Central coordination sat deeper than any sector he had yet seen.
The corridor leading to it narrowed, the walls lined with embedded interfaces rather than doors. Light flowed from hidden seams instead of overhead panels, giving the passage a muted, directionless glow.
Tae-Hyun followed the guidance strip along the floor until it ended before a wide, curved door.
It opened without sound.
The space beyond was tiered, like a small amphitheater. Transparent workstations lined the upper arc. Below them, a circular platform housed a dense arrangement of projection fields and bio-monitoring arrays. Data moved through the air in slow, layered formations.
Three people waited.
Director Han stood at the center.
He was older than Tae-Hyun had expected, his hair almost entirely gray, his posture unremarkable. Nothing about him suggested power, which made it easier to miss how completely the room oriented around him.
Two others stood a step behind—both wearing the deeper gray coats of inner wing oversight.
"Han Jae-Min," Director Han said.
The man's gaze was steady, curious without warmth.
"You've been reassigned frequently since arriving," he continued. "That suggests either a lack of stability… or unusual adaptability."
Tae-Hyun inclined his head. "I work where I'm placed."
"Yes," Director Han replied. "You do."
He gestured lightly toward the lower platform.
"Your work proximity during the last activation coincided with several stabilization points," he said. "We've reviewed environmental data. Equipment logs. Personnel placement."
His eyes held Tae-Hyun's.
"One pattern repeated."
Tae-Hyun waited.
"We're not interested in coincidences," Director Han continued. "We're interested in conditions."
He lifted a hand.
The central projection shifted.
A visual lattice formed—biological harmonics translated into light. Within it, a narrow band pulsed differently from the rest.
"That variance appeared when Subject E-17's coherence improved," he said. "And it appeared consistently within a narrow spatial radius."
The lattice narrowed.
A faint marker appeared at its center.
Tae-Hyun recognized the silhouette immediately.
Himself.
"You were present each time," Director Han said. "Not as a primary factor. But as a proximal one."
He let the image dissolve.
"We would like to introduce you into the upcoming interface preparation cycle," he said. "Formally."
Tae-Hyun met his gaze. "In what capacity?"
"Environmental support," Director Han replied. "Your assigned role will place you within controlled distance of the candidate. You will follow standard procedures. You will not engage the subject. You will not deviate from your tasks."
"And the purpose?" Tae-Hyun asked.
Director Han's mouth curved faintly.
"To observe," he said. "Whether the variance follows you… or her."
Silence moved through the room.
"If it follows me?" Tae-Hyun asked.
"Then you become relevant," Director Han replied. "If it follows her, then we continue as planned."
"And if it follows neither?"
"Then it was noise," the director said. "And noise is easily eliminated."
The words were delivered without threat.
Which made them far more precise.
"You'll be briefed on proximity parameters," Director Han continued. "And fitted with internal monitoring."
He gestured.
One of the gray-coated figures stepped forward and placed a small device on the edge of the platform.
A biometric tracer.
Tae-Hyun looked at it.
Then back at the director.
"When does this begin?" he asked.
"Immediately," Director Han replied. "Preparation starts tonight. The interface procedure advances quickly from this stage."
Tae-Hyun inclined his head.
"I understand."
Director Han studied him a moment longer.
"You don't appear unsettled," he observed.
Tae-Hyun met his gaze.
"I don't make assumptions about places like this," he said. "They don't reward them."
A faint note of approval flickered through the director's eyes.
"Good," he said. "Then you'll adapt well."
He turned slightly.
"Escort him to fitting," he instructed.
The gray-coated figure gestured toward a side corridor.
As Tae-Hyun followed, he felt the hum inside him gather again.
Not reacting.
Orienting.
Because this was the first time since arriving at W-03 that the system had looked at him directly.
And chosen to move him closer.