The lab felt… off after the Silver Door incident. Milo padded quietly at my feet while I stared at the hologram display. Jayden leaned on the counter, eyes scanning the room like he'd memorized every gadget years ago. Alex, of course, was bouncing on the edge of a chair, humming and fidgeting.
"We can't just… wait around forever," I muttered, watching the inactive Silver Door on the hologram. "It's like it's teasing us. And I hate being teased."
Jayden's smirk didn't falter. "We're not exactly helpless, Kim. But… it's tricky. Dad's safeguards are serious."
Alex leaned forward, wagging a finger. "Tricky is boring! Dangerous is fun! Oooh, I love fun dangerous stuff! Can we hack it? Can we poke it? Can we…?"
I groaned. "Alex, stop—"
Jayden pinched the bridge of his nose. I knew the expression well: the one that silently said, Yes, I'm silently judging your life choices.
After a moment, I said the thing I knew was inevitable. "We need help. Someone who actually knows the systems in this lab… someone Dad trusts but isn't always watching."
Jayden raised an eyebrow. "You're not suggesting—"
"I am," I interrupted. "Kang Tae-mo."
Jayden's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're serious?"
Alex cheered. "Ooooh! A mysterious Korean genius assistant! Sounds perfect! I knew I liked you, Kim!"
We found Mr. Kang Tae-mo in the electronics wing, tinkering with a prototype drone. The moment we walked in, he glanced up, eyebrows raised.
"Ms. Kim. Mr. Jayden. What brings you here at this hour?" His English was fluent, but accented, precise, and polite.
"I… uh," I started, trying to act casual. "We… need some guidance. On the Silver Door."
Tae-mo raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "You know this is… not allowed."
"Yes, we know," Jayden said quietly, leaning against the doorway. "We just… really need help."
For a heartbeat, the room was silent. Tae-mo studied us, his expression unreadable. Then, very slowly, he sighed. "Very well. But if you do this… you must be careful. And you must not alert your father."
Alex nearly cheered. "Yay! Secret missions! Oooh, I can draw a map! I can plot! I can—"
"Alex," Tae-mo interrupted sharply, though his voice had a hint of amusement, "please, just observe quietly. Or at least pretend to."
I bit back a laugh. "Fine. We'll pretend."
As Tae-mo explained the basics—how to monitor the Silver Door's signals, how the sensors interacted with Dad's implants—I noticed Jayden staring at the hologram silently. He wasn't joking this time, just absorbed.
Alex tilted his head at him. "You know… you really seem like you're living here, Jayden. Like, this is your house or something."
Jayden didn't reply. Just kept staring at the data.
I glanced at him. Something about his silence made me uneasy, but Tae-mo's instructions were enough to keep me focused.
We spent hours observing, mapping the fluctuations in the Silver Door's energy, noting patterns, and testing small harmless triggers. Alex somehow managed to turn every small step into a running commentary.
"Jayden, that line of code looks like it's winking at me!" he shouted.
"Alex," Jayden muttered dryly, not even looking at him, "it's not winking."
"OOOH!" Alex jumped. "It's sassy! Codes can be sassy! I'm writing that down!"
I groaned, hiding a smile. Milo barked, as if to say: Humans… really.
By the time we left the lab, the sun was beginning to set. The mansion was quiet, drones gliding back to their charging stations. Tae-mo waved goodbye, leaving us with a subtle warning:
"Curiosity is fine. But the Silver Door… will always test you. Be careful, all of you."
I let out a deep breath, walking with Milo beside me. I turned to Jayden who looked more mysterious. "You look more serious than ever in there. What's the obsession with the door. I'm not even as obsessed as you are".
Jayden's eyes flickered for a moment. He smirked, like he'd been expecting the question. "My obsession??" he said slowly. "It's… complicated. But one thing's certain: the world isn't what it seems. And sometimes, the people you trust the most… aren't who you think they are."
Alex, of course, leaned over, eyes wide. "Oooh, that sounds juicy! Secrets! Mystery! Adventure! Can I—can I map your obsessions too?"
I rolled my eyes. "Alex…"
But inside, a chill ran down my spine. Jayden's words weren't just sounding right. My question and his answer are crazily different and they were warnings. And somehow, I knew the Silver Door wasn't the only thing in this house that could make me go crazy out of curiosity