the door."
He found his old duffel bag and started tossing things inside.
"Ugh… okay…" Suho yawned, dragging himself to his corner and grabbing his stuff.
Kun was already mumbling to himself, eyes lit with excitement. "This, this… can't forget my last-year underwear, might be lucky."
Suho shot him a tired look. "You're way too excited. Watch us get jumped by Corrupted Objects halfway there."
"Hey, hey—shut up," Kun grinned. "Get packing, bro. I can already see those Admin agents in tactical skirts—WOOHOO!"
THUMP. A muffled voice came through the paper-thin wall next door.
"KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN, LITTLE SHITS! I'M SLEEPING HERE, MOTHERFUCKERS!"
Suho blinked. "It's morning. We're just breathing and getting threatened."
Kun shrugged, unbothered, and kept tossing socks and loose ammo packs into his bag.
After a bit, two bags sat ready by the door.
Kun pulled out his phone, exhaled dramatically, and tapped the screen.
Ring.
"Administration Dispatch, this is Operator Nine," a calm, no-nonsense voice answered.
"Uh—hey there! We're candidates from Beta District 9. Uhh… for the Academy."
"Understood. Please confirm your pickup location."
"Fukuhara Apartments, third floor," Kun replied smoothly—then added with a grin, "You sound cute, by the way. Maybe after this whole rookie thing—"
Click. The call dropped mid-flirt.
Kun stared at the screen, blinking. "...Rude."
He turned to Suho. "That was weird, right? They usually let me finish."
Suho didn't miss a beat. "Maybe because it's not a dating app, dumbass."
They both stood there a moment. The city buzzed faintly outside, but the apartment felt too quiet.
Kun lowered the phone slowly. "Well… guess they're sending someone."
"Or they're sending something," Suho muttered.
——
Kun slumped back onto the couch, casually scrolling through his phone.
Suho stood by the window, arms crossed, staring out at the warped skyline of District 9. Rusted scaffolds, flickering neon, smoke leaking from alley grates like the city was trying to choke on itself.
"I wonder why this part of the city's rotting," Suho muttered. "But Alpha's still pristine."
Kun shrugged, still scrolling. "Dunno, man. When we first came here, it was way worse than this."
His thumb stopped mid-swipe.
"Yo…" Kun read aloud, "One elite Counters squad found dead while investigating Category-2 CO breach…" He paused, eyes narrowing. "Reports of heavy corruption and object warping. Site classified and sealed."
He looked up, concern creeping into his expression. "Becoming a Counter's not just hard—it's suicide."
"Told you," Suho said, his gaze never leaving the window. "This world doesn't hand out second chances."
RING RING.
Kun jolted upright. "Shit—who's calling me?"
He answered.
"Hello?"
"This is Administration Dispatch," a sharp male voice said. "Transport will arrive in fifteen minutes. Be prepared."
"Alright, we—"
Click.
Kun blinked, then scowled at his screen. "AGAIN?! What is it with them and ghosting me mid-sentence?!"
Suho chuckled behind him. "Maybe they've got a sensor that shuts off when flirting or whining starts."
Kun flopped back onto the couch, groaning. "At this rate, I'm marrying the vending machine downstairs."
——
After a moment, Suho double-checked his bag, silently making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Calm hands, sharper eyes.
Kun, on the other hand, was still lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone—switching between photos of sexy models, flashy mobile games, and news headlines.
Nothing about the slums.
RING.
He jumped a little. "Hello?" Kun answered.
A crisp voice replied, deadpan and fast. "We are outside. Please hurry."
Click.
Kun blinked. "They really love hanging up on me."
He grabbed his bag. Suho followed, slinging his over one shoulder and glancing back at the apartment. He paused—just for a second—then locked the door.
Down the stairs they went.
Weirdly quiet.
The junkie who usually begged Suho for creds?
Gone.
Outside, a black car sat waiting—sleek, polished, not a scratch on it. It hummed like it was breathing, engine low and too quiet for a place like this.
"Damn," Kun whistled. "That's some serious admin tech."
"No plates, no markings," Suho muttered. "Classic Administration."
The driver's door opened. A man stepped out—long coat, mirrored shades, expression unreadable.
"Please get in," he said, voice flat.
