Red Ark's in-story timeline is the year 2030.
The 'Ark', which could be called the stage for Red Ark, is an academy city built on an unnamed island in the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1980 to control the 'Rifts', 'strange phenomena', and 'Psykers' that suddenly appeared across the world.
Its size covers about half the area of Seoul, South Korea, with an estimated population of 2.2 million, including both Psykers and non-Psykers.
I was in a dark semi-basement of the academy city Ark, located on an island smack in the middle of the Pacific, holding a private tête-à-tête with a beautiful girl named Han Cheong-ah.
"Kidnapper... you say?"
Han Cheong-ah stared at me with vacant eyes.
It was an icebreaker joke, but taking it seriously would be a problem.
Of course, given the circumstances, I made for a textbook-perfect kidnapper suspect. But the one who'd actually kidnapped Han Cheong-ah wasn't me—it was the original owner of this body.
So I slapped on my best poker face and kept talking.
"Just kidding. What kind of kidnapper is this polite?"
"It was a joke? I was kinda hoping to experience getting kidnapped for once... what a letdown."
Han Cheong-ah gazed at me with a faintly disappointed look.
True to her reputation as the original story's infamous fourth-dimensional girl, her mindset was anything but ordinary.
Unlike my throwaway joke, she seemed genuinely bummed out, leaving me feeling awkwardly unsettled.
"So, where is this place? If you're not the kidnapper, then who are you, and why am I here?"
Han Cheong-ah swept back her silky pink hair, smooth as fine satin, and lobbed the question my way.
Meeting her cool blue eyes sent an odd tension rippling through me.
I thought to myself.
How could I navigate this situation without a hitch?
The surefire way for me to escape this pinch right now was to send Han Cheong-ah back home safe and sound.
Then I wouldn't have to throw down with the protagonist, Kim Si-hu, or get brutally offed by Yubyeol-ha.
That said, it'd only kick the can down the road—a lousy short-term fix.
Right now, I had two big problems on my plate.
📱 Time: 22:00. Location: That pier we always meet at. Bring the Psyker as promised.
First up: the text message that'd been sent to me.
The vampire Baek Do-hyun, whose body I'd possessed, was a member of the 21st Century Secret Society—an evil organization.
Supernatural beings from myths and legends—like yokai, ghosts, or dragons—are collectively known as monstrosities.
And the 21st Century Secret Society was the cabal those monstrosities had banded together into.
Ever since the world's Rifts opened up, they'd been at odds with humans who'd gained powers, committing atrocities like casual murder without batting an eye in the story.
Red Ark's final boss was the mage 'Zero One', the one who'd founded the 21st Century Secret Society, after all.
Anyway, whoever sent that text to Baek Do-hyun was most likely tied to the 21st Century Secret Society.
Going by the original plot, failing to follow through would land me some nasty penalty from them.
What sort of punishment a terrifying outfit like that would dish out for screwing up was anyone's guess, so it bore some serious thought.
The second problem was Han Cheong-ah, right there in front of me.
As a co-developer of Red Ark, I knew exactly who this girl was.
With my foreknowledge of the unresolved plot threads and intel at this stage in the story...
I knew she was way more dangerous than some evil outfit like the 21st Century Secret Society.
If Han Cheong-ah got suspicious and spilled the beans to her 'protector'...
...I might be staring down a future where dying on the spot would be the mercy option.
"So, how much do you remember?"
"Remember?"
Han Cheong-ah's head tilted quizzically.
"Before you blacked out. If there's any misunderstanding, I'd like to clear it up pronto."
"Hmm..."
Han Cheong-ah fixed me with her signature blank stare.
It was like she was sizing up an enemy—my heart skipped a beat.
Needless to say, I kept a straight face.
"I was walking home from school with a friend, same as always."
Han Cheong-ah pantomimed walking with both arms, vividly recreating the scene.
Her actions brimmed with emotion, belying that stone-cold expression—like a girl full of life.
"We parted ways, and around 8 PM, right as I ducked into a dark alley with no CCTV... thwack! Dull pain exploded in my head. 'Ah, shit—this must be that classic sap to the noggin,' I thought."
Han Cheong-ah mimed smacking her own skull.
"...And then?"
"Next thing I know, I wake up here. Figured you for the kidnapper... but you say otherwise."
Han Cheong-ah's blue eyes blinked like a traffic signal.
A gaze demanding answers.
I racked my brain.
How could I spin a convincing lie for the girl in front of me?
...Got it.
Anyone else, impossible. But Han Cheong-ah, with her fourth-dimensional quirks and naive streak? Might just buy it.
"For starters, I didn't knock you out. I just stumbled on the scene after you'd already passed out."
"I see."
"By the time I got there, the perp spotted me and bolted. Couldn't leave you in a sketchy spot like that, so I brought you back to my place."
"Normally, you'd call the Federal Guidance Bureau or an ambulance, right...?"
Han Cheong-ah, knew you'd go there.
I smirked inwardly and pulled a troubled face.
"Complicated circumstances."
The academy city Ark has an outfit called the Federal Guidance Bureau.
Think cops, real-world style.
In a nutshell: in an Ark crawling with Psyker students, they're the guards packing anti-Psyker gear.
"Circumstances? Jerking off?"
Han Cheong-ah, didn't see that coming.
I nearly got dragged into her rhythm but reined myself in.
"No, not that. Personal issues—getting tangled with the Feds would be a headache."
Of course, sounding shady about law enforcement might raise eyebrows, but hey, beats kidnapper vibes.
Not bad for an on-the-fly excuse, if I do say so.
Luckily, Han Cheong-ah nodded, looking convinced.
"If you'd been in real danger, I'd have called it in—but no visible wounds, so home it was."
"Got it. Makes sense."
Chatting with Han Cheong-ah jogged a memory from before the possession—a dev talk with my buddy.
'Red Ark's story skews dark, but nonstop grim vibes might smother players. So we're tossing in a fourth-dimensional heroine for comic relief—what do you think of this archetype?'
His pitch doc had Han Cheong-ah's specs laid out in detail.
And here she was, the real deal—a pitch-perfect fourth-dimensional girl.
"Look, keep this our little secret, yeah? No mentioning me if you report to the Feds or hit the hospital. I'm done with messy drama."
I hammered home the 'personal issues' angle for Han Cheong-ah.
A beat of silence, then she nodded—hook, line, and sinker.
"Understood. Wasn't gonna report it anyway, so no worries."
"No report? Why not?"
"Gonna handle the sapper myself. Plus, don't wanna worry that person again."
Han Cheong-ah had a mindset that was off-the-charts unconventional.
As the actual sapper, it set my heart pounding in all the wrong ways.
Eh, no way I'd get busted anytime soon. Should be fine...
"That said... problem."
"Problem?"
"Yeah. Had plans to meet a close friend tonight, but the knockout made me flake. Need a cover story... She's sharp—if she sniffs out the truth, she'll go full runaway locomotive. So, alibi?"
That 'close friend' meant her 'protector', no doubt.
Like I said before: if word hit her protector's ears, dying here might be the kinder fate. That one's no joke.
"Got any bright ideas? If not, say we banged?"
I tuned out Han Cheong-ah's nonsense and mulled it over.
Moments later, I snatched up a notebook and pen from the floor.
"I've got a killer idea."
Who knows if it'd fly with her protector—but for anyone who dug romance, it was foolproof.
Han Cheong-ah's head cocked again at my smug grin.