Koko Hiyomi, just thirteen, was once again stuck in a loop—staring at the screen of his favorite mobile game, Run-Brief.
His fingers moved with precision, but the timer ran out before he could finish the stage.
Defeat.
"Ughh!!" he screamed into his pillow, phone shaking in his hand. He hated losing.
His bedroom door creaked open.
"You’re still playing?" his father asked. "Koko, don’t waste your whole life on games."
Koko didn’t look up. "Just let me be."
"You’re still a kid. You’ve got time to learn more than this."
"I’m not a kid!" Koko snapped. "Stop treating me like one."
His father smiled gently. "Try again. Win this time. I believe in you." With that, he left for work, the door shutting softly behind him.
Koko’s heart was heavy. He stared back at the glowing message on screen:
"Tap to Run."
He hesitated.
And tapped.
A flash of light consumed everything.
It wasn’t just the game anymore. It was like his body got sucked into the screen. He didn’t even get time to scream.
When he opened his eyes, everything had changed.
The sky was glowing with bright lines like running code. Strange symbols danced in the air. The ground was too real.
Koko sat up quickly. "No way..."
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He spotted two boys standing ahead—one tall and serious, the other with icy-blue hair and a sharp gaze.
His eyes widened. "That’s... Sanju Sishi and Noel Noen..."
He knew them.
He knew everything about them.
Because this was Run-Brief.
The game.
He was inside the game.
His hands trembled. "This can’t be real. No. No, no..."
Noen tilted his head. "He’s panicking already."
Sishi stepped forward. "You know us?"
"Of course I do... You’re top-tier characters in Run-Brief," Koko said shakily. "This... this is impossible. I was just playing. I... I’m Koko Hiyomi."
Noen smirked. "You’re in now. Welcome to the real thing."
Koko backed away. "I want to go home."
Sishi said flatly, "Then win the Adventure Tournament. That's the only way."
Koko nodded fast. "Okay, I’ll do it. Just a few runs and then I’m out, right?"
Noen looked amused. "You wish. Ten minutes in real life... is 600 days in here."
Koko froze.
His thoughts crashed together like a storm.
He couldn’t breathe.
The ground under him felt too solid, too real.
His body trembled as if his mind couldn’t hold itself together anymore.
Then—crack.
In his mind, it felt like something shattered.
Like a mirror breaking.
Like he was breaking.
A thousand shards of his thoughts scattered—memories, fear, denial—like glass falling in slow motion.
"I... I don’t understand... what’s happening..." he whispered. "What am I supposed to do...?"
He collapsed to his knees, his hands gripping the dirt. His reflection, once clear in his mind, was now broken—like he had split into pieces.
Sishi stepped forward and said softly, "Regenerate."
A pulse of light circled Koko’s chest like a ripple in water. The glow moved through him, calming his heartbeat, clearing his sight.
His mind slowly pieced itself back together.
Like broken glass re-forming into a mirror.
He stood back up, steadier.
"Check your status," Sishi said.
Without thinking, Koko called out, "Aboutboard."
A holographic screen popped in front of him. His profile loaded instantly:
Name: Koko Hiyomi
Rank: 38
Level: 1
Ability Unlocks: 1/10
Stamina: 62/100
Sishi’s eyes narrowed. "Rank 38?"
Noel raised an eyebrow. "Above us, huh..."
"I know the Aboutboard," Koko said, more to himself than them. "I know the maps, the challenges, the tournaments... I know everything in this game."
"Then you have no excuses," Noen said with a grin.
Koko looked toward the distant futuristic city glowing under the sky.
"What now?"
Sishi pointed. "Train. That’s the city. You’ll need to earn, study, fight, survive... just like we all do."
Koko clenched his fists.
This wasn’t a dream.
It was Run-Brief—but not the one he knew.
Now, it was real.
And it had just begun.