Suho and Kun exchanged a look, then slid into the backseat.
The doors shut with a hydraulic hiss. Smooth. Final.
As the car pulled away, they watched the city roll past through tinted glass.
District 9 didn't clean up for guests.
People fought over stim packs in alleys.
A girl in half a dress stumbled barefoot past a fire barrel.
Someone naked shouted at a drone, throwing trash.
Kun glanced over. "We should tell Ray."
Suho nodded, pulled out his phone, and tapped a quick message:
Ray, we're already on the way.
A few seconds later:
Okay. Good luck.
That was it. Just like Ray—short, sharp, no fluff.
They passed over the Arakawa River Bridge, the checkpoint dead ahead.
A row of officers scanned faces with handheld devices. Helmets covered their eyes, expressions unreadable.
One of them stepped forward.
"Destination?"
"Academy," the driver replied, never glancing back.
A pause.
Beep.
"Alright. Stay safe."
The barrier lifted. The car rolled forward.
Behind them, the slums stayed behind—like a wound stitched shut, but still bleeding.
——
As they passed over the bridge, something shifted.
The air felt cleaner—less smoke, less static. Even the haze looked artificial now, like someone filtered the sky through a corporate lens.
A towering neon sign flickered to life as they crossed beneath it:
WELCOME TO ALPHA DISTRICT 9
—Hope, Order, Progress—
Massive billboards hovered above the skyline, flashing between recruitment ads, stim commercials, and corporate propaganda. Everything glowed—sterile, perfect, too bright to be real.
The car slipped into the heart of Alpha, and the contrast hit like a punch.
Skyscrapers stretched into the clouds, polished like obsidian. Roads gleamed. Drones buzzed quietly overhead. Automated vehicles glided without friction. Even the sidewalks looked polished.
No blood. No rust. No crying children.
Just movement. Clean and controlled.
"Damn…" Kun muttered, leaning on the window. "Looks like we just warped into a different planet."
"Different planet with rules written in blood," Suho said under his breath.
Kun glanced around again. His voice lowered, almost nostalgic.
"This place... it's different than when we were kids."
Suho didn't answer, but he remembered too. The Alpha they passed through as delivery rats. Hiding in vents. Stealing from convenience kiosks when the power flickered just long enough.
Now?
They passed a mall center—huge, domed in glass, bustling with civilians. Families. Students. Counter cadets walking with clean uniforms, laughing over drinks from chrome cafes—while robotic security drones tracked them from ceiling rails, unmoving and always watching.
A little girl ran past the window holding a plush drone, parents in quiet pursuit. A billboard nearby glitched for half a second, static snapping before a smiling cadet reappeared on-screen.
"This place forgot we even exist," Kun muttered.
Suho exhaled, slow. "That's the point."
The car kept moving. Past clean plazas. Past gleaming sculptures and holograms advertising a better tomorrow.
Until the city began to fade behind them again.
Alpha District, in the rearview.
And ahead—wide open highway.
The Academy was waiting.
——
Thirty minutes passed.
The cityscape gave way to trees—slim and ordered, grown too perfectly to be natural. The hum of the highway stretched on beneath them as the car cut through the open land like a black arrow.
Then, it appeared.
Not towering like the skyscrapers of Alpha, but wide—massive. A fortress built for something bigger than learning.
COUNTERS ACADEMY.
The building sprawled across the landscape like a command center from a forgotten war. Black alloy plating. Sharp lines. Watchtowers. And yet... the front gates were dressed with color.
A massive white banner stretched over the front, flickering in digital print:
WELCOME, ROOKIES.
The car slowed.
Outside, the entrance plaza was full of people.
Students in clean, fresh uniforms.
Parents and siblings lingering with nervous pride.
Recruitment officers in dark coats guiding lines.
Security drones humming above it all like steel vultures.
"Damn…" Kun muttered, pressing a hand to the window. "We should've brought Ray."
He gave a small laugh. "I feel kinda jealous. These people got families waving them off. We got... an old merc and a death threat for rent."
Suho said nothing—but his eyes never left the crowd.
The car pulled up to the gate.
A soft click.
Engine silenced.
Doors unlocked.
And for the first time in a long time—Kun and Suho were standing at the edge of something new.